We recently connected with Brandon Lin and have shared our conversation below.

Brandon, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I was able to learn the majority of what I know and do now through being on countless film sets. It all started during my undergraduate years when I volunteered on senior thesis sets as a freshman. From there, I would learn the ins and outs of how a set worked and the way a set operated. I began to focus a lot on grip and electric work. During my senior year of undergrad, I decided that I wanted to focus on cinematography and began to have the opportunity to work as both a cinematographer and assistant camera. At the same time, I was able to work on an indie feature film where I continued to enhance my knowledge in cinematography and lighting through guidance from working industry professionals. After graduating and starting my journey to pursue my master’s degree in cinematography, I have continued to work on countless short films and commercials in the camera or grip/electric departments. All of this has helped me continue to grow my knowledge and experience in filmmaking. Looking back now, I strongly believe that I wouldn’t change much as all the experiences I went through helped shape the filmmaker I am today. The only thing I would do differently would be to start earlier in learning the filmmaking process when I was in high school. I think the biggest obstacle that stood in my way would be self-confidence. In the beginning, I was shy and afraid to try new things which led to missed opportunities to learn something new. Now, that I’ve gained my confidence through experience, I constantly try to learn and get better at my craft every single day.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I began my filmmaking journey during my freshman year in high school after I was inspired by all the movies my family would watch. I was especially fascinated with the behind-the-scenes work and the time put into creating a story in an alternate reality. Then, I started to take film history classes before moving into short film productions in my senior year of high school. Afterward, I decided to continue my journey in film production by pursuing it in my undergrad at Ringling College of Art and Design. During my time at Ringing, I was exposed to the entire behind-the-scenes work to create movies by taking on roles such as director, cinematographer, editor, production designer, and so many more. After graduation, I decided to pursue a master’s degree in cinematography at Chapman University where I’ve continued to learn new skills and tools on set to help me further grow as a cinematographer and filmmaker. I think what sets me apart from others is my attention to detail, my work ethic, and my determination to do whatever it takes to get the job done. I’ve been most proud of the numerous short films that I’ve worked on as a cinematographer and as a crew member as every time I’ve learned something new and have continued to expand my knowledge. I’ve also had the opportunity to meet different filmmakers and continuously learn from them.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Back when I first started high school, it was during a time when I had just transferred to a new school. I struggled to settle in and I could not find myself fitting into anything. As a result, for a long time, I did not know what I wanted to major in or have a career in. I would drag myself along everyday life slowly becoming numb to the daily tasks that I had to do. I then decided that I would start exploring filmmaking more regardless of where it took me. As time went on, I started to gain more of an interest and started to take film classes. This decision has led to where I am today and has shown me that with resilience and perseverance, you never know what can happen. It only takes continuing to stick with it and never giving up no matter what.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being a filmmaker and creative would be the stories that I can tell. As a cinematographer, I’ve developed a strong passion for telling stories visually and showing the subtext of the story. I love the ability to be able to bring together an idea and translate that idea and vision into reality so that it can be shared with everyone. At the same time, I also enjoy the process of collaborating with other people as I believe that it is the best way to come up with strong and fruitful ideas. I also find the aspect of making lifelong friends when working together on film sets to be extremely rewarding and fulfilling.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.blinfilms.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandonlindp
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonlin717/