Montana-based director Michael Paul Jones is an outdoor adventure and automotive specialist. His work is recognized for its high energy and authentic storytelling, often set in wild places or with extreme sports. Jones is known as a director with a positive, can-do attitude no matter what unusual conditions the shoot requires, which is why he books so much repeat business.

Jones directs commercials for clients including Ford, Toyota, Subaru, Chevy, Nike, New Balance, Patagonia, NorthFace, Yeti, JC Penney and NBC. Having come up in the camera department, he also regularly shoots second unit on high action Hollywood feature films such as Top Gun Maverick (2022), Gemini Man (2019), and Bird Box (2018), and was the Second Unit Director for Murder at Yellowstone City (2022) starring Richard Dreyfuss, Gabriel Byrne, Thomas Jane and Anna Camp. For the music industry, Jones has filmed with Beck for his Grammy Album of the Year, “Morning Phase,” and with Tony Bennett on his “Duets” album.

Jones began his career in broadcast news, working for ABC, where he won two Emmy’s and an APTRA award for news journalism. He moved to Hollywood shortly thereafter, assisting Tony Scott on the features Man on Fire, Domino, and Deja Vu. He went on to perfect his chosen craft in the camera department, working alongside Paul Cameron and Dion Beebe. Pre-pandemic, he moved to Montana with his wife and young children, to be a stone’s throw away from the mountains, lakes and rivers that make such beautiful settings in his work.