We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jake Baine a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jake, thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

Growing up I aways had an affinity towards cameras. I would capture videos of summer adventures I had with my buddies on a GoPro and make short edits. That passion grew and persisted throughout high school until I was aptly given the nickname “GoPro” by kids at my school. At that time, I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do with my life but I did start to realize that wherever my career ended up going, it would certainly be around cameras and tech. I was spending most of my free time learning about cameras, how to work them and how to edit simply because I enjoyed it so much. I didn’t even think of earning money with it at that time.

Getting in the creative industry wasn’t even an option in my mind at the time so I figured getting into journalism would be the most realistic way to get into a career that was focused around storytelling and cameras. I briefly attended the journalism program at Arizona State University. It was during this first semester that I went to a major EDM festival with some friends I had made in college. While at the festival, I managed to finesse my camera into the festival and shot a recap for one of the artists playing. His team was so impressed with the video that they hired me to shoot a number of the artists’ shows while he was on tour. It was after that first gig when I realized that I wanted to spend my life behind the camera. I remember being in my dorm room calling my Dad to tell him that I had figured out what I wanted to do with my life and that I wanted to drop out of Journalism school to pursue a career in film. I was fortunate that he was cautiously supportive and urged me to make a tangible plan rather than dropping out blind.

I dropped out after one semester and the rest was history. Everything up until now has been a string of what seems crazy adventures that have progressed my career and given me amazing memories along the way.

Jake, 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 Jake Baine, I’m a cinematographer that’s currently based out of Austin, TX but I am moving to LA this August as the next step in my career.

Historically I have acted as a one-stop shop for my clients here in Texas offering both shooting and editing as we tend to wear all the hats early on in our careers.

This move to LA in August is my big push into being able to specialize in cinematography. I really enjoy lighting and being behind the camera. It’s therapeutic for me and I love working with talented directors and set designers to create awesome visuals.

One thing I pride myself on in my work is letting the story dictate my visual direction for the project. I often times see other cinematographers shoe-horn their own tastes and artistic choices into a project where it doesn’t necessarily fit the story. While it is important to have a personal style as a DP, I think it’s also important to make decisions that better serve the story— and that’s something I always try to stay true to when I work with directors.

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

Far and wide, one of the most rewarding aspects of being a creative is being able to work and collaborate with other talented individuals to create something awesome together.

One of the best things about being a creative is knowing each project is oftentimes its own little adventure where you meet new characters, solve new problems together and create awesome memories. Then the project comes to an end and you move on to the next. You end up meeting the coolest people and every project is a new, fresh experience. It’s really conducive to being a creative as oftentimes we are curious beings and like to jump from new challenge to new challenge.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I oftentimes hear people say “I’m not creative at all. I could never do that stuff.” and that’s inherently false. Everybody is capable of being creative. It’s the lack of passion rather than the lack of creativity that dictates who is a “creative”.

Anyone can pick up a camera and learn the ins and outs of the workings of a camera. But it’s the ones who have a passion for it that spend the extra time trying new techniques, learning and experimenting that succeed. We creatives are the same as those that label themselves as “non-creatives”— it’s just we have an unshakable passion and obsession that drives us to improve, learn and progress because we genuinely enjoy what we do.

We’ve all heard of the corporate worker that is good at their job but hates the work but you never hear of a creative that hates their trade and is still good at it. There’s a reason for that!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jakebaine.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/jakebaine
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jakebaine