JEFF MARLOWE

I was born and raised in South Windsor, CT, a suburb of Hartford.  Since I was young, I have always loved telling stories.  I loved the creative freedom of taking nothing and turning it into something, especially if it could get a reaction out of people.  I loved movies because you could see the wildest things you could possibly imagine come to life.  They were an important part of my childhood.  Nothing excited me as much as going to the video store and finding a new movie to rent and see as many times as I could before it had to be returned.

It wasn’t long before I started making films of my own.  Homemade movies about monsters and super heroes turned into video production and photography classes in high school.  Eventually, I realized that making movies was something I wanted to do professionally and focused my education on that goal.  I went to Quinnipiac University in southern Connecticut and received a Bachelor Degree in Media Production.  While there, I worked for regional sports networks on live sporting events in the area, produced the first web series in the history of Connecticut Public Television, and worked on documentaries in Nicaragua and South Africa in addition to my studies.  I graduated in 2010 and moved out to Los Angeles soon afterwards.  Since then, I’ve been working in the industry out here.  

I love using the camera and visual images to tell a story.  To me, it is just as important as a script, directing or acting.  A good image should be able to tell a story by itself and push forward the overall ideas of a larger piece in supporting other elements of the story.  That is why I admire cinematographers who don’t simply shoot a scene to get it done, but use their talents to add something to what they’re doing to tell the story.  The best cinematographers can do that regardless of the format; feature, short, music video, commercial, etc- it doesn’t matter.  

I also like to have fun and enjoy myself both on and off set.  That doesn’t mean I do believe in professionalism and acting with respect in the workplace.  This is my job and I take it very seriously.  However, with as much stress and tension that can come from working long days and with tight restrictions, you have to be able to let off some steam.  The way I look at it is I want to be somebody that if we were locked in a room for 24 hours you wouldn’t want to kill by the end.  The people I hire are in the same vein.  They need to be skilled and professional enough not to slow down the production, but also make the set a more enjoyable place to be.  

I am a big believer in efficiency on set.  I try to make set-ups as simple as possible while still maintaining a high quality look to keep the shoot on schedule and within budget.  This also means not having a million stands, cables, flags, lights and other pieces of equipment clogging up the set.  Having all that stuff there can distract actors and directors and can limit their ability to move around freely and explore a space, which could hurt the scene.  This also means not shoving the camera in the actor’s face or next to their eye-line unless necessary.  I want to work with them and the director, not dictate how they should handle a scene.  This generally means that everyone else can focus on their jobs instead of having to worry about me, which should make the entire production better.

In general, I’m a pretty laid back and easy person to work with.  I love being on set and am glad for every day I get to work on one.  I love meeting new people and forging new relationships and connections.  Getting different peoples’ takes on different ideas and concepts is really interesting to me and helps me grow as an artist.  I love lots of things besides film too: science, sports, music, cooking, cars and more.  I am not just a person who lives and dies with things related to their job.  I enjoy having other interests and feel that some of the best connections made on set have very little to do with the work being done at hand.  My goal is to work for you and make your shoot as good as it can be, while also hopefully forging a connection that goes past one project.  Hopefully, we can connect on a project soon.