We were lucky to catch up with Tony Coon recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tony, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

A few years ago I got to film a project called Follicles, the story of a lonely man who finds an alien after his ship crashes. It’s a music video for Jeff Riddles band Five Hundred Bucks but with full narrative storyline. It was a full circle moment and project where I got to reconnect with director Matthew John Lawrence, whom was my professor in college over 10 years ago. The video made it into a few film fests and also won two for best music video, which was a first for me to even make it into a film fest! It was the first time where I felt like I had become a real filmmaker finally, if you will. But more importantly it lead to some great friendships where we’ve all continued to collaborate on future projects together. It’s a project that will always hold a special place in my heart with one of the best DIY cast and crews!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Filming really started as a hobby with skateboarding. Running around filming stupid skits and tricks at random spots with friends was how I grew up. It was Ann Coen from Ann Coen Photography who ultimately gave me the chance at turning this into a career. She always knows how to push you in the right direction and gave me the work ethic and drive to go for it full time. But more importantly she puts the most thought and care towards growing the person behind the camera. The business and creative are nothing if the person doesn’t grow too. She’s been one of the biggest supporters for the beginning. I’ve gone from skate videos to weddings, documentary work to commercials and now short films into feature films.

In May of 2017 I was in a motorcycle accident with a friend. Ryan Johnson. Both of our bikes were cut off by another vehicle. Luckily we survived but we both suffered some major trauma, breaks and took months to recover. I unfortunately lost my right eye in the accident, hence the eye patch. After that I decided I just needed to try and do more as an artist. Not just my sight but my life was almost taken so I felt I had to push harder to learn as much as I could and become, hopefully, a better cinematographer and person. Because who knows how much longer we got left ya know? Yes, I’m open to pirate jokes.

Traveling has to be one of the biggest inspirations for me, another lesson from Ann Coen. Always be traveling, experiencing and just seeing the world. Oh and eating, try the food everywhere. There’s so much out there worth experiencing!

I think that’s the main thing as an artist, especially in this field. It’s a team effort and when there’s a bad cog in the wheel it can drag the whole operation down. Constantly push yourself creatively and grow in that sense but always be a positive force to be around and work with. Be a good person. When I work with clients and directors I want to be collaborating together and we have to all jive. Let’s make the best possible project we can and be proud of what we were able to accomplish together. Leave the ego at the door, just work hard, create with others and have some fun. Then repeat.

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

Just seeing everyone’s hard work come together in one final product is always the best! That’s any project, it takes a village and a damn good one to make any cool stuff happen. These projects take a lot of time, effort and we put ourselves into these creative endeavors and businesses 24/7. So it’s the best when the hard work is finally out there for everyone to see!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I just love to help tell stories to the best of my ability. Anytime I get a chance to do that, especially on a bigger level like a feature film, there’s no better feeling than that. To be fully free creatively and exist with other creatives for whatever duration of time. There’s a feeling at the end of everyday thats hard to explain but it just feels right. The goal is to push each other and create something we’re all hopefully proud of in the end! To constantly help tell more stories with other creatives, that’s always the mission.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tonycoonfilms.com
• Instagram: @tonycoonfilms
• Facebook: @tonycoonfilms
• Youtube: @tonycoonfilms

Image Credits

Behind the Scenes photos by Ryan Johnson
Frames are from various recent projects I filmed in the past year