Rising Stars: Meet Sly Camisi of Glendale

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sly Camisi.

Hi Sly, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started when I was super young – I’d say around 4 years old!

My first love was drawing cartoons. Back then, I’d draw all the time.

As I got a little older, I was introduced to writing music by one of the neighborhood kids. I was around 8 years old at this point in life. We would listen to music all day, and started writing and recording our own songs too. We did that for several years, and it was an absolute blast.

I also did some theater in high school, and was obsessed with performing in front of an audience. I was always a class clown, which had its ups and downs. But it solidified that I, in fact, love being the center of attention hahaha! And making people laugh! I get so much energy from the joy of others.

And finally, I got a lot of energy with being behind the camera & video editing. My friends and I would make stupid sketches to pass the time, and I remember it being incredibly fun and memorable.

So at this point, I knew early on I wanted to be an interdisciplinary artist. I didn’t want to just draw pictures, write music, or act in front of an audience. I wanted to do it all!

So that’s why I chose to be a filmmaker. It gave me the ability to exercise all my gifts in one package. For example:

My first love, drawing, turned into storyboarding.
My passion of music production turned into scoring films.
Being on set with other people allows me to express myself as a class clown too!

I think I really lucked out in knowing what I wanted to do very early-on. I really can’t picture myself doing anything else but art! And I absolutely love that film is such a collaborative discipline because now I get to meet and work with awesome people who are just as crazy as me!!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’ve had a lot of conversations with other artists about this topic, The consensus? We all agree it’s never a smooth road hahahaha.

For me, there’s always going to be ups and downs.

To start, I often think about the selfless and terrifying sacrifices my mother had to make to leave her home country to raise two boys in America. All by herself! That journey itself contains the bumpiest of roads.

So with this in mind, the only goal at this point is for me to succeed. Otherwise, her sacrifices would all be in vain, right?

And to top if all off, it certainly doesn’t help that the pressure of success is intertwined with the idea that “succeeding” in art is a huge dice-roll! There is no linear path to “success”. We’re all out here trying to win the lottery here!

I wish we could all go to art school, graduate, then work full time in our discipline that pays all of our bills! Like the folks who went to law school or medical school, right?? They’ve had a relatively smooth road, right??

No, but seriously. I’ve grown to realize that this linear path to “success” isn’t ever easy no matter where I turn. I bring up law school and medical school because I have friends going through that right now. And they tell me how difficult it is on their end! Even the barrier to entry is insane, like having to take the MCAT or LSAT!? Legitimately insane.

So to tie this back to my struggles, I find comfort knowing that my friends in non-artistic disciplines are also suffering with imposter syndrome, comparison-issues, and questioning if investing thousands of dollars in their career was even a good idea to begin with… We’re never getting that money back huh, guys?

On top of all that, there are moments where I see people making such amazing things, and I ask myself “Dang, why wasn’t I apart of that? Does nobody like me? Do I suck that bad and no one has the heart to tell me? Is it because I forget to put on deodorant sometimes?”

In such dire times, I try to stay grounded as best as I can. I remind myself that the grass isn’t always greener. I’m sure my friends that work the usual 9-5 see me on set and are thinkin’ to themselves like “Wow. He must be having a lot of fun”. Which don’t get me wrong, I’m having a blast.

But I could also argue I’m envious of those who get to reap the benefits and security of a 9-5! Even if the sparkle in their eye may or may-not be shining as bright…

I guess in essence, the road will never be smooth! But the important thing is to be resilient and to never quit doing what you love!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a Director of Photography. From a technical standpoint, I specialize in crafting the best possible image, while also trying to communicate a visual-narrative through shot composition, color, and camera movement.

In order to achieve the best possible results, I spend a lot of time in pre-production with the Director. We have many conversations about the story and how we want it to look/feel.

Once we have a plan in order, it is my job to effectively communicate with the various departments to bring that vision to fruition.

The departments I lean heavy on are my camera team, the lighting team, and the art-department team!

Art-department is responsible for dressing the set. To be honest, their job is probably the most important one out of all of us. Their attention to detail is what brings the space to life. They’re the unsung heroes when it comes to audience immersion. I genuinely can’t do my job well without them.

The next department I spend a lot of time communicating with is the grip and electric team. We strategize the most effective ways to light the space to make sure it’s pleasing to the eye; while also maintaining the safety of others and the location. They are also a major heavy-hitter when it comes to the look of the film. As stated earlier, I cannot do my job well without them either!!

And finally, I work closely with my camera department team. Always communicating with them about what we need for every single shot. From lenses to camera movement, it’s integral we’re always on the same page to maximize on-set efficiency.

What makes me the most proud is seeing all these people come together and work harmoniously with one another. On a film set, we all need each other. Everyone that’s there is important. And it brings me so much joy knowing that every film I’ve had the pleasure in shooting is covered with so many different fingerprints.

I get really existential about these things too. The one thing that we can’t get back is time; I feel an immense gravity knowing that so many people are willing to donate their time, energy, and life-force into these films. I never want to take that for granted.

What I like about being a DoP, is being able to connect and interact with pretty much all departments. I’m such a people-person, so talking with producers, actors, sound-recordists, makeup-artists, (the list goes on and on…), brings me a lot of energy! I try to ensure the shoots go as smooth as possible, and everyone is having as much fun as they can (while also being as productive as possible)!

There’s a delicate balance in having fun and being productive, and I think I’ve hit that sweet spot for sure!

What matters most to you?
Challenging myself is what matters the most to me.

I’m a firm believer that being too comfortable is the death of growth.

I constantly want to put myself in uncomfortable situations because I know I will emerge as a changed person.

I carry this value everywhere in life, not just art.

When it comes to new experiences, I try to make it a point to always say yes. Even if I have no idea what I’m doing, there’s always one way to find out: to just do it!

Sure, the idea of failure sucks. And believe me, I’ve failed A LOT.

But I don’t want the idea of failure to be the reason I didn’t even try!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://fruitionist.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/slynematic/

Image Credits
Image 1 (Sly looking over his right shoulder) – Jerize Bravo

Image 2 (Sly sitting under a tree) – Alex Nieb

Image 3 (Sly on his knee in the snow) – Conor Moriarty

Image 4: (Sly in between two other camera operators) – Lauren Peters