Why I'm Trying to Be a Better Person, Not a Better Filmmaker
Future diplomat Roo ready for action
Foreign Service vs. Documentary Filmmaking
My path to working as a documentary filmmaker was one that has a lot of turns. In school, I always thought I’d graduate and work in the foreign service as a diplomat. I majored in political science, spent about 6 years studying Spanish, 4 years studying Arabic and took as many opportunities as I could get to familiarize myself with different cultures, political structures and governance strategies.
After spending over 9 months of my undergraduate experience working at the State Department on foreign affairs I actually even received my dream offer to work as a diplomat. But, it didn’t seem right anymore. Although I thought government work was my life calling, it had become clear that filmmaking and photography was an opportunity to experience different cultures, make a positive impact, and pursue a more creative path.
How Do I Learn and Grow?
Now, it’s been over 5 years of freelance filmmaking and photography and I’ve learned that this career path is a little different than I thought initially. I thought I’d spend my days getting inspired by an endless need to create films and capture photos. I believed that I’d take photos all the time, even in my spare time between jobs. I imagined that my growth and development as a filmmaker would come from tutorials and cinematography courses.
Working on myself, not just my craft
However, my success as a filmmaker won’t come from any of those things. I spent a lot of time on my business; networking, building pitch decks, thinking through potential passion projects to elevate me to the next level. I spend time on physical training because my work has increasingly required me to keep up with elite outdoor athletes; rock climbing, trail running, gravel biking, and breathwork have become a part of my daily routine.
“Balance is not something you find, it’s something you create”
Taking Time to Learn Other Things
I try to carve out at least an hour everyday for “holistic learning” where I listen to podcasts, audiobooks, and read about areas so far removed from filmmaking that it allows me to feel more well-rounded so I can more easily connect with others outside of this industry.
One of the most important developments in my career has been to shift the priority away from the camera and onto myself. The more books I can read, the more I can take care of my mental health, the more miles I can run and the more nights I spend performing songs I’ve written at local coffeeshops - the better I’m going to be at filmmaking.
Soft Skills Are As Important As Hard Skills
When I find balance, everything else falls into place. Being a more knowledgeable musician allows me to connect to a musician and outdoor athlete who is the star of a documentary I’m directing with Outside Magazine (coming Winter 2022). Having a more empathic approach to my social interactions (a result of pro-actively taking care of my mental health) gives me a chance to be more personable to the athletes that star in a number of my different documentaries about adaptive outdoor sports.
When first starting out as a commercial/documentary filmmaker, becoming a technically sound camera operator or editor or director is important. If you don’t know how to properly expose an image or compose a shot, your films may suffer. However, as you develop you discover that filmmaking, especially documentaries, are about people.
My films are about human stories and the range of emotions that we can feel.
If you’re unable to tap into that because you’re too focused on the technical aspects of the filmmaking process, the quality of your work may not be where you want it to be.
Care About Other People
However, when you show the people you’re filming that you care about them - that’s where the magic is made. As my career goes on, I’m hoping for bigger laughs and longer hugs, for sunrise hikes and pancake brunches in the alpine. I’m dreaming for powder days and glassy waves. For new friends and creating deeper connections with old ones. My job is to hold up a mirror to what I see in the world and I see a lot of goodness out there.
Mom’s that are starting to mountain bike because their sons are interested. Teachers that go above and beyond by building a giant wooden canoe for their students despite living in the landlocked state of Colorado. Mountain guides that just want to give others a positive experience in the outdoors, just like they’ve had time and time again. Bachelor parties that strip away the need to party and replacing it with a need for connection so take a trip down the Colorado River to unplug.
Time to Get to Work
All these stories, all these uplifting moments of hope, joy and adventure is what filmmaking for me is all about. I’m trying not to get too lost in the weeds of which 10 bit mirrorless camera option has the highest quality of 4k but rather focus on what matters. What matters to me and my films are the people. So, if I can be a better person then I can connect more deeply with those who’s lives I feel lucky to document. That’s why I go to therapy, why I take breaks from editing to go on a run without my phone, why I read books about freshwater river conservation and why I make time for my friends and family outside of my job.
Being a better person MAKES me a better filmmaker so let’s get to work….
Connect with Roo
Roo is a commercial/documentary filmmaker and photographer based in Boulder, Colorado but travels all around the world for his filmmaking career.
He has produced films for Outside Magazine in Ireland, camera operated for Netflix in the Rocky Mountain West, photographed among indigenous communities in Peru and Ecuador, directed videos with professional climbers in Mexico and has received notable recognition in his hometown of Orcas Island in Washington State for his work telling uplifting stories in the outdoor space.