Conner Lathem

Hi, I'm Conner. I've been making videos and writing stories my entire life, and began to take filmmaking seriously as a career in 2015. I worked incredibly hard to understand everything about making movies -- From the process, to the skills, to the equipment -- and my brother and I founded Red Swordfish Studios, an independent video production house. We've ultimately found our way to great success doing commercial work for large companies like Healthcare Associates of Texas & Spin Master Ltd., and I'm very grateful to be so effectively self employed, doing something I really enjoy. All the same, I'm working towards a return to narrative projects on the side, with the goal of self-funding some short films. I gained a wide range of immense skill because I wanted to tell stories, and create the sort of imagery that speaks and inspires, but I've only been able to put a fraction of my capabilities into occasional shorts over the years. As of 2023, I'm digging my heels in harder than ever. That's your basic summary. If you'd like to know a bit more about my filmmaking mentality, and how I'm chasing my goals, well...

I believe that the power of lighting is often underestimated, even in a field where everyone knows how important it is. Moving the key light a foot to the left doesn't seem like a bid deal, but if you know how to make enough of those small decisions -- Moving the key a foot, tweaking the composition an inch, adjusting the exposure a half stop, introducing the right camera movement (or stillness), altering the set in one simple way, etc. -- You can push your results up by a very visible notch. There's a magic place where you give the shot a truly gorgeous aesthetic quality whilst improving how that frame tells the story, and that is where I like to be.

Despite that, I've also come to understand two huge things over the course of making (or sometimes just DP'ing) nine short films in total, most of which I approached thinking I would make something amazing if I just nailed my shot compositions and lighting a bit better this time. The first thing I learned was the degree to which you simply cannot cut corners or bet on "winging it" if you're hoping to make something impressive. You plan everything as much as you can get away with, and only improvise where you have no choice. The second thing was the sheer scale of limitations we face at the indie level, regardless of your personal skills in an ideal situation. The ever elusive "Real movie feel" is endlessly complex, and only so consistently achievable in Hollywood because of not only budget, but the cumulative power of so many different minds, each with their own role. I'll copy paste how I attempted to explain it to someone once, who was confused about what the "real movie look" actually is:

"The most singular thing you're seeing across real movies is a high degree of polish in every area of filmmaking, because movies are made by a LOT of people, who each do their very specific job very well. This is very hard to compete with at the indie/short film level, unless you have people that are incredibly good at their jobs, or even multiple jobs if they're wearing multiple hats.

At this point, I just want to over-plan a short film, and check all the boxes. I feel like a lot of indie level "multiple hat" filmmakers get too focused on certain aspects of their vision, and neglect crucial things while spending extreme effort on selective refinement. As I said, detail work on a house with no foundation. Though my active job lands on "cinematographer", I also want to be an exception to that typical story of the deluded indie filmmaker... and I'd like to be that a few times, at least.

I have listened to hundreds of podcasts and interviews with directors, cinematographers, grips, actors, and more, to blend that knowledge with my own experiences. You must know how things are done at a high level if you ever want to be there, and to understand what problems must be solved while operating at a smaller scale. A large background goal of mine for many years has been to accumulate the best tools/equipment to maximize creative freedom and shooting practicality for a small production. I don't think brand loyalty can do me many favors, so I've really just sought whatever tools can solve the most logistical problems for filmmaking with minimal crew. It seems to have paid off, because I finally find myself looking at accumulated equipment and resources that may enable a certain level of ambition at a small scale, without creating too many telltale signs of low-budget filmmaking. I shoot on whatever camera does what I need it to do.

I look forward to making an impact on the world of filmmaking. That's about all I can think to put here right now, so I hope you found what you were looking for in there somewhere. If you're interested in talking to me about filmmaking/cinematpgraphy/video work/etc. for any reason, go right ahead. I love to meet people.