Today we’d like to introduce you to Shaun White
Hi Shaun, 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?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be involved in some aspect of the filmmaking process, via acting, writing, directing, production design, costuming, computer graphics, film scoring, anything really. As a child, I was ridiculously lucky enough to have an abundance of films at my disposal on VHS and early DVD. Ever since then, I have been obsessed with motion pictures and the entire process of movies itself. However, despite my interest in so many fields of film, I’ve always found myself coming back to my love of directing/storytelling.
Here we are today. It’s been a long journey, full of twists and turns, heartbreak, and self doubt. However, on the happy side of my aspiring career, I am currently doing what I truly love, with many friends and family to thank. I have surrounded myself with many creatives who share my deep interest in movie making and entertainment as a whole, Broadway/theatre, painting, dance, singing/music, writing, and more. These folks, to say the least, have become my peers and colleagues over the years. It’s never a dull day, having as many passion projects running through my head, along with the other countless ventures that I help collaborate on with said parters.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No. Absolutely not! A “smooth road” to any career is not one worth having. A rough road builds strength and character. Despite everything negative in my past, I consider myself blessed to have had so many trials and tribulations. Karma is a real thing, it exists, and if one is lucky enough to experience it, they know full well that it can and will humble oneself and make them into a person of integrity. In a previous interview by the ever informative CanvasRebel Magazine, I highlighted and touched upon some of these moments, https://canvasrebel.com/meet-shaun-white/, specifically the question; “Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?”
In addition to other struggles along the way, I still, to this day, have uphill battles, both large and small scale. For instance, I do and always will, consider myself a late bloomer to the entertainment industry, despite my childhood dream. As I am still coming up in my independency, I find it very hard to find time to sync up with many other schedules, those schedules belonging to others. Most of, if not all of my current collaborators, are dear friends of mine, people with families and other jobs outside of filmmaking. You could call them the blue collar individuals of the entertainment industry. With so many different lives doing so many different things, it can be a bit strenuous achieving a solid plan on occasion, to have a well oiled machine, all set to the proper “call sheet” if you will.
However, I don’t think I would have it any other way. I adore the fact that these are real people, with day-to-day struggles, who have many different priorities. They are not just a number at a large studio. There is something more human knowing that, including trust and understanding. Also, it becomes more real and more motivation is behind us when we finally come together as a unit.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I suppose my official title would be film director. Titles, like art, are subjective, especially these days. However, I do write most of my own material. Simply put, I write what I would like to direct, also what I think others might want to see. In specific terms, I consider myself a storyteller, first and foremost. Without sounding too pretentious during a conversation, I choose to say “storyteller” before I say director. It’s nothing more than a small preference that I have, only because I dabble in so many projects and forms. I have no pride when it comes to a film set’s hierarchy. I have no problem being in charge, a leader, directing a grand project or simply following orders, say holding a boom mic for audio. The process involves everyone and every career path. It takes everyone to make a/the story come to life.
I am known to my colleagues and viewers (audience), as someone professionally, who will try many different things, especially when it comes to genre. I can’t honestly say that I am best known for any one thing in particular. Every new project that I am a part of, I try to separate myself from my own stereotype. Just like an actor, as a director, I refuse to become type-casts as the horror guy, the comedy guy, the sci-fi guy, etc. I’ve written and directed a nostalgic drama, that just so happened to be whimsical. I have written and directed a dark Neo Western, with practical and unsettling undertones. Next, I look to venture into animation, with an upcoming music video, built from the ground up, utilizing virtual reality into practicality.
Sure, this could be slightly detrimental in the future to my marketability as a director, especially when studio heads are peeking into my resume. However, I don’t want to leave any stone unturned. I dream to venture into every genre as possible. I’m sure I will find my niche, but I want to have fun while doing it. I wish to explore and innovate at every opportunity that I can.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
I couldn’t even begin to answer such a question. It would take countless pages to sum up the people who have believed in me. The following response is minuscule to the appreciation I have for these individuals. However, I will simply do my best to recollect those who deserve my praise.
Firstly, my deepest thanks goes to God. Through Him, I couldn’t even fathom support He gave me and continues to give me in my life’s journey. In the inception of my young career as a student, at the Los Angeles Film School, in Hollywood, California, my personal favorite professor, who I consider my mentor, Mr. Jay Zabriskie, is someone I still hold in high regard. Towards the end of my college days, the months leading to graduation, Professor Zabriskie taught my peers and I, the crucial and bare bone fundamentals of completing a thesis-worthy short film. He threw out the rule book, discreetly of course. He taught me to shoot your movie, under strict regulations. Through the wink, wink, fine print hoopla, he would constantly, look at me in the eye and tell me to “shoot your movie,” Shaun. He made me feel like a very young Captain Kirk, from Star Trek, undergoing the Kobayashi Maru. Zembriski’s “shoot your movie” was Kirk’s, “I don’t believe in the win scenario.”
Further gratitude goes to the support I have had from the Tukes brothers, of the Inland Empire. Their facility, in Riverside, California, TUKES STUDIOS, co-owned by each other, Joshua, Elijah, and Michael Tukes, has allowed me to have a second start outside of Hollywood. They help make my dreams become a reality with their central media location. Their in house tech grants me opportunities to where I don’t have to outsource any equipment that might be out of reach for the common man. Aside from their brick and mortar business, their love and friendship has carried me a long way from where I was many years ago.
Some of my biggest cheerleaders and rally men are also my creative colleagues, from my actors, who I regularly use, to my film composer, and other contact creators in my circle. These people have continuously shown me their allegiance to my material and are always glad to be a part of it. They will shamelessly give me a plug when and if I ever need it, to propel my status in entertainment. A damn near stupid amount of support has always been given to me by my friends and family, (my parents, siblings, and in laws), neighbors for that matter, and even my social media followers. They constantly shower me with unconditional affection towards my craft.
However, if there is to be a single human, that deserves the most credit to my achievements, it would most definitely have to go to my beautiful, intelligent, and loving wife, JoAnna. Her endless support has taken me into the sub stratosphere and straight into the far reaches of space and beyond. She is forever willing to give me chance, after chance, to prove myself as a husband and creator. In marriage and in my directing endeavors for that matter, she has been my rock, believing in me, even if there was no one else to do it. I credit her to be the brains behind the whole operation. Humbly, I know that she is much smarter than me. However, her kindness would never allow herself to even think that about me. She is and always will be my original producer, giving me the emotional support, financial support, spiritual support, physical support, mental support, and the love of a true spouse.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://filmfreeway.com/ShaunWhite
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shaunleewhite/profilecard/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/ePCmPqsNsgw?si=dneTKole_4O9gNiC
- Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/sjdqxQPebnyKZdmdA
- Other: https://youtu.be/VjNUZuEfFos
Image Credits
Michael Tukes
David Kei. S
JoAnna White
Joshua Tukes
