We had the good fortune of connecting with T.C. & Michelle Carter and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi T.C. & Michelle, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
Michelle is from Mississippi and T.C. was born in Naples, FL. and raised in Athens, GA. We both have backgrounds in the arts. We each grew up doing theater, dance and playing a variety of instruments. Eventually, when we separately moved to LA, we ventured into our acting and music careers. This all led to us starting our own business behind the camera.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Our art has evolved through the years. We started doing lower budget music videos which was an amazing opportunity to learn how to create something out of nothing. We knew that no matter the budget, in order to make an amazing product, we had to focus on what we could control. Lighting, color grading and editing is what would set us apart. We couldn’t afford fancy locations but we could master our own craft when it came to the edit. Which is exactly what we did.

As the company grew, we had the opportunity to work with more commercial clients that required a more polished product but hired us because they still wanted that music video flair.

The biggest challenge is that we are self taught, but that is also our biggest blessing because we are not bound to the standard “rules” of film making. We are not afraid to take risks, try new things, fail and then try again! The biggest lesson we’ve learned is that the industry is ever evolving and changing. When you think you’ve learned everything, is when you will actually fail. You have to be forever a student and strive to learn more.

Creative directing and collaborting with artists and brands is the future of shotbyTHECARTERS. Building our company from the ground up has given us such a passion to help others do the same!

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?
We would definitely hit up Malibu. Walk the pier and then head to the Country Mart to grab lunch at Broadstreet Oysters. The lobster roll is a MUST ORDER!

One night we would go to Yamashiro in Hollywood. The sushi is great and the views are even better!

If you are looking for little outdoor adventure, we like to head up to Gorman, CA and rent dirt bikes to ride around Hungry Valley State Park for the day.

Then take a fun dance class at Playground LA or Bandier on Melrose.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We would never have pursued this hobby and turned into a business if it weren’t for our friends and family that really pushed us outside of our comfort zones. They believed in us even when we didn’t. Without them we would not be where we are today!

Website: www.shotbythecarters.com

Instagram: @shotbythecarters

Youtube: YouTube.com/shotbythecarters

Other: Our individual Instagram’s: @mdefraites @tccarter23

Image Credits
Personal Photo – Dana Patrick All Other Photos – shotbyTHECARTERS

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