Today we’d like to introduce you to Grant MacAllister.
Hi Grant, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in northern New Mexico outside of Santa Fe taking photos with my parent’s 35mm film cameras. In high school, I expressed great interest in photography and spent countless hours in the darkroom, even going so far as to set one up in a friend’s garage one summer. I liked experimenting in the darkroom, shooting infrared film and making my own pinhole cameras out of film canisters.
While in high school, I enrolled in a film theory and criticism course at the local community college and my professor inspired me to look more into how the movies I love are made. The following semester I started a film production class, learned about every position on the set and found myself gravitating toward cinematography. After completing a few student projects, my professors told me I had a good eye for composition. I loved that I was able to merge my interest and strengths from still photography into motion picture photography. I continued with my studies, earning my undergrad degree in cinematography from Columbia College Chicago. I spent those years learning more about lighting, the discipline of shooting on film and some of the technical aspects of the job.
After college, I moved back to New Mexico and began working in the production office on features and TV series. My first job out of school was working on “The Homesman” directed by Tommy Lee Jones. Shortly after, I worked in the production office on the series “Longmire” and slowly worked my way into the camera department as a digital utility. After that show, I took jobs as a camera assistant on low budget independent films, TV shows, music videos and commercials. I eventually joined The International Cinematographers Guild, IATSE Local 600 in 2016 before moving to LA in early 2018.
Since moving to LA, I have been working as a cinematographer. I primarily work shooting narrative films, commercials, and music videos. Several of the films I have shot have been awarded best cinematography awards at festivals around the world.
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?
The road to where I am at now has not been an easy one. One of the struggles I’ve dealt with along the way was managing the transition between different jobs and departments. It took me several years to stop working in the production office side of the industry. I was on a path to move up within the production office ladder but recognized after I started working a few days a week in the camera department on Longmire that the production office was really not where I wanted to be. I had my foot in the door, but it was the door to the wrong building. I’m very grateful to the Production Office Coordinator who recognized that while I was good at my job, I wasn’t happy in that department and she helped push for me to work in the department that I loved.
It took a few years to finally decide to stop taking production office work and move full-time into working in the camera department, which was a very uncertain time. It can be scary to start saying “No” to jobs in an industry that is reliant on word of mouth and reputation, but I found it imperative for me to do so in order to get on the path I wanted to be on. I’m very thankful to have had a great and supportive network and community who helped me through the transition and offered me the first few camera department jobs when I was just starting out.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I work as a cinematographer, specializing in dramatic narrative film, commercials and music videos. I often gravitate towards grittier content with a message that can still reach a broad audience. I am most proud of the projects that may have an effect outside of just their film format. My most recent upcoming project is a TV pilot about a woman struggling with heroin addiction, rehab and relapse. The project took on a deeper meaning when after being pitched the script, I learned it was being produced by a non-profit that aimed to hire a percentage of people actively going through recovery from drug and alcohol addiction as crew. This offered them gainful employment in the film industry and effectively made the project have a real-world social impact on the subject matter the script addressed – not only highlighting the struggles of addiction but actively helping those going through it.
My philosophy when it comes to cinematography is that it should first and foremost support the story being told. Cinematography isn’t solely about capturing a great-looking image but rather an image that conveys a clear idea and translation of the story. I prioritize the director’s vision for the film and strive to accurately translate it through my imagery.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
I would say the most important lesson I’ve learned has been to follow your gut. If you know you have a passion for something, pursue it as hard as you can, and don’t be afraid of saying “No” to something if it doesn’t feel right.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.grantmacallister.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cinematics/
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3614194/
