Meet Jourdan Scott: Director of Photography & Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jourdan Scott and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jourdan, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I think risks are necessary for growth. I read somewhere your life begins at the end of your comfort zone, so for me taking risks is my way of getting out of my comfort zone. I can remember a time in 2016 when I felt complacent at my job and had a conversation with a good friend of mine. De’Zhon recommended “The Alchemist” to me. I read the book and when I read it helped me take the risk of diving fully into photography. I quit my job and applied my work ethic to get better at photography and it brought me to where I am now. I recently took another risk in moving to Long Beach to pursue my creative career even further. I always believed you have to be your biggest fan and bet on yourself every time.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

I am a DP, director of photography. My main goal is to tell stories that need to be heard. I always had an attachment with visuals they tell stories and can alter someone’s perception of a particular topic. One of my favorite movies is Forrest Gump I would watch it every time it came on TV, I still have yet to figure out exactly why it is one of my favorites but I do know there are lessons in the movie I carry around with me every day. I am most proud of being able to create freely, I create things that when I look back on I can say, “wow I made that”, or “I provoked thought inside my peers’. I am most excited about FourFaceFilms which is a production company I am a part of that started in Oakland, CA. Started with just two creatives trying to put their stamp on the creative visual industry to expanding to a full team of six individuals who seek to put our stamp on the community. Anything I sit down and look back to how I started, I always remember the first time I picked up a camera and knew this was what I wanted to do. It consumed all of my free time, when I was in class I would only think about taking pictures or shooting videos. It was hard to focus on anything other than creating. In no way shape or form was it easy betting on me and pursuing a creative career full time. I can recall interning at a company and staying up late losing sleep trying to meet deadlines and chasing the perfect edit, It took me a full year to realize art is subjective and never perfect, that’s the beauty in art it is all up for interpretation. This helped me get over the lack of sleep, the long shoot days, and quick turnarounds. I kept my goal of wanting to create out of wanting to share my talents with the world in the back of my mind, it helped me never give up or quit. The biggest lesson I have learned along my journey is it all starts with one step. Nothing happens overnight so if you are going to pursue something enjoy the journey it’s beautiful along the way, learning everything you can, learning what you like, learning what you don’t, and remembering to put one step in front of the other. The journey of 1,000 miles starts with 1 step. I want the world to know I come from Oakland, CA a city that was once feared because of the daily violence, I am an African American male from a single-parent household who has made it out of one of the hardest cities to make it from. I want people to see me and be inspired, it is never too late to take that leap of faith and bet on yourself, my story is not over yet it’s just beginning.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

If they are coming to visit me in Oakland on Friday first place I am taking them is to Guadalajara by Fruitvale BART station and get them the best tacos they ever had, hands down. After the tacos I would take them up to the grizzly peak to see my beautiful city, I am from the best city in the world, after basking in the beauty we would head to my favorite black-owned bar Osete we would sit on the rooftop grab a nice drink enjoy the sun and great vibes of downtown Oakland. Oakland is a melting pot of cultures and communities so I would have to take them on a tour of each part it has to offer. Saturday we would grab breakfast from Lois the Pie Queen in North Oakland, home of the best southern style cooking you can get around Oakland. After breakfast head out to Lake Merritt to walk some of the food off enjoy the sun, see some vendors possibly buy a nice hand-painted art piece or a T-shirt from a small business. For lunch, we would stop by L&S Fish & Chips which is close to Lake Merritt they have the best surf n’ turf steak fries. To end the night we would go to downtown Oakland again but visit a few different spots, Somar if they wanted to dance, Liege for more of lounge laid back type of vibe, or HelloStranger for nice drinks. Sunday would be more chill, have brunch at Cafe M in Berkeley and take a stroll on the telegraph checking out the shops and seeing UC Berkeley’s campus. The list goes on I would have to ask the person what they would like to do for the rest of the week, we have beautiful parks, views, museums, hikes, shopping centers, and art galleries.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

There are a bunch of people I can dedicate my shoutout to, but I will only name a few. First I would like to shout out my mother Denise. She raised my brother and me as a single parent sacrificing everything to give us the best opportunities to be successful in our lives. I could never repay her I only hope to make her proud by pursuing something I love to do and hopefully be able to pass down wisdom for generations to come. I would also like to shout out my brother Brandon, who is a singer, songwriter, who inspired me to get into photography and videography, I always told him I wanted to shoot a music video for him one day. It is still on my to-do list. I would like to give some recognition to all my close family and friends who inspire me every day from our weekly check-ins and our talks about our future endeavors. It helps to have accountability partners and a support system to lean on when you need a listening ear or some valuable advice. Lastly to my team FourFaceFilms thank you for all we have done and all we have yet to do, we have a bright future, let us keep going!!!

Website: https://www.whyareyouafraid.net

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jourdansview/

Other: My online portfolio: https://views.myportfolio.com

Image Credits
Nassir Ward, Kamrin Lewis, Tiny