Today we’d like to introduce you to Brooke Mueller.
Brooke, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I played sports my entire life growing up in small town Minnesota. Usually two at a time, but one of them was always softball. From the time I was in middle school, softball was my passion. When I was 14, my coach told my parent’s colleges were looking to recruit me. It felt like my whole path was laid out in front of me. Then fall semester of my freshman year in college I got a concussion that immediately ended my softball career. I lost my scholarship, and school very quickly became very difficult. It felt like everything I had spent my life working towards had been taken from me. I no longer knew what my life would look like. I transferred schools and discovered an interest in videography at MSUM. I had always enjoyed cutting together videos I made on iMovie and trying to tell a story. After a few months in their film program, I knew I wanted a career in filmmaking.
At 19, I packed up and moved to an artist commune in the heart of Hollywood. I had no idea what I was getting myself into there, but it looked fun and I wanted to learn the industry from the ground up. And it gave me the chance to meet and collaborate with creatives from all different disciplines. I met some of my best friends and greatest mentors in this industry there. People who have taught me more than I could ever thank them for and who I’ve been lucky enough to continue to grow and collaborate with. After less than a year in LA, I was working full time, freelancing on sets in Camera Department or Grip and Electric. When I wasn’t on set, I was working on personal projects with other artists, honing my skills as a cinematographer. I love working and collaborating with people, learning how to make the camera and the lighting enhance a story.
Great, 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?
As an athlete, I grew up learning that reaching your goals requires hard work and perseverance. I feel really lucky to have learned this lesson young because even though my softball career was cut short, I think it’s been a helpful mindset to have starting out in the film industry. I also feel incredibly fortunate to have been working pretty steadily since I moved to LA. I miss my family and spending time with them. 1,500 miles can feel like a million when it’s hard to even find time to make a phone call home working crazy hours on set. But I love where I’m at and what I’m working towards.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I’m a cinematographer. My job is to work hand in hand with the director to visually represent their ideas in ways that enhance the overall story. I value my ability to cut together the shots in my head before we even start shooting. I can be a bit of a perfectionist and when the director has a cool idea, I try to build on their vision to execute the best possible version of it. I like to always be working towards a goal, and I can be a little stubborn in that when I have an idea in mind, all I want to do is work towards it and perfect it. That’s why I think this is the perfect career choice for me. Every new project is a new mountain to climb. I’m constantly learning and growing as an artist whether it’s learning about lighting and camera choices or learning about characters’ motivations in a scene. After two years of steadily building my resume with short films and music videos, I recently shot my first feature film. I’m proud of where I’ve been able to take my career in a short amount of time and my attitude towards always learning and improving. I try to surround myself with people who are ambitious, enthusiastic, and hungry to continue working towards the best version of themselves both in and out of work. My friends constantly inspire me.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I think my favorite memory from childhood is when I was about six years old, I was practicing batting at T-ball and hit the ball so hard that it got stuck in the fence.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://brookemueller90.wixsite.com/brooke
- Phone: 6129680817
- Email: [email protected]
Image Credit:
Niki Byrne
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