# David A. Armstrong

David A. Armstrong is an American cinematographer, film producer and director, who was involved in a number of short films and low budget horror films. Although best known for his work on the first six installments of the Saw franchise, Armstrong has also directed two films, the crime thrillers Pawn and The Assassin's Code.

## Life and career

Having a Master of Fine Arts in cinematography from the American Film Institute, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from California Institute of the Arts, Armstrong began his career as the cinematographer of an unreleased 1986 film, Norman and God. Shortly after, he shot a series of independent B-movies and short films. In 2004, Armstrong was hired by James Wan and Leigh Whannell to film the first installment of the Saw franchise. He also served as cinematographer for the next five films, namely Saw II, Saw III, Saw IV, Saw V, and Saw VI. Armstrong went on to shoot other low budget independent horror films including Sam's Lake, Skinwalkers, and The Gravedancers (all 2006). In 2009, Armstrong served as director of photography for the crime thrillers The Lodger and 2:13, as well the action-comedy Next Day Air. Armstrong's latest efforts as cinematographer are Dead Awake (2010), Hellraiser: Revelations, and On the Inside (both 2011).
Armstrong made his directorial debut with the action film Pawn (2013), starring Michael Chiklis, Ray Liotta, Common, Stephen Lang and Forest Whitaker. The independent film was shot in only 15 days and was released straight-to-DVD.
Armstrong directed his second feature, the crime thriller The Assassin's Code (2018), starring Justin Chatwin, Peter Stormare, and Mark Thompson. Having its world premiere at the 42nd Cleveland International Film Festival, the film was released through video on demand platforms by Gravitas Ventures.

## Filmography
### As cinematographer

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1986 | Norman and God | Unknown | Unreleased |
| 1987 | Significant Other | Unknown | Unreleased |
| 1995 | Friday Night Blues | Unknown | Unreleased |
| 1997 | Two in the Morning | Michelle Remsen | Short film |
| 1997 | My Dinner with Andre the Giant | Tim Ryan | Short film |
| 1997 | Burningman: Inside the Kaleidoscope | Unknown | Unreleased |
| 1998 | The Way to Santiago | Jack Swanstrom | Short film |
| 1998 | John | Marni Banack | Short film |
| 2000 | New Suits | Regina Don | Short film |
| 2002 | P.S. Your Cat Is Dead! | Steve Guttenberg | |
| 2002 | Ritual | Avi Nesher | Crypt Keeper sequences |
| 2002 | Footprints | E. Marshall | Unreleased |
| 2002 | Judge is God | James Allen | Short film |
| 2002 | sIDney | Malik Vitthal | Short film |
| 2002 | Lyric Cafe | Unknown | Unknown episodes |
| 2003 | Fear of Feathers | Chad McCord | Short film |
| 2003 | Seventh Veil | Amin Q. Chaudhri | |
| 2004 | Saw | James Wan | |
| 2004 | Ride with Funkmaster Flex | Unknown | 2 episodes |
| 2005 | Cotillion '65 | Judy Chaikin | Short film |
| 2005 | Saw II | Darren Lynn Bousman | |
| 2006 | Jam | Mark Woollen | Documentary |
| 2006 | Saw III | Darren Lynn Bousman | |
| 2006 | Sam's Lake | Andrew C. Erin | |
| 2006 | Skinwalkers | James Isaac | |
| 2006 | The Gravedancers | Mike Mendez | |
| 2007 | Sibling Rivalry | Joanne Rubino Liza Seneca | Short film |
| 2007 | Saw IV | Darren Lynn Bousman | |
| 2008 | Saw V | David Hackl | |
| 2008- 2009 | Heroes: The Recruit | Rob Hardy | 5 episodes |
| 2009 | Kill Theory | Chris Moore | |
| 2009 | The Lodger | David Ondaatje | |
| 2009 | 2:13 | Charles Adelman | |
| 2009 | Next Day Air | Benny Boom | |
| 2009 | Saw VI | Kevin Greutert | |
| 2009 | Two Spirits | Lydia Nibley | Documentary |
| 2010 | Dead Awake | Omar Naim | |
| 2011 | Hellraiser: Revelations | Víctor Garcia | |
| 2011 | On the Inside | D.W. Brown | |
| 2011 | Independent Lens | Lydia Nibley | 1 episode |
| 2014 | It's Worth More Than You Think | Mohammed Mamdouh | Short film |

### As producer

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 2017 | New Suits | Short film; associate producer |
| 2002 | sIDney | Short film; associate producer |
| 2009 | 2:13 | |
| 2017 | Midnight Clear | Short film; executive producer |
| 2018 | The Assassin's Code | |

### As director

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 2013 | Pawn | Directorial debut |
| 2018 | The Assassin's Code | |