We were lucky to catch up with Brooke Mueller recently and have shared our conversation below.
Brooke, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
After moving to LA I dove head first into freelancing and worked my way up through both camera and lighting departments while learning about and understanding the craft of cinematography. After 5 years of freelancing, working my way up, and starting to work more and more often as a cinematographer, I decided to further my education and get a masters degree in cinematography at The American Film Institute. Looking back on my journey, I wouldn’t change a thing. I am really grateful for everything I learned while freelancing. It helped prepare me to hone my craft at AFI, and I think it put me in exactly the right position to take full advantage of what there was to learn at AFI. An obstacle that stood in the way was seeing that the people who get hired are the people who have already done the job many times before. People understandably trust in experience which I was gaining in both camera and lighting departments but not often enough as a cinematographer. The decision to put work on hold and commit to studying for 2 years was a daunting one, but I wanted to give myself the best possible foundation in everything from storytelling to camera technology, to be able to always adapt and grow as a cinematographer. I think some of the most helpful skills to have in this journey have been diligence and efficiency. Being diligent goes without saying, but being efficient in this industry is priceless; when you are malleable and able to problem solve in the moment while staying calm, that, for me, has been a huge key to success.
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?
Born and raised in small town Minnesota, I grew up traveling the country on an elite softball team, which exposed me to new and exciting opportunities at a very young age. Being a competitive athlete taught me a discipline and a drive that I am so grateful to have in this industry. Now I am a freelance cinematographer based in Los Angeles, CA. My job is to work with the director to make compelling imagery that evokes emotions in the audience and compliments telling the story. My favorite thing about being a cinematographer is being part of a team and helping someone’s vision come to light.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
The lesson I had to unlearn was “always be humble.” Don’t get me wrong, humility is incredibly important; but a huge part of being a freelancer is being able to showcase and talk about your talents to others in a way that shows confidence in yourself. I found myself getting passed over for jobs that I knew I could do because I would undersell myself. You have to know your strengths and how to share them without an ego. I would always give the advice to be humble but I would directly follow it with “you’re awesome and you are allowed to share your strengths with the world.” I guess you could say I had to learn how to redefine what humility meant to me.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
My best advice for managing a team and keeping high morale would be: have a positive attitude, trust in your team, and communicate as much as possible. I have found that everyone does their best work when they are treated with respect, lead with positivity, and given all the information in order to assess the situation from their point of view.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://brookemuellercinematography.com
- Instagram: Brooke_muellerrrr
