Meet Mauricio Cimino Campodonico | Creative

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mauricio Cimino Campodonico and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mauricio, is there something you believe many others might not?
One conventional piece of advice I’ve heard during my 20’s was to find my niche within the video world. That’s been the recipe for success for so many individuals and businesses. It’s sound advice and in most cases means financial success. “If an agency is doing a food photography commercial they will want the Production Company that specializes in tabletop video . Why take chance on someone without that body of work?”. That’s how it’s been explained to me, and ironically that’s how I make my decisions when I am crewing a project.

Having said that, I’ve never felt right choosing one path in life that would exclude others. The same dilemma exists when I think about my career in video. As I mature as an artist operating in the business world, finally hitting my stride, I can’t imagine doing what I do without having the diverse background I have.

It’s true, being a jack of all trades has cost me jobs and opportunities, to be sure, but practicing being a DP, Director, Producer, etc I can now run a mean freaking set. If I’m a director on a project, I can be a producers best friend because I can’t help but come up with solutions to problems that I know will help everyone on a project. I’ve gained a fundamental understanding of how all the job roles approach their job and workflows. As far as picking a niche as a video production company…let’s see what the next few years have in store for me.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Cliche as it may be, what sets me apart from others is my worldview. My greatest talents do not even lie within a specific video skill. It’s really my enthusiasm towards life and communications skills that has the biggest impact with my collaborators.

While I can’t answer what I’m most proud (every project has a special place in my heart) I’m really excited to be reaching the next level of my video career. I’ve taken a lot of risks and at 31 the puzzle is starting to look like the picture on the box.

As far as projects, I was recently the Director of Photography of an indie comedy pilot “Loopers” that takes place entirely on a golf course. It was challenging shooting outdoors in Connecticut with weather that can change 3 times in 30 minutes. But along with my director Patrick Fitzsimmons and producer Alexander Stoupas we pulled off a very difficult timeline to complete the project.

As far as my career…It has not been an easy road in some regards. In my mind I’ve been ready for the opportunities I’m getting now for a long time. So in the past it’s been hard to reckon with the dissonance of knowing what I’m capable of and not having a good channel to do so. But clearly I wasn’t ready, or I’d be here sooner. All things happen as they should. I’m just happy to be here.

I want the world to know that I consider my video craft as a stepping stone to effect change where I feel there needs to be change. As an example I’m creating video series that puts solar power at the forefront of the audience in a really cool way. I’d love to get aligned with more individuals and organizations that have similar ambitions.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Funnily enough a friend just came to visit and I hope he feels like I showed him a good time. He arrived the day after I directed Yonder Mountain String Band’s latest video. This was just in time to come as my guest to their show. Over the next few days I showed him my little slice of LA. I organized a few kick backs with different friend groups. Some are tattoo artists, video makers, stylists, so it was a pretty diverse group of artists. No trip would be complete without some hikes too. I took him to a day hike to Griffith and a night stroll on Mulholland Drive. Food wise I had to show him my favorite taco truck El Chiris, LALAs and Dave Hot Chicken. Overall it was great to have him around because it refreshes my love for LA.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would be remiss if I did not shoutout to my parents and sister. They have supported me through very uncertain futures. Hell, I wouldn’t be in this country without their courage. Same gratitude is extended to my grandparents. We truly do stand on the shoulders of giants.

Website: https://honeyvideo.co/

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