Polly Morgan (cinematographer)


Polly Morgan is a British cinematographer who has worked on the studio feature films Lucy in the Sky and A Quiet Place Part II and multiple episodes of the TV series Legion. Her first cinematography credits were the films Junkie, The Truth About Emanuel, and The Pretty One. She has also worked on numerous films and TV series throughout the 2010s.
Prior to becoming cinematographer, Morgan worked in the film and television industries since the mid-2000s as a production assistant and in multiple roles of the camera department. She worked under numerous cinematographers and attended the American Film Institute's AFI Conservatory as a Fulbright Scholar, graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree in cinematography. She is accredited by the British Society of Cinematographers and the American Society of Cinematographers. To date, she is the only woman to be a member of both, and she is the youngest member of ASC.

Background

Morgan was born in London. She was raised in West Sussex. Her grandfather enjoyed the hobby of drawing, and she became involved in art through him. When she was 13 years old, a film crew from Channel 4 came to her family's farm to film a documentary about composer Edward Elgar. The experience introduced her to filmmaking. As a teenager, she studied art history and photography. At University of Leeds, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in broadcasting, which had a program that gave students hands-on experience with single-camera productions.

Career

Lead-up to cinematography

Before Polly Morgan became a cinematographer, she spent around ten years working in film and television, including six years as an assistant. She first started in film working on sets as a production assistant for a Canadian director in Toronto. She then moved to London with her PA experience. In 2002, she was hired as an in-house production assistant at RSA Films, based in London. As a PA on a music video, she met cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos, who hired her as a camera trainee. In the following six years, she worked on commercials for Zamarloukos as a loader and as an assistant camera. Cinematographers she worked with included Wally Pfister, Seamus McGarvey, Dan Mindel, Caleb Deschanel, and Alwin Kuchler. She had met Kuchler when she was an assistant camera. She then worked for him in Canada and the United Kingdom as an assistant, eventually working for him as a camera operator and a second-unit director of photography.
In 2006, Morgan attended lighting and camera workshops in the US state of Maine. Zambarloukos encouraged her to attend the American Film Institute's AFI Conservatory. In 2008, she received a Fulbright Fellowship that enabled her to move to Los Angeles and attend the conservatory. In 2012, she was given the Rising Stars of Cinematography award by the American Society of Cinematographers. Cinematographer and ASC member Michael Goi became Morgan's mentor for numerous years. While she was at the AFI Conservatory, she assisted Pfister on numerous commercials; she also interned for him as production assistant when he worked on the 2010 film Inception.

Work as cinematographer

Morgan is accredited by the ASC and the British Society of Cinematographers. To date, she is the only woman to be a member of both, and she is the youngest member of ASC. She describes her cinematography style, "My style is a blend between a naturalistic, free approach with a more classical, conventional approach."
Her first feature film credit as cinematographer was Junkie. Filming started in 2011, and it was ultimately released in 2012. After she graduated from the AFI Conservatory with a Master of Fine Arts degree in cinematography, she was cinematographer for two independent feature films: The Pretty One and The Truth About Emanuel. The latter film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2013, and in subsequent film festivals, Morgan was recognized for her cinematography, including the Best Cinematography award at the 2013 Brooklyn Film Festival. Afterward, several films she worked on premiered at Sundance, South by Southwest, and Tribeca Film Festival. She also worked on several TV productions in the United Kingdom and the United States. One of her TV contributions was a result of Goi hiring her to shoot additional photography for almost a dozen episodes of the TV series American Horror Story. Morgan has also worked on music videos and TV commercials.
In the late 2010s, Morgan was cinematographer for several works outside of the United Kingdom. She lensed several episodes of the TV series Legion and the films The Intervention, Slumber, and Spinning Man. The British Film Institute said for Slumber, Morgan "created nightmarish visuals", and for The Intervention, she provided an "intimate, intense look". The BFI said of her cinematography in the latter, "The relaxed aesthetic way to sharper angles and deeper shadows as the story evolves and motivations are revealed."
In 2018, Morgan became a member of the ASC, having been recommended by Goi, Dean Cundey, and Robert Primes. In 2019, she was nominated for an ASC award for Episode of a Series for Commercial Television for her cinematography of the Legion episode "Chapter 23". The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Morgan was "a rare female nominee". Her cinematography work on Legion led its showrunner Noah Hawley to hire her as cinematographer for his 2019 film Lucy in the Sky, which, as a Fox Searchlight Pictures production, was her first credit for a studio feature. Following that, she was hired as cinematographer for the 2020 film A Quiet Place Part II by Paramount Pictures.

Credits

Years WorkedTitle Notes
2002–200415 Storeys High 12 episodes as assistant camera operator
2012–2014American Horror Story 11 episodes
2015From Darkness 4 episodes
2015Call the Midwife 2 episodes, director of photography
2016 2 episodes
2018Strange Angel 2 episodes, director of photography
2018–2019Legion 9 episodes