Meet Erick Turcios | Cinematographer

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

Hi Erick, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk is a necessary aspect of life. Although I’m in an industry that seems quite risky, I see myself as a conservative risk taker. I often reflect on how I could have approached something differently after the fact. This retrospect informs my next decisions in life and it’s part of why I’ve been able to find some success. The film industry is difficult in that there is a high skill necessary for completing projects successfully but finding the work is so network based. This awkward combo forces me to always be thinking ahead in order to minimize risky uncomfortable situations. It’s also important to set up failsafes in life so that you can be open to taking risks but know that you always have something or someone to fall back on. These failsafes makes it possible for me to be riskier and ultimately set myself up for better pay offs in my career. Ultimately risk is healthy though. It makes me think ahead, improve myself, and make sure I stay ready for the next challenge.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Coming from a family of immigrants I never looked towards creative jobs as being something tangible, so it never was an option I really considered. In some ways my career was always brewing as I had always been interested in art and I was constantly watching films with my mother who always had a film playing on our TV. Senior year of high school I took a film class in which I was maybe one of three people who actually found our projects fun. That summer I went back to our film teacher for advice on how to approach a career in the industry. I went in thinking his advice would be to avoid the industry (as this was what my parents were saying to me), but instead he gave me some of his previous colleagues phone numbers and emails. I reached out to all of them with a resume listing my one cinematography credit from our final project that year. None of them responded to me. However, my teacher had mentioned an online job listing website at that meeting and told me to give it a shot. I got my first unpaid PA gig from that website! The job itself mesmerized me as I had never seen a film set before so feeling the bustling energy really inspired me to chase after this career. On that first set I was really interested in the cinematographers role as he seemed to be in constant communication with everyone but was also the one behind the camera during the takes. After that I pretty much knew that I wanted to go after and learn more about that role.
A few months later I was in the film program at Cal State Northridge, and I also continued to work on set via this website.
The true foundation of my career was my photography courses at CSUN, in which I got a proper understanding of cameras and how to create images. At the time I was only shooting with manual film cameras, so my technical knowledge grew much faster than it would have had I been shooting on digital sensors. My professor Niku Kashef was a huge influence on me and it was her guidance at the time that inspired me to learn as much as possible about image creation.
I didn’t finish my time at CSUN but I learned to teach myself while I was there and I also grew my first network of colleagues who began working in film as well.
I am so thankful to be where I am today as I truly came in to this industry with zero connections and although it’s been a slow burn, it’s been incredibly exciting.
It’s not an easy career but you find your equilibrium after a couple of years, you just have to stick around and keep learning.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
LA is an awesome place to observe people. Anywhere you go you will see young professionals, immigrant families, and everything in between. There are so many places to visit! I’d advise just chilling somewhere and observing.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to dedicate my shoutout to my family who has instilled in me values that keep my mind healthy and my ambitions fueled. My girlfriend is truly my rock in life and my ultimate failsafe as she makes me feel supported and grounded as a person. My mother and father have given me ambition and empathy which I carry with me for every decision in my career and life. Thank you.

Website: erickturcios.com

Instagram: @erickturquoise