Martyn Colbeck

Cinematographer, director and actor

Primetime Emmy winner

Works as: Cinematographer, director and actor
Titles: 15 on MovieCove · 24 credits in all
Links: IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 157 days to Oct 28Down 16% in 30 days

What are Martyn Colbeck's films like?

Across their 13 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Ideas.

Themes

share of theme weight

Survival

34%

Ideas

31%

Bonds

16%

Self

13%

Society

8%

Survival11 Nature9 Family bonds4 Purpose2 Community3

What they feel like to watch

their average across 5 films

ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category

Earnest

Tone · Sincerity

ironicearnest

Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 5

Light

Tone · Weight

lightdark

Light 4 · Serious 1 · Dark 0

Grounded

Tone · Style

naturalisticheightened

Grounded 4 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0

Gentle

Feel · Intensity

gentleintense

Gentle 4 · Charged 1 · Intense 0

Steady

Feel · Swings

steadyswings

Steady 4 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced

Feel · Humor

noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 0

Slow burn

Demand · Pace

slowrelentless

Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0

Casual

Demand · Attention

casualfull focus

Casual 4 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0

Easy watch

Demand · Emotional cost

easyheavy

Easy watch 4 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 0

Resolved

Demand · Resolution

resolvedambiguous

Resolved 5 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Contemplative

11

Warm

8

Hopeful

4

Joyful

3

Tense

4

Other

3

How their films linger

Hopeful11 Feel-good5 Rousing4 Thought-provoking4

How their films end

Happy4
Bittersweet4
Ambiguous1
Cyclical4

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 Martyn Colbeck's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 13 of their 15 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Disney+ (5).

Also on these channels

BBC Select2 titles, show their 2 titles on BBC Select
Curiosity University1 title, show their title on Curiosity University

Subscription and free streaming for Martyn Colbeck'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

24 credits, 15 with a MovieCove page; 3 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

Orangutan(2026)
Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
The Americas(2025)
Show Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows
Tiger(2024)
Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
The Mating Game(2021)
Show Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all shows
In the Footsteps of Elephant(2020)
Cinematographer · as Self
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
Elephant(2020)
Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Seven Worlds One Planet(2019)
Show Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all shows
Planet Earth II(2016)
Show 1 episode · Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all shows
Monkey Kingdom(2015)
Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Nature: Love in the Animal Kingdom (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Cinematographer
Wild Namibia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Director · Camera Operator · Writer
Sri Lanka: Elephant Island (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
as Narrator
Chimpanzee(2011)
Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films
The Himalayas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Cinematographer
Nature's Great Events(2009)
Show Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all shows
Earth(2007)
Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Echo and Other Elephants (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Show 1 episode · Director
The Life of Mammals (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
Show 4 episodes · Cinematographer
Wild Africa(2001)
Show Director · Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all shows
The Making Of The Trials Of Life - Once More Into The Termite Mound (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Camera Operator
The Trials of Life(1990)
Show 12 episodes · Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all shows
The Trials of Life (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Cinematographer
Amazon: Land of the Flooded Forest (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Cinematographer
Natural World(1983)
Show 2 episodes · Director · Cinematographer · as Narrator · as Participant
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all shows

Career shape

A full career of 18 titles from 1983 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Earth (2007)

$109M worldwide

Highest rated

Seven Worlds One Planet (2019)

Midcredits 99^th

By role

only this rolewith another role

Acting2 of 18Directing3 of 18Writing1 of 18Cinematography14 of 18 · 87^thOther crew2 of 18

By decade

1980s1 · 1 acting · 1 crew1990s4 · crew2000s2 · crew2010s7 · 1 acting · 6 crew2020s4 · 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

Won a Primetime Emmy in 2007, Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming.

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 Martyn Colbeck's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 85^th percentile, the median of all 7; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 89^th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

89^thpercentile

Typical film, the median of 5

Approval · how many liked their films

87^thpercentile

Typical film, the median of 5

Reach · how many have seen their films

85^thpercentile

Typical film, the median of 5

Midcredits score across 15 titles, by percentile

75^th and up14
50^th to 74^th1

Shape of the crowd

8 of their 15 titles are Universally Loved.

Universally Loved8
Cult Classic1
Crowd Pleaser4
Mixed2

Most divisive · cinematographer

Elephant (2020)

89^th percentile spread · 20% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · cinematographer

Seven Worlds One Planet (2019)

Midcredits 99^th · 97% liked

Reviewers score the cinematography 88/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles; fans 91, detractors 80. The element that speaks to their work as a cinematographer.

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.