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

Joe, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

It’s honestly hard for me to pinpoint any specific moment, as I think it kind of came in stages throughout my life, starting all the way back with when my parents let me watch the first Sam Raimi Spider-Man film. But, to narrow it down a bit and use something a little more recent, I think I’d have to say the time I showed my Dad a short film of mine is when things really solidified for me.

At the time, I was coming up on finishing my local community college’s TV Production program, and my final project was to make a 10 minute short film. Cool cool. So, the short film I ended up making followed a guy named Austin, who is grieving the death of his friend Connor, as well as the depression of what direction his life is going to take afterwards. The film is essentially a series of flashbacks between Austin and Connor, where-in each one Connor is always encouraging Austin to pursue his passion of poetry. At the end of the final flashback, Austin seems to come to terms with Connor’s death on some level, and returns home to write a poem about him, signaling that Austin will pursue his dreams in honor of his friend.

Anyways, a while after I’d finished the short film for school, I finally ended up letting my Dad watch it. I have a weird thing about seeing people watch my work (something Im trying to get better about), so I ended up leaving the room while he watched. Once I knew the short film was close to being done, I walked back downstairs expecting the usual parental praise and support that I normally get from my Dad when I show him stuff I make, which I am grateful for, dont get me wrong, but I tend to dismiss that stuff a lot since “they’re my parents, they’re supposed to say those things”.

However, to my surprise, I came back to the living room to find my dad tearing up. While I was generally happy with what I ended up making, I certainly didn’t think it was good enough to warrant that kind of reaction. So, I asked my Dad why he was crying. He told me that the dynamic between Austin and Connor had reminded him of one of his old childhood friends; Paul, who had passed away a few years back from cancer. We got to talking a little more, and my Dad opened up to me that the conflict Austin had about his career in the film had also reminded him of how he sometimes wonders how his life would’ve turned out if he’d pursued architecture rather than staying in the Navy for 27 years.

After we’d finished talking, I returned my room, kind of feeling bad for making my Dad cry. But at the same time, I got a feeling of… accomplishment? Satisfaction? In knowing that I was able to make something that brought about that kind of emotional reaction and self reflection in someone. And its from here, I was 100% certain that I needed to pursue a career in art. While I did end up changing my course to focus more on the music side of things rather than film, the meaning of this moment still holds to me, and is what has continued to drive me as I compose tracks, create video essays, and share all of these creations with my friends, family, and whoever else is willing to take some time out of their day to listen to what I have to say.

Joe, 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?

Hey! My name is Joe Dahlin and I am primarily a freelance video editor and music composer. While these pursuits aren’t currently my main source of income, I hope to make that the case further down the line. For the time being I am mostly pursuing personal projects, such as my YouTube channel where I create video essays related to video games, music and film, creating film and video game soundtrack-esque music on my spare time, and working on any projects my friends request my help with.

That being said I am always looking for outside work I can do video editing or creating music for people, and used to work as the main video editor for a couple of podcast series and have done various promotional videos over the past couple years. As a result I think I’ve really been able to manage to implement my personal editing style in a professional setting, while still knowing how to cater to a clients needs.

Definitely what I’m currently most proud of is my YouTube channel and the video essays I’ve been making for it. They’ve been such a great creative outlet and allow me so much creative freedom from both an editing and writing standpoint. While I still deal with quite a bit of imposter syndrome with it, I am also pretty proud of my last few tracks I’ve composed as well.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think on a macro level it would first have to start with everyone having a much higher standard of living than most possess right now. Because of how profit-driven and in a lot of cases; unfair the current life of a working-class person is right now, it really doesn’t leave people a lot of time to pursue the things they feel a true calling towards. And in a lot of cases, that thing is artistic in nature. It really is such a lucky thing to be able to have your art be your main focus in life, but it’s not easy in the slightest to reach that point for a majority of people, and I think thats a tragedy. Just think about how many beautiful films, paintings, compositions, buildings or novels we’ve missed out on as a society simply because exorbitant medical bills, student debt, and the need to potentially work a job you hate just to survive, has kept so many from achieving their full potential. I think anything you as an individual can do to move us closer to a future where those roadblocks don’t exist for people, whether it be voting, community outreach, or even just speaking to friends and family, all these little changes will come together to make something huge. Is this maybe an unrealistic, utopian level of thinking? Possibly, but it’s worth a shot nonetheless.

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

Though I mentioned it in one of my previous answers, I think the most rewarding part of it for me has always been to tangibly see the effect your art has on people, especially people closest to you. Sure, self fulfillment is always a part of it too, sometimes you have something you truly need to just get out there and express, and it feels great to do so. And sometimes, its not even something you want to share with the rest of the world, and thats fine too! But, you are almost always your biggest critic, and I think that can cause a lot of issues with the self-fulfillment aspects of creating art. For me at least, that reassurance that I’ve actually made something “worthwhile” is when I can finally get that outside reaction from a person who’s opinion I really value. Whether it be getting my Dad to cry watching a short film I made, my friends watching one of my video essays and telling me how much it reminded them of their childhood, or even just getting to hear what one of my friends is picturing as they listen to a composition I’ve made, thats always the best part. My greatest fear as an artist would be to receive completely apathy in turn, so whether it’s criticism or praise, I’m just happy to be making someone feel.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joedollyin/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-dahlin-b97338211/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbAu8u-kQ1IQ7KChq6BRMdw