Michael to lens feature Fallen Before Falling
March 8th, 2009

Michael has been selected to lens the upcoming psychological thriller Fallen Before Falling from Toronto based writer / director James Dubbeldam.

The film follows Anastasia, a successful actor left feeling unsettled as her turbulent past resurfaces, and her move to a rented farm in the country to deal with her personal demons. Anastasia's journey becomes complicated as chemistry develops between her and the landholder Matthew and with the sudden appearance of her mother Susan. Past events reveal that all is not as it seems in the present.

Principal photography on Fallen Before Falling begins March 17th, 2009 in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. 

Ali the Don hip hop music video
March 6th, 2009
Michael has been brought on to shoot the music video for hip hop artist Ali the Don and his new bangin' single 'Arab Blood'. The shoot is scheduled to take place in Windsor, Ontario, Canada March 12-13, 2009. For more on Ali the Don and to check out the track 'Arab Blood' find him on Myspace by clicking HERE.
Michael to lens the horror feature NOSTRUM
January 2nd, 2009

Writer/director Jonathan Wright has brought Michael onboard as cinematographer to lens his upcoming horror feature NOSTRUM.

Synopsis: After a grisly heroin induced suicide of a friend, a group of 18 year old heroin addicts barricade themselves in an abandoned farm house in order to kick the habit, but first they have one last party. The heroin they shoot is tainted (planted by a doctor who created a suicide cocktail to rid the streets of junkies) and turns one of them into a psychotic, monstrous killer.

With former THINKFilm VP Michael Baker executive producing and handling sales, and editor Ron Wisman Jr. onboard, NOSTRUM is shaping up to be one wild ride. Principal photography kicks off in Toronto February 9th. Stay tuned to michaeljaridavidson.com for exclusive updates.

The Afters video world broadcast premiere
December 9th, 2008
The Afters video for the title track off their sophomore album 'Never Going Back to OK' gets its world broadcast premiere today in the U.S. on GMC (Gospel Music Channel). Michael was cinematographer on the video shoot in Windsor, Ontario, Canada at the end of October. To find out more about the Afters click here and to visit GMC click here.
CSC News magazine features article on Michael
December 9th, 2008
Not only did the Canadian Society of Cinematographers honour Michael by upgrading him to Associate member in October 2008, but also the national magazine has printed an article on Michael in this month's issue. CSC News editor Wyndham Wise interviewed Michael regarding his cinematic accomplishments over the past year and aspirations for the future. Read the article in it's entirety in .pdf format by clicking here.
Michael brought onto Toronto feature film
November 19th, 2008
Michael has just returned from Toronto where he was brought on to the set of NSI alumnus Kris Booth's new feature film, "At Home, By Myself...With You". Having worked with Michael on three films in the past, veteran Toronto DP Mark Bochsler requested that the production invite Michael on as gaffer for his rotating crew. Good times were had by all and Michael is again excited to contribute to a thriving independent film scene. For more information on Kris Booth and the film, visit the NSI website by clicking here.
Michael DPs dual music videos for The Afters
October 24th, 2008

Michael spent this past weekend in Windsor, Ontario working in collaboration with Gavin Michael Booth and Mimetic Productions shooting dual music videos for INO/Columbia Recording artists The Afters. The tracks shot were "Never Going Back to Ok" and "Ocean's Wide" from their latest album.

This Texas-based band was propelled into the national spotlight with their INO/Sony Music Label Group debut I Wish We All Could Win. The project spawned the swirling, melodic hit "Beautiful Love," earning the band an enthusiastic following when the song was selected as the theme track for MTV's "8th and Ocean". The band won an MTV music award for this song.

To find out more, visit The Afters on the web by clicking here.

RUN LIKE HELL screening at ZOMBIE NIGHT
October 20th, 2008
Michael's super 16mm film has been selected to screen at the Mitten Movie Project's ZOMBIE NIGHT, Tuesday, November 11th, 2008 at the Main Art Theatre in Royal Oak, Michigan USA. For more information visit the Mitten Movie Project on the web by clicking here.
CSC invites Michael to upgrade to Associate level
October 16th, 2008
The Canadian Society of Cinematographers has invited Michael to upgrade his membership from Affiliate to Associate member. In communiqué with CSC Executive Director, Susan Saranchuk and discussions with Membership Director, Phil Earnshaw csc, the Society has decided to waive the three-year probationary period in light of Michael's training and recent cinematic accomplishments. To find out more, visit the CSC on the web by clicking here.
RUN LIKE HELL screening at STFF
October 10th, 2008
Michael has been invited to screen his super 16mm horror short Run Like Hell at this year's Small Town Film Festival in Chatham, Ontario. The festival runs from Friday, October 31st to Saturday, November 1st at the Kiwanis Theatre, 75 William Street North, Chatham Ontario. A weekend pass is $15.00 or $8.00 per event. For more information, visit the Small Town Film Festival by clicking here.
The Mississauga Living Arts Centre
October 1st, 2008
Andreas Kyprianou, Manager of Marketing Services for the Mississauga Living Arts Centre, recently brought Michael onboard for a project to develop monthly one-minute 'Coming Soon' videos for the Centre. This is an exciting development for Michael, as 1.5 million people have visited the Centre's 225,000 square feet of multiple performance venues, studio spaces and exhibition display areas since it's opening eleven years ago. To learn more, visit the Mississauga Living Arts Centre website by clicking here.
Marketing firms bring Michael into projects
September 11th, 2008
In the month of September 2008, Michael shot projects for two Ontario-based marketing firms. After a successful video testimonial CD-ROM, London Ontario's A&E Restaurant Solutions brought Michael back to shoot a second project highlighting their recent print campaign. At the same time, Tilbury Ontario's Whitewolf Marketing brought Michael onboard to shoot web-based video for their upcoming website launch for Roden Machine Group. We can't be experts at everything and this is the main reason for these marketing firms to bring Michael on to deliver video for their projects.
RUN LIKE HELL screening at the U of T
September 9th, 2008
Michael has been invited to screen his super 16 short horror film Run Like Hell at the University of Toronto's Hart House screening party on Wednesday, September 24th. A reception from 7:00-8:30PM provides an opportunity to schmooze with hors d’oeuvres, cash bar, music, and loop installations. An open-air screening of RLH at the Hart House Quad (indoors in the Great Hall if raining) will take place from 8:30-10:00PM alongside some of the latest Hart House Film Board productions. Click here for a map to Hart House.
Shooting 'Still Here' feature film in August '08
July 23rd, 2008
Mimetic Productions has brought Michael onboard as cinematographer to shoot their dramatic feature film 'Still Here'. Scheduled to shoot for 21 days starting August 10th, the HD feature will be shot on location in Windsor, Ontario and surrounding areas. 'Still Here', the fourth feature film by writer/director Gavin Michael Booth, is an emotion driven story about Aidan, a teenager struggling to cope with the premature and rather unexpected loss of his girlfriend, Natalie. Stay tuned to michaeljaridavidson.com for exciting details and photos from the production.
In Development: Europe bound for doc research
June 28th, 2008
Hot on the heels of his invitation to the 2008 HotDocs film festival, Michael flies out this week for three-weeks in Eastern Europe where he will be researching material for a forthcoming documentary film. His destination is the city of Varna, Bulgaria, situated on the coast of the Black Sea. Bulgarian folk music has captured Michael's imagination for several years now and he plans to pitch the project to broadcasters after some initial development. Michael hopes to have the film wrapped for a 2010 release. Stay tuned to this website for more information.
Workshops!
May 23rd, 2008
Always one to keep sharp with training, Michael heads off today for a series of cinematography workshops, starting with the CSC Intermediate Lighting workshop this weekend in Toronto. From there, Michael heads to Ottawa for a five-day HD cinematography workshop at the Canadian Screen Training Centre. Michael hopes to apply the techniques learned over the next few weeks to his upcoming narrative short. More news on that project in the near future.
Multiple screenings for RUN LIKE HELL
April 19th, 2008

Michael's super16 short horror film Run Like Hell received multiple screenings in March and April. The film first debuted at the 2008 Western Film Festival, March 14-15, Rainbow Cinemas Galleria, London Ontario.

Subsequently, Nicholas A. Longstaff who played Jean Laslow in the film and now CFC New Media lab resident, invited Michael to do a private screening at the Canadian Film Centre in Toronto.

And finally on April 19th, in association with Vagrancy Films, Run Like Hell was paired with Lucio Fulci's 1979 cult classic Zombie for a midnight screening, again at Rainbow Cinemas Galleria, London Ontario.

International doc festival invites Michael to DocU
April 17th, 2008

The fifteenth annual HotDocs documentary film festival and conference in Toronto invited Michael to attend DocU. Through a competitive selection process that was open to emerging filmmakers from across Canada, Michael was among a group of fifteen invitees to be mentored by award-winning filmmaker Min Sook Lee (Tiger Spirit) for the week. Participants gained valuable knowledge through a series of workshops and intimate meetings with leading doc professionals and filmmakers.

Michael helps bring home gold at EK3s Big Pitch
April 8th, 2008

On April 8, Michael filled the roles of cinematographer and project manager on the team that brought home gold in the first annual Fanshawe College / EK3 Technologies multimedia competition. The competition pit eighteen teams of five against each other over thirteen weeks to devise three components of a mobile communications marketing campaign: a website, a web-traffic driving strategy, and a digital in-store solution.

Michael shot a broadcast spec spot for the campaign on 16mm film and some SD / HD green screen work for the website and the digital in-store solution, respectively. You can view samples of the work in the ‘Cinematography’ section of this website.