Meet Justin Whittingham | Documentary Director and Cinematographer

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

Hi Justin, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
The goal of my work is to bring audience members into life experiences that they wouldn’t typically have through short documentaries. I think by seeing and sharing more of these personal human stories, we can all learn to be a little more empathetic, and a little more introspective. There are so many powerful stories out there that deserve to be told, and I think that, by building a business around bringing care and visibility to people’s narratives, I can create some real positive impact while living out my creative passion.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My passion lies in human-centered short documentaries, with a focus on people’s passions or crafts. I love to create films about artists, athletes, teachers, anyone who makes the world a better place through their pursuit of a personal passion. For example, my last film is about my Mom and a mobile physics lab she created, as a manifestation of her love for kids and passion for education. My next upcoming project is about the current poet laureate of my hometown, Orlando, FL, and how spoken word poetry has changed his life and has the power to change others. If you can’t tell, I find myself most passionate to tell the stories of people who have particularly impacted my life, because I’m the only person in the world who can convey the way I see them to a larger audience.

My style is very close and personal. I like being small and nimble with my camera; it allows me to feel less obtrusive in an intimate space with my subject and get more unique and creative shots. Color also means a lot to me. I usually color grade my own work, determining the palette of hues that the film leans into and ultimately the feel of each scene. I feel like I always look for nuance and subtleties in the stories of others, that’s where I tend to find the most fascinating aspects of people’s lives. Since I mostly create short documentaries, I know I cannot capture someone’s entire life story in a couple minutes, so I try to find a smaller aspect of their story or work that is symbolic of their larger life journey, and tell their story through that framework.

At 23, I’m lucky to be able to tell documentary stories for a living. I spent most of my college years stressed out about ever being able to make money in this industry. But my approach, as with everything in my life, was to calculate the steps to my long-term goals, and work backward to figure out each next move. And out of that grew a simple life philosophy: make all the moves I possibly can at any given time, and just wait, and be ready for opportunity to come through. I haven’t figured it all out—I still make mistakes all the time. But I am always giving my work my best, making the most of every opportunity that comes my way, and seeking to be excellent. People can sense that, and they appreciate it!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’ve lived in LA for four years, minus the pandemic, so I’m still a pretty fresh Angelino. But I would totally recommend visiting Griffith Park and the Observatory, whether you like the stars or a good hike! I took my Dad there when he visited, and there’s nothing like looking down and seeing Los Angeles sprawling below you. Alcove Cafe and Bakery is also just a few minutes from there if you want a beautiful courtyard vibe for some good food and relaxation! If you’re ever on the west side, my go-to happy place is Playa Del Rey Beach; it’s really serene most of the time, and is a great place to walk the shore or play some volleyball with friends! As far as food goes, I’d definitely recommend Rutt’s Hawaiian BBQ—there’s so much good food in LA, but Rutt’s consistently blows me away with how flavorful and delicious their food is. (They also make really good slushies!) I could live in LA for a lifetime and not experience everything it has to offer, so I’m looking forward to checking out more of the city’s gems and getting to know it better myself.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d love to dedicate this shoutout to my Mom! She homeschooled me from first grade to fifth grade, and gave me an extremely effective education while also giving me time and space to explore my creativity at a young age that I wouldn’t have gotten in the traditional school system. My Mom and I are also very similar, and I think of her as my emotional model, in a sense. We’re not identical in our perspectives, but I’ve been able to learn a lot of valuable lessons about life and myself from the way she sees the world. I’m also extremely proud of her—she made her way back into the workforce after our homeschooling days were over, and really created a new life for herself after becoming an empty-nester. She’s a huge inspiration to me.

Website: https://www.justinwhittingham.com

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-whittingham/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JustinWhittingham

Image Credits
Beck Selberg, Zoe Heafner, Asa Allegra-Berger