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Doug Pray

Doug Pray

Director, producer, editor, writer and cinematographer · Denver, Colorado, USA

Primetime Emmy nominee · 3 other major award bodies

Doug Pray is an American documentary film director, cinematographer, and editor who often explores unique subcultures in his films. His work includes Surfwise (2008) a portrait of the nomadic, 11-member Doc Paskowitz family (often referred to as the "first family of surfing"); Big Rig (2008), a documentary about truck drivers; Infamy (2005), a documentary about graffiti culture; Red Diaper Baby (2004) a solo-performance film starring Josh Kornbluth; Scratch (2001), a documentary about turntablism and DJ culture; and his first feature, Hype! (1996), a documentary about the explosion and exploitation of the Seattle grunge scene of the early '90's. His most recent film Art & Copy, premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, is about advertising and creativity and was distributed by PBS. In addition to his documentaries, Doug Pray has directed a number of non-fiction style commercials and commissioned short films. In 2006, he won an Emmy award in for an advocacy campaign about HIV-AIDS awareness. Doug Pray was born in Denver, Colorado, he grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, has a BA in sociology from Colorado College, and an MFA from UCLA's School of Film and Television. He resides in Los Angeles and is a member of the Directors Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Read more

Biography from TMDB.

From
Denver, Colorado, USA
Works as
Director, producer, editor, writer and cinematographer
Titles
11 on MovieCove · 25 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 156 days to Oct 27Up 25% in 30 days

What are Doug Pray's films like?

Across their 10 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Ideas and Society.

Themes

share of theme weight
Ideas
30%
Society
30%
Self
18%
Bonds
15%
Power
7%
Art5 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity4 titles, browse their movies with this themeFame4 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 6 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 4 · Serious 2 · Dark 0

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 3 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 2 · Charged 4 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 4 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

A split, not a type: Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 3 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 5 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Contemplative
9
Hopeful
7
Warm
3
Triumphant
3
Melancholic
2
Other
3

How their films linger

Thought-provoking7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy4
  • Bittersweet4
  • Cyclical1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Doug Pray's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 7 of their 11 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Doug Pray's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

25 credits, 11 with a MovieCove page.

  • Louder Than Guns (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    Director · Editor · Producer

  • The Hemingway (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Audio Post Coordinator · Editor

  • The Power of Film(2024)

    Show 6 episodes · Executive Producer · Supervising Editor · Writer

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all shows

  • Arnold(2023)

    Show 3 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all shows

  • Love, Lizzo(2022)

    Director · Editor · Producer

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • The Job of Songs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Consulting Producer

  • The Vandal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Additional Editing

  • From Cradle to Stage (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Show 6 episodes · Executive Producer

  • Home(2020)

    Show 9 episodes · Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all shows

  • Life Is a Burger (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)

    Executive Producer

  • Hype! 20 Years After (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Director · Editor

  • The Defiant Ones(2017)

    Show 4 episodes · Editor · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows

  • TransFatty Lives (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Writer

  • Levitated Mass(2013)

    Director · Cinematographer · Editor

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Art & Copy(2009)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • Surfwise(2007)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • Big Rig (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Director · Writer

  • Infamy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Director

  • Red Diaper Baby (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Director

  • Scratch: All the Way Live (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Director

  • Sundance 20 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Director

  • Scratch(2001)

    Director · Editor

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • American Pimp (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Editor

  • The Thin Pink Line(1998)

    as Band at Party

    Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films

  • Hype!(1996)

    Director · Editor

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

Career shape

A full career of 25 titles from 1996 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Surfwise (2007)

$318K worldwide

Highest rated

The Defiant Ones (2017)

Midcredits 96th

Most popular right now

Arnold (2023)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 25: 1 only acting, 0 with another roleDirecting14 of 25: 7 only directing, 7 with another role · typical Midcredits score78thWriting4 of 25: 1 only writing, 3 with another roleProducing9 of 25: 4 only producing, 5 with another role · typical Midcredits score73rdEditing8 of 25: 1 only editing, 7 with another roleOther crew2 of 25: 1 only other crew, 1 with another role

25 titles, 10 with more than one role — directing and producing overlap on 3 of them.

By decade

1990s2 · 1 acting · 1 crew2000s9 · crew2010s4 · crew2020s10 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

1 major award from 8 major nominations, 1996–2018.

WinNomination
  1. 2018
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program
    • +1 other major body · 1 win
      • Grammy Award, won · Best Music Film
  2. 2009
    • Sundance award, nominated · Documentary
  3. 2002
    • Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best Documentary
  4. 2001
    • Sundance award, nominated · Documentary
  5. 1996
    • Sundance award, nominated · Documentary

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Doug Pray's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 78th percentile, the median of all 7; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 83rd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

83rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Approval · how many liked their films

80thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Reach · how many have seen their films

55thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Midcredits score across 11 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up6
  • 50th to 74th4
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

5 of their 11 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Divisive2
  • Crowd Pleaser5
  • Mixed1

Most divisive · actor

The Thin Pink Line (1998)

93rd percentile spread · 59% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · writer, producer, editor

The Defiant Ones (2017)

Midcredits 96th · 91% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 74/100 and the pacing 68/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Doug Pray work with?

People who share at least 2 of Doug Pray's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Mark Newton shares the most, 3.

Composers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles