We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Spencer Grundler a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Spencer, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
I have spent the last 13 years working as a full-time freelance cinematographer, and to be honest it has not been an easy journey. Anyone who has walked that path knows that it comes with a mountain of uncertainty, the struggles of self-doubt, and the pitfalls of trying to accomplish our creative vision within practical constraints that the world puts in place for us. The problems all artists usually find seem to be universal;
“How can I find new clients and generate leads to pay my bills?”
“Am I good enough? How do I stand out in a competitive market?”
“I have these ideas and visions I would love to accomplish, but I don’t have the funding or the budget to make them a reality?”
These questions are the ones that if looked at through a pessimistic mindset will lead to a hard road that tests our willpower and our patience. I find my optimism in understanding that the answer to those questions exists.
The film industry is so large and full of opportunities that given my good attitude and quality of communication with the clients and crew members, there will inevitably be someone who will respect and appreciate my unique contributions and skillset. If you feel like getting your foot in the door to meet new clients or collaborators is impossible, then you’ve given up before even being turned away. Sure it would be great to be recognized and hired by a large national brand, but if that isn’t happening then introduce yourself to local businesses and people within your network. Getting a cup of coffee or a lunch meeting can go a long way. Even if initial introductions don’t turn into immediate work, being remembered for your professionalism and positive demeanor is a great way to be remembered. With enough time and persistence, something just right for you will come your way.
When dealing with self-doubt, I acknowledge I have to separate myself from comparison to others. There are so many talented filmmakers in the world that I admire, and their successes inspire me to grow and become more capable. I try to believe that I can also do what others have done before me, rather than getting down on myself for not having accomplished certain goals yet. The real key here is to see the value in yourself and carry it with confidence, but never to build that confidence too far into arrogance.
Another problem a lot of filmmakers find when planning to take on an ambitious project is feeling as though they cannot execute the task without a particular camera package, the right cinema lens, or that big light that they’ve been dreaming of. Feeling as though you are limited by the constraints of tight budgets and lack of resources keeps a lot of projects stuck in the concept phase, never to see the light of actual production. What is important to remind yourself is that you have to remain flexible, sometimes getting creative to tackle practical problems. One of my favorite stories about improvisation comes from Director of Photography Jack Cardiff. while working on the film “The Vikings”. The director, Richard Fleischer, requested that warriors walk off of the boats onto the shore as if emerging from a sea of fog. Jack knew that there was no budget for a fog machine that would cover an entire beach, so he walked to the front of the camera lens and breathed heavily onto the glass until it was steamy, when the condensation evaporated from the lens element it produced exactly the same effect that the director was looking for.
The law of attraction is that energy precedes manifestation. Positive thoughts bring positive results.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a freelance Director of Photography and Photographer living in Brooklyn, NY. I’ve been working in the film industry for 13 years with credits in a wide range including Narrative Film and Television, Documentary, Commercial and branded content, music videos, and still photography.
I’m originally from the DC, Maryland area, in that particular market most filmmakers find themselves bouncing around to different types of film production constantly. I started my career working as a lighting technician on a lot of low-budget indie films, which led to working on a few larger-scale episodic television series including, House of Cards, Veep, and AMC’s Turn. I learned so much about lighting on those bigger sets, which I then took to personal practice in experimenting with my own studio photography and low-budget independent short films.
After spending years in the field as a lighting technician and a gaffer, I began to gravitate toward the camera department. I found myself on many documentaries and reality television shows. Capturing the story with a handheld camera, pulling my own focus, and listening to the directors instruct me through my wireless headset was to me like “Cam-Op Boot Camp”. It is physically demanding and requires constant attention, and you learn how to follow the action and read the room to premeditate what would happen next so that you can position yourself in the best place to artistically capture the scene.
After over a decade of gathering experience aiming light and camera lenses, I think now I’m beginning to learn more about the philosophical side of the how and why to do things. Currently, I’m putting more attention towards storytelling. I am currently working on directing my first feature film titled “Nutria Hunter.” about the eradication of the invasive species of rodent living in South Louisiana.
I will always remain a constant student, seeking new knowledge and experience.
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?
Over the years I’ve had many people come to me with questions about how I got started in the film industry. Often I’m asked about what technical aspects of cameras or lighting they need to know, while those skills are important things to be familiar with the most important qualities of being a good camera person won’t be found in an instruction manual (Hot tip, any technical knowledge is easily available on YouTube, Reddit, or any quick Google search, no one “needs” to go to film school!). What I have found is that the three most valuable aspects that get you on set and keep your phone ringing are life skills that you practice, and learn from experience. The most important of these three skills is:
1. Trust. Filmmaking and production is a collaborative effort, there is rarely a time where you will be creating anything in a vacuum. When working with clients and producers that are putting their reputation on the line by hiring and vouching for you they expect you to act with the utmost level of professionalism and dependability. Give the client the “white glove treatment,” and make their experience in working with you enjoyable and easy. Be on time (that means 20 minutes early), respond immediately to all email communications (even if you don’t have the answers yet), always come with a positive attitude, and remain flexible when dealing with problems, everyone has a production “war story,” producers will remember when you came through successful and laughing about it on the other side. If you can maintain this mindset reliably then you will build trust with your clients and producers, but as the head of my department, I also have a responsibility to the crew on set working with me. Coming prepared with proper instructions for my department keys, and making sure that all of the crew’s needs are taken care of is a good baseline, but the real challenges come when I need to speak up for the crew when I see that they are being taken advantage of. There have been times when I needed to speak with the production staff to fight for crew overtime hours, explain the need to break the crew for meals on time, or any other circumstance where there may be a need for some advocacy. The quality of my work relies completely on a team to accomplish it, the client needs to trust in me, as well as I need to earn and maintain the trust of the crew that will help me deliver.
2. Confidence, is a quality of character that comes easier to some than others. Some people are naturally loquacious and easily charm everyone in the room, this can be extremely helpful, especially when filming “real people” who aren’t used to being on camera and having a crew of people invade their living room, or when easing the mind of a skeptical client. Even for the most soft-spoken self-described “introverts” there are many ways confidence can be built. This might mean spending more time preparing for a shoot, rereading instruction manuals, doing extra research, or creating preproduction notes into highly organized files that can easily be shared with directors, producers, and crew. When going into a project with a solid plan, then the confidence in your execution will be seen clearly in the final product.
3. Passion in your work, is a pivotal quality that should be easily perceived by everyone around you. Sometimes you will be lucky enough to work on your dream project, and the amount of love and creativity that you would pour into working on that set will show itself clearly. But not every shoot will be a “glamorous” life-changing event. One day you may find yourself working on a highly technical instructional video with science jargon that flies right into your ears and then out of your head. Even on those sets, there is a process to filmmaking that you can take pride in. The technology has changed drastically over the years but I am proud to say that I am a part of a tradition of tradesmen that goes back over a century. Block it, light it, shoot it. Reverse. One of the most important things that a client or a producer can take away from their experience with you on set is that you are as invested as they are in the success of the project.
(Secret #4. Know your value! Invest your time wisely, don’t let people tell you that your time is worth less than you are willing to accept. If they don’t have the budget to afford to pay you what you are worth, politely tell them “ I don’t think I’m the right person for this job. There may be someone who would accept that, but I cannot at this time, thank you for your consideration.”)
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Being a freelancer is always about momentum. I’m always trying to connect for future collaborations, the goal is to try to sew the seeds in a direction that I would like to grow towards.
I try to acknowledge that there are two aspects to the craft of being a Cameraman, one of which is the technical composition of photography and lighting, the second of which is the philosophical perspective in storytelling. To challenge myself I have found that I am looking to work more as a Director rather than a Cinematographer, as well as venturing more into Still Photography.
Working as a documentary Director allows me to exercise my storytelling muscles, analyzing the sequences of events as a whole and finding powerful creative ways to convey the message of human experience that we are aiming to deliver. To make these stories a reality I need to connect two halves in order to make the whole. I am currently looking for artists, athletes, entrepreneurs, or activists with a unique story to tell, and I am looking for producers, publishers, online magazines, branded marketing that wants to use human-centered stories, or anyone willing to participate in presenting a platform for these stories to be heard.
As a photographer, I am looking to exercise my imagination in producing imagery that is emotional, and complex, something outside of the realm of traditional photojournalism reaching for the surreal. What I want to find in terms of collaborators are musicians with a vision of their art and their music that they want to visually express. I want to meet visual artists (painters, sculptors, fashion designers, etc… ) and have their photo portraits of themselves be a reflection of the art that they create.
If you are somebody with a documentary story to tell, a person with a platform that needs to publish stories, or somebody looking for artistic portraits to represent yourself please check in at my website: SpencerGrundler.com
Or email me with the idea/ concept/ or project that you have in mind: [email protected]
Contact Info:
- Website: spencergrundler.com
- Instagram: spencergrundler
Image Credits
Featured Photo: The photo of myself standing over the river rocks is in Sioux Falls, SD was taken by Jacob Allen. Photo 1: Self Portrait in Crazy Ray’s Junkyard. Baltimore, MD Photo 2: “Golden Crown” Model: Jennifer Shannon Photo 3: “Purple Grass” Model: John Dee Photo 4: “Mickey Mouse and his dugs” Baltimore, MD Photo 5: “Sol De Mediadía” Model: Alea (Musician) MUA: Laura Amaya Orozco Photo 6: “Winter Beach” Coney Island, NY Photo 7: Model: “Copycat Fire” Zahra Ali Photo 8: “Vampire in Fur” Model: Jaci Jones
