Daily Inspiration: Meet Eric Hinwood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Hinwood.

Hi Eric, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Salinas CA and co-founded an independent film production company called ATAEC Studios with high school friends that also attended a film trade school called the HARA Motion Picture Conservatory.
After graduating from both York School (my high school) and HARA in 2012, I shot my first feature film when I was 18 years old, a travel comedy called Carpe Diem European Escapade. A group of 4 recent high school graduates, (Aaron Shi, Collin McDowell, Selena Welling, and I), all members of ATAEC Studios, took a backpacking trip around Europe, visiting 5 countries in 5 weeks to shoot this film that I wrote, directed, acted in, and crowdfunded. We got back about a month before we went off to college.
I began attending Whittier College while Aaron Shi and I edited Carpe Diem, which we finished additional photography for in summer of 2013. However, post-production was delayed because in December of 2013 I fell off a cliff in Big Sur CA and almost died, suffering from two blunt force trauma-induced strokes, blood loss, memory loss, hearing loss, spinal compression, digestive tract issues, and more. I lost 40 lbs in the week following the accident and had to use a walker to get around for about a month afterwards. It would be determined that I had been left mentally disabled by that accident.
Luckily, I took my recovery seriously and initially bounced back fairly well. I was able to get an international distribution deal for Carpe Diem through Adler and Associates Entertainment Inc. in 2015 and graduated from Whittier College in 2016 with a B.A. in Film Production and Business, a B.A. in French Language and Literature, and a minor in Spanish.
In 2017 I finished directing my first feature film shot in the US, called War of the Limelight, which was produced by the founders of the HARA Motion Picture Conservatory. However, symptoms of my previous injuries seemed to worsen with age, and for a few years I moved away from acting and directing and more towards editing and producing. I became a film consultant and editor for a company called Paramour Pictures from 2017-2019, and I made a Director’s Cut of War of the Limelight during the covid pandemic. I also became the lead singer for an LA County band called Savage Parakeet that I’ve been playing with for 6 years now.
Because of my memory issues and with the encouragement of my doctors, I created a written memory that’s over 10,000 pages long to help me remember my past and keep the events of my life in order. In 2024 I began a new endeavor using my written memory called Live Life for the Stories, a series of videos about various projects I worked on and life events I experienced, capitalizing on what I learned from those experiences and how others can avoid some of the mistakes I made along the way. Live Life for the Stories season 4 premiered on March 5th, 2026, and I plan to continue it for years to come.
Happily, I’ve been able to manage my medical issues better in recent years and have been recovering more than my doctors believed possible. It’s still an ongoing process, but my capabilities are increasing now instead of decreasing, leaving me hopeful about my future in the film industry. I continue to edit, act, and produce films and videos to this day.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road at all. Working in the film industry is a challenging environment to say the least, and I found myself bouncing between directing feature films and then being a production assistant for minimum wage, editing films and then being a background actor in larger productions, etc. It was very non-linear, and I sometimes found that the better jobs (directing an independent short film) were unpaid, and the lesser jobs (being a production assistant for a project) were paid.
When my health was at it’s worst, I hesitated to take on full-time positions long-term because I worried that my body wouldn’t be able to keep up with what was required, so I leaned heavily on short-term gigs that would allow me some recovery time before I took on the next project.
On top of that, my parents are divorced and have very low income, so I definitely haven’t gotten the familial assistance that I saw a lot of my peers and co-workers receive as they got started in the industry. I feel both lucky and proud that I’ve been able to continue living in LA County since I was 18.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I specialize in projects that give insight into and perspective on experiences that many people might not be aware of. Two good examples of this are a film I made about going through a breakup while experiencing PTSD, titled PTSB: Post-Traumatic Stress Breakup, and a song I wrote about dealing with TBIs (Traumatic Brain Injuries) titled Brain Pain by Savage Parakeet. Each of those projects takes a unique perspective and shares it with the world in the hope that people who are unfamiliar with that experience can better understand people that go through situations like that.
In my opinion this sets me apart from others because I’ve met very few mentally disabled songwriters/filmmakers, and I’m proud to share my perspective with the world and help others who do have these experiences feel less alone in their struggles.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
What I like best about the city of Los Angeles is that people from all over the world come here to work and interact with other creatives. I find more hope, inspiration, and drive here than anywhere else I’ve been to, and seeing that keeps me motivated to continue my own work and keep what I’m passionate about alive in my heart and mind.

What I like least about our city is how crowded and expensive it is.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erichinwood/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erichinwood1/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/ATAECStudios
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/savage-parakeet
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5225923/

Image Credits
Alex Peterson
Selena Welling