We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Vincent Martinez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Vincent, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
I developed my confidence and self-esteem by simply not caring. I did this by going on to set doing my own thing and not thinking twice. Any style, direction and camera choice I did was because I liked it and it added something to the project to make it better. Obviously you have to go with the directors vision, but with everything it was my special twist to it adding layers and style. I have done this since day 1 as a DP, and I’ve been questioned about it a lot, but I just keep doing it to where it makes me stand out.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Professionally I’m focused on becoming at showing emotion in my cinematography and building my company 88Clouds. I’m a Cinematographer based out of Los Angeles and with every set I try to put a ton of emotion into the project. My goal is to make my viewers cry. Now that doesn’t mean I want them to be sad when watching my work, but rather I want them to feel. When I say feel I want them to watch my work and have them have a memory of something. Doesn’t matter what that something is I just want the viewer to feel. I can’t say specifics, but 88Clouds first feature film will be coming later this year.
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?
Being social is one of the best skills you need in this industry. It helps with networking and getting to know who’s around you for crewing potential new projects.
Being a good person is probably my #1 quality I would recommend. There’s so many people in this industry that will hire based off of who you are as a person instead of your skill level.
Another good quality is being proactive as in you’re the one to do the small tasks first to help out the department heads on their larger tasks
Having a willingness to learn what to do on set. If you show up and keep to yourself showing you’re just there for paycheck and eating the crafty you’ll gain a rep very quick about your work ethic. Make sure you show up to learn about your position and other positions as well. Ask questions, and a lot of them, it for one shows you want to learn and it also will let you have a greater idea of why you’re there.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Yes! I am always looking for good people in this industry to work with. If that be for me to work on their set or for them to work on mine I always want to meet more people. Even if someone is coming onto the set just to learn what to do or how to do more in camera dept. I am more than willing to teach and show them the ropes. Everyone in this industry must network with a lot of people to get anywhere. If you’re wanting to learn more about projects, work as an AC or operator or even hire me as a DP you can contact me at vincentgm.dp@gmail.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.88clouds.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vincentzeemartinez/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090175092465
- Other: https://linktr.ee/vincentmartinez
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