Jamie Trent
“My parents were separated when I was very young, and I didn’t meet my biological father until I was fifteen years old. Up until this point, I was bounced around pretty severely. Suddenly I had a new role model and he was the first person that told me I could be and do anything in life if I was consistent in working harder than others.”
“Through my father, I found a passion for being behind a camera as he taught me about photography. Somehow this led to me being in front of the camera as a teen actor in TV commercials and hence, my first taste of the film industry.”
“Doing commercials at that age introduces you to a completely different world. You soon learn how to create your own unique identity, so you stand out from everyone else. If you want to get work, you need to be different to the other 25 people that walked through that same door at an acting audition. This is something I have taken with me all throughout my life and it has served me well.”
“The funny thing is, no matter what I did in life, I would always come back to filmmaking in one way or another. I had a camera in my hand from the age of 15 and when several years later, my father died from lung cancer, I packed a bag, grabbed my camera and took off to America.”
“I found myself in Los Angeles, California at around the time RED released the Red One digital camera. Canon had also started the DSLR revolution and the entry level for filming video had become more accessible.”
“My first great opportunity came after the introduction of a Red camera on a feature called ‘The Algerian’. Luck would be that I now owned the exact camera and I was able to negotiate a deal to become the A Camera Operator on this film.”
“Color grading had also peaked my interest when Blackmagic Design released DaVinci Resolve version 8 in 2011. The entry point had gone from being over $250,000 and was now available to the general public at a fraction of the price. I invested heavily into color grading as I saw how important it would be with digital film taking over.”
“Some months later, the edit was locked for ‘The Algerian’ and it was time to color grade. There was very little money available in the budget and it was my opportunity to seize. I was also made aware by the head agent at WME of how important it is to build the right accolades and awards along the way that help us build more legitimacy in the film industry.”
“So in 2013, I joined Local 600 as a Director of Photography and a few years later, I was accepted into the Producers Guild of America.”
“In 2016 a film school in Los Angeles called Inner City Filmmaker, reached out to Local 600 in search of a new cinematographer to be the instructor for a filmmaking class for underprivileged students. I applied along with dozens of Local 600 Cinematographers. The previous year instructor had been cinematographer, Russell Carpenter ASC.”
“Following multiple interviews, I was offered the position and enjoyed working the summer block for two years running. Teaching inner city students was such a rewarding experience and I would highly recommend helping others this way during a filmmakers’ career.”
“What my story shows, is that if you put your mind to something and you are consistent with hard work, then anything is possible. Once I decided what I to achieve in the film industry, there has been no going back. My plan of being a cinematographer and colorist with producing skills was ‘the goal’, and there was never a plan B.”
“It has been an interesting journey and I feel like I have barely scratched the surface and cannot wait for the next adventure. It took me later in life to find my passion, but it is never too late to shine and be all you can be.”