Meet Calvin Tigre

Today we’d like to introduce you to Calvin Tigre.

Calvin, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started making films when I was 11 years old. I had borrowed my father’s Sony Handycam to film my friends and I skateboarding. I took the cam with me to visit my cousins in Kansas and we filmed my first short film called “Bad Mike,” which was about a T-Rex (figurine) that had very poor manners and an unquenchable thirst for blood. At the time, I didn’t view myself as a filmmaker. I was more like a creative person with a camera and an idea. In high school, I would make videos every time it was offered as a project type and eventually, I was producing videos for friends in classes I wasn’t even in.

I attended William Woods University and graduated in 2013 with a degree in digital film production. Film school was fascinating because I knew deep down that all I really wanted to make was music videos and short films, but the program was centered around making feature-length cinema. I pretty much made a music video for almost every assignment. This led to me failing a film course, which I find to be pretty funny now (though at the time I was devastated). Once I graduated, I bought my first camera, a Sony a65. From then on out, I was traveling around the midwest and southern regions making videos for my friends in the music industry. I did a LOT of live performances, or Live Sessions as they’re referred to as now. Around this time, I started making my own music and that led to me making music videos for my own projects as well. Through those, I was able to gain a heck of a lot of experience making things and releasing things. I’ve been self-employed, making a living off my artwork since 2015. I love working with dedicated artists to create a tangible world on screen that coincides with their music.

My main goal in every video is to get the music and visual to match each other so that when you take them in, you receive them synonymously. Filmmaking for me is a never-ending experimentation. When I turn on the camera and start filming, I’m able to easily find my flow state and as creatives, I think we’re all searching for a perpetual flow state to create within. I’ve always been the type of person more concerned with getting the actual project out than I was perfecting things (though I do try to perfect them, I have learned when to let go). To date, I have created and released more than 500 videos. My goal in the next ten years is to take the knowledge and experience I have gained with me and transition into actually doing some more traditional cinema. My favorite thing to do is direct. I guess that since I’m so actively in front of the camera as well as behind it, I’m able to communicate to actors/artists from their frame of mind and we are able to get some phenomenal performances. For me, that collaborative process is everything.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
At first, I really didn’t get along with any of my film professors. They were stuck in this idea that there is a right and wrong to filmmaking, whereas my perspective was always that there is only a finished product (or not) and its either good or it’s not. Right and wrong in art is for procrastinators. The midwest doesn’t have much to offer in the way of legitimate creative jobs. I was searching everywhere for years to find a job that related to video or video production and there simply isn’t that many places you can get hired to shoot fun/creative things. Most of the time, you’re being asked to make corny local commercials or they want something for free. The cost of living in the midwest is so cheap that there is a vacuum of exciting video/photo jobs because the people simply don’t have the money to make something grand.

This led to me being freelance and taking on gigs that I sought out myself and just did them myself. Being self-employed in your early 20s is quite the challenge. There have been so many nights that I wanted to give up and trade my self employed freedom for the security that a 9-5 brings. But I’ve been sticking to my guns and believing in myself even when I really didn’t believe in myself. I’ve been “trusting the process,” as one might say. Another struggle has been being the creative type in a position to constantly be doing business. Negotiating prices and doing the business end of things, I had to learn out of necessity, and I still struggle with a lot of these things presently. And being almost entirely solo with the majority of these projects has led to a lot of self-doubts. In some weird twisted way, though, it’s almost fun when the self-doubt starts peaking its head because then I get a reason to challenge that doubt and prove it wrong. All of my struggles I have been able to turn into lessons and I’m taking those experiences with me.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
Calvin Tigre is a filmmaker, musician, entrepreneur and all-around creative that specializes in a making very nuanced and authentic visual content. I’m probably known for making music videos and skateboarding. Maybe I’m known for being that Tiger dude at the function going crazy. I don’t know to be honest but that would be my guess, haha! I’m most proud of the body of work I’ve been able to create in just a few short years. 500 + high-quality pieces of visual art. I’m usually very involved with the projects I direct, from the initial ideas all the way down to the finishing touches on the edits. My hands are very dirty with the sweat & tears of the creative process and I love it that way. I’m here to elevate the ideas of my artists and use my skills to paint them in the coolest possible light. What sets me apart from others would be my creative vision. It’s hard to describe it but it is uniquely mine and I know that my clients expect it every time.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success, to me, is freedom. Whether that be financial freedom or the freedom from the opinions of others, success should equal contentment in your life. Don’t compare yourself to others; success is on a personal sliding scale.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://vimeo.com/showcase/6109964
• Email: therealcalvintigre@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calvin_tigre
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Calvintigre
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Calvin_Tigre
• Other: https://www.Youtube.com/CalvinTigre
  

Image Credit:
Photo Credits: Miranda Munguia, Cami Cruz, Derek Thomas

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