Event|May 28, 2020
Telly Award Winning Project
Sometimes we are looking for one thing but what we get is an entirely unexpected surprise.
When I tried a new barber, Trevor Brown, of Atomic Barber, I knew the experience was going to be something unlike one I’d had before. Much like the clientele, the shop is outrageously cool. The trendy young guys with the manly beards all adhere to Trevor’s 100% no-cell phone policy. Instead of looking down, I had the joy of looking up and having an old-school conversation — exactly what Trevor is going for with the relationships he is building with his clients. He starts his day by looking at his schedule and thinking about each person who’s going to be sitting in his chair before they even arrive.
Over the course of the next few months, our friendship grew and I was able to get insight into the life and mind of a barber. It was clear that this barber, my barber, cared just as much about his clients’ lives as he does about their appearance. His take was that each client brings their own energy, and each appointment brought its own dynamic. A haircut can be the start of a life-changing event; a first date, a new job, promotion, a wedding, or even a funeral.
As a cinematographer, filmmaker, and photographer, I hear and see stories that need to be told, Trevor’s was one of them. I decided pretty quickly that I wanted Trevor and Atomic Barber to be a creative inspiration for a new in-house project. When I approached him with the idea — that I wanted to tell his story, not make a commercial — he was fully on board. We used all Starling Productions equipment and hired on the best creative and production team around. Gilbert Gomez, from Laughing Samurai as our Creative Director, John Ogden as Gaffer, Brandon Dew on audio, Andrew Patania 1st AC, Mark Greenwald BTS camera op, Connor Akers on G&E, Jason Quast on stills and our long-time editor Joe Campanale rounded out our epic team. I’m proud to announce the results, were award-winning. Telly award-winning to be precise with a Gold Telly for Editing and Bronze Telly for Cinematography. See for yourself.