Steve Johnson (director)

Steve Johnson is an English Film director and Cinematographer.

Steve Johnson
Born29 December 1972
Liverpool, England
OccupationFilm director, Cinematographer
Years active2005–present
Notable work
Spouse(s)
Margaret Johnson
(
m. 1999)

Life and career

Steve Johnson was born in Liverpool in England. At school, Johnson was a keen middle distance runner and set a Great Britain record for his age group in the 1,500 metre run. He took part in a student exchange programme which allowed him to study in Michigan in the United States. During his time here, he became a state champion and participated in many running events including the Athletic Congress national cross country meet at Purdue University and the Invitational Cross Country meet at Bullock Creek.[1][2]

Johnson's love for film first began after seeing Star Wars at the Futurist Theatre in Liverpool. In November 2005, Johnson established Futurist Online Ltd (later becoming Futurist Digital Ltd in 2013) in Glasgow, Scotland.[3] Over the years, Johnson developed his skills on the Red Digital Cinema Camera Company camera system and later became a freelance trainer for their REDucation courses and has taught in many cities across the globe including Berlin, London, Los Angeles, Moscow and Singapore. He has also held classes at Pinewood Studios and YouTube Space, London.[4][5]

In 2014, Futurist Digital teamed up with Production Attic and Quick Off The Mark Productions to film and produce three short children's films for a competition run by Vue Cinemas. The competition asked school children from Aultmore Park Primary School to draw a short storyboard for a film with the top three concepts being made into real short films and shown at their local cinema.[6]

The following year, Johnson served as a post production supervisor for the short film When The Tide Comes In which went on to receive a nomination for Best Composer at the 2015 British Academy Scotland New Talent Awards.[7] Following this, Johnson was invited by Chris Quick to be the cinematographer for the short puppet film Autumn Never Dies which was used as a campaign video to fund the film. In the same year he also became the 2nd unit cinematographer for the short film Fanatic opposite Alan C. McLaughlin.

In 2015, Johnson launched an online crowd funding campaign to raise money for what would become his directorial debut and his first feature film project. The Students of Springfield Street[8] follows twenty-four hours in the lives of six friends, examining interpersonal connections and the intricate weave of words, actions and emotions that unknowingly link and change the direction of their day. The crowd funding campaign for the film was successful and raise $6000 in just 4 weeks.[9]

The film was released on 26 June 2015 and was warmly received by critics both at home and abroad. Film review website Indyred wrote:

"The Students Of Springfield Street easily earns it's rating based on only two elements, clever writing and some damn fine acting. Mr. Johnson is a master of pretext, giving this movie a reason to "hit rewind" and see what you may have missed."[10]

On 23 October 2015, the film had its UK at the Aberdeen Film Festival.[11][12] The film proved to be a hit with the festival's jurors who awarded the film the Best Feature award. Speaking about his win to Creative Clyde, Johnson said:

"I am proud that our first full-length production has achieved ‘Best Picture’ recognition. I wanted a film that would spark some discussion over tone, style and the stereotypes surrounding Scottish movies. I wanted The Students of Springfield Street to bring a fresh look at young people and their lives in a very stylised way."[13]

Johnson is due to release his latest short film Day 29 in early 2016.

Filmography
Year Film Credited as Notes
Director Cinematographer Producer Writer
2014 The Students of Springfield Street Yes Yes Yes
2015 Float Yes
February 29th Yes
Dog Dayz Yes
Fanatic Yes 2nd Unit Director of Photography
Harm Yes Yes
A Fire Within Yes Yes
2016 Day 29 Yes Yes Yes
Wee Amy Yes
Round Habit Yes Yes
Killing People Yes
2017 Custodian Yes
Mia: A Rapture 2.0 Production Yes
Wolves in Winter Yes
2018 She of the Land Yes
A Rapture Disaster Yes
2019 Convergence Yes Yes Yes Yes
2020 Autumn Never Dies Yes

Awards and nominations
Year Awards Category Film Result
2015 Aberdeen Film Festival Best Feature The Students of Springfield Street Won
2018 Sydney Indie Film Festival Best Cinematography Mia: A Rapture 2.0 Production Nominated
2019 British Independent Film Festival Best Feature Film Convergence Won
Best Cinematography Nominated
New Directors Hollywood Showcase Best Feature Film Nominated
LA Edge Film Awards Best Narrative Feature Film Won
Best Director Won
Best Cinematography Won
Best Editing Won
United States Film Festival Best International Feature Film Won
Best Cinematography Won
Los Angeles Theatrical Release Competition & Awards Best Director Feature (US & International) Won
Best Cinematography Feature (US & International) Won
Cardiff International Film Festival Best Feature Film Won
Skiptown International Film Festival Best Feature Film Won
Best Original Screenplay Nominated
European Independent Film Awards Best Cinematography Nominated
Antakya International Film Festival Best International Feature Film Nominated
Special Jury Award Won
2020 Top Indie Film Awards Best Cinematography Autumn Never Dies Nominated
gollark: That seems like more of an argument against political instability and dividing up long-lived political union things than against not having communism.
gollark: I have to admit I do like the "concrete and large things of glass" aesthetic, although generally it could use more colors.
gollark: If doing nothing creates more evil than some sort of complex evil-creation system, then a good evil maximizer would decide to switch to doing nothing, if it was made aware of this.
gollark: Probably less bad stuff, though, than an organization which is actively trying to do bad stuff and is somewhat good at it.
gollark: Competent evil is going to do lots of evil things. Not-very-competent not-evil is not going to do many things, but at least it won't do many evil things.

References
  1. "Johnson edges Christian by 2 ticks at Lancers meet". Michigan Midland Daily News. 17 September 1989.
  2. "Johnson runs like few others around". Michigan Midland Daily News. 10 December 1989.
  3. Futurist Digital Companies House profile
  4. Steve Johnson Biography on IMDB
  5. Futurist Digital Official Website
  6. "Hollywood dreams come true for Easterhouse kids". Daily Record. 19 June 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  7. British Academy Scotland New Talent Awards Full List of Winners & Nominations 2015
  8. British Film Council Listing
  9. "The Students of Springfield Street". Archived from the original on 8 February 2017.
  10. Indyred Article on Film
  11. Aberdeen Film Festival Screening Details
  12. "10 things to do across Scotland this weekend". Herald Scotland. 22 October 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  13. Creative Clyde Article on films win
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