MAXIMILIAN SCHMIGE | DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Maximilian Schmige is a cinematographer based out of Los Angeles and originally from Berlin Germany with German and Finnish roots. He grew up in the film industry and is the son of the well-known German screenplay writer Hartmann Schmige. He studied film history and film theory at UC Santa Barbara, received his MFA in cinematography from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles, and was mentored by ASC cinematographer Karl-Walter Lindenlaub. 

His credits include the Saturn Award nominated sci-fi series Pandora on The CW, the award-winning documentary feature film Long Promised Road on Brian Wilson from The Beach Boys, and the feature film Where Did the Adults Go?, a family drama directed by Academy Award nominated Courtney Marsh and starring Cary Cox, Amadeus Serafini, and Carson MacCormac. He shot the highly successful vertical micro-drama series Every Sunday Run to You with over 50 million views. Commercial work includes fitness brands, food, lifestyle, healthcare, industrial, casino and more.

His non-fiction work spans from shows with musicians such as Nelly, gospel artist Tamela Mann, singer Ricky Martin, to sports documentary films for NBC Sports, competition shows such DragRace Germany, 2nd unit DP work on Neil deGrasse Tyson’s science and history TV show Cosmos: Possible Worlds, and additional photography for TV shows on Toby Keith and Dolly Parton.

Music video work includes European artists such as Booba, Superbus and Jenn Ayache, which have collected over 150 million views on YouTube. He received a Berlin Music Video Award Nomination for Best Cinematography for Asaf Avidan’s video Over Me Head video. 

He has extensive travel experience across the US and international such as in Australia, Bulgaria, Colombia, Costa Rica, Germany, Greece, India, Jordan, Mexico, Malaysia, Norway, and Serbia. His work has been aired by NBC, CBS, The CW, National Geographics, Paramount Plus, BET, TV One, Fox, NBC Sports, and many more.