Meet Christopher Lind | Cinematographer & Gaffer

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

Hi Christopher, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
It’s a funny story actually. I had no idea what I wanted to be growing up, but I was always a very passionate person. It was in high school that I discovered I had a love for show business tho. I got really into Professional Wrestling around my freshman year, and for some reason that just clicked with me. I didn’t know why, i was an extremely shy person, but I dreamed of growing up and wrestling on the big stage with the WWE. That passion lead me to begging my mom to let me join a local wrestling school, but the problem was, I sucked! I was small, flabby, weak, had braces, and was half the size of all the guys there. They had these shows once a month that I had to work at in order to maintain my spot in the school, so they assigned me to film it, and That was the first time I ever picked up a camera and I fell in love with it.

By the end of my sophomore year I was trying to make horror movies with my friends, (I was very into the genre at the time) Bought my first camera with the money i was saving from working with my dad’s party business, and even tried to teach myself special fx makeup which would ultimately land me my first job on an independent film when i was in college!

But I was hooked on making films, found that I had a talent for camera & lighting while working for a crappy producer’s company as i worked my way through college. Eventually I had enough experience under my belt to start booking jobs on my own, and my business just gew fom there. Though all these odd jobs, and experiences I practically bred myself to prepare for set life, and honestly I’ve tried desk jobs, construction jobs, even DJ’ing, but none of that interested me. Being a creative, just brings me a joy like nothing else does, and I couldn’t imagine living a life any other way.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am primarily a cinematographer or “Director of Photography” for Narrative film and Commercial video. As a cinematographer it is my job to work with the director to create the look and the overall feel of the project. As a DP, I work closely with the lighting department and lead the camera department to create beautiful images for the big and small screens alike.

Getting established in the film world is HARD. In the Beginning, I had to work on some of the most grueling sets I’ve ever been on where I was taken advantage of by cheap producers and scolded by inexperienced department heads for little to no money, for 12-18 hours every day. But, with every job, networking is key. Every job I ever had, I met someone who would ultimately lead to the next one and over the years, as word of mouth spreads, those jobs got better and better as I improved my skills and moved on. My mantra has always been to “Keep moving forward” and yes, that is a quote from Disney’s “Meet the Robinsons” and of all the thing’s Disney films have ever said, that’s one lesson that they didn’t get wrong.

I want the world to know that I believe anybody can make a movie, and I’ve made a career out of helping those people who never had the opportunity to do so have a chance at having their voices heard. I value quality on any project I am a part of, and I am always willing to be flexible for first time filmmakers within reason. I’m living my dream, and I love helping others achieve their dreams as well. I also value my crew’s time and safety. There is a stigma in our industry where it is belived that everyday should be a 12 hour day or more, ,and while there will always be days like that I know that the DP has the ability to help make that change..

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First off my Mother. She supported me in so many ways that I didn’t even realize until I was older. Every crazy Idea I had for what I wanted to do with my life she supported. She got me guitar lessons when I was a kid (Still can’t play it to this day) Signed me up for professional wrestling school when I thought I wanted to be a big star in the WWE, drove me to so many odd jobs, and practices, no matter how bad I was at it. She never gave up on me, and always went out of her way to never step on my dreams. My mom did everything for me, and I can never thank her enough.

I also want to shout out my good friend and mentor Terrence Burke for taking me under his wing when I was in a tough spot of my career and teaching me everything I know today.

And to Llyod Kauffman and TROMA entertainment, pushing indy filmmakers like myself to make our movies no matter what stands in our way.

Website: www.ChristopherSLind.com

Instagram: CSL_Cinematography