Michael Thomas James aka “Contact”

Senior Editor | Dailies Supervisor | Visual Effects Artist

Based in Chicago, IL

Michael Thomas James (aka “Contact”) is the Senior Editor at Periscope Post & Audio’s Chicago branch. He is known for his work on the coming of age drama The Class, as well as the Guy Pierce lead action film Disturbing the Peace. Besides narrative features, he is known for the Emmy award-winning sports documentary Pooh: The Derrick Rose Story, as well as the ESPN SportsCenter Featured segment on White Sox organist Nancy Faust.

Michael is happy to be a part of the Illinois film community, editing locally shot independent features such as Range Runners, and Christmas With Felicity. He also is involved with short films, such as Cellar Door, netting Michael a festival award for Best Editing Short. In 2022 he was the editor for Between the Silence, La salida, and De la morera— Full Spectrum Features’ Community Storytellers program selects.

In addition to narrative shorts, Michael also loves to edit music videos such as The Smashing Pumpkins’ Beguiled and Ric Wilson's Yellowbrick.

Starting as a Dailies Technician on several network television shows and feature films (Sirens, Southside with You, Hala) Michael has now gone on to be a Dailies Supervisor, overseeing all dailies processing on our Chicago-based shows and features (The Bear, The Chi, Work in Progress).

Michael’s background in commercial editing has also led to his work on a number of motion graphics and visual effects on such films as The Monster Project, Becoming, and Holiday Heist.

Michael Thomas James’ full filmography can be found on IMDb.

 
 

Featured Work:

 
 
 

Filmography

 

Editor (Feature)

  • You Don’t Belong Here

  • The Class

  • Disturbing The Peace

  • Pooh: The Derrick Rose Story

  • Range Runners

  • Christmas With Felicity

Editor (Short Form)

  • Life on the Links (CBS Sports)

  • Beguiled (The Smashing Pumpkins Music Video)

  • Whole

  • Between the Silence

  • La salida

  • De la morera

  • Intersect

  • Sex Is A God Thing

  • the T

  • Change Agents: History in the Making

  • EmBlem

  • Exile

  • Cellar Door

  • After the Storm

Dailies Supervisor

  • The Bear (FX)

  • Saturdays (Disney)

  • 61st Street (AMC)

  • The Chi (Showtime)

  • Work in Progress (Showtime)

  • The Big Leap (FOX)

  • Beats (Netflix)

  • Proven Innocent (FOX)

  • The Red Line (CBS)

  • Hala

  • Hope Springs Eternal

  • Death Wish (Chicago Unit)

  • What They Had

  • We Grown Now

Visual Effects & Motion Graphics

  • Becoming

  • The Husband

  • Pooh: The Derrick Rose Story

  • The Blexicans

  • The Head Thieves

  • The Monster Project

  • The Orange Story

  • The Adventures of Jacketman

  • Boyband

  • Kickboxer: Vengeance