Carson McKinnon
Carson McKinnon is an American cinematographer and director from Salt Lake City, Utah. He has served as Director of Photography on more than ten feature films and is best known for writing, directing, and shooting the psychological thriller Mother and Me (2024). McKinnon won the 2022 Utah Film Award for Best Cinematographer for Rite of the Shaman and was previously recognized as Best Filmmaker Under 18 for his short film 8 Hours (2019). His work is distinguished by its striking visual style and emotionally driven storytelling.
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Biography from TMDB.
- Cinematographer and editor
- 7 on MovieCove · 10 credits in all
What are Carson McKinnon's films like?
Across a limited sample of 4 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 4
A split, not a type: Light 2 · Serious 1 · Dark 1
Grounded 4 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0
Gentle 2 · Charged 2 · Intense 0
Steady 4 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 0
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 1
Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0
Casual 3 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 1 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 1
Resolved 3 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
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 Carson McKinnon's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 6 of their 7 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (6).
- Royal Façade (2024) · cinematographer · free
- Forgiveness Girl (2025) · cinematographer, editor · free
- Rite of the Shaman (2022) · cinematographer · free
- Algea: God of Pain (2023) · actor, cinematographer · free
- Permafrost (2024) · first assistant camera · free
- Lady in the Locket (2025) · cinematographer · free
Subscription and free streaming for Carson McKinnon'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
10 credits, 7 with a MovieCove page.
Mother and Me (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)
Gabriella (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)
Forgiveness Girl(2025)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
Lady in the Locket(2025)
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films
Algea: God of Pain(2023)
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films
Royal Façade(2024)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Permafrost(2024)
Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films
Rite of the Shaman(2022)
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films
Day Zero: The Series(2011)
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all shows
Last Seven Days (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 10 titles, 9 of them dated from 2011 to 2026.
Film career
- 2024Screen debut· Algea: God of Pain
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.
How do Carson McKinnon's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 42nd percentile, the median of all 6; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 26th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up1
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
3 of their 7 titles are Divisive.
- Divisive3
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser1
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the cinematography 61/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles; fans 73, detractors 50. 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.
Who does Carson McKinnon work with?
People who share at least 2 of Carson McKinnon's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Rob Diamond shares the most, 2.
Directors
- Rob DiamondShared titles: Forgiveness Girl (2025), Lady in the Locket (2025)See all 2 shared titles with Rob Diamond
Actors
- John FrickeShared titles: Forgiveness Girl (2025), Lady in the Locket (2025)See all 2 shared titles with John Fricke
- Scarlett DiamondShared titles: Forgiveness Girl (2025), Lady in the Locket (2025)See all 2 shared titles with Scarlett Diamond
Composers
- Russ WhitelockShared titles: Forgiveness Girl (2025), Lady in the Locket (2025)See all 2 shared titles with Russ Whitelock
Producers
- Lisa PaulShared titles: Forgiveness Girl (2025), Lady in the Locket (2025)See all 2 shared titles with Lisa Paul
- Trish WalkerShared titles: Royal Façade (2024), Rite of the Shaman (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Trish Walker
Mixed roles
- Shane MorrisunShared titles: Lady in the Locket (2025), Rite of the Shaman (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Shane Morrisun
