FEATURED
WORK
Role: Cinematography
DP: Matthew Jeppsen
Director: Blake Pelling / Jon Householder / Jeff Schafer
"That better be episode 1!"
@stacytawhai4124
"NASCAR, this was a perfect gem!"
@wildeturkey2006
"10/10 watch great job guys"
@RS99.mp4
"Epic video, @nascar. Awesome to see."
@RichardHughesSpokeCulture
"Awesome. Wish it was longer"
@charliebrownOO7
"Yes NASCAR!!!! A video us fans need to see!!! Watch his foot work in the car, it’s insane!"
@allencoxx5739
"What an amazing watch."
@charwhiri1085
……..but that was the name given to me by a producer years ago when she called me Shaun “hustle” Townend. It certainly fit my energy and attitude so I ran with it. And if you work in production you know the hustle is always real!!
My first foray into production was watching my Dad work during the 80’ & 90’s. He traveled the world on documentaries, built studios, edit suites, OB vans, and looked like he had a lot a fun doing it. To be honest it just seemed like hard work to me and at the time (it was!) and I thought it was all pretty boring. Occasionally I was used a video here and there which was more fun then sitting around watching.
While hanging out at his office after school I started dabbling with editing in the VHS dubbing room ( I wasn’t allowed to touch the edit suites!). I would take my favorite ski films and cut them up to my own music manually using two VHS players. I grew up on extreme skiing director Greg Stump and his music driven films. Bad boys like Glen Plake and Scott Schmidt with classic pop from Roxy Music and Franky Goes to Hollywood. This also fueled some of my music passion and at night I would spend hours locked in my room listening to the radio. There was always a guitar laying about the house I started taking interest after seeing Michael J Fox rip it up on that red Gibson in “Back to The Future”. I actually made a carboard cut out of it! A few real guitar lessons ensured and I dabbled until high school until bands like Nirvana and Red Hot Chili Peppers grunge/rock/funk style blasted a hole in my understanding of what music could be. From them on I was in bands for a very long time. Interestingly to this day I heavily use music as the first element in an edit to inspire me.
Fast forward to 2011 and I was getting tired of my 18 year IT career. The DSLR revolution was just kicking off the Canon 5D’s video abilities was all the talk. When my daughter was born I did the typical “new dad” thing and bought a DSLR to capture everything. A mate who worked in production said to me “….you know, that camera’s got a 1080p video option. You should flick it over and give it a go”. Not really thinking much of it I put it in video mode and, well, as they say the rest is history. I fell in love with capturing and creating the best image I could.
No matter what my role I love the process of production. I admire and respect all roles people play and the skills they bring to put something onto the screen. Producers, directors, cinematographers, AC’s, actors, writers, gaffers, grips, makeup, PA’s, editors and the list goes on. Without all these amazing people we wouldn’t have the shows and movies we enjoy so much.
But you can reach out to me anytime over here ————————————————————————>
Or right here
Shaun Townend
Cinematographer, Colorist, Editor
Hustle Filmworks