Michael Gray

Professor
Film
(360) 596-5516
mgray@spscc.edu
Office Hours: T, 3:05–4:05 PM | W, 12:00–3:00 PM | Th, 3:05–4:05 PM
21 291E

Classes Taught — Fall 2026

  • FILMP 114 — Film Production I | T/Th, 12:40–3:05 PM
  • FILMP 201 — Film Production II | T/Th, 12:40–3:05 PM
  • FILMP 202 — Film Production III | T/Th, 12:40–3:05 PM
  • FILM 116 — Introduction to Film Studies | Online
  • HUM 180 — Popular Culture in America | Online

Current Projects

Mannequin

Writer-Director

Mannequin is a contemporary Gothic horror film about Joan, a woman who gradually transforms into a mannequin-like being while exploring an abandoned building.

The film is currently in production in Western Washington.

Making Movies

Making Movies is a freely available filmmaking textbook focused on the practical process of developing, preparing, and producing a film.

Sabbatical

During the 2025–26 academic year, I was on sabbatical, focused on the production of Mannequin and the development of Making Movies. Both projects are continuing into the 2026–27 academic year.
 

Michael Gray is an educator and filmmaker who currently teaches film at South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia, Washington. He has created video for businesses, non-profits and artists, developed multiple web series, hosted and facilitated podcasts, directed numerous short films, and produced music videos. As an advisor, he has consulted with organizations about how they can effectively strategize their own goals and missions through creative and exciting uses of media and current technologies. He also works as an audio technician, providing many of these same projects with mixes, sound design, and even musical composition.

As an educator, Gray has taught a wide array of courses including: film production,16mm film production, screenwriting, film studies, film history, TV studies, mass communication, special topic classes on writers in Hollywood and Roger Corman, as well as American literature.

In addition to teaching at South Puget Sound Community College, he has also taught at North Hennepin Community College, Ohio University, Georgian Court University, and University of Essex.  

Gray holds an MFA in filmmaking from Ohio University as well as a Ph.D. in American literature from University of Essex (UK).

“The past is never dead. It's not even past.”
― William Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun

Click here for Resume.