Meet Brandon Bruington

We were lucky to catch up with Brandon Bruington recently and have shared our conversation below.

Brandon, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.

I think having multiple things to work on, especially if they’re all different, really helps in staying creative. For me personally, being a video editor, that is a lot of what I do and it can get draining doing it for both my job and my YouTube channel Branbru. Being able to take breaks from those to write, read, watch or play something really helps recharging the batteries to get back into it! If you can do a passive activity like walking or lifting weights and listening to music, I think is also a great outlet to just let your brain daydream to come up with ideas for something new or figure out a solution to something you’re stuck on. With that, what’s also really helped is simply writing everything down. If someone says something funny, if there’s an idea for a sketch, something you want to work towards, anything. It’s very easy to say “I’ll remember that” but when the time comes, you’ve got pieces or nothing left. When it’s all written down somewhere, you have so much material to pull from and give you a jumping off point. And being an editor who’s very interested in visual effects (VFX), when I’m watching a movie or a show I’m identifying so many shots now where I’m like “Wow I could do that.” which gets me very inspired and excited to try that out and keep learning and just pushing myself in what I can do. Overall, I think the more you can be creative the easier it becomes and can be integrated into your life daily.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

My name is Brandon Bruington, I’m a video editor, writer, filmmaker, and actor! I’ve had the creative bug ever since I was a kid. From writing books and telling stories, making and editing videos with my friends, illustrating my own comics, I’ve dabbled in a lot of different areas! I was very fortunate to have supporting parents who encouraged me and friends who were happy to be involved, even when filming went for hours! It all allowed me to feel comfortable and confident to keep doing it all the way into high school.

I got my college degree in Film & Television Production and a few new short films, sketches and skill under my belt. I currently now work as a video editor for an ecommerce company and combining what I’ve learned from that and my countless projects decided to start my YouTube channel Branbru. It’s sketch comedy, short form and short film focused, with an emphasis on VFX. I shoot everything in front of a green screen which allows me to edit myself and others into any environment. It’s a fairly new channel so I’m still small but I’ve had great growth recently and am just scratching the surface on what I can edit and create.

I took a break from it late last year to work on my epic, action comedy short film: One Man. (which is out now on my channel by the way!) It is easily the biggest and most ambitious thing I’ve ever done. A 26 page short film about a super soldier named One Man (played by me) who has to defeat his giant evil clone (also me) in downtown Chicago. And as you can imagine, two giants stomping around a city with giant buildings, there’s going to be destruction! I learned a ton from this process and it opened my eyes to the scale of what can be made, with very minimal resources and budget.

Just as Branbru is getting started, so am I. No matter how many years you’ve done something, there’s always more to learn and areas to innovate and I’m very excited to keep pursuing my passion and pushing the boundaries of what I thought was possible for myself.

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?

Hmm. First one that comes to mind I think is again, having support, encouragement and people do this with. Having that support and handful of people you can count on that want to make something with you, give you new ideas or just help out in some small way was very impactful. It makes the process so much more fun and rewarding and inspires you to keep going.

With that, staying curious and passionate I think is very important. For me, I was lucky and found my passion early on. I didn’t “know” know that this is what I wanted to do, but because I was doing it early on I was able to learn and develop my creativity over a long period of time. I was able to figure out what I like and don’t like about it, take something new with me into the next project or have something new to try out. So to try and round this answer out, whatever your passion is, keep learning and doing!

Lastly, being uncomfortable. This sounds weird but hear me out! When it came to making my own stuff, I was confident and in control, when it came to making something for someone else, that’s when I got scared and unsure of my abilities. But it’s opportunities like that, that are the most important for growth. I knew how to edit, but when I was applying for my editing job, I didn’t feel good enough because it was entirely different than anything that I had done before. But I worked that whole day, learning and applying what I learned, going through trial and error, which then resulted in me getting hired and having a whole new skillset to use and being much more confident in my craft.

With all of that in mind, the advice I would give is to keep learning and trying out different things. Figure out what you like and don’t like, be confident with the knowledge you have and take pride in your passion. I wish I knew what I know today when I was in college making videos, or when I was applying for my editing job. But we all have to start somewhere, and most likely aren’t going to be great when we start, and have doubts. But even in the last year I’ve seen so much improvement in my own skill, especially when looking back on stuff I didn’t do that long ago and seeing how far I’ve come. It doesn’t matter where you’re at, there’s always room for growth and a drive to learn more.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

Great question! I feel overwhelmed just about every workweek haha so I’ve got a few methods. For me personally, I’m big on self care and making time for myself. So no matter how busy I am, at least at the end of the night I try to watch a show, play some games, do what I need to unwind – it was a long day and I’ve earned it! For times when you’ve been working on something for many hours straight, it helps to step away early and have your break for the night, then wake up earlier if needed to keep going on it. It’s better to start fresh than wear yourself out. If you’re balancing multiple things at once, lists for me definitely help in being able to see all that you have to do, where you can then prioritize what needs to be done first. Checking off something is pretty satisfying! And lastly, if you’re so busy you don’t even have 30 minutes before bed, then you need a Rot Day. Set a goal date to have everything you’re working on finished that will be your light at the end of that overwhelming tunnel. It’s your day to do nothing, whatever it is you want. Watch movies, play games, hangout with friends, it’s your day to reward yourself for everything you’ve done. I had a rot day after finishing One Man and it was incredible, and hopefully it will be for you to!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/branbruyt/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@branbru

Image Credits

Ellora Bultema – Me having a good time on set, 2022
Canelle Vanderford – Under the subway tracks on a trip to downtown Chicago, 2023
Stills from my short film One Man
Behind the scenes photos filming One Man in front of a green screen
Playing different office workers in my YouTube sketch ‘Work “bonuses” nowadays’