R. Michael Stringer began his film career in 1968. Displaying an interest in lighting and camerawork, he decided that working as a film technician would afford him the opportunity of learning filmmaking while supporting a family. He worked with Orson Welles for more than 15 years, from whom he learned to have the patience to acquire the exact composition and lighting concept required to display the director's point on any given situation. His work with John Cassavetes on three of John's films served to improve an already developing technical expertise. Stringer worked as the Chief Lighting Technician on the first American feature film shot by legendary cinematographer Néstor Almendros, who later went on to receive the Academy Award for his cinematography on Days of Heaven (1978).