Check Out Connor Austin Jones’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Connor Austin Jones.

Hi Connor Austin, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
It’s funny when I think about where I was about 7/8 years go; moving to Los Angeles was not in the picture. I was deep in the world of neuroscience, set to attend the University of Illinois for bioengineering to pursue becoming a neurosurgeon (I’m being very serious). As much as I did enjoy learning about the brain, I had also been recruited by a talent scout (Bryan Clawson a.k.a. Papa B) who brought me out to LA for a dance intensive. Those two weeks in LA the summer before I left for college started turning some gears.

I was a competitive gymnast at the time, recruited to Illinois’s team — so there wasn’t time to dance or act outside of class and the gym. Then I tore my ACL and meniscus and it took me out of the gym for a while. I found myself going to the movies much more. I had the A-list pass and was taking the bus to AMC and would be there all day watching like 3 or 4 movies back-to-back. Partially coping, but also just cause I found a new love. I had spent 13 years as an elite gymnast – having placed at the Junior Olympics and been part of the team who won the Big Ten Team Championships – and just couldn’t see my future in the sport anymore, which sucked.

Thankfully, film and entertainment came around at the perfect time. I switched my major to computer engineering with a music minor; I got to study visual effects, video game programming and audio mixing/mastering, which I run into more and more now as a director and screenwriter. I moved home for a year after COVID and took a Meisner class with a teacher whose work method and kindness I take with me always, the late Wendy Ward. That class in particular made me realize how much I enjoyed the crafting of creative work and how improvement over time coincides with a personal journey as you better learn who you are and what you can be capable of doing. I later applied to Identity School of Acting, was accepted and made the move to LA.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
At first, my biggest challenge came in making the jump from the science/tech field to creativity, as I thought the two were mutually exclusive. Which is funny because, although I went to a STEM magnet school, it was also very artistic. I helped produced my first stage show there, as I choreographed and/or partook in a few numbers from the show. We had this show called I-Nite, and we would sell out a couple of shows over the 4-day weekend in a 2000-seat auditorium at George Mason. Yet for some reason, when I first started stepping into this field as an actor first, and then as a director, I just felt really insecure, like I didn’t belong. Especially when I started attending conservatory at IDSA, I realized how big the personalities are in this world of film and TV are (very different from a multivariable calculus or operating systems class). That was something I knew I had to deal with quickly because I was doubting my own work in the light of other creatives whose work I admired. I shelved projects consistently that I thought were ok but weren’t “GREAT.” Your standard imposter syndrome/artist perfectionism combination that was only exacerbated by meeting these people who I thought were infinitely more interesting than I could ever be.

I’ve since worked past this insecurity (or I try to). I try to approach an opportunity to work creatively with as much freedom and confidence possible. I choose to voice my opinion more often than needed rather than sit silently and wait for the right time to speak up. Of course, there is always a time and place, but I’ve been finding myself as an artist and realizing how I enjoy running the set and creating an open environment for people to work, and I wouldn’t be able to pursue this career with that fear in the way.

The other big challenge, as always, is time and money. It always ends up coming down to time and money, and maybe that’s because producing films has made me look at budgeting and scheduling in a different way, but I see the limitations time and money cast on creativity and creative endeavors from all sides. I’ve been lucky enough to have a great, little server job down in L.A. Live at Fixins. The people are cool, staff is great and the management is really amazing and I’ve been lucky enough to make enough of a living to sustain myself in LA. However, server hours eat at creative hours and I’ve accordingly found myself rewriting scripts at four in the morning after a weekend shift or going over a one-line schedule on my phone during my break at work. It’s created this sort of world where I’m working pretty much from the time I wake up to the time I sleep.

The people that know me know that for some reason I’m never not working and it’s just because producing the ideas in your head takes time a lot of time and costs money. Unfortunately, you also gotta make money to live, and that comes first. It’s taken some time but I think I’m getting better at pacing the day job and the creative job so I can progress to the creative job full-time without rolling through burnouts.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
These days I consider myself a director, a producer, a screenwriter, an actor and dancer, as well as a singer sometimes (if you catch it) — basically, just a creative. My work has led me to film and TV fairly naturally, but I hope to extend over to the stage one day as well. For right now, I’m focused on directing. I want to direct a few short films to continue developing my visual language; but with an award-winning documentary short (“Citizen of the World: Arthur Ashe”) and an award-nominated narrative short (“OTL”) under my belt, I really am eager to direct my feature directorial debut.

My most recent action-sports short, “On The Line,” had its North American premiere at Mammoth Film Festival earlier this year. This premiere came right after its International Premiere and award nomination for best cinematography at the 2022 Cannes Shorts Festival, thanks in no small part to the work of OTL’s cinematographer, Ian S. Peterson. I was lucky enough to have this film supported by the Gotham Film & Media Institute and From the Heart Productions, who provided invaluable support to the project’s development.

Currently, I’m prepping to directing a Project for the music video for a phenomenal L.A. based artist, D’Zhari. I’m also in pre-production for a feature film I’ll be firsting, By The Grape of God — a big SuperBad-Sideways vibing comedy directed by a friend I met at Yale, Colmcille Donston, written by Kevin Hickey, and starring Sean Szatkwoski. I’m super excited about learning more about running the set exclusively crew side and know it’s only gonna help me when I direct my next project somewhere down the line. I’m literally always creating something new whenever I can find a piece of paper or got the notes app open. I always have an idea, and anybody who knows me knows that all you gotta do is ask.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
The best way for people to find mentors is 1) to network. Networking looks like a lot of things. Networking is attending industry premieres/networking events with business cards. Networking is also hanging out with people you meet on your journey and developing relationships. Your network are truly the people you look up to and want to learn from, at least that’s how I feel, and vice versa. Also, go to networking events and show up as yourself because long-term, the mentor-mentee relationship is only beneficial if you’re willing to be yourself. The journey through this field is so personal, and the people you meet can help you best when you’re your authentic self.

One of the things I will say I’m terrible at is communicating with my mentors. I tend to just watch from afar and try to study and absorb some of their methods. So a tip for people (that I don’t particularly follow but am trying to get better at) is not to feel afraid to reach out when you have a question because it likely won’t be intrusive. I’ve always felt like an intrusive person, so I’ve avoided reaching out to my mentors, instead choosing to learn the hard way. In hindsight, a lot of headaches could have been avoided if I’d reached out to the mentors who’d already done it before me.

Oh, and before I forget, 2) apply to fellowships and labs. Attend training classes and seminars. Do the live workshops. Invest in the craft and in your understanding of this industry and the field you want to be in. I’ve found by applying for these programs, I’ve met creatives itching to work and to do something of meaning, and it’s helped me realize how a strong community can amplify your own work. I feel held to the mark in a way but am simultaneously inspired by the kinds of creativity in the people around me. So do the things and go to the places where the people be and be yourself.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.filmfreeway.com/ConnorAustinJones
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/okconnor_
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/okconnor_
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/8UGTdScjqxg
• Other: tinyurl.com/DirectorJones

Image Credits
Shot and Edited by Cristian Urbina