Finding Your Path in Film w/ Director Ben Carter
On Unify’s second Crew’s Control episode, Hudson and Director Ben Carter chat breaking into the industry, gaining experience on set, and settling into (or transitioning) roles. Who knew that shitty VFX edge made Ben the director he is today? Cool beans.
(Excerpts and paraphrasing directly from the podcast conversation, re-organized for flow.)
Getting Your Reps In
I am fortunate that I got to do all the jobs - maybe not in a fully professional sense, like on a functioning commercial set. But I got to do everything in writing and producing and directing and shooting. Editing and grading. Shitty VFX. Everything I've done in my career - that to me is so valuable. That's what I would press people to do. Figure out what you want to do by doing as much as you can.
Once you go, “Okay, I have fallen in love with this piece of the process - I want to be a gaffer or I want to be a storyboard artist.” It literally doesn't matter where in that process, because then you have context for what everyone else is going through, what they're dealing with.
It's made me a better collaborator in my position, because I've done a lot of these jobs that these guys and girls that we get to hire are doing. You know, it's just walking in other people's shoes professionally - that's all it is.
Director Ben Carter on set for one of Whatnot’s Toyota Racing Sponsafier spots
So I would say do as much as you can, learn as much as you can. Go hang out - go for a day. If you can get a PA position or a low paying swing position, just go and follow a good key grip and a gaffer and their crew around for a day. Camera PA just to get some camera experience. Do it if you can.
I feel like that's a super generic answer. But I think about that every time I'm on an edit session with one of my editors or with a colorist or VFX. Or when I'm on set and I'm speaking to my DP - knowing that that's going to trickle down the camera department. I know what those guys and girls are doing and why they're important to the process.
Transitioning Roles
As far as transitioning goes, that's tougher. It depends how far into the world you are. I think at the highest level, like a lot of mega-names have changed what they do in the industry. Like Wally Pfister is a director now, you know. He was shooting the biggest movies in the world, and now he's directing.
I think the transitional part depends more on where you're at in your life and in your career in the sense of what you want to say, what you want to put out in the world. For me - I didn't have this super long career as a DP to walk away from, you know. I just had things I needed to say as a director. So it was easier for me in that way.
Ben Carter and Director of Photography John Carrington at monitor on set
But our friend John Carrington is a great example. John is an amazing colorist, and that's what he got known as in the industry. Like John could be a colorist for the rest of his career if he wanted to. He was killing it, you know, and he could have continued on that path. But he just looked at so much cinematography and knew he had things in his head that he wanted to put on screen.
And so he insisted, “No, I want to be a DP,” and he's had to fight that transition way more than I had to, because he was so much more established than me. I think John fought that for a long time. I think he to this day fights it. But now that people are realizing he's a ridiculously talented DP, it's getting easier and easier to leave it behind. But I was fortunate enough, only a handful of years into my career, to want to make that change.
So, the advice would just be do it earlier. Okay, not all of us are Wally Pfister and can just be like, “Hey, I'm an accomplished cinematographer and I can do whatever I want.” But that's why doing it all [in the beginning] is so valuable - because then you can know.
You can find more of Director Ben Carter’s work at https://www.bencarter.co and https://whatnot.tv
Listen to the full Crew’s Control episode with Ben here