Rising Stars: Meet Michael Cox of Inglewood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Cox

Hi Michael, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Growing up in a small town in Northern California, film was always a huge and ever-present part of my life. At family gatherings, hanging out with friends, or even just me and my dad on weekends; we’d always go to the theater, put a movie on a movie at home, or simply talk about cinema. Our family’s Thanksgiving tradition would be eating in the afternoon and then seeing the big holiday new release in the evening.

For me, film was about more than what was on the screen. It was about community, communicating new and different ideas, and shared experiences. It wasn’t until high school that I understood exactly how powerful these images could be and their ability to create worlds and stories that connect people. I distinctly remember seeing the original 1962 The Manchurian Candidate and thinking, wow, film can do that. From then on, I was hooked.

Soon, pick-up games and riding bikes around town became making films in my backyard and garage. In school, we were allowed to make videos instead of writing essays for some of our classes, and I would always turn those assignments that most people took to get an easy A, into full-blown productions. I absolutely loved those early days of playing with different ways to make images I’d never seen and stretch the medium. It was such an amazing time, that I’m really greatful I got to have.

Then when I went to film school at Chapman University, I not only learned the more technical side of filmmaking, but also found like-minded folks to talk about and make films with. We watched and were inspired by so many amazing films and filmmakers: Herzog, Brakhage, Eisenstein, Varda, and so many others. Again, I was creating my community and connecting with cinema, people, and ideas. I started to really strongly believe that film was more about images that connect and communicate ideas rather than about a script or a story or the technical equipment or special effects.

Despite this, I found myself becoming very passionate about the very technical craft of editing, which is my absolute favorite part of filmmaking. Even in the films I make today; the development, writing, pre-production, production, all of it is a means to an end: creating the images to play with in the editing room. Robert Bresson described a screening of a film as “[the] bewitched reel”. I always think about that when I talk about my growth and passion as a filmmaker. It’s that magic that truly excites me.

After college, along with everyone else from film school, I moved to Los Angeles. This was in 2009, so the job market was still struggling, and I had to fit into different roles to pay the bills while still working creatively when I could. A large part of why I freelance as an editor today is that I liked the scrappiness of working with different clients and different projects. I’ve worked on everything from instructional videos to short films to television commercials, and I have always tried to bring my perspective of what this medium can be to even the most cookie-cutter content.

Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to create a balance between working as a freelance editor in a way that pushes me creatively while still making my own work. I’ve worked on a lot of independent shorts, features, music videos, and others types of content. Living in LA has made it possible to connect with creatives who are interested in collaborating on projects that strive to break through the overwhelming amount of content that exists now.

I’m so thankful that through everything, I’ve been able to keep making cinema that excites me. And soon, I’ll be launching my own production company, Dezik Productions, as a way to continue that spirit of just going outside with your friends and camera, trying to make something that you all love.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has been a very bumpy road. In 2015, due to complications from Pancreatitis, I was in the ICU in a medically induced coma for five and a half weeks. A few months after waking up, while only in the first stages of rehabilitating my body and life, I was hit with another medical crisis; this time, it was a years-long struggle with Ulcerative Colitis.

Beginning at the end of 2016, after a year of frequent extended stays in the hospital due to complications of my UC, I had three surgeries over nine months to rebuild part of my digestive system. These all went relatively well, but finding stability with my reconfigured body and adjusting to a new and ever-fluctuating normal was very difficult. The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t help this process much, as 2020 was the first year I was beginning to get back on my feet, only to be restricted again. And then, right at the end of the lockdowns, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease and started all over with the cycle of diagnosis, trial and error, and being at the mercy of my health.

I am now a little over two years into my struggle to manage my Crohn’s, but recently, we’ve had some good news and a possible sustainable path forward with the correct medications. And while this almost a decade of dealing with exhausting and traumatic health issues has been one of the hardest things I’ve done, it’s also drawn out some of the best parts of me.

I’ve had to put a lot of things on hold, and learn to manage day to day life between medical crises and chronic illness, but I always tried to keep pushing forward. I know that I’ve been held back by my inability to work as much as I want and to do the type of work I want to do. And while my illnesses have closed many doors for me, that period of struggle opened a few of them as well.
Despite all of these challenges, I still found ways to be creative, and I learned how to focus on those creative things that really mattered. It gave me a renewed sense clarity around how I wanted to move forward in my career and which projects I truly want to do. Because of this, I ended up being able to edit a feature film, start my documentary, and juggle clients, all while managing what was best for my health and personal life.

I also learned more about who I am and how to get in touch with my body. It also provided me with new perspectives, and I can’t imagine how different my life would be without them. I wouldn’t be as focused and assured of myself as I am now without some of the lessons I learned during these extremely difficult times. Most importantly, it forced me to create a balance in my life and the need for the presence of mind and body in the moment. Although, I am definitely still struggling with that last one.

Through all of this, my then-partner and now-wife Sydney stayed by me and fought with me to survive this entire ordeal. We were married just over a year ago. She’s the real best part of the last decade and the one thing I’d change nothing about.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Currently, I am working as a freelance editor and filmmaker. I’ve engaged all types of clients and companies, including Mattel, Homeboy Industries, Sapputo, and Ziggurate Interactive, on all types of projects. While my primary focus has been producing and editing films and commercials, recently, I’ve gravitated more toward working on trailers and short promotional content. I’ve always loved trailers, and the art of condensing an entire film into a brief, impactful two or three minutes intrigues me to no end. Along with some of my favorite films, I often think of some of the trailers that greatly impacted me as an artist like the trailers for Jarhead, There Will Be Blood, Woodshock, and even the recent Longlegs marketing campaign.

Content creation in the video game space has also recently piqued my interest. While dealing with the more intense part of my health journey, video games offered me a sense of engagement and accomplishment when I could not leave the house for weeks. I developed a deep love and appreciation for gaming, particularly those that play with the medium. I will always be excited for a well-crafted adventure game. Uncharted, Resident Evil, The Last of Us, – games like these make me feel like I’m 10 again, renting four action films (rent 3, get the 4th free) and watching them all in one day with my dad. The gaming industry is in a different place from the film industry and I’m excited to explore the medium though innovative video editing and content creation on the marketing side for games.

During the day (and night and weekends), I help my clients craft their vision through video. But on my own time, I still make those movies in my figurative garage. As I mentioned earlier, over the last two years, I’ve been building towards starting my own production company, Dezik Productions, which will launch in Q1 of 2025. While independent production is often a necessity, I also love it as a commitment to restriction and an investment in imagination. I find I have the most freedom in this type of filmmaking, and it allows me to gravitate more toward my love of telling images over stories. And I’m really excited that Dezik Productions will launch with two films, sleep talkers and My Silence is Music.

sleep talkers, which I co-wrote, directed, and edited, is a short film currently making the festival rounds. It has played all around Los Angeles, including the Golden State Film Festival and the Marina del Rey Flim Festival. The film is shot in a blown-out and minimalistic style, which allowed my team and I to focus on image-first storytelling.

My Silence is Music, currently entering the final stages of post-production, is a feature documentary that explores communication and identity through the lens of a film set, where the Deaf and hearing cast and crew must learn to work together and overcome cultural barriers. While this one is less focused on visuals and images, it draws heavy inspiration from the documentary filmmaking of the Maysles and 80s/early 90s independent documentary cinema. In a way, this operating outside of the current documentary conventions and relying more on what documentaries used to be is an attempt to have a conversation with the audience about what film is and can be. The film itself also focuses heavily on language and ideas around community and culture.

In both my client work and my filmmaking, I try to create memorable images and experiences for people. I think, in a way, I’m always chasing and pushing the medium’s ability to connect with a viewer in an exciting and powerful way.

Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
One of my favorite childhood memories is watching the Star Wars trilogy for the first time. I had seen A New Hope a few days before watching Empire Strikes Back. But when I finished Empire, I was devastated and ran to my parents, begging to have them take me to the video store to rent Return of the Jedi. Knowing this was what would happen, they were ready to go. We piled in the car and went down to the local video store. To my delight and my parent’s relief, it was in stock! All was well, and I got to finish the trilogy that would fuel so much of my childhood imagination.

This memory reminds me so much of the excitement of experiencing movies for the first time and my parents’ love for making moments like this an event to remember.

Pricing:

• 700/Day
• Custom Quotes for Large Projects

Contact Info:

• Website: https://michaelarthurcox.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelcox.media/
• Other: https://vimeo.com/michaelcoxmedia

Image Credits
Jocelyn RC