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

Justin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Is there a historical figure you look up to? Who are they and what lessons or values have you learned from them?

Marcus Aurelius is my current favorite historical figure. Reading “Meditations” and understanding his story really puts things into perspective. I look up to his leadership and consistent stoic stature that he takes under the pressures and tragedies of life. In his 19 years as Emperor of Rome, Marcus lead an empire through several wars followed by a plague that killed millions of people as well as his adoptive brother Lucius. Through all this, he would watch several of his children die and eventually his wife while rebuilding a struggling empire. If Marcus can go through all of those tragedies and still be considered one of the last “Good Emperors,” then I can work on set with my team while still maintaining my composure so I can protect and take care of those around and under me.
“You shouldn’t give circumstances the power to rouse anger, for they don’t care at all.” – Marcus Aurelius

Justin, 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?

Hi Canvas! Thank you for having me. I am Justin Usami. I primarily work in the film industry as a gaffer. I lead a team of electricians to help the cinematographer achieve their vision, primarily through lighting.
The cinematographers that I work with, as well as myself, are all in our early stages in our careers. So I mainly focus on providing them with tools that allow them to be fast, efficient, and consistent. I am not only responsible for the image to a certain degree, but I am also responsible for making the cinematographer look good in the eyes of the directors and producers that hire and work with them.
I am incredibly privileged to work in the field that I do. I get to work on music videos with artists like Dragon Force, Loveless, Nessa Barrett, Megan Lee, and LINSEY. As a set lighting technician, I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to work with artists like Beyonce, DaBaby, and Mitski, and companies like Amazon, Apple, and Deckers,
My main goal is to help cinematographers bring their vision to life. If I can do that while keeping things fun on set, I’ve succeeded.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

One of the things I miss and admire about living in Japan is the customer service. We have this idea we call “omote nashi” which roughly translates to “no ulterior motives” or “a genuine front.” In this idea, the customer always comes first, and their experience and happiness with the product or service is the top priority, While I’m still learning how to consistently deliver quality, I always try to keep my clientele as satisfied as they can be with their final product. I must always show up early, provide more than what was asked, answer questions quickly and honestly, and always look out for the client’s best interest. If I mess up, I apologize, try to amend the situation, and make sure the problem doesn’t happen again.
Although I am still developing systems to deliver consistent quality service, the customer’s satisfaction has been the most beneficial strategy in growing my business.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Delegation is a difficult lesson to learn because it requires you to unlearn the skills of being a taskmaster. Early on, I always had to do things myself in order to start anything. Whether that be in a film production project in school or running a department on small low budget productions.
But now that I am working with bigger and bigger teams, I’m having to unlearn the skill of getting things done myself. It’s a difficult skill to learn since delegating leaves me biting my nails and trusting in the abilities and motives of others in order to get something done. However, I am surrounded by such genuine friends and colleagues that look out for my best interest. Now, whenever I try to do something myself, my guys (Emilio, Liam, and Justin May) will scold me and tell me to prioritize the big picture. Without my crew, I am nothing, and they deserve my trust. Unlearning the reliance I have on myself will be difficult, but I’m sure, it will be an invaluable experience in the long run.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinusami/

Image Credits
Oscar Gomez Emilio Zertuche Gildo Vigor Benny Chen John Butler Natalie Grace Megan Lee LINSEY We’re All Gonna Die Productions Hyperion Productions