Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Byron Werner. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Byron, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Pursing a freelance career in the Film and Television business is an endless series of risks, the biggest being to make the decision to do it, which I did right out of college. I left school at a time when technology was changing. The digital revolution introduced higher quality, less expensive cameras without the costs of working with film; that allowed me to carve a path which was almost impossible before.

I made a decision early on that I wanted to be a Director of Photography, and only a Director of Photography. In this area of the film industry, many work through the ranks starting as an electrician, then becoming a Gaffer, next a DP or camera PA, next a 2nd Ac – to a 1st AC – to an operator – to a DP. I decided that I would only take jobs as a Director of Photography (which often provided little to no-pay) so I could spend time building my demo reel and my portfolio. This was a major risk because that portfolio did not pay the bills. And, in order to build the right portfolio I couldn’t take every job or opportunity that came my way.

Of course, I would do almost anything as a Director of Photography to make money, everything except reality television. Reality television was booming and I had so many lucrative opportunities to be a reality television cameraman at a time when I could really use the money to pay off my accumulating debt. But, I wanted to shoot movies, commercials, and music videos. So I said no and kept my eye on the ball so that my career followed a path that led to my ultimate goals. It took me at least 5 years until I was earning a livable wage and able to pay off the debt I incurred from these risks.

Since then I’ve built a career, a family, a home provided for by my Director of Photography “salary.” I’ve shot over 30 feature films, and hundreds of commercials and music videos.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I feel like I fell into filmmaking. Early on in my formative years before high school I started playing with cameras and telling stories. I always thought I wanted to be a Director and then when I got to college, I took a cinematography class and realized that lighting and camera was something I really enjoyed. I slowly built a passion for the camera, the lighting and the whole process. I always enjoyed watching movies as a kid, but I wasn’t a cinephile or anything. I loved ET, Indiana Jones, Star Wars and comedies like Fletch. And while I still enjoy watching movies, it is the process of making movies that I love. I love the idea, getting a script and trying to figure out how I can visually tell the story. I love collaborating with other people to work toward a common goal.

I think in another world I would’ve been in business running a company. As much as I love the creative aspect of making movies, I also really enjoy the nuts and bolts and day-to-day workings on set. I think what sets me apart from other people is my ability to use both sides of my brain, having a producer’s right side brain and a creative’s left side brain. I know a lot of creative people who only come from one direction when working, but my brain just doesn’t work that way. I have to consider both sides of the coin and that serves me very well.

I’m most proud of the fact that I’ve worked in many different cities, states, and countries with many different crews and I can always figure out how to communicate with them. When there’s a language barrier, I communicate through pictures. It’s important to be confident enough in your vision but also open enough to allow other people to teach you. One of my favorite aspects of going to different places is encouraging my crew whom I’ve never met, to be as creative as possible and to pitch their ideas to me so that together we can come up with the best plan. Sometimes their ideas are better and sometimes I just have to insist on the way that I want to do things, but overall it’s usually a great combination where I am constantly learning and we just have a lot of fun together. I’ve made many friends all around the world because of this approach.

My generation was taught that our goal should be to graduate from High School, get a college degree and enter the work force with a full time job that has a salary, benefits and other perks. I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film and Television production which in a sense I never used. Of course, I use what I learned in college, however the degree itself has never been a factor in me getting a job. My degree is not listed on my resume. Essentially I graduated and started from scratch

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I recently had to pivot in my business, my career and my life. I was slated to do a couple of movies in Italy, so my wife and I decided to move our family to Rome and enroll our two middle school aged daughters in international school. We knew this opportunity for me to work and us to live in Italy would be invaluable. Unfortunately, the film business and the universe had a different idea. Last year, the writers and actors went on strike and essentially derailed most of the projects that were happening around the world. So, at the last minute, my wife and I had to make a decision. Do we put the brakes on or proceed into the unknown with no job security, no support building a new life in a foreign country? We decided to stick to the plan and move to Italy knowing that it’s possible that I’ll be there for a year without a job. This was a very stressful decision but thankfully my wife also believes in taking risks. It turned out to be a good plan because the film industry is still not back on it’s feet. I was able to have the most amazing experience of my life, an experience that my kids will remember forever and hopefully shape them as young adults and beyond. It’s still too early to tell if it’s going to have a negative effect on my career, but living in Italy I’ve learned to go with the flow, “the Italian way.” Success can’t be measured by how much money you accumulate or what kind of jobs you have. Success has to be measured by how you live each day and how you live your life, how much you learn, how much you love and how much you experience. I’m getting to the age where people in my life are dying and you just don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring. Carpe diem. Of course, you must think about the future, but times will come when you may only live in the present. If you spend your whole life thinking about the future and thinking about your work and your accomplishments one day you’ll be sitting around asking yourself, “What the heck was it all for?” You really can’t take it with you.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Preparation and communication are the most important aspects of managing a team. Some people don’t prepare, but they’re great communicators on the fly and others prepare a lot and then can’t or won’t communicate. I believe the combination of preparation and communication is a recipe for success. I hear time and time again about people in the Film Business who don’t share their plan. Some Directors, Producers, or Directors of Photography hold everything so close to the vest. Maybe they think sharing their ideas will somehow cause them to lose control or they fear the ideas will be stolen. This comes from insecurity. I always have a plan or an idea and I always write it down. I always communicate these ideas. It’s better to have a plan and communicate it to people, even if it’s not exactly what you end up doing in the end. Inevitably you have to change or adjust along the way. But, everyone needs a starting point. And, to get everybody’s full buy, commitment and respect you need a plan and communication.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.directorofphotography.net
• Instagram: @byronwernerdp
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/byronwernerdp/

Image Credits

The photos with me in the black shirt on set with the headset on were shot by Mark Brian Smith. The photo in the studio with grey backdrop is shot by Michael Rizzi.