Meet Steven Mangurten

Today we’d like to introduce you to Steven Mangurten.

Steven, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
The first time I picked up a camera I was probably about five years old and I filmed my sister’s birthday party on a VHS camcorder. I began shooting fictional narratives with my friends in middle school and have been passionate about filmmaking since then. After high school, I moved to LA to pursue a career in film and attended Columbia College Hollywood where I studied directing. It was during my time in film school that I discovered cinematography and my passion for lighting and camera work began to take hold, leading me away from directing. A decade later, I’m still working with some of the fantastic people I met in undergrad film school who continue inspiring me to always strive to improve my art and craft. In my career, I’ve shot numerous short films, documentaries, music videos, and branded content pieces, but my passion has always been for long form narrative storytelling and in the last couple years I have finally began shooting feature films, with two currently in release and two in post-production.

Great, 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?
Establishing a career in the film industry is rarely easy for anyone. Some have it harder than others, but everyone struggles from time to time. It’s an almost entirely freelance industry, so networking is the most important skill to have outside of the technical and artistic skills required of the craft. It’s also one of my weekest skills. I’ve been fortunate to continue working with quite a few of the people I met in film school and have developed some relationships branching out from there. The entertainment industry has become very wide-ranging in terms of content, and it’s very easy to get pidgeonholed in a sector that you hadn’t intended to spend much time in simply because you needed the paychecks. I’ve spent a lot of time shooting branded fashion and beauty content which has been an invaluable learning experience in technique I might otherwise not have gotten, but I also find myself constantly struggling to get the opportunities I truly desire and I regularly forgo paid work in favor of unpaid passion projects.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am a cinematographer, also known as a director of photography. The job of a cinematographer is to be the director’s primary visual storytelling consultant as well as to create and capture the director’s vision on camera by utilizing a deep understanding of both technical and artistic knowledge and experience. Everything that appears in the frame of a film is carefully designed by a cinematographer, in collaboration with the director and the entire crew, because it is what is best to visually tell a story. Lighting and camera work are the primary tools of the cinematographer in designing the visuals of a film. The job combines art and science into one profession, and to excel in the field, one has to be passionate about both.

The work I’m most proud of in my career so far are my feature films, Ring Ring and Paint It Red, and also a couple of award-winning short films, Dress Rehearsal and The Itinerary.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
The quality that is most important to success in any aspect of the film industry, and any artistic field in general, is perseverance. Beyond that, a never-ending drive to keep learning as much as possible and constantly improve is incredibly important.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sjmdp.com
• Phone: 847-363-2088
• Email: steve.mangurten@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dirt_mangurt/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steven.j.mangurten

Image Credit:
Dirty Water Pictures, Reel Fire Entertainment, The Real MMJ, Nathan Cheney

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