Cameron Carr

Unaffiliated

What was your first professionally directed work and when was it?
My first professionally directed work was this March 2023, writing, directing and producing Harlem Fragments. After producing, and first assistant directing five films in the last year while off the clock at my advertising job, I was able to pitch FUJIFILM on a script that I had wrote, developed for the largest production Budget I’ve ever worked on for a short film, $100K. Once I secured Fuji as partners, everything else culminated, from the elite group of filmmaking crew I had assembled from producing all of my previous films. Upon my pitch, Fuji expressed that I was the most buttoned up put together pitch they had seen, and already had my animator, composer, post production house, location, and full cast and crew locked for the production that was taking place with or without their backing/funding in 3 weeks. This directorial debut only solidified and affirmed everything I had been working for, as it’s my absolute mission to breach into the industry, with representation, and on a directors’ roster, with synergy to direct narrative features, television, branded content, stylized high production value documentary, music videos, and everything in between.

How did you get into directing?
I got into directing from making films on VHS as a kid with my sister, from filming Escape from Tokyo 1 & 2, to storyboarding out high budget spy movies with the first Black lead ever in a landscape growing up with Indiana Jones and James bond – ever since – I knew in the back of my mind no matter how hard I tried to steer in other directions, it always brought me back to the source of directing. As a double major in media studies and visual arts, I was immersed with film, production, media theory, advertising, visual arts and performance art in college— that led me to engaging in a seven year career in advertising at the top Creative agencies in New York, where my superiors, colleagues and clients would look to me for my creative production expertise – across efficiencies, solves and how to maximize capturing the creative idea’s lightning within a bottle . When I started to use my PTO purely for making films, instead of vacations, and most weekends revolving around filmmaking and productions, I found myself getting more and more immersed into Filmmaking to a point, where I could no longer just make work and direct in my batcave, but it was instead time to go full time and leave agency life behind to crank full throttle.

What is your most recent project?
Harlem Fragments is the project I just finished postproduction on.

The logline is it’s an Afro-futurist scrapbook storytelling of a Harlem Black family’s beautiful destruction during the 2008 recession. A natural disaster so mesmerizing you can’t look away from the tragedy. Inspired by true events.

It’s a film inspired by my own family, and intended to speak as a potent PSA for children and adults alike going through difficult experiences, and functions to normalize the act of processing emotions, communication within family dynamics, and the reminder that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Harlem Fragments is an intentional, vulnerable story that’s based on my family, and shot in the brownstone we lost in our divorce—While the story is extremely close to me, it’s meant for speaking to the larger Black community as a whole to improve both parents and children’s experiences alike, around normalizing processing vulnerable experiences, that are so often hidden under the rug and not addressed or discussed within our communities.
It wrestles the philosophical question of what is the Black American Dream, and what equates to happiness for the Black community when you have characters that have agency on screen.

What is the best part of being a director?
For me, the best part of directing is the utmost achievement through collaboration, and the ability to have the agency of impactful storytelling for the masses. If you are able to productively accomplish a message and takeaway for your audience through your film, story or project – there is simply nothing better and that is the pure intentional reason why we do it. We communicate things through the screen that are able to directly tap into feelings, and communicate something to an audience that is forever curious and forever wanting to learn more about the environment, perspectives, community and the world.

I say collaboration because you don’t make any films or direct anything, without your village, your cohort and your camp. You go with your team or you don’t go anywhere at all. It’s through these expanded perspectives that we have things such as production companies, studios, creative agencies or audiences at all. Because we all inform each other, and build off of each other to maximize the potential of this impactful storytelling that is our responsibility to spotlight responsibly. For those that come after us, before us and those looking to learn something. I love challenges and I find problem solving to be where I thrive.

What is the worst part of being a director?
Not being able to continue directing on a project. When a project ends – your brain that has been stimulated for so long on the dedication to the craft and accomplishing the vision, you see the magic and legendary tale close its book. There is so much you can continue to constantly build and add to a story that when you close the book on a project, story or campaign – you have to now go venture out and find something that hopefully may be just as magnificent as the one you problem solved, tinkered and Rubik’s cubed to get just right for so damn long (or too damn short). That’s what you call the director bug.

What is your current career focus: commercials and branded content, television, movies? Do you plan to specialize in a particular genre–comedy, drama, visual effects, etc.?
My career focus is in utmost priority movies in television – with a heightened focus in narrative, drama, Afro-futurism and Afro-surrealism – alongside social conventions, dynamics and commentary on the Human experience. However, due to my EXTRME synergies and years within the worlds of producing nonstop commercials and branded content, I think these are important avenues that should NEVER be taken lightly – as what people fail to understand is that what clients ask and demand in each bid they send out, are :30, :06, :15 and :60 snapshots of movie and industry grade same caliber and standard within their campaigns. These are shot with the same cameras, edited by the same post houses, demand the same crew and cinematographers and just as should – demand the same intention within their director taking on the project. I’m excited to do as much commercial and branded content that I can with heavy hitting brands, as this is where you continue to refine, hone and strengthen your skills as a director, flexing in all types of different situations and directing environments for clients that are much more diverse than a specific genre. This is why I strategically started out my filmmaking journey within the creative advertising landscape.

Have you a mentor and if so, who is that person (or persons) and what has been the lesson learned from that mentoring which resonates with you?
I have been fortunate to now begin developing Mentors. Andre Muir, a SHOOT NDS alum, who told me about this program affirmed me in the vision and expertise within my directing and synergy from shooting and producing commercials for seven years. It is within this confidence that you never stop growing, learning and remaining ready to adapt to for filmmaking fluency.

Mentor of mine Loren Hammonds an executive in the industry and Tribeca alum, gave me the lesson that my storytelling and drive to showcase these stories is exactly what the industry needs to continue expanding and evolving, and to keep pushing and knocking down that door – given the strides I’ve made in just a few years of dedicated full time filmmaking without having to balance a creative agency 10-10 night and day job.

Fanshen Cox a Sundance Labs alum and big-time film executive producer now – has affirmed me in the critical reality that, all you need is a spotlight, that can broadcast your talent to the people looking who claim they can’t find anyone, which is why I’m fortunate and have been relentlessly searching for a platform such as the SHOOT NDS to simply say to representation that I’m right here, and yes I am going much farther than the moon so get on board.

Who is your favorite director and why?
My favorite director is a three way tie between Jordan Peele, Barry Jenkins and Donald Glover – as I tell my fam/peers I’m going to be the culmination of the three, but the 2.0 version of all of them in my own style and approach. As for WHY – all of these directors for me have shown me when you lean into your stylistic approach, and trust your instinctual creative concepts, you not only will carve out your lane, but as you conjure these magnificent new avenues of IPs, you’re redefining and pioneering what the industry standard considers for: genre, target market and audiences, and breaking the wheel and barometer of the success metric for specific storytelling devices. When you undeniably stay true to those values, you are only left with the flow state to continue ideating, creating and developing work within the framework that their is always another way to flip something on it’s head, and show people a perspective that while they had not seen told yet due to their background and the systemic landscape of the industry, that there is actually genius within this narrative – you should haven’t experienced it or have had the beautiful opportunity to absorb and be exposed to that culture. This can have ramifications and global impact.

What is your favorite movie? Your favorite television/online program? Your favorite commercial or branded content?
My favorite movie is a three way tie between The Shining, Parasite and Everything Everywhere All at Once. They will forever impact my adaptability and creative versatility within global storytelling. My favorite show will forever be How to Make it in America because the pacing and momentum in that episodic forum wrote the rulebook for everything that followed in that landscape. My favorite contemporary shows would be Atlanta and The Bear. My favorite commercial undoubtedly has to scale across the Nike “Dream Crazy” campaign. As my previous clients and crowned jewel at my agency Wieden+Kennedy, even before I arrived at the shop, from Serena’s campaign to Collin Kaepernick it only affirmed every reason why I started out my film and production journey within advertising, to show how seamlessly within spots that at :30 seconds, :15 or even :06, when you don’t have the real estate or media inventory available for a :60 or longform spot – the potency, impact and influence you can have on audiences worldwide, without them even having to go to the movies – you can impact their perspectives positively and productively to create tangible change and advancement within society and across multiple communities in one strike of creative lightning.

Tell us about your background (i.e., where did you grow up? Past jobs?)
I’m a Black and Indigenous Native New Yorker and Harlemite born and raised. Growing up in Harlem has shown my where the last preserved bits of culture remain within this city, and I’m actively trying my hardest as the self proclaimed “Guardian of Harlem” to continue holding onto it and protecting it, while spotlighting Harlem on the Map the same way that Spike did for Brooklyn. The last three films I’ve made have been shot around Harlem, and I call the filmmaking collective that I’ve built through hours of production hours and trust, the Harlem Renaissance 2.0.

After spending time in California and Japan, I came back to New York City to establish my first HQ before I go global. Here I worked in advertising for seven years at the top creative Agencies in New York, Wieden Kennedy New York, and BBDO Worldwide. It’s here where I busted my chops hustling, learning the industry grade standard of time, efficiency, and how to maximize costs for an exclusively fortune 500 roster of top crown jewel clients for the agencies, who had years of partnerships and kept their lights on. Through this fast paced, pressure cooker, sink or swim environment – I learned how to master $10 million global productions seamlessly on impossible deadlines.

Have you had occasion to bring your storytelling/directorial talent to bear in the Metaverse, tapping into the potential of AR, VR, AI, NFTs and/or experiential fare? If so, tell us about that work and what lessons you have taken away from the experience?
Absolutely, working in the Tribeca Immersive space for the last two years – I have multiple VR projects in the works that lean heavily on my background from my double major, of media studies and visual arts – within the experimental film realm. Since the AR, VR, AI and Experimental spaces are so young, yet have so much potential. Each year we see the lack of programming for innovative ideas that reflect representation, which we see as the classic dynamic across tech, advertising, finance, consulting and of course the entertainment/filmmaking worlds. As not just a Black storyteller, but a director who is constantly interested in innovative storytelling, these realms are the perfect untapped spaces to maximize potential for creating magic, and there is only more future for these technologies to expand as content environments. My background in advertising had me constantly testing out, exploring and experimenting with these kinds of technologies, platforms and creative outlets as well – so I have boundless synergy with these routes for developing new storytelling and immersive innovative content, as we continue to push the bar and standard for what is doable within the realm of cinema and media across Narrative to Branded content.

Contact

• Unaffiliated, Email: cameroncarr30@gmail.com, Website: cameroncarrfilms.com