Today we’d like to introduce you to Joey J. Haley.
Hi Joey J., we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Yeah! Absolutely. For context, I’m Joey, I use he/him pronouns most of the time, I’m genderfluid. I was born in New Hampshire but I did a lot of growing up in Fortaleza, Brazil where my mom is from. Portuguese was my first language and English came quickly after. While growing up bilingual has many advantages, it made language and communication for me hard at times. The confusion makes sense for pursuing the creative arts; surpassing verbal language as a means to communicate.
My guilty-not-guilty pleasure favorite movie is Pirates of the Caribbean. When I first watched it when I was eight and before I even had a concept of what set was or how movies were made, I remember thinking to myself “that’ll be me one day.”
In NH, where I did most of my schooling, I had minimal to no resources for a film or dance outlet. I took it upon myself to become a self-taught dancer in heels and various forms of hip hop. It wasn’t until I met Larry Graykin, my middle school English teacher, that I began to understand film more.
Years later, I went to Mount Holyoke College and pursued a double major in Film and Dance. When I was on campus, my focus was on dance and choreography. Film still seeped its way into my dance projects, one of which was an interdisciplinary project called Off the Air. It has been showcased and won the “Best of Mount Holyoke” award in the Five College Film Festival (2019) which lead to show in the Massachusetts Multicultural Film Festival (2019). Because MHC was a liberal arts college, I knew I needed to obtain my technical knowledge elsewhere. So I did a semester abroad in Prague taking various technical classes at TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU), and did another semester with a Sarah Lawrence College feature film program in 2019. The latter semester equipped me with the information, experience and resources to work on set.
The Director of Photography on that feature, David Dolnik, is responsible for what I do today as a Steadicam Operator. The story goes: working under a DP for the first time is intimidating. During this Sarah Lawrence program, a small group of various liberal art students set out to Nantucket Island during the winter season. This information is important because basically no one but us and some locals were on the island and we had all of our meals in one restaurant. One morning I was getting myself coffee and the line of students and professors behind me was long. I look up to see David leaning on the closest wall waiting to get his coffee. In a whirlwind of anxiety, I accidentally filled my coffee cup to the brim, mumbled sorry, and swerved around him and a couple of other students in the tight cafe. He stopped me in my tracks and said, “you didn’t spill a single drop of that…you should become a Steadicam operator.” This was before I even understood how to identify a proper camera battery and put it on charge; let alone anything about the camera world.
That summer of 2019 I pursued my first Steadicam workshop, while also conducting research for my dance capstone back at MHC. In brief, my research was on communication and expectations; movement-based practices on the unconscious and phenomenological level of how one move versus how one is expected to move through the world in consideration with perspective and truths. I read many theory books as a part of my research which I’ll identify later as extremely influencing my current creative projects.
My capstone performance in March 2020 was a heels performance called “Living In The Boundaries”. I graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 2020, finishing out my capstone with a screenwriting class over Zoom. During deep quarantine where I had nothing but time, the short 12pg screenplay I wrote for my final turned into a full feature called The Maze. The feature script turned into another creative representation of my capstone research while also being an outlet for all the events of that summer; BLM protests, wide discussions around political corruption and injustices, the growth of TikTok and awareness of algorithms, and the swell of Qanon conspiracies and its effects. The fictional screenplay grew into a story of communication breaching the division of two (mentally, emotionally, physically) potentially violent opposing parties through which the context of the political world around them is slowly unveiled, revealing a larger truth.
Later on, in the midst of the closed pandemic, I was itching to jump back into Steadicam work as well as movement practice in general. Once I found out what the TRINITY was and that it exists, I invested my money into a workshop. I later managed to get my hands on one and practice via the generous support from the operator from Mr. Robot. After my second Steadicam workshop in 2022, I met a mentor who works at ARRI and works closely with the TRINITY. He saw my potential and steadfastness to learn and to capture movement in these specialized ways, and with his support, I secured a spot in, what I believe, was Burbank’s first in-person TRINITY workshop. I got to watch the best and up-and-coming TRINITY owner-operators talk troubleshooting and how they’ve managed to wield the TRINITY on jobs. Being a newbie fly-on-the-wall to their innovative conversations to the craft was a phenomenal experience.
So, where am I today in my story? In 2021, I moved to LA to begin my full-time professional career in the film industry. That same year I won an “Excellence in Cinematography” award for Best Camera Motion in Smashed, presented by Cynthia Pusheck ASC. With Steadicam jobs coming more steadily and TRINITY operating under my belt and reel; I’m a rising camera operator with a foundational love and understanding for movement. Ask me a year ago, I would say my goal in life was to solely DP. Today, while I’m still excited to shoot, I’m looking at the world beyond the responsibilities and influence a DP possesses. Directing, with an intense understanding coming up through G&E and camera departments and the will to keep my crew happy and safe, might just be wiggling its way into my life. I feel as though I’m on the precipice of more, something larger than myself. Visual media is the most influential and accessible thing there is in this modern world, so it’s important in my praxis that every project I make really says something worthwhile, as cliché as that might sound. Outside of my operating, I’m starting to gather the pre-production materials to pitch and fundraise the proof of concept for The Maze. Exciting stuff, I’d say. I’m young and my journey is still just beginning, molding.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There are the external struggles of how my identity impacts how people behave around me and (continue to) pass criticism or judgments about what my body is capable of, even presently, from directors or DPs I don’t frequently work with, regardless of if I grip or I am a Steadicam op that day. I’ve learned how to deal with prejudice since I grew up socially as a ‘girl’ and didn’t medically transition for a number of years for various reasons. I must disclaim that I have an immense amount of privilege in being white and medically transitioning with testosterone- to those who I pass with unquestionably, (which is never the goal of my gender expression) treat me with male privilege. At times, it helps surpass in the male-dominated industry but there has been a disgusting number of times that my trans-ness is negatively highlighted when I’m the (one of few or only) one voicing safety concerns. On certain sets, the responses I received for highlighting unsafe/unnecessary actions or decisions made by higher-ups is not the response a cis-male would receive if he voiced the same concerns. It’s a continuous battle of not being heard or respected whereas if another person of stature expressed the same things, the response would be different.
The most difficult struggle of my journey so far has been grappling with feeling lost. External struggles are something I can take action with, whereas feeling lost is overwhelming in mind and spirit. There were many times in my educational years of not knowing which direction I was headed; in life, in work, in research, in my interests. Starting out, there were few resources that got me to places I wanted to be or it was the simple fact that I didn’t know where to start looking for resources. It all felt too much at times. Many times I felt as a society taught me; I needed to pick one path. How was I supposed to pursue dance and film? There was no way, I thought.
During the pandemic, I dropped my dance praxis almost completely. Not because I wanted to but because as a house dancer and a contact improvisation mover, I fed and responded off of other people’s movements and energies. Quarantine cut that all off.
The most recent year taught me that Steadicam perfectly melds movement and film and fulfills me in a way that nothing else has yet; creating shots, dancing with the camera, talking with actors, directors and the DP to coordinate the perfect shot or what could be. It’s kind of like directing in a movement-technical sense.
All your interests are your interests for a reason. I only recently stopped fighting that. I think visually and in movement: Steadicam, later who knows, directing. Can you tell that my current struggle is admitting what I actually want? Work in progress.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a camera operator and 1st AC in the film industry, but I specialize in Steadicam operating. I’m known for my dance background as I bring it to almost everything I do. I’m most proud of my journey and how far I’ve come and grown in a short amount of time. I dream big and aim higher- and I don’t let the details of the “why’s” and “how’s” stop me from starting and figuring it out on the way.
I’m focused on honing my skills as an operator but on the flip side, I’m also focused on fundraising for my own projects coming up; specifically The Maze, a couple community shorts, and another feature currently in the works.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
Multiple ways! The main way at the moment, -shamelessly plugging my proof of concept- as we are still in the early stages of setting up online fundraising campaigns but if anyone has and wants to give resources; anything from old clothes they don’t want anymore, to a space or service they can provide, or connections to kind-hearted financiers, please email me! The Maze is fiscally sponsored and partnered with From the Heart Productions which means you can write off your donation at the end of the fiscal year. Email for more info about The Maze, why it should be made and what resources, physical or informational, you can help provide!
Other ways to work or collaborate with me is to contact me if you need a Steadicam operator or a set choreographer! Reels and info provided on my website joeyjhaley.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.joeyjhaley.com/joey-j-haley
- Instagram: @your.local.steadicam.op
- Email: [email protected]
Image Credits
Taylor Balfour, Kate Asmus, Charles Flachs, Danna Kinsky, and Ashly Covington
