Michael Chapman

Michael Chapman was an American cinematographer and film director.
==Background==
Chapman was born in New York City in 1935, but raised in Wellesley, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, without much of an interest in film. As a youth, he was more interested in sports than photography or painting. After high school, he attended Columbia University, where he majored in English. Upon his graduation, he worked temporarily as a brakeman for the Erie Lackawanna Railroad in the Midwest and then served a brief stint in the United States Army. Chapman's father-in-law, Joe Brun, got him his first job in the industry: working as an assistant camera and focus puller on commercials, as there weren't enough feature films being shot in New York at the time. Chapman began his film career as a camera operator, distinguishing himself on Steven Spielberg's Jaws before making the leap to cinematographer. He fondly remembered his time as an operator, and called it one of the best jobs in the movie business because "you get to see the film before anyone else does!"
For Disney, he worked as a cinematographer on Shoot to Kill, Six Days, Seven Nights, and Bridge to Terabithia. He also played a mechanic in Six Days, Seven Nights.
He retired after Bridge to Terabithia.
Category:1930s births
Category:2020s deaths
Category:Deceased
Category:People from New York
Category:American people
Category:Actors
Category:Songwriters
Category:Cinematographers
Category:Directors
Category:Screenwriters
Category:Technical directors
Category:Touchstone Pictures
Category:Bridge to Terabithia
Category:Six Days Seven Nights
Category:ABC
Category:Males