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

Jason, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?

The fear of one’s art being misunderstood, or interpreted differently than the artist’s intended viewpoint, is something that plagues just about about any creative at some point in their journey I think. The more I’ve grown as an artist, the more I’ve realized that I like making projects that convey/invoke a certain emotion. I still find myself getting scared while nearing the release of a new project that what I’m trying to tell or trying to say isn’t going to come across in the end result. But in the past, I feel like I’ve ended up muddling the message of my art by overexplaining what I’m trying to say. Over time, I’ve tried my best to change my personal mindset from “make something good” to “make something interesting.” Telling myself that instead has helped me truly focus on saying what I feel needs to be said in the way I want to say it. When I released short film, “My Eyes,” people ended up interpreting the film in very different, very unique ways that left a lot of them with questions and theories about the project. Seeing their reaction really showed me in real time that it’s not about explaining the puzzle to someone. It’s about presenting an interesting, engaging puzzle that’s was worth your time to make and their time to engage in. How they feel about their interaction with the art afterwards is the viewer’s own personal journey, one that should be left in the viewer’s hand, just as telling the story is left in my hands.

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?

My name is Jason Carothers. I’m an independent self-taught filmmaker, photographer/videographer and visual artist. Ever since I was a little kid and saw grand fantasy movies like The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings for the first time, I realized I wanted to make cinematic experiences like that. To tell stories that move you and make you feel connected to characters and worlds beyond your own, while still being able to reflect feelings and experiences from this world. I started writing small superhero stories about me, my siblings and my friends as superheroes when I was young, and then entered the visual story world when I started editing videos for my church when I was about 11. Eventually I invested in my first real camera when I was 18 and started making my own video and photo projects, starting out with random quick shoots with my friends and eventually becoming longer narrative projects. I’m currently working on my fourth short film and writing the next one, along with writing my first feature film. As I and my work have grown, I’ve found a deep love in portraying emotions through the bizarre. Whether it’s films, photos or sketches, I think lessons and realizations can sometimes hit the viewer much harder when told through a distorted, peculiar lens instead of one we’re used to.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

At the very base of it all, my goal is to tell stories. I think storytelling has been one of the deepest forms of human connection for as long as humanity has existed. The sharing of experiences, emotions and ideas through tales and fables has continuously taught and shaped us, as can be seen from everything from the books we read, the movies we watch, all the way back to cave drawings. Stories can talk about anything and everything, from experiences that nearly every person has been through in some way, to futures and possibilities beyond our wildest imaginations. One of the best parts of being a storyteller is being able to tell whatever story you want. The canvas is entirely yours to shape and color and present however seems most impactful and fulfilling to you. Grand or simple, a story is a story and will grip whoever needs to hear those specific words in that specific way, sometimes including the storyteller.

Have you ever had to pivot?

When I bought my first professional camera and started doing a lot of random video/photo jobs, I worked on a bunch of projects such as magazine interviews, commercial work, real estate and other random here and there jobs. At first I thought working on projects like those to make my money while working on my own personal projects on the side was the way to really solidify myself in my creative journey. But after over a year of doing that, I realized I was actually losing a lot of passion and happiness in using my equipment for projects that didn’t feel creatively stimulating to me. It was then that I decided to make my money other places/jobs and use my skills for projects that I felt aligned with and connected to. I started making my own independent short films and musical visuals in 2020 with whatever means I had at the time, instead of telling myself I needed to wait until I had “enough funds” or “better equipment.” A story can be told as soon as you’re ready to tell it, no matter what you have at your disposal. A good friend who had excelled in the film world told me years ago, “if you ever make it about the money instead of the passion, then stop doing it.” To this day it’s one of my favorite pieces of advice I’ve ever been given.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasonisntreallyhere/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnCkwBFpQgl_nuseRhTeedQ