MICHAEL MCDONOUGH - Cinematographer

Team Deakins

James Ellis Deakins

Tv & Film, Filmlighting, Deakins, Movies, Filmmaking, Production, Film, Cinematography, Film Interviews

4.8 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 17 September 2025

⏱️ 68 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 159 - Michael McDonough - Cinematographer

We speak with cinematographer Michael McDonough (BOSCH, SUNSET SONG, WINTER’S BONE) in this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast. If you listened to our conversation with Debra Granik (Season 2, Episode 158), then you know a bit about Michael already. He fills in what she left out, and we learn how he came to pursue filmmaking as a career after roaming around Rome on a year-long printmaking scholarship during his time in art college. We further discuss his professional partnership with Debra, and we also trade stories about working with director Michael Radford. In addition to his work in film, Michael has shot long-running television series such as FEAR THE WALKING DEAD and BOSCH, and he shares how he does the best he can given the limitations of working in the format. Michael also reflects on how BOSCH incorporates Los Angeles’ rich noir history into the show’s look, and we learn what advice he would give his younger self if he were starting out again. Among the other topics discussed in our conversation: lighting lessons learned from observing cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond and the allure of Venice Beach in the winter.

This episode is sponsored by Aputure & Sandstorm

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi and welcome to Season 2 of the Team Deacons podcast,
0:07.0	a collection of informal conversations between Roger and James Deacons and a guest.
0:13.0	We never know where the conversation will take us, so listen in and see where it goes.
0:21.9	This episode is sponsored by Aperture and its new Storm XT-52, the industry's most
0:29.5	powerful LED point source light. Brighter than a 6K HMI and powered by Aperture's revolutionary
0:36.8	Blair light engine, the Storm XT-52 is both a tunable
0:41.9	white light and also the brightest ever adjustable color LED. Storm XT-52, unrivaled output, only from
0:52.2	aperture.
1:04.0	This episode is sponsored by Sandstorm, the Technodali specialist now based at Ealing Studios in London.
1:13.8	The Technodali is a fully repeatable camera crane and motion control in one, allowing cinematographers to hand craft a shot and then repeat it instantly and frame accurately for visual effects. Find them on Instagram and
1:21.0	YouTube at Sandstorm underscore films. Today we're speaking with the cinematographer.
1:30.3	His credits include Winter's Bone, Bosch, and Mayor of Kingstown.
1:35.9	We're pleased to welcome Michael McDonough.
1:39.0	Michael, thank you for doing this.
1:41.7	Oh, no, it's great to meet you.
1:43.1	Where are you right now?
1:44.8	I'm in New York.
1:46.1	I was just finishing up a season in Pittsburgh at Mayor of Kingston.
1:50.3	And I got a script and the last week of production there ended up in New York.
1:56.2	So it's nice to be black.
1:59.1	Well, we'd like to ask you, how did you get to where you are today?
2:03.0	You grew up in Scotland, right?
	...

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