Today we’d like to introduce you to Sebastian Johnson-Deal.
Hi Sebastian, 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?
Growing up in LA, I was captivated by ‘hidden’ spaces around the city, quiet crevices in the busy urban center where it feels like our collective secrets lurk just out of sight. I was quiet myself as a kid, always sketching or writing, and I’ve held on tight to that rich world of imagination. Those quiet crevices still feel like wells of creativity from which spirits spill onto the concrete, dancing over the asphalt; seeping into the palm trees and grime-coated stars of Hollywood Blvd.
Both of my parents built their foundations on creative practices: my dad is a musician and my mom is a makeup artist. They are not only my strongest supporters and first critics, but also artistic collaborators – my dad and I scored my first fifteen-minute short Nocturne together and my mom did makeup for the same project. Despite witnessing many difficulties of working in creative industries first-hand from my parents, I’ve always had my sights set on making art by any means necessary. Painting, drawing, making music, acting, writing, directing, editing… I absolutely love it all. Throughout my journey, I’ve been very fortunate to meet talented, empathetic individuals who have become my closest collaborators.
I fell in love with filmmaking in high school and it quickly became my favorite artistic medium. Films are the marriage between my two favorite forms of expression – visual and auditory art. While screening short video assignments for Ms. Multani’s history class in University High School, the feeling of collectively experiencing something which started in my imagination was intoxicating. Seeing my passion for storytelling, my 12th grade animation teacher Ms. Lee recommended me to Inner-City Filmmakers, an eight week long filmmaking bootcamp in which recent high school graduates learn to write, direct, and edit a three-minute non-dialogue short film. Completing Inner-City Filmmakers sent me on the trajectory I am now, as my experience in the program helped me to secure internship positions within the film industry.
During my studies at UC Berkeley, I further expanded my experimental sensibilities, deepening my relationship with the cinematic form over the twelve short films I made while in the Bay area. Filmmaking in the Bay feels very different from Los Angeles. There’s a higher tolerance for experimentation which I made a conscious effort to take back with me to LA. After getting the opportunity to travel outside of the US for the first time at twenty-five years of age for a documentary gig, I’m excited to explore more of the world, as my experiences always find their way into my writing.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It’s possible to become possessed by an idea, to have it consume every fiber of your being. I’ve been possessed by all of my personal projects, often resulting in me putting blinders on towards important aspects of life until I bring my ideas to fruition. During the production of my surrealist horror-comedy short film The Appointment in South Central (TAISC), I learned that this feeling of possession can last for years.
TAISC is about an upcoming rap artist who tries to outrun his fate after meeting the Grim Reaper during a near-death encounter. I wrote the script when I was eighteen as a freshman in community college and pitched it to the BAFTA LA Outreach Collective, a non-profit organization which pairs students with mentors to help them produce a professional-grade short film. My script was voted to be greenlit for production. It was my most ambitious project to date, and a very personal one for me as the concept was born from discussions with my older cousin about where we grew up. Accruing the resources and personnel needed to execute my vision took two years. Even when interning and working on other projects, TAISC was like an evil chimp gnawing at my side, taunting me with a ticking clock as the neighborhood where the film takes place underwent rapid gentrification. Just as we were about to go into production in 2020, the Covid-19 lockdown hit. As we were all sequestered in our homes with death creeping outside our windows, I was even more possessed with this fatalistic narrative about a young artist trying to outrun the Grim Reaper. It would be two more years before we would actually go into production. My relationship to the material changed so much over that time that at a point I felt disconnected from it.
The year after production of the short was complete, I just wanted to move on from TAISC. I poured my focus into new projects while attending my first year at UCB. I think a lot of artists can relate to being their own worst critics. Sometimes I hate my own projects so much that I don’t want to look at them, even if others around me see something worth appreciating, but this feeling of dread tends to hit before an epiphany of some sort. Sharyn Ross, a BAFTA LA Collective mentor and executive producer on TAISC, never stopped believing in the project, even when I was completely burnt out from it. I had to find my own way back to the material. Returning from the Bay to visit home, something clicked in me. I re-watched the short again and was overwhelmed with emotion. All of the moments which culminated in the production of the film came rushing back to me, and I not only felt a new connection to the material, but a sense of fulfillment for everything my team and I had accomplished.
As someone in their mid-twenties still coming into an understanding of myself and the world around me, which I feel is a lifelong mission, the main lesson I learned from this experience is relativity. The seven years needed to finish TAISC seemed like an eternity while I was going through it, like I would never come out the other end of this long, dark tunnel. In retrospect, it wasn’t that long at all. By comparison, it took Tarsem Singh almost thirty years to finish one of my favorite films, The Fall. I love listening to dramatic stories of complications which took place during that production, which the difficulties of my own short film pale in comparison to. There will certainly be another project which possesses me for a longer period of time than TAISC. After embarking on this journey of obstacles and self-reflection; having emerged on the other side with a realized vision – bring it on.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I want my work to exist in a realm of feverish phantasmagoria; to delve into surreal spaces built on dream logic while cynically reflecting aspects of reality. My UC Berkeley thesis film wormwood showcases my latest integration of this creative philosophy. I’ve always loved media that feels like tuning into a mysterious broadcast from an alternate timeline. Although many of the projects I write & direct are adjacent to magical realism, I love world-building fantasy and science fiction universes which delve into the unknown. Bending genres while maintaining a consistent tone is extremely satisfying.
I’m most proud of being immersed in every aspect of each film I create, from the first drafts & storyboards all the way through to the final touches of sound design. I scored my most recent films in my bedroom studio using Ableton, collaborating with talented musicians like Shailen Dawkins, Jarvis Nguyen, and Kaden Elijah Deal. For me, mixing and color grading sessions are just as important as collaborating on set with the actors. Ultimately my goal is to create tangible worlds which provide a hypnotic experience for the audience. From a viewer’s perspective, I love films that challenge me and burrow into my mind, altering my perception of the world. If I can inspire similar feelings in people who watch my films, I will have succeeded.
In addition to my narrative work, making music videos felt like a natural progression due to the intense visuals music has always evoked for me. Currently I am developing long-form projects while incorporating my creative sensibilities into music videos and other client work.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up as a biracial kid, I always had the feeling of existing between two spaces, in some ways as similar as they are disparate. I’ve always gravitated towards others navigating their identities within complex power structures. Often, I’ve been put in the position of being a diplomat between my family members, in which I had to navigate difficult situations while working to understand the perspectives of all parties involved. Perhaps meditating amongst my family emphasized the importance of subjectivity, which factors heavily into my storytelling. I love creating entire worlds which revolve around the subjective viewpoint(s) of their characters, getting as close as being in someone’s mind as possible with all of the distortions and inaccuracies involved in doing so.
I’ve always loved music and soundscapes, but my main interest growing up was visual art. Constantly drawing and painting, I would imagine my art coming to life, world-building and acting out my stories. Upon discovering animation in high school, I gained the ability to actually bring my drawings to life. Learning the basics of animation helped me focus more on composition during the storyboarding process, while also emphasizing the importance of breaking creative rules when applicable. I would love to make something that creates the same feeling in others as many impactful films did for me growing up, transporting them to someplace special and while opening up new storytelling possibilities.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sebastianjohnsondeal.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viisns/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastian-johnson-deal-356682154/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@viisns
- Soundcloud: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5KTSZqN205YUR2vYbORr9A?si=eV23lLqBSeathH2oAw1fAA
Image Credits
Personal photo shot by Jorge Garcia
