Profile Series:
Sam Sheffer
"Collect your strengths and weaknesses through experience."
Sam Shaffer
Role: YouTuber
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Directed by Darren Aranofsky
The Matrix (1999)
Directed by the Wachowski Sisters
Back to the Future Part II (1989)
Directed by Robert Zebecks
How did you first get into filmmaking?
I got a Panasonic SVAV30 when I was a young teenager and was fascinated by how small and capable it was. My dad always had a camcorder on vacations as well. Then worked professionally with video making at The Verge and realized I could do it myself.
"I think the audience is crucial for any genre of anything creative."
What is your favorite on-set story?
Not much of a story but I got to host an episode of 90 Seconds on The Verge with Alexis Ohanian back in the day.
The heart of the Film Pin Society is community and camaraderie. Can you talk a little about that?
Sharing is caring. I think the audience is crucial for any genre of anything creative. There's an exchange of value between the creator and the consumer and it's important to know who your audience is and actively engage with them as a whole. As in, thanking them for watching, responding to comments, taking selfies with them in the streets, etc.
What’s the best piece of advice you can give to someone looking into going into your field?
Just keep making. Try. Try again. Try a 75th time. Creation is an evolutionary process. The work is really never done. Unless you're making a Hollywood film that hits the big screen. Then you have to ship a complete product. But then you could always make a sequel...
What pin from our collection speaks to you and why?
That Doc Camera...it's a beast
