Michael has earned degrees from California State University Northridge, San Francisco Art Institute, and California Institute of the Arts, in an attempt to leave behind a checkered past that included stints as an Army officer, a money manager, and a studio artist and photographer.
Michael began working in film on China Syndrome in 1977. He “cut his eye teeth” on films such as Star Trek - The Motion Picture and Blade Runner before becoming a Visual Effects Supervisor on War Games, in 1982. He has since worked on over 50 films, including Buckaroo Banzai, Batman Returns (Academy Award Nomination), Braveheart, Mars Attacks!, X-Men, X-Men 2, Constantine, The Golden Compass (Academy Award), Tropic Thunder, Avatar, Tron: Legacy, Sucker Punch, and Tree of Life.
Michael is Vice-Chairman of the Board and founding member of the Visual Effects Society, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Visual Effects Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He is Chairman of Ilibrium LLC, a cloud- based production software company. Michael is currently a Visiting Professor at the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California, and continues working as a supervisor and consultant on visual effects and 3D projects. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Melissa Bachrach, and their dog, Rocco, while their son continues his studies at USC and comes home when the desire for his mom’s cooking becomes irresistible.