Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan E. McCormack.
Hi Jonathan E., we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in a small rural town in central Missouri. Most of my early life was spent playing sports but I also was always obsessed with films. I never really considered a career in film, it always felt so far away. I didn’t know anyone working in film so it didn’t seem possible. I always thought I would be playing sports but that didn’t happen and after my first semester of college I was lost. My older brother Jared told me about the film program at the University of Missouri where he was going at the time, and he convinced me to look into it because he knew how much I loved film. I eventually to start that program but I still didn’t know what I wanted to do until I took an Intro to Cinematography class and I just became obsessed with image making. I’ve been focused on cinematography ever since that class and eventually decided to advance my skills more by pursuing my MFA in film and television production at USC School of cinematic arts. I met so many great people in that program and got a lot of opportunities to shoot some amazing and challenging projects. I graduated last December and have began my career as a freelance cinematographer. I hope to continue to work with great people on challenging projects in both fiction and non-fiction as well as music video and commercials. The great thing about cinematography is that it is a mix of art and technical skills that are always evolving so you never stop learning and experimenting.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I was never a very good student, I always struggled to focus on things that I wasn’t interested in. I was always more focused on sports but that didn’t last forever and I was lost after not making the baseball team in my first semester of college. Once I decided to study film at MU, I had to get my associate’s degree first because I didn’t have the grades to get into the school. This period was really tough, I was studying topics that were disinteresting and I was in my early 20s and more concerned with partying than I was studying. Once I found cinematography, I became obsessed and shooting was I wanted to do. After getting my bachelors in 2016, I started working as a video producer at my alma mater. I learned a lot while I was there but it wasn’t creatively fulfilling enough and I decided to get my MFA after teaching intro to cinematography for a semester and really enjoyed it and thought I might want to teach in the future. I was really surprised when I got into USC but it made me believe I could really have a career in this business and I’ve put all of my energy into it ever since.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a cinematographer who loves working in all genres of music videos, commercials, fiction and nonfiction film. I push myself to always be growing artistically and I try to work on a wide variety of projects that will challenge me to evolve. I love high contrast and moody images and like to use lighting that looks natural while introducing bold colors when the story calls for it. I try to focus on the story and conversations I’ve had with the director to help inform me on how to shoot a film. I push myself to adapt to what every project calls for and try to avoid repeating myself.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I mean, I grew up in a town of 3,000 people so LA is a whole new world for me. There is such a wide variety of neighborhoods and restaurants to explore and such diversity of culture. I’ve been here for a couple of years and I haven’t even scratched the surface of what this city has to offer.
I definitely am still adjusting to living in a city of this size. I have to laugh when I think about complaining about traffic back in Missouri. I do miss the sounds of nature on a rural Missouri night, especially a good thunderstorm.
Contact Info:
- Website: jonathanemccormack.com
- Instagram: jonathan_mac
