We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sam Mosco. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sam below.
Sam, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
My life experience has taught me resilience over time. I have had quite a few negative experiences, that although unpleasant during the time, have shown me that I do actually have the ability to get through them. Moving forward past that, you have a frame of reference to compare to. “At least it isn’t as bad as (this) time”, you think. And so all of these negative experiences add up, and sort of adorn your chest with Purple Hearts. You use it as a toolbox to get through the next thing because you already have something similar that you have experienced. When you are going through a challenging time in your life, your progress may seem slow but when you get a chance to reflect and look back, it is surprising how far you have come. I’m always surprised that I am still standing, and that gives me the courage to keep going.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I work in the film industry in Los Angeles as a Cinematographer. On set, my role is to author the imagery of a film, commercial, or music video in collaboration with a Director. Visuals have both a conscious and unconscious effect on the viewer, and I like to convey meaning and emotion using light, composition, movement, camera settings, and more. For me, pre-production is an exciting part of the process because you get to dream up the entire film in your head and begin to put that plan into action to bring it to life. The production of a film is all about execution, and I will see it through to post-production and color grading to ensure that it doesn’t stray from its intention.
Apart from that, I also own a film equipment rental company called Flying Dutchman Cinema Rentals that has roots in 2016 when I started renting out a cinema camera that I purchased. From there, it has grown and expanded to house other cameras, lighting and grip equipment. We rent our equipment to productions all over the Los Angeles area from our location in Burbank.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The three qualities that I consider to be most important to my journey are Humility, Leadership, and Perseverance.
Being humble is valuable. Not only will people like you and relate to you more, but you will also be able to empathize better with everyone as well. It is the opposite of having a big ego. Humility isn’t usually something that people seek but rather stumble upon. Becoming humble happens when you have an expectation for yourself that gets knocked down a peg or two over time. It reminds you that you are human. In contrast with low self-esteem, humility gives you the okay to continue to feel good about yourself, knowing that you are growing and have potential. It allows you to see yourself as you are, and that has given me wisdom that has helped in my life and career.
Humility also leads to good Leadership, which is also very important. Working as a department head on set, you need to lead other people in your department effectively. If you don’t have humility, you can fail as a good leader because you don’t know what other people go through. You need to treat people with respect and be practical with what you ask of them. You need to look at it as everyone working as a team, rather than working for you. A lot of organizations get this wrong and deal with bad management that cripples what they are trying to do and causes suffering of those involved. I’ve found that good leaders who stick up for their team and ask realistic things of them have been a lot more effective and it leads to less stress for everyone as well. This kind of thing is crucial to working on set, because people will stop working for you if you are a bad leader.
Lastly, Perseverance has been the ultimate key to my journey. I simply wouldn’t be here today without it. Maybe it stems from stubbornness or determination, but the longer you keep going, the better it gets. There are many ups and downs but over time there is always a positive trend. It will get better. It always does. You just need to stick it out long enough for you to get your chance. Others get weeded out and give up, while others retire, so if you happen to still be standing at the end of it, then it will be your time.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am always looking to collaborate with new Directors, Producers, and Crew. I enjoy working with those who are good-natured, are open to others’ ideas, and have a strong passion for their craft. They are welcome to reach out to me at sam@flyingdutchmancinema.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sam-mosco.com/
- Instagram: @moscotographer
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simosco
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-mosco-1733868a/
- Other: Flying Dutchman Cinema https://www.flyingdutchmancinema.com/
