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

Ian B., thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The most meaningful project I’ve been a part of is a documentary feature titled, “Humanity Stoked”. The film is an exploration of how, and why skateboarders often share ethical value systems, and similar viewpoints on the world around them. As a lifelong skater, the film was a dream come true for me, as I had the opportunity to meet and work with so many of my childhood heroes like Brian Anderson, Peggy Oki, Shepard Fairey, Tony Hawk, and so many others.

I began as a camera operator for a single interview, and eventually worked my way up to take over as the film’s second Director of Photography. When we completed shooting, the director, Michael Ien Cohen, asked me to edit the film, which ended up being a 3 year process that, speaking now in retrospect, truly made me into a better filmmaker.

The film has now gone on to 40 festivals across the globe, winning awards at 20 of them, and is set to make its way to streaming this summer!

Humanity Stoked is one of those projects that reminds me of why I wanted to be a filmmaker in the first place. As it not only has a deep personal meaning to me, but I feel that the film’s goal and overall message of catalyzing conversations across cultural barriers, through the medium of skateboarding, is extremely vital in the world we’re living in right now.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I actually first got into filmmaking when I was 11 years old. I basically just stole what was supposed to be the family camcorder, and started filming my friends skateboarding, and doing skits. Pretty quickly however, I fell in love with being behind the camera, and telling stories, so I just never stopped. I started a company called Frosted Independent Films, created 2 different web series, and then got hired on my first film set when I was 17. I went on to film school, where I focused my studies primarily on cinematography. I graduated, and moved to New York City, where I shot all kinds of commercial work for brands like Coach, Nike, Tribeca Films, and Miu Miu. While that was going on, I was also shooting the humanitarian focused, skateboarding documentary film, “Humanity Stoked,” which would end up having a huge impact on my life and career going forward. So much so, that I decided to move to Los Angeles to be closer to the center of skateboarding, and surf culture, where I felt more at home, and I’ve lived and worked here ever since!

I primarily focus on cinematography, film editing and color correction these days. After trying my hand at working with much larger brands, I quickly felt I was making things that looked nice, but had little value beyond someone scrolling past my work on Instagram during their morning coffee. I wanted to focus on projects that had more to say, with a much larger capacity to expand your viewpoint on the world, and maybe think differently about yourself, or those around you.

I’ve always felt that film is so much more than just entertainment, and while I do love crafting beautiful imagery, I want to make things that have staying power, that have something meaningful to say, more than just, “Buy me, and you’ll feel happier”.

I really don’t have a “brand,” and I’m not concerned with how many followers I have on social media. I’m concentrated on crafting films, documentaries, and shorts that have intrinsic value.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think it can become very easy to forget that we’re really all creatives. It doesn’t matter if you’re a marketing executive, a ballet dancer, a stone mason, a painter, a teacher, or a plumber. There is a level of creativity in almost every single thing we do as human beings. We all leave a fingerprint on our passions and professions.

There is an inherent value in our collective creativity, and exploring that through the medium of filmmaking, by showcasing the lives and telling the stories of people who rarely get a voice, is how I feel I can add to that collective.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

As a younger person, I often looked at my peers and felt as though I was in competition with them. Who had done more impressive work? Who had made more important connections? Who was more skilled and talented, etc? It frequently left me feeling like I was never good enough.

The fact of the matter is however, that life is not a race. I didn’t need to be looking over my shoulder in that way. I didn’t need to feel this great envy over what those around me had accomplished, or false pride over what I had done. Instead, I should’ve been happy for them, and focused on what kind of person, and what kind of filmmaker I really wanted be.

Fortunately, although it’s taken me the better part of a decade to get to this place, I am so happy that I can applaud those around me when they succeed, and feel truly fulfilled with what I’ve done in my career as well!

Contact Info:

• Other: Email – i[email protected] IMdB – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9002117/