Today we’d like to introduce you to Dusty Mitchell.
Hi Dusty, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started working in film and television by playing around with video cameras and making home “movies” with my cousin, Justice Leak, who is now an actor with quite a diverse body of work. We started around the age of eighteen. That turned into shooting wedding videos really just as a way of learning more about creating cinematic style in both our framing and editing. My cousin and I both began working for a teleconferencing company who recognized, appreciated and encouraged our fascination with film and video production, so much so that they pinned us to direct a short parody for their global sales marketing team, the success of the first short, brought us back for a second short film parody. I believe it was at this point we decided we needed to study more about our art. That led us both to study Theatre at Auburn University. My goal was by learning to take direction, I would translate that into learning to give direction. Many, many, many years later through a winding course I was led to Atlanta where I’ve found a home and a creative team who are not only collaborators but some of my closest friends.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I feel as though I’ve been on the struggle bus for a great majority of my life, but it’s no one’s fault but my own. Poor Choices, lack of focus, unclear vision, and mindset have all been setbacks in my journey. And for the most part, it’s as if I’ve chosen not to learn from the failures so that the failures are actually just that. Failing isn’t failing as long as you’re falling forward, learning, growing, developing and correcting course. That is of vital importance. We musn’t allow ourself to lose sight of the road, smooth or not, if we take our eyes off of it and hit some of those bumps in the path, it’s terribly easy to break down and not move at all. I wish I could say that things just took off for me. But I’m glad they didn’t. I wouldn’t have been ready, I would have been swallowed up and lost in the chaos of it all and found myself striving for success rather than striving simply to create collaboratively and tell good stories.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a writer, actor, director. In short, I’m a filmmaker, that’s the easiest way to describe what I do. No matter what role I’m playing at any given time, the easiest way to describe what I do, filmmaker. I make films. Making movies with my friends has always been what I’ve wanted to do. I get to say that I do that. That’s what I’m proud of. It’s something that I absolutely love. That’s always been the goal, and I’ve been able to see it come to fruition. It really shouldn’t matter the scale, it shouldn’t matter how big the production is, what matters is I do it with people that I love, that I respect, and we are all mutually supportive of one another. I think what just may set me apart from others is that I don’t have to do this. I enjoy what I do, but it’s not my life. I’ve made it a large part of my life, but it’s not who I am. I don’t ever want to confuse who I am with what I do. At the end of the day, I love collaborating creatively with others and seeing my vision come to life, but It’s not what makes me, and if I no longer could do it I would survive because it’s not my life. Jesus is my life, and the most important thing I can do is know him and make him known. The goal is to marry the two, to shine a light in the darkness through the medium of film.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Creating is great. I believe in responsible filmmaking, and I believe as an artist of any medium, it’s wildly significant that we’re very intentional about what we create is speaking to people. We have the wonderful opportunity to be bold and truthful with our work, to create not only for entertainment value but to allow people to realize and see both the beauty and the pain in this world and realize that the two are not mutually exclusive.
Contact Info:
- Email: dusty@dustymitchell.com
- Website: http://dustymitchell.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sirdusty/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dustymitchell
