Rising Stars: Meet Sean Russo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean Russo.

Hi Sean, 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?
The whole story first and foremost starts with my obsession with music. My whole childhood, I was totally consumed by it. From age four, I picked up piano and was making music all the time, picking up different instruments along the way. I was an only child so whenever I was at the house alone, I would just make music for hours and hours. I got very good at it. If film never found its way into my life, music would have been what I did. Everything starts there for me because it gave me an innate sensibility to sound and rhythm. It wasn’t until I entered High School that I found my new obsession. Filmmaking always seemed dope to me but it wasn’t until I discovered more avant-garde filmmakers like Stanley Kubrick and David Lynch. I had never seen films so unique and out of the box (especially Lynch’s “Eraserhead”) which was the first of his films I had seen. I liked these films because they weren’t average, ordinary, or another word I would fit into that category; boring. They were f*cking weird but so stylistically profound that they stuck in my brain like glue. I started making short experimental films and videos with friends all the time and took it more and more seriously each time. I didn’t do well in school. All day I would daydream about moving images. I’d be writing scripts in math class, watching trailers in biology, and playing and replaying various shot ideas in my head in humanities. One thing that never was separated from all that was music.

I would listen when I wrote, watched and thought about ideas. I like to think that every single good visual idea I’ve had has come from music. It triggers something in me. I graduated High School and commuted to a small Film School in Orange County. I hated it. From a technical standpoint, I had a lot of hands on experience of how the film industry works, but it definitely stifled my creativity. During this time, music wasn’t as much a part of my life as it was. But it slowly changed when I thought about doing music videos. I found a love for music videos because of the ability to make some sh*t that doesn’t make sense and utilizing more abstract ideas. The rules for movies and traditional film production don’t apply as much. It’s kind of a free range of whatever you want to do. So I left school, started my production company Somethin’ Good, and started producing and directing music videos my way, with very little in terms of resources or expertise, shooting videos with little to no budget and I think that has influenced and become a part of my style. I’ve been consistently doing it for almost four years. It’s the best decision I’ve ever made.

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?
Like anyone else really trying to do anything, obstacles will always be there. External and internal. With Somethin’ Good, people have tried to steal our business model, style, our name, the team dynamic has changed over the years, people have tried to take advantage of us, knock us down, hurt us. We were affected by a few of these things, but we also ducked a lot of bullsh*t. Not to mention during the height of the pandemic, production was basically nonexistent. Getting through that was tough for everyone involved. Those are external obstacles. For me personally, there are obstacles too. There would always be this voice in my head saying “What if you’re doing this all wrong? Why didn’t you finish school? Are you not actually as good at this as you think you are? You f*cking suck and you don’t know what you’re doing.” The voices of self-doubt. Those voices are always there, but I’m happy to say they’ve been talking to me less and less frequently.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a Music Video Director, and I am the founder of Somethin’ Good Media, LLC. An LA-based production company dedicated to producing quality visual pieces for musicians since 2018. Our team is comprised of our Production Manager Sid Mason (Stefan Stojanovic), Producer Navneen Goraya, Assistant Producer Jacques Ketchens Jr, and Myself. It’s really just a group of friends making and producing art for our artist & musician friends. When I direct a video, I also shoot and edit everything myself (though I eventually want to spread the role of cinematographer out to other DPs). But I will never give up editing. That’s something I need direct control over. I have a very unique editing style where the whole edit is literally bolted to the sound of the song. If there’s a beat switch, I want to see that. If there’s a new instrument, a riser, a transition, a feature, a different kick or snare pattern, I want to see all of that sh*t. The video becomes a piece of the song without me writing any music. It cements itself into the heads of the listener and the viewer so when they hear the song, the video plays in their head. I want it to feel and look like how the song sounds. I usually like to have editing sessions with the artist for at least the first couple of cuts. It’s one of the most fun parts of the process for us, it speeds up the process and allows the artist to have input from the beginning to the end, and I don’t think a lot of directors do that. When I approach a music video, I take the artist’s input very seriously.

After all, it is THEIR video at the end of the day. I am here to serve them as an artist and their project. I carefully listen to what they have to say about their world. I have no personal agenda pertaining to what is going to benefit me and my specific goals within filmmaking. I am only committed to working alongside the artist to make the best possible visual accompaniment to that specific song or project. I do a deep dive of their discography, watch their favorite movies, look at their favorite art (most of the time with them) and have conversations with them about it. I REALLY get to know them, I try to place myself directly in their shoes. Though it’s usually an innate byproduct of this approach, I form a bond and a friendship with artists that goes far beyond the borders of professional work. I’m extremely lucky and am happy to say that most of the artists I’ve worked with in the past two years have become lifelong friends.

How do you define success?
A lot of people think making a lot of money is an indicator of success. I don’t really think that’s accurate. I don’t think success presents itself as this like summit you get to one day, and then just chill cause you “made it”. Success is a seductive illusion designed to keep us striving for the next checkpoint. This sh*t is constant, never ending. I don’t think anyone great has ever just gotten to that place they wanted to be, “made it”, and then just abandoned it. There’s always gonna be that next checkpoint you’re trying to get to. The idea of success is so elusive that it just drives us to keep going and going, inspiring us to keep that drive. Success is just an enigma pushing us closer and closer to something that gets further from us at the same rate that we get closer to it.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.somethingoodprod.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanpersona/?hl=en
  https://www.instagram.com/somthngood/?hl=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDWHfLeQBqs

Image Credits
Sid Mason, Johnny Gerard, Chika Winston, Brandon Kwon