Michael Spiller began his career as a director and cinematographer after meeting fledgling indie director Hal Hartley in college. Spiller then served as the director of photography on Hartley's most critically and commercially successful movies, including "The Unbelievable Truth" (1989), "Trust" (1990) and "Amateur" (1994). Spiller's New York background made him a natural choice to work as a cinematographer on HBO's paean to Manhattan "Sex and the City" 1998-2004); it was on this series that he began his directing career. Spiller carved out a career directing some of his era's most popular sitcoms, including "Scrubs" (NBC 2001-08, ABC 2009-10), "The Mindy Project" (Fox/Hulu 2012-17), and "Modern Family" (ABC 2010- ), for which he won both a Primetime Emmy and a Director's Guild award for Outstanding Directing.