We recently connected with Yuuki Shimizu and have shared our conversation below.

Yuuki, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I just wrapped a short film called “Cigarettes,” directed and written by Toby Loden and produced by Lyric Gonzalez. I had the honor to take on the role of the Director of Photography for this film and it was one of the most exciting projects I’ve worked on yet. The film is about an underage kid who tries to buy cigarettes and makes an unlikely friend in the process, which stems from Toby’s experience.

When Toby first reached out to me about the idea of his film, six months ago and told me that he wanted to shoot on 16mm film, I knew that 16mm film was the right format for this story. I have always loved the color and texture that 16mm film has and how it adds a sense of nostalgia to the film which was perfect for the story. Since shooting on film comes with limitations, intentionality was important to us. We had very in-depth pre-production, where we went to tech scouts multiple times, going through multiple drafts of shortlists and blockings to ensure that every shot in the film illustrated the character’s emotions in the best way possible.

We just began post-production for this film, and I couldn’t be more thrilled for it to all come together.

Yuuki, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a Director of Photography based out of Savannah, Georgia. I grew up in Tokyo Japan and was always interested in creating visuals in all kinds of media. I started my creative career as a photographer, working with small brands and NGOs helping them promote their work in the social media space. I slowly then transitioned into short-form content and commercials for companies like Warner Music Japan. In 2019, I enrolled in Savannah College of Arts and Design to study Film and & Television on their Hong Kong campus. Since then I’ve moved to Savannah and have had the opportunity to delve into cinematography and its various facets – lighting, camera operation, and most importantly, visual storytelling. My global background has allowed me to immerse myself in various cultures and their people’s stories which I have captured through narrative short films across Tokyo, Hong Kong, Cambodia, New York, Atlanta, and Savannah.

Recently, I’ve picked up doing music videos for artists such as Jx. Zero, Jay Safari, and Cam the Artisan which has been a very exhilarating learning experience for me. I’m eager to explore cinematography and continue capturing stories in ways that move people and resonate with them.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

One of the turning points in my life so far was when I visited Cambodia to teach English to children who were from families that were still under the effect of the Khmer Rouge genocide, as a part of a charity trip in 2018. The children I engaged with were beautiful souls with loving hearts and no matter what harsh situations they were living under, they were all grateful to be there and eager to learn. I made a small documentary about my experience in Cambodia to raise awareness about the children in Cambodia and showed it to my school at the time, which was received positively by my fellow students. This made me realize that film has the power to make an impact on other people. Since this experience, I have been striving to create work that can impact people in a positive way, and inspire people others to do the same.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being creative in my field is being able to collaborate with extremely talented and gifted creatives. On a project my main collaborator would be the director, we would come up with a ‘Look’ for a particular project by watching and collecting references that inspire us. I then work with other collaborative members such as the production designer and a gaffer to come up with plans to execute the ‘Look’. As the Principal Photography gets closer more people join the team, and on the day of the shoot, it feels amazing to see it all come together – everyone on the crew working towards the same goal of telling and capturing powerful stories.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.yuukishimizu.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yuukishimi.zu/?hl=en
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/yuukishimizu

Image Credits
Blake Hunter, Anthony Peznola, Anthony Terminelli