Meet Christian Campbell | Film Writer & Editor

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

Hi Christian, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I’d say I’ve always been creative, even from a young age. I grew up building with legos and playing pretend with my friends and my younger brother, and that creative drive eventually manifested itself in my love for film/video. I’ve been watching movies for as long as I can remember, but I remember at about age 8 or so, I decided I wanted to pursue a career in editing (although back then I thought editing was purely about VFX and CGI). Then as I got older, I had seen some behind-the-scenes footage of the show Friends that involved the editor of that show, and I started to pay attention to how pacing and emotion is crafted heavily in the post-production phase. I’d be remiss to not mention the film Interstellar because that film specifically is what led me to working in the film industry. By the time the credits rolled, I had already decided that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

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.
At the moment, I’m just graduating from the University of West Georgia, and I’m beginning to pursue a professional career in Film/Video Editing. I’ve been using Adobe Premiere Pro for about seven years now, and I’ve been honing my craft as an editor through both video classes in high school and in college through film. I feel that I have a unique ability to look at the footage in front of me and see the finished film before any clip is laid in the timeline, almost how I’d imagine a sculptor sees a block of marble. Obviously this is much easier said than done; however, even when my feet are held to the fire with a deadline looming for an assignment or in one of UWG’s biannual week-long film races, I have shown that I can still do good work. So far, my friends and I have won various awards after participating in four of the aforementioned film races at UWG, including Best Picture for our film L’Ultima Vendemmia (The Last Harvest) this past Fall. At the moment, that is the film that I am most proud of due to how involved I was in the film, as well as how good the final project turned out. I was the writer, producer, gaffer, and editor for the film, and we used various elements from creators like Dario Argento and films like Friday the 13th and The Evil Dead to craft a story about a demonic scarecrow that preyed on a group of kids at a house party. We are, however, working on a film that I’m also a firm believer in that takes inspiration from classic Hollywood and film noir that I’m excited about.

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?
Well I’d have to shoutout both the Plaza and Tara theaters in Atlanta, they put on such a good program both for new films and revisiting classic films, and you can tell that a lot of effort is put into what they do for their patrons. I’d also recommend Six Flags because that was such a huge part of my childhood, and it’s always fun to see how people react when they’re at the top of the Goliath for the first time. In terms of where I actually live, Carrollton, I’d have to shoutout probably The Corner Cafe and their Hawaii-Five-O sandwich. All their sandwiches are awesome, but that’s the one I keep coming back to.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My mom has always been my support system when it comes to helping me achieve my goals. She’s been behind me no matter what and has always pushed me to do the best that I can no matter what. I also wouldn’t be where I was without God because even after my mom eventually passes, and as friends come and go, I’ll always have Him to look to for guidance and wisdom in everything that I do. In terms of film, my biggest influence is, as is most people my age, Christopher Nolan, particularly by way of Interstellar and my all-time favorite film The Dark Knight. Those two films showed me that film could be a tool that reaches through the screen and turns something two-dimensional into something more. I also couldn’t leave off the friends I made while at the University of West Georgia: Nathan, Derek, Kenan, Uri, Ethan, Christian, and so many more. Also my professors Deon, Patrick, and Chris who always pushed me to do better and make a film the best that I could.

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