Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Shauna Garrett. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Shauna, thanks for joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I am very blessed to say, I am earning a living as a full-time filmmaker in Los Angeles as a gaffer, electrician/set lighting technician, and director. It took several years for me to get to this point. I thank God and the friends I have made along the way for the ability to be in this city and consistently working in-and-out of season.

One of the biggest stepping stones that has helped me become the creative I am was overcoming fear of NETWORKING! I am a naturally reserved ambivert at heart… Which is fine! But it had become such a hinderance that even though my work was good, I wasn’t truly connecting with other filmmakers and creatives. It took overcoming that barrier to jumpstart my career – as a freelancer, it’s imperative to know your strengths and weaknesses and advocate for yourself.

What made this career really take off for me was putting in quality work by showing up and doing my best with humility, prioritizing safety, pursuing meaningful relationships with likeminded artists, and ultimately knowing what my work is worth…And getting it!

Looking back, one thing that may have sped up the process would have been exactly that self-advocacy – knowing that I BELONG in creative spaces, to walk in confidence, to not count mistakes as complete failure, and to ask more questions of my betters without shame.

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?

I am a freelance filmmaker working in Los Angeles primarily as a gaffer and a director. I began this journey of filmmaking in 2015 at Southern Crescent Technical College as a double-major in Film and Television Production with a focus on Grip and Lighting – later attending its extension, Georgia Film Academy, through which I landed an internship and later a job at MBS Equipment Co., where I learned crucial knowledge about grip and electric gear that is relevant to this day. My other major in college was Business Management. In 2017, I graduated from Southern Crescent. In February of 2018, I left Georgia to come to Los Angeles and never looked back!
My favorite thing about what I do in the world of lighting is learning more and more about the science and psychology of lighting as a means of storytelling – from choosing color temperatures to deciding what units are of the service to the story we are trying to tell and what effect we want it to have on the viewer. And as a director, what I love most is diving in deeply with actors in pursuit of the character’s truest self in relation to the world we are augmenting to the viewer… All elements in pursuit of honoring the story and entertaining the audience.

I also am an entrepreneur – in 2022 I officially co-launched Monday Routine Productions, LLC. with the intent of amplifying the stories of minorities.

Any advice for managing a team?

Effective and morale-building management at any capacity requires empathy – for your subordinates, for the people above you, and for your clientele and audience. It also requires a clear mission and delineation of responsibilities that are delegated. Other tools for effective team management are allowing periods of rest and refreshment in the workday, hiring the appropriate amount of personnel for the task/job at hand, paying fair wages, and communication without fear of being shamed or judged.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being a creative artist is the beautiful, organized chaos of making a project come to life from development to its distribution to audiences, knowing I had a hand in making it happen in some capacity. There’s something so beautiful and communal about collaborative art in media that connects us across languages, cultures, races and ethnicities that inspires me every day to be better and keep learning more every time I step into a project.

Contact Info:

• Website: shaunagarrett.com
• Instagram: @shaunagarrett_ and @shaunagarrettfilm
• Other: mondayroutineproductions.com @mondayroutineproductions

Image Credits
Personal Image: Emily Logan Additional Photos: Emily Logan, Becky Sapp, Cristian Urbina