Meet Gary Landry Jr of Glendale

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gary Landry Jr.

Hi Gary, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I am a native SoCal – Angelino. I grew up in the South Bay and I am a graduate of Bishop Montgomery High School, El Camino College, CSULB and CSUDH. I started working in corporate sales through college and I eventually got burned out with the 9-5 corporate life and the ever-escalating sales target goals just to keep a monthly bonus.

So I started looking for a career change and decided to try the entertainment industry. I’ve always enjoyed the art of creative storytelling and the first time I saw something that I shot and edited on a big screen, I was hooked. I have worked as video editor, visual effects artist / compositor, cinematographer, producer, writer, and as a director. I’ve worked on some cool projects and I’ve won a few awards along the way, but, as we all know, work in Hollywood has been on the decline the past few years.

Once again, I found myself changing directions. I still work in the video space, but I have been pivoting more towards still photography. This still allows me to stay creative, but in a new way … to tell a story within a single frame. I am now focusing on trying to grow my brand at Tilted Hat Productions and incorporate new technologies such as AI into my work to help tell stories through video and photography.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There are always challenges and struggles. It’s when things are going too smoothly that I tend to get nervous; like there is something wrong that I just can’t see yet. Things change, industries change, and technology definitely helps expedite certain changes. I always try to stay in the know of new technologies, methodologies, and industry trends. It’s better to have a pulse on what may be coming around the corner rather than having to play catchup. It’s a constant learning process.

When I entered into the film/tv space as a video editor, each project had a separate job for a colorist, motion graphics artist, sound mixer, sound recorder, visual fx artist, etc… A lot of the jobs out there now, that aren’t working with a studio level budget, expect one person to be able to do it all and sometimes even light and shoot it as well. So I had to adapt and become proficient in all aspects of the production and post production processes. Luckily, the technology has evolved to a point where it’s now a lot more economical to be able to do all of these things.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in helping the creative vision come to life. Since I have a very diverse skillset and the experience to back it up, whatever the client needs are, video or still photography, I can come up with a creative solution to help their vision become a reality. It’s that creative thinking that sets me apart from others. As Maxi Jazz once said, “You don’t need eyes to see. You need vision.”

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
People who know me for my still photography don’t necessarily know about the video work that I have done and vice-versa. Although the work does cross over from time to time.

As examples, I was recently hired on as an on-set photographer for Writer / Director Michael Baumgarten’s upcoming feature film “Beyond The Crashing Waves” who I had previously done video editing work for. I also ended up doing some visual effects shots for that project as well.

I was also hired as a still photographer for a real estate project and ended up doing a social video promo for the agent when she asked if I knew anyone who does video promos. I said, “Yes. Me!”

I also did a photo shoot for film / tv glam and special fx make-up artist Christina Greene for her featured article published in Indie Horror Junkie Magazine and a published event photo shoot for actress Katarina Van Derham at Air Hollywood studios, both of whom weren’t aware of the video work that I’ve done at the time, but the photography jobs were film / tv industry adjacent.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tiltedhat.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tiltedhatproductions/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glandryjr/

Image Credits
Gary Landry Jr.