Meet Galen Cunningham | Film Director and Director of Photography

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

Hi Galen, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Life can be as safe or as risky as you want it to be. I find this to be especially true in the film industry. Risk is absolutely necessary in a job like this. Without it, we’d probably still be watching black and white silent movies.

Of course it doesn’t always pay off, hence it being a risk in the first place. The thing I find beautiful about working in the film industry is that there’s always the next project. Another opportunity to learn from your mistakes and apply what you’ve learned. Those, to me, are the most exciting movies and the “safe” movies are usually the most boring to me.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I currently direct and shoot short films. I find these role to be extremely fulfilling creatively, as I like to focus a lot on the visual presentation of my work. On the side, I color grade projects for myself and others, which has led to me having an even better understanding of what kind of image you can get with modern cinema cameras.

One big struggle I faced was just being confident with my own work. Learning to “trust your eye” was something that I misunderstood for a while. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re never going to make mistakes, cuz God knows I’ve made plenty. The amount of times I’ve looked back and said “I wish I did that differently” has been too many to count, but if you continue to practice and train your talents you stop having those moments as often. One of the most important parts of working in a creative field is taking the time to develop your talents.

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.
There’s so much to do in Atlanta it’s hard to choose where to start. If my friends had came down for the week I would probably start them off with some of the things they have heard of before. The aquarium is definitely a highlight of the city and one that most people want to go to. That, the world of Coke, and any event in the Mercedes Benz Stadium are what I get asked about most when I’m out of town.

The next couple of days I think we would take it a little easier and show them some more laid back areas of the city. Some of my favorite areas in Atlanta are the parks scattered all over. The city has a great sense of greenery, even in some of the busiest parts of the city, like Decatur. There’s tons of stores and restaurants there, with trees lining pretty much every street it makes it a very pleasant place to be, especially in the heat of the summer. Piedmont Park is another great area, especially whenever one of the many festivals. If there was one going on when my friends visit, I would definitely take them there.

Towards the end of our trip I would probably take them along the Beltline until we came across Ponce City Market. It’s one of my favorite markets in the city with just a lot going on. It’s beautiful, it’s got tons of great food, lots of stores, and it’s right in the middle of the Beltline making walking around the area super convenient. And if they want some more, I would take them to the rooftop which has a little mini amusement park that overlooks the city. First time I went up there I couldn’t believe my eyes. For me, it’s definitely a must see.

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?
First off, I would like to shout out my childhood friends and family, who really fostered my love for making movies. They were the ones who really gave me the drive to go into this career.

One of my early mentors was Eric Rogers, one of my first mentors in high school. He taught the film class at the Fine Art Center in my home town of Greenville, SC. That was the first class where I felt like I was learning what I wanted to do in life. He gave us the freedom to film pretty much whatever we wanted while giving us the tools to learn. Having that experience at such a young age really launched my knowledge into filmmaking,

And finally, all of my current friends who I currently make films with. One of my favorite parts of this career is the community. Without everyone working together making these films would be impossible. We all work and support each others work, but it wasn’t until I felt that support on some of my own projects that I really felt how special that was.

Website: https://vimeo.com/user179375776

Instagram: @galenc, @galenonset

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/galen-cunningham-6a4ab729a/

Other: @Galenonset is purely for my film work. @Galenc is my personal account. My vimeo account is where people can see my work and reels.

Image Credits
Rhiannon Shakir