BIOGRAPHY

Mike McKinlay was born in North Vancouver, and raised in the interior of the Okanagan. He was connected first to the film world through nature photography, and spent a good part of his spare time in the woods behind the camera shooting the natural world. With a background in skateboard video production, he soon made the switch from photography to filmmaking - spending much of his time documenting wildlife through moving pictures. Eager for more story based projects, McKinlay and new found friend and Co-Producer Jordy Starling, set out and created their newly formed company, 'Harvest Productions.' With a move to Vancouver in 2001, Mike worked on several film projects and completed a number of festival savvy short films. McKinlay quickly developed a reputation for his sense of visual style and cinematography in his films.

Apart from his own workings -for the past 5 years Mike has worked for a number of Film employers doing camera work for THINK Media, Digital Harvest Productions, VCMC Car association, the Vancouver Playhouse, the Shaftebury Beer Company, Branded Experiences Inc, Mainframe Entertainment, Wings Over Canada (ATV Productions), and The National Film Board of Canada.

Some of McKinlays most recent successes include working with Rainmaker Entertainment as a Previsual Cinematographer for the most recent Ghostbusters videogame (Look for it on PS3, PC, and XBOX360). Producing, Directing, and shooting ‘CROWS’ – a traditional atmospheric wildlife film about corvids. Camera work for the feature release of 'Carts of Darkness' (A National Film Board of Canada Production), as well as shooting and developing a visual wildlife film library of some of Vancouver’s most stunning ecological gems. 
As of 2006, Mike is officially in business for himself working as a fulltime cameraman, working under the name 'Mike Mckinlay Productions.'

Apart from being in video production, Mike enjoys skateboarding. With a 24 year background in the sport, skateboarding has been a huge part of his life in so many facets. In his own words – “Skateboarding has given me the opportunity to see life from a much different perspective then most. It has taught me perseverance and given me an identity. It’s allowed me the opportunity to travel and see the world, and has even helped me as a filmmaker – connecting me into the film world through out of the ordinary yet amazing circumstances. I owe my life to skateboarding.”