I was given the opportunity to interview a friend of mine, Samuel of Fentonography.co.uk (soon being rebranded under Stone Grade Productions), who is a freelance music video producer, director and photographer, working with bands and companies on an everyday basis. I interviewed Samuel based on my passion for fashion and music photography and video, as well as my plan to continue after my degree and become a freelance photographer under my professional name. I have discussed this in great detail in my Professional Frameworks blog. Therefore, I thought it was a good idea to interview Samuel for this project, not just because of my friendship with him, but because of my burning desire to find out some things about his career that I never knew or thought to ask!
Whose work do you admire in the industry? I admire
the work of many, for countless reasons, but if I had to pick a couple off the
top of my head I’d say I’ve always admired Philip Bloom. It’s not just his
cinematography, it’s his persona, his charm, his wit, his charisma. I feel that
people like him inspire my work ethic. To be good at what you do seems to no
longer be enough in the video production industry, because there’s always
someone who’ll do it cheaper, so I always find that if I have the bottle to
come across in the right way, and make a client laugh, they’ll actually enjoy
the working relationship. That in itself can bring in repeat custom.
What problems do you encounter by being freelance, if any? Working
for myself has always had a lot of plus points. I choose what work I can take
on, I choose when I work, and moreover I have control over when I don’t work.
That said, it’s far from perfect, because if I find myself without any work on,
then being able to choose between a selection of nothing is a null point. Bands
can be pissy too, they know what they want, and they won’t take no for an
answer sometimes, which is great until there’s an idea you know is going to
translate as shoddy work, but you have to do what the paying client wants.
What was your career path? Did you always aspire to be where you are today? I admit
I am one of those who claims to have ‘always known what they wanted to do’.
Persuading my parents at the ripe old age of 8 years to buy me a camcorder for
Christmas was not an easy task, but upon succeeding it allowed me to shelf the
potential social life to instead develop my already beaming passion for
filmmaking. That said, it was taking up photography as a hobby that really
brought me to where I am today. I know it sounds obvious, but after doing
photography for a while I realised that video should be considered to be moving
photographs. Hell, they’re not called ‘movies’ for nothing! But I always
consider a shot the way I’d consider a photograph, and that’s a piece of art.
What has been the highlight of your career so far? The
highlight of my career so far would most certainly be working with Me Vs Hero,
a British band from the north of England. They brought together 8 cameramen
(and women) from around the area and appointed me as director of the shoot,
even though I was the youngest. They liked my work I guess. Either that or they
thought I’d be the easiest to keep quiet whilst bollocking me if all went tits
up.
What are your goals for the future? My
goals, hmm, I’d say to do more work and develop my style, but I guess that’s
obvious. I think I’d go further than that and say I’d like to gain the respect
of those I have respect for, the people out there doing what I do, I’d maybe
like them to tell me I’m alright. That’d be pretty good.
What steps would you recommend to a graduate who wants to make a name for themselves in the freelance art industry? First
and foremost, be someone who isn’t just another someone. I’m not saying avoid
convention and never steal an idea you feel is great. I mean after all, Picasso
did say that a great artist steals. I’m just saying that if you look around you
at what the other 19 people who graduated with you are doing, 'one-up' them.
Then you know that even though you’re not yet the best, you’re at least better
than all those who have followed your path so far.
What does photography and cinematography mean to you? What
does they mean to me? Is ‘everything’ a cheesy answer? I guess I hope it is,
because I like cheese. The idea that through a visual medium we can make people
laugh, we can make people cry, we can make people move to the edges of their
seats with hearts pounding like racehorses, yeah, that idea is truly amazing.
It’s fantastic to think that in all the world, with all the languages, pictures
(whether moving or static) can communicate a message that’s universal. Yeah,
they mean everything to me.
What is your favourite film and why? Fight
Club, because, well, Fight Club. Let’s move beyond the narrative, I just love
the cinematography. Every shot feels like a piece of art, and knowing the
career of David Fincher, it simply doesn’t surprise me. His craft his one to
have inspired me with boundless inspiration.
How do you plan to expand your company in the future and develop as an artist? Marketing. I want to market not only my company, but myself. I want to be able
to be earning enough money that I can take on personal projects in my own time
that I don’t have to charge for. That’d allow me complete creative control,
which would really help me develop my style as an auteur. Who knows, maybe
that’ll happen, but Hell I’d settle for making a living from this getup.
What is your favourite piece of personal work and why? I’d
have said my favourite piece of work would have been the Me Vs Hero video I
mentioned previously, but it never did get released. The hype there was all
about the shoot, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I’d say my favourite piece
is therefore a music video I produced for a band named Middle Finger Salute. We
had about 20 wrestlers down doing their stuff in front of the camera with the
band performing in the middle of them. I was that excited over the footage that
I didn’t sleep for an entire day until an edit was down on the timeline. If
every shoot was like that, I’d say I made it into the big time!
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