Daily Inspiration: Meet Joe Crognale

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joe Crognale.

Hi Joe, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
As a senior in high school, I had no real vision of what I wanted to do with my life. I assume most high schoolers don’t. I took a video production class to avoid taking any real classes that involved math or any mental capacity at all. The rest was history. Making skits and short films for the students in my school gave me a very deep sense of fulfillment that people admired my creations. I thought, “This is what I’ll do for the rest of my life!”. After a newfound love for making videos, I found a film school outside of Philadelphia that would accept me and took my life down a new path.

After the first year of college, I really didn’t know if film school was for me. I just felt that nobody understood me or the stories I was trying to tell. I felt like I was waisting time there. Others enjoyed themselves, but it just wasn’t for me. I started seeking a way out. After my first semester sophomore year, I moved to Atlanta to pursue my dreams as a filmmaker. With a connection in the industry, I was able to land a job as a camera PA on “The Walking Dead”. Although it wasn’t me filmmaking, I was in the arena now. I spent my time as a fly on the wall learning what to do and more importantly, what not to do. In between the grueling days of running film mags to and from set, I would break away any chance I got to write my first feature film screen play on set. I would write down scenes in long form during the day and go home at night to put them in screenplay form. After the show concluded its principle photography, I had a finished feature film screenplay. I tried to cast it, tried to find locations, started pulling in favors to see it come to fruition. However, I bit off more than I could chew and the project fell to the wayside.

In the years that followed, I continued to work in the camera department on various films and tv shows. I got busier and busier but the dream of being a filmmaker never faded. I would gather my resources to direct short films that I wrote and music videos on the weekends I had available. Years of this cycle continued. I raised the bar a little higher every time I wrote a new script to shoot. After 2024, I completed another short film. This short film did not do very well in the festival circuit. Hardly nobody even saw it. But the work and experience was not for nothing. 2025 came around and I decided the only way I can get my name out there is if I can make a feature film all on my own with no budget. Just a group of talented friends. The big one is what I always wanted, I wanted to make a movie.

Now, at the time I’m writing this, I have almost completed principal photography on my first feature film. A little over a year from our first filming day, we are set for a 2027 release.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been a very hard pursuit. What they don’t tell you in film school is that you better be ready to have a part time job! It is a hard profession to break into and the odds are against you. The hardest part for me has been balance. When you have a dream, a big dream, a lot of things in your life suffer. Relationships, finances, experiences. I’ve always considered it the price you have to pay to be successful working in this medium. This also plays into the battle you have with yourself which is equally as hard. Asking myself, “Is this even worth it?” “Do I have anything to say?”. I work day in and day out and am in the same position I was in yesterday. This can be a vicious cycle where most people fall out. The battle with myself is constant. I remind myself that what I’m doing is right and this is the reason I’m on this earth. What I do is very deep to me and I take it seriously. I think it’s the only way you can withstand years of work with no reward.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Professionally I have worked in the camera department on large films and tv shows. Live action MOANA, THE PICK UP starring Eddie Murphy, OFFICE ROMANCE starring Jennifer Lopez to name a few.

My writing, directing and producing work consists of various short films and music videos. A few of which can be seen on my YouTube channel. I’ve gathered a few awards from my films. One of which is “Music Video of the Year” at the Josie Awards for Katie Belle’s music video DAUGHTER.

The main thing that sets me apart from others is my writing. I have a fresh unique voice that I can’t wait to show the world. It is something that will separate my films from others.

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson that I’ve learned along my journey is to trust my gut. We hear that saying over and over again but I don’t think a lot of people tap into that principal Most of my short comings and failures have been because I second guessed myself. I’m not talking about some projects not being as successful as others. I’m referring to the small choices you face along the way. Casting, locations, wardrobe, scheduling, rewrites, reshoots, all the small decisions you face as a filmmaker every day. You need to trust your gut. It’s a small voice that whispers and if you can hear it, you have to stay true to it.

Contact Info:

• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@joecrognale
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm13246661/