Today we’d like to introduce you to Drew Dawson.
Hi Drew, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Drew Dawson – and I am a Cinematographer focusing on narrative filmmaking and emergent devices for visual storytelling (I am pretty open to what that can include at the moment). I grew up outside of Detroit, Michigan and have been living in LA for over 10 years now.
Once I landed in LA, I quickly got on sets and even had a gig waiting for me my first week in LA. That job quickly led to referrals, and eventually, I was working non-stop as a camera assistant. Over time, I had a solid base of work connections and started to venture into shooting projects more and more. I built up a portfolio of work with friends and colleagues that allowed me to work full-time as a Cinematographer. Where we go from here – nobody knows!
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?
I wouldn’t say it was all smooth, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything, really. The fall of 2013 was a rough patch. After working for a year and a half non-stop, I was basically at the point of burnout with my career. I was grumpy and looking for a way to find a new relationship with the work. A good friend of mine told me that “it’s probably time for you to move up.” Meaning that I needed to let go of some of the work as an assistant and start shooting projects myself. That was a big turning point for me.
I started to branch out and ask the advice of cinematographers I had worked with at that point. All of them said approximately the same thing, “just go shoot!” I remember there was an afternoon where I set up two meetings with DP’s that I really admired at the time. I was really hungry to learn more. I had a great first meeting, and I was beaming by the time I left, only to find that my car had been broken into and all of my camera assistant kit had been stolen out of my car. Thousands of dollars of expensive camera bags and other do-dads all gone. I remember being horrified at first but eventually drove to my next meeting while being able to find the cosmic humor of the moment. I couldn’t help but think, “I guess I have no choice but to shoot now, ha!”
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Professionally I am a Cinematographer, meaning I direct camera and lighting for commercials, music videos, and short films. I have worked on a lot of feature films and TV shows as well, but more as a camera operator or 2nd Unit Cinematographer. I like to think of my work as being a translator – a person that helps decipher the core message of what we are creating in terms of the imagery and tone. With that said, I like to ask a lot of questions to carve out the core principles and philosophy of what we are after.
I do my best to dive as deep as we can, but above all the job is really about the people – doing your part to find what is interesting about the mission and finding ways to help the people involved. I love when there is room to add some of your own flavor, but it’s a collaborative effort above all.
Lately, I like to think about the ideas of anthropology and origin of mythology and how it relates to media. Cinema is an incredibly potent device to depict story to the world. How can we tap into the theory of “the hero’s journey”, the story about who and what we are that binds all story? Can we sprinkle in some wisdom and deliver something not just delicious, but soul-nourishing at the same time? How can these messages help guide people through their life’s experiences or help broaden one’s perspective?
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I’ve had many times of challenge with my work, but when I have come across a momentary state of uncertainty, the best way to get back home has been to simply take some quite time to hear my own thoughts. The longer you sit with those thoughts the more you can work through processing them.
Lots of people do this through different methods. For one person, it might be going on a walk, for another, it might be a technology hiatus, and for another it might be meditating or going on a retreat. Regardless of how you find that moment of solitude, make sure to harvest it at some point in your daily routine. I can’t begin to tell you how beneficial this has been for me.
Also, when reflecting on career and my own personal life path, I often think of this quote from Joseph Campbell, “If you can see your whole life’s path laid out, then it’s not your life’s path.”
Contact Info:
- Website: www.drewdawson.com
- Instagram: @drewdawson
Image Credits
Benji Dell BW
Kevin Castanhiera
