Life & Work with Josh Cohen of Silverlake

Today we’d like to introduce you to Josh Cohen.

Hi Josh, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was originally in school for animal biology, but I took a couple of hard turns and found myself finishing up at art school for design in NYC. I worked as a graphic designer for a number of years, but made a lot of experimental videos on the side. Eventually, brands started reaching out to make videos for them, and I pivoted towards Directing. I also do Creative Direction, and photography.

I was working with a lot of fun start-ups, brands, and fashion clients in New York before I moved to Los Angeles about four and half years ago, and have continued building my network in LA ever since.

I’ve met a surprising number of creatives out and about with my dog, Bingo, in Silverlake.

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?
I’ve been freelancing since art school. Maybe I have commitment issues, or maybe I just really like my freedom? There have been ups and downs along the way, but it’s always good to look back on commercial and personal projects as milestones in my career.

I had pretty bad imposter syndrome as a director for a while, which cost me a few jobs at first, because I’d start off a client conversation like “So I don’t actually know what I’m doing…”. Turns out client’s don’t want to hear that, who knew?!

Over time, after enough reps and enough projects, that feeling shifted. These days, uncertainty shows up less as fear and more as excitement about what a project could become.

One thing that’s helped me navigate the bumps is that I can fill a lot of creative roles. When commercial directing hits a small lull, A photo project pops up. For a long time, the industry wanted everyone to be one highly specialized thing, but that mindset seems to be heading the way of the dinosaur. Being a creative generalist has gone from feeling like a liability to feeling like an advantage.

For more on that, check out Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth by Buckminster Fuller.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Im known for visual comedy within commercial directing, but I’m also a big time dabbler so different people know me for different things I’ve done… or they know me from the offbeat or dog centric observational stories I post on social media.

Outside of commercial work, I’ve written and directed short films that have screened in a bunch of festivals, had my photography and poetry published, and shown art in galleries in NY, LA and abroad.

I just finished putting together the material for a narrative series with my writing partner Emily Honey which is a first and I’m super proud of. It’s about a quirky petshop in the early 2000s, which happened to be my high school job. All the execs reading this feel free to reach out and I’ll give you the hook!

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Never working anywhere full time without a trust fund has probably been my biggest risk. I have a decent amount of tolerance for risk, but wish it was higher.

I often have lofty ideas built on fantasy and those ideas often times push me to take risks. I also love talking to strangers, which I guess is risky?

Contact Info:

• Website: https://joshcohenjoshcohen.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cosh_johen/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-cohen-33518b7
• Other: https://joshjoshcohencohen.com

Image Credits
Madeline Tolle took my image