Interview With Danny McMahon

We had an interview with the video editor and content creator Danny McMahon.

I hope you enjoy reading...

• Can you tell us something about yourself?

I'm Danny, I'm 22 years old, and I live in the UK. I'm obsessed with all the things related to filmmaking, social media and video editing. I graduated with a film degree last year but when it comes to editing and content creation, I'm self-taught.

• What inspires you?

I'm inspired by everything! Movies, conversations, the world around us, but the most frequently; music. All of my videos stem from a song first and not the other way around. I usually dedicate time every day to listening to music and asking myself what it means to me. Once I know this, I can begin translating it into a video.

• What does cinematography mean to you?

Cinematography is something I have known more about! As a younger student, I wanted to become a director of photography but as I learned more about the role I discovered I do not understand how to use cameras and lights. But over time, I learned enough to use lighting and composition to tell my story. Cinematography is the most important power in a filmmaker's tool kit for storytelling, right behind editing.

• What are the important factors in cinematography?

In my eyes, the most important factors in cinematography are focal length, camera height and contrast. With those three decisions at the front of your mind, it'll force you to think how your shot is telling the story.

• Which camera do you use to make videos?

I've recently started using the Sony ZV-E10 with the stock lens. For the rest of my content career,r I've just been shooting on an iPhone XS. Most of my gear is pretty cheap - I'm not the one to buy the new, flashy equipment. Limiting myself with my gear means I've learned ways of thinking outside the box.

• What is your favourite movie in terms of cinematography?

I love the look of Amelie. And Into The Spider-Verse. The new Batman movie was stunning, too.

• What are your goals in life?

I'd just love to make a comfortable living by creating my little movies, without having to do any client work. Maybe someday I may expand into some larger productions. Building my own production company founded for social media filmmakers would be great.

• What is your advice to people who want to start this job?

My biggest advice is just to do it every day. No advice or tips will help you at the beginning more than just doing it yourself. Start something, complete it, stumble a bit, get up, create again, create again, create again. I feel like I improved my skill level by 100x in one year just by completing a new project every day. Not necessarily anything impressive or something I posted, but just a daily learning objective. Do that for a year and you'll become a creator you only imagined before.

Thanks for the interview, Danny. And I wish him success in his new jobs. You can follow and support him by clicking this link.