Conversations with Joey Rassool

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joey Rassool.

Hi Joey, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started in the film industry as an actor and stunt performer while in high school. On set, I’d ask all the crew annoying questions about what they were doing until I finally started to get answers. Slowly I transitioned to the other side of the lens. I freelanced as a Cameraman, DP, Director, Editor, Colorist, and Gaffer. Wearing multiple hats was essential when working on small personal projects, so when it came to earning a living, I took any gig I could. The freelance world is scary at first and it’s hard to say no to gigs when you don’t know when the next one will come. I remember finishing night shoots at 7am and heading across town for a shoot at 8am. After seven years of freelancing, I was offered a full-time position at a channel called Collider Video. Coming from freelance, it was hard to truly let go of my freelance contacts. What if this job didn’t last? I couldn’t lose all the work I’d done, so I kept on freelancing.

If a client called, I’d use weekends or vacation days to make the gig happen. I’d come home from work at Collider and edit or color for a short film. I never really thought about it like burning the candle at both ends. Film work was my passion. Like anyone who comes home and dives into their hobbies, I was diving into mine, it just happened to be a lot like my day job (also getting paid was helpful). After Collider, I began jumping from channel to channel as bigger and better opportunities came. Today I’d like to say that I’ve started to use my free time to focus on other things. I work on cars to fill my time. But with that said, I’m still taking freelance broadcast work, I am the Technical Director for G4tv, The Director of Vampire: the Masquerade LA by Night, and a writer and host at Donut Media. So I guess I’m still trying to keep up that freelance hustle.

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?
Freelancing was never predictable. I look back on times in my first apartment choosing between gas and food was all too common. Taking craigslist gigs for less than minimum wage wasn’t exactly glamorous, but a gig that fed you meant you didn’t have to spend your money on food, and a gig that kept you busy all day didn’t leave you time to spend your money frivolously. I did several “Feature Films” for $80/12 and felt like a rich man at the wrap party cus I hadn’t spent money on anything but bills. Another freelancer friend and I reminisce on a month where neither of us got any work just by luck of the draw, and we both got really into D&D because it was free entertainment that ate up a lot of time. When your art is your living, it’s often hard to reconcile doing work for a paycheck and work for your heart. Looking back though, some of the lowest-paying projects are the ones I’m most proud of.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
One of my favorite types of gigs and the projects that I eventually got sought out for involved action cinematography and camera operating. With my background in stunts, I ended up operating on action films quite a bit. The most popular of which would be the work by Bat in the Sun Productions on their YouTube series Super Power Beat Down. While other camera operators were learning to operate smooth slow shots, I was learning to follow action and predict movement to keep a frame in fast-paced situations. This served me well in sports broadcasts as well. I use to camera operates on the sideline for football games with Fox Sports West, and I still take camera gigs in the pit lanes at Laguna Seca and Sonoma Raceway (I’m a big racing fan and this is again my way of partaking in my hobbies while getting paid for it).

What do you like and dislike about the city?
There’s no city in the world with as much Variance as LA. For better or worse, the city and its culture are completely different from Santa Monica to Pasadena and from the South Bay to my home valley of Santa Clarita.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.joeyrassool.com
• Instagram: Joeyrassool

Image Credits:
Aric Abraham Eric Flores Dewey Tann