American cinematographer
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 ,[ 1] [ 2] 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.[ 3] 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 .[ 4] 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 .[ 5] The independent film was shot in only 15 days and was released straight-to-DVD .[ 6] [ 7]
Armstrong directed his second feature, the crime thriller The Assassin's Code (2018), starring Justin Chatwin , Peter Stormare , and Mark Thompson .[ 8] Having its world premiere at the 42nd Cleveland International Film Festival ,[ 9] the film was released through video on demand platforms by Gravitas Ventures .[ 10]
Filmography
As cinematographer
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
References
^ "The Assassin's Code" . Clevelandfilm.org . Retrieved October 24, 2021 .
^ "Cinematography Department" . Nyfa.edu . Retrieved October 24, 2021 .
^ London Williams, Mark (July 1, 2004). "DP David Armstrong Shoots Saw" . Btlnews.com . Retrieved October 24, 2021 .
^ King, Danny (January 10, 2012). " 'Saw' Cinematographer David A. Armstrong to Direct Adaptation of Comic Book Series 'Crawl to Me' " . The Film Stage . Retrieved October 24, 2021 .
^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (November 28, 2011). " 'Shield' Cohorts Michael Chiklis And Forest Whitaker Team For Indie Feature 'Pawn' " . Deadline . Retrieved October 24, 2021 .
^ Modell, Josh (September 16, 2013). "Not even Michael Chiklis' accent and Forest Whitaker's growl can save Pawn" . The A.V. Club . Retrieved October 24, 2021 .
^ Sharkey, Betsy (April 18, 2013). "Movie review: 'Pawn's' cops and robbers game is a mild thrill" . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved October 24, 2021 .
^ Ford, Rebecca (October 20, 2016). " 'Shameless,' 'Fargo' Actors to Star in Indie 'Legacy' (Exclusive)" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved October 24, 2021 .
^ "Cleveland International Film Festival: Inside "Assassin's Code," a Cleveland-centric crime thriller" . Cleveland.com . April 12, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2021 .
^ Murray, Noel (May 9, 2018). "Review: Crime drama 'The Assassin's Code' is strictly by the book" . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved October 24, 2021 .
External links