We recently connected with Cliff Chen and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Cliff thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us 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.

The biggest risk I’ve ever taken was moving to the United States as a 19-year-old without a safety net. I’m originally from Malaysia and it was my first time being in college and living on my own. It was a little scary at the time but I knew the big change was necessary for me to chase my dreams.

I moved here by myself, I don’t have family here, and I didn’t even have a place to stay yet. I had to move all around LA for a place to stay the first month I was here. I stayed for a week at my friend’s apartment, a week at a sublet room, and a few days at a time at different Airbnb’s. I also had to bring all my things with me each time I moved so it was rough.

What kept me going was my dream of breaking into the film industry. Even though I knew it was going to be very challenging, it was still worth a shot. I had a lot of faith in myself but I couldn’t help but think “What if I never got into the industry and I wasted my time and money moving to LA? Would I have to move back to Malaysia and work a 9-5 office job because that’s the only career that pays a living wage?” I had all these doubts but I still took the risk and it eventually paid off!

Cliff, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a cinematographer based in Los Angeles.

My journey to becoming a cinematographer started in college as a film major. I took a bunch of film production and cinematography classes as soon as I enrolled. The classes taught me the basics of how a film is made, from pre-production, to principal photography, and to post-production. I also got to work on a lot of my friends’ projects during my first year of college.

After working on countless small shoots for the first year and a half since moving to LA, I got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to intern as a grip & electric swing on a feature film set. I was mindblown seeing how many people were in the crew, especially since I was used to only having 5-10 people on sets before. I got to see different departments work together and collaborate smoothly. It was truly like a well-oiled machine.

I learned a lot about cinematography, especially on the lighting side, from my first feature. I got to work under a union gaffer and he was so eager to teach me things that I had no clue how to do. I also learned how to use industry-standard equipment to create and shape light.

Most of what I know now was learned by being on set. Having the opportunity to be on bigger sets, learning from industry professionals, and physically being able to use the equipment is so much better than watching YouTube videos or reading articles about cinematography. It’s one of those jobs that you need to just keep doing in order to learn and understand the craft behind it.

After being on a few bigger sets, I built up the confidence to start shooting projects as a cinematographer. I started telling people, especially my director friends, that I’m a cinematographer and I’d love to shoot their projects. For my first few cinematography gigs, I’d post photos of the lighting setup or some shots we filmed onto my Instagram story every day with captions mentioning that I’m the cinematographer. I wanted to show people I’m capable of creating good-looking images. Posting those Instagram stories proved to be helpful. People started reaching out to me to shoot their projects and the next thing I knew, I was known within my circle as a cinematographer.

I’ve now worked with the same people for over a year. I think a big part of why I keep getting brought onto projects is that I’m an easy person to work with. To me, having a good attitude on set as a cinematographer is almost more important than how good the shots look. A lot of people also tend to forget that the cinematographer serves the director and the story. If a director wants to try something different, your first instinct should be to figure out how to execute it, even if it means changing your entire camera and lighting setup. Never shut down your director’s ideas unless it’s truly impossible to do within the budget. The director arguably knows the story the best so as a cinematographer, you have to trust your director’s vision.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I was originally going to pursue a career in culinary arts. In fact, I was enrolled in a French culinary school in Malaysia but before the semester started, Covid-19 happened and classes got canceled. Because of the pandemic, I had a lot of time to think and reflect on what I should do with my career. I had always wanted to work in film since I was around 10 years old but the film industry in Malaysia is so tiny that it’s almost impossible to make a living in the industry. I shut down the idea of working in film for the longest time because of that.

The thought of moving to LA, or any film production hub like Toronto or Atlanta, never crossed my mind until Covid. Even though I love cooking, I felt like I would be more fulfilled if I could do what I have always wanted to do. I brought up the idea of moving to LA for film school to my parents one day and they were surprisingly supportive. The next thing I knew, I got into Santa Monica College’s film program and started my first two semesters online.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

It’s always rewarding to see a project I shot edited together. Seeing the shots we filmed cut together into a cohesive film for the first time is always magical, especially when it works better than we thought.

Screening the films I’ve shot to an audience for the first time is also very rewarding. Being able to see their reactions and hearing what they think about the film after watching it is one of the most helpful ways for me to improve.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @cilffchen

Image Credits

D.J. Pestillo, Erin Neumeyer, Loren Henley, Takumi Nakayama, Grace Ledgerwood