We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Duncan Smith. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Duncan below.

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

About a year ago, my friends Jace Hardwick and Oliver Smith invited me to co-write and co-direct a fantasy-comedy short film they were developing. I’ve always been a fan of epic, fantasy projects like the Lord of the Rings so it was a no-brainer to hop on board. Fast forward a couple weeks of writing and we headed out to the desert with a crew of 15 people. We spent the next 5 days bringing the film to life in super challenging conditions. Temperatures regularly shot above 100 degrees and dust filled the air in the cave we were filming in making it hard to breathe but everyone worked incredibly hard and we were finally able to capture everything we needed. We ended up premiering the film at a festival and got a great response leading to pitching the concept as a tv series over the last year.

I have been working as a filmmaker professionally for the last 5 years and so to play a part in creating something that we were all proud of and to create something we are genuinely interested in developing further was an incredible experience.

Duncan, 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?

Growing up, I was definitely one of those kids that was never quite sure of what I wanted to do professionally for the rest of my life. For a while I wanted to be in the MLB, then the military, then a pilot, then a surgeon but none of those ended up coming to pass. I had a lot of different interests but never knew exactly where they would take me. All I knew was that I wanted a life full of adventure and was afraid of spending my life trapped in a cubicle (no offense to the cubicle-community). I was studying economics at Boston College when I discovered the travel filmmaking world. Through YouTube and Instagram, I found people only a couple years older than me who were traveling the world getting to have the most insane experiences and work with amazing artists and brands. That instantly became my goal and I began to pour every second outside of studying for my economics degree into learning how to create videos.

For a while, I was terrible. Absolutely no taste or skill whatsoever. But I knew that in the same way you don’t learn how to play the piano overnight, you don’t become an amazing filmmaker overnight either. After graduating college and years of learning and practicing, I received a 6 month job offer from a production company out in LA called Anaheim Studios. They gave me an incredible introduction into the world of video production and really showed me what goes into large commercial productions.

After my contract ended with them, I decided to make the leap into full time, freelance filmmaking as a director and editor. It was terrifying, but I knew I wanted to continue pushing myself into this world and see what was possible. I very quickly began to get opportunities to work with some amazing brands and started to travel not just in the USA but around the world for different clients and projects. I started to work in the music space, creating music videos, viral content and short documentaries for artists. I’ve gotten to work with agencies helping them develop and craft video and photo work that elevates their clients and stands out from the rest of the marketplace.

I’m a firm believer that everything I work on needs to be memorable and worth someone’s time to watch, especially in a sea of lack-luster content made to take up people’s precious time. If I am a part of a project, I am really working to make sure that the end product is worth someone’s time to consume.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I grew up outside of Boston, Massachusetts and didn’t really know anyone who was also trying to learn filmmaking and make videos and so it wasn’t until I was able to surround myself with people who were ahead of me that I was able to really start growing significantly in my craft. Prior to that, I was learning through YouTube which is a great place to start but it can only take you so far. To really work at a high level you need to be around people who are much more talented and further along in their careers.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

One of the things I love about filmmaking is that it can transport an audience to a place that allows them to really explore their own values and their own purpose in life. It can be very easy to wander through life without challenging your own sense of direction and so one of the exciting things about telling stories is that they challenge us to question our own decision making and where we spend our time and hopefully call us to something more.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/duncanthedirector/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DuncanSmith

Image Credits

Evan Smith, Sarah Selvig