Meet Sara Garth

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sara Garth. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sara below.

Sara, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

As a kid I had dreams of making an impact on the world. I love nature and animals so my plan was to become a marine biologist. I wanted to study whales, I also lived in Minnesota and had never seen the ocean. What I HAD spent my entire life seeing were movies. I spent weekends watching movies with my mom and then coming home and talking to her about them. I saved my allowance to go to the theater with my friends. Even with my Dad, who was very picky about movies, I watched films like Dances with Wolves and Tim Burton’s Batman. My earliest memories are watching The Wizard of Oz on a loop and that obsessive love of movies never stopped.

Before my freshman year of high school I did finally get to see the ocean. We went to visit my grandparents who had just moved to Hawaii. I’ll never forget cresting a hill and seeing the Pacific Ocean. I spent every moment of that trip in the water swimming with sea turtles and tropical fish. It was glorious. I cried when we had to fly home to Minnesota. Not long after the trip I went to see Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I’d never seen anything like it and I couldn’t get it off of my mind. That night I couldn’t sleep, I tossed and turned thinking about my future. Should I work towards the goal of studying whales or shift my focus into something I was actively passionate about and had been my entire life? The next morning I had decided, I wanted to be a filmmaker and I would put all my will into achieving that goal.

I tried out acting and directing, I studied cinema in school and when I got behind a camera in college I knew that was were I was supposed to be. My only dilemma was wondering if making movies really was a way to change to world or if it was just a capitalist enterprise that distracts people from what really matters in life. It’s a tricky question because the film industry is absolutely a capitalist enterprise. Films have been used a propaganda since their inception. That, in fact, proves that films can and do change the world. Movies and TV are the most modern form of human storytelling. Stories are how humans share our history and ideas, our morals and shortcomings. It’s fundamental to the human condition and our stories hold great power. The opportunity to lend my voice to the storytelling process is impactful and, I think, important. It’s what I’m called to do.

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’m a cinematographer based in LA and Vancouver. I started as a camera assistant (AC) fresh out of college and after working on the TV show Swedish Dicks with Peter Stormare and Keanu Reeves as the B-camera 1st AC I was able to join the union, IATSE local 600. From there I moved to operating and after shooting many short films as the cinematographer finally began shooting feature films. I have loved every step of my journey and am grateful every day that I am able to work in a job that I love and have boundless passion for.

I currently have a documentary on Netflix called Black Barbie: A Documentary which is about Black women working towards equal representation. It was an honor to work on such an impactful film with the tenacious and talented director Lagueria Davis. I recently finished principle photography on the directorial debut of Bryan Hill called Archangel. It’s a horror film starring Conor Leslie and it’s going to scare the pants off of audiences when it’s finished. My next film will be a short by award winning director Alexa Best. I’m always open to new collaborations so feel free to reach out!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Communication is the most important skill in the film industry. The cinematographers job is to translate the directors vision to the technicians that we work with. You have to be able to extrapolate creative details from discussions with the director and then accurately explain those to your crew. You also need to do this in stressful circumstances while under a time crunch. On top of that you will do this with new people on every job. It’s a skill you can always continue to improve upon. Just like so many skills in the film industry the best way to hone this skill is my doing it, so go make a movie!

Persistence is critical to our work. The only way to truly fail in this industry is to quit. This is not as easy as a stubbornness to continue it’s also about creating a safety net for yourself so that you’re financially able to continue. Ask nearly any actor in Hollywood and they work another job. There is absolutely no shame in that no matter who says otherwise. The key point is that filmmaking stays top of mind and you’re always at least planning for your next gig. Hang in there.

The ability to listen and learn is pivotal. People are naturally inclined to think they have the correct answer but you can always learn something new. Listen to everyones ideas and don’t be ashamed to implement it just because it wasn’t yours. Don’t get complacent, keep pushing boundaries and learning- always.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

I’m always looking for new people to collaborate with. I am the kind of cinematographer who will work with a director extensively in pre-production to make sure each shot is properly conveying tone, story arc and character. I love to work through camera moves with directors to make sure we are using all our spaces, tools and people to their maximum potential. Then on set I’m ready to adjust and adapt as those happy accidents arrive that make filmmaking such an exciting and organic way to tell stories. I love dramas, period pieces, fantasy and dark comedy. I’d love to hear from fellow creatives and key crew members I could bring on board as well. You can reach out on Instagram, Facebook or my website SaraGarth.com

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