Check Out Peter Mosiman’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Peter Mosiman.

Hi Peter, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Pretty normal kid, from the suburbs of Chicago. I didn’t realize movies were made by people until I took my first film class in college, which I initially took because I thought it would be sweet to watch movies for a class (typical freshman). Very quickly realized that cinematography was the only thing I could ever see myself doing and almost overnight developed an intense passion for everything film related. I always thought the idea of being an artist as a kid would be really cool but didn’t know any adults that did art full time. The combination of technician and art was really what drew me all the way in.

Cut to 15+ years later and I’ve been a full-time cinematographer for 11 or 12 of those years. Don’t ask me how I got here as I don’t really know myself, ha, but its the best job in the whole world and every year I’m fortunate enough to get to stay apart of this industry is mind bogglingly great.

in the spring of 2023 I got offered a film that took me to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan where for 3 months we photographed a 14th Century period action film about a well known and eventually brutal conqueror from that region. The movie came out all over the world recently and is called Rise of the Conqueror.

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?
Of course it has been a bumpy road. I think 95% of careers are choc full of speed bumps, road blockages, full blown detours, etc and if you haven’t had much of any of those then truly count yourself as one of the luckiest people on the planet. Getting knocked down means you have to get back up, the more times you do that, the more you feel like you know the limits of what you’re capable of – how much you can endure.

2020 was a scary year, work was scarce. 2021, 22 were both fantastic years and I think the entire industry thought we were all going to the moon with how much work there was…but it was just a bubble, and it burst, and it burst hard.

2023-almost present day have been incredibly difficult years. There has been just enough work that I’ve been fortunate enough to get that I have been able to keep a roof over my families heads and food on the table and honestly that is enough for me. I’d love to be able to take on more challenging and socially glorious work (who wouldn’t) but I’ve cherished every single second of it. It’s still the best job in the world no matter what you’re photographing.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a cinematographer, director of photography, cameraman….

I’ve photographed many commercials, music videos, short films, as well as about 4-6 feature films depending on what you count as a feature film, and a few docs. I couldn’t tell you what I’m known for, but I can tell you that I hope I’m known for being a calm, confident collaborator who tries to always remember that we aren’t curing cancer but that what we are doing is still essential and important and should be looked at and treated as such.

I’d have to say that I’m most proud of my family first and foremost. If we are talking work, than I’m probably most proud of my work on Rise of the Conqueror, it was a very difficult movie to photograph, with roughly 4 languages being spoken on set at all times and people from many nations working to bring this film to life.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I’ve spent a long time pondering this question. I think that I’m a lot like everyone else, family, friends, community, food, travel, movie theaters, books, music, being outside and enjoying the weather in LA, even my job (which I am very grateful to love). These are all things that bring me joy on a daily basis.

But I think a lot of how our industry/society is nowadays is that you are made to feel like you are always lacking or rather life is almost a constant FOMO. I used to be unhappy when I wasn’t working because I wanted to be getting the jobs I saw everyone around me getting, and then I’d be unhappy when I was working (to a degree, I’ve always loved my job) because I wanted to be spending time with my family and not missing out on things my kids were doing or doing simple joys with my wife.
Social media really trains your mind to think negatively about a lot of things and that really sucks. There were a few years where I was constantly jealous of everyone of my friends and it had a rather negative effect on my health and mental well being. At some point I realized this and decided to do a complete 180. I’m now endlessly proud of every single one of my friends, and I make sure they know it as often as I’m capable of doing so. It has changed my outlook on life, and on the joy of not working when I’m not working and working when I get the chance to do so. Trying to find joy in all aspects of my life, because what else is there to look forward to than tomorrow?

Contact Info:

• Website: https://petermosiman.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/petermosiman

Image Credits
Marlowe Mabel