Meet Freddy Long

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Freddy Long a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Freddy, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?

My optimism comes from within because it is tied to my self-confidence. I had that epiphany when I was presented with this question. Confidence innately breeds reassurance on one’s desired outcome. As a filmmaker, I have to be optimistic on the outcome of the motion picture I am creating to lead the men, women, cast and crew with every decision I make and that takes confidence. Even confidence in delegating responsibilities.

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

My name is Freddy Long and I was born and raised in Miami, Florida. I dropped out of high school for the second and final time at 17 and got my GED later that year. I still represent Miami Carol City c/o 2006. I was a teen father as well. All this is relevant because my first love and focus since 12 years old was music and becoming a music producer when I saw The Neptunes win Producer of the Year at the 2001 Source Awards.

Fast forward to many years later, a woman (Laurie Masi) who I sold instrumentals to produced a feature film. This is well before Netflix, Tubi, and Prime Video’s ascensions. I asked if I could compose music for her movie for free and she agreed. I was sleeping on my cousin’s couch during this time but it inspired me to get into filmmaking because I was optimistic that I could do it too. The first camera I bought for filmmaking was a Nikon D3200. On my IMDB, I am credited for 2 short films but I actually shot 4 prior to producing my first feature, Kiki & Dee now streaming for free on Tubi. Recently, I completed my second feature that I co-directed and provided the cinematography for, Four Birds starring Brendan Goshay from Tubi Original Rhythm & Blood, and Tray Chaney from HBO’s The Wire.

I love filmmaking because it’s a fun challenge of telling a story using sight and sound to evoke emotions. It’s funny knowing the fires being put out for a scene to be captured and it isn’t shown or felt on that screen. It is fun trying to make a movie as close to your vision as possible but deciding to be selfless if it doesn’t work out with the external audience. It’s fun having the support of my wife, family, and friends. It’s fun meeting and retaining wonderful collaborators.

Like I mentioned earlier Kiki & Dee starring Kalina Karadavis & Joshua Germain is now streaming on Tubi and Four Birds starting Brendan Goshay and Tray Chaney is up for distribution and will be available on a platform soon. Also, Widower’s Syndrome directed Stephen R. White and written by and starring Dexter Rolle is coming soon from Maverick Entertainment. Those are my brothers in film and I provided the principal cinematography for that film. Currently, I reside in the Atlanta metropolitan area.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The three most impactful attributes in my journey are self-confidence, learning as much as I can about every aspect of creating and producing a film, and be of service to others. My advice is buy and read books about filmmaking like In The Blink of an Eye by Walter Murch and The Filmmaker’s Handbook by Steven Ascher & Edward Pincus and not solely rely on watch YouTube videos because they’re more detailed and explain nuances that most YouTube content creators do not consider of importance. You must have self-confidence to expect and accept that everyone will not like your film and it will most likely come out nothing like your vision and possibly better. I can’t stress enough about knowing as much about the filmmaking process as possible because at the no-budget and indie levels of filmmaking, you’ll be wearing plenty hats to get the film to completion. Lastly, be of service to others because that’s how you find collaborators and build relationships and hopefully friendships. Also, that’s how you get better at your specialty by putting in time and learning where you excel. Everyone is not cut out to be a director but unknowingly have an affinity for costume design.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

As a filmmaker, I am always looking for collaborators because filmmaking is a team sport. I am looking for serious folks who have a determination to make it with or without anyone. That’s true dedication and it is what I possess. As much as I desire to work at a higher level of filmmaking because I do background roles here and there, I do not desire to wait around to be chosen to make my dreams come true and I want to align myself with folks of the same ilk. If you’re interested then feel free to follow me on Instagram at VICTORYMILLS305.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

All images are courtesy of VICTORYMILLS

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