Meet Xavier DuBose | Director, Cinematographer & Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Xavier DuBose and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Xavier, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
There have been times when I’m working on a project that I feel guilty for not having enough time for my friends, hobbies, and family. Sometimes as an artist it’s hard to find a defined line between work and personal life. Entertainment is such a fast paced industry and more often than not it feels like work doesn’t end after leaving set. As a creative entrepreneur there could be days when I would be on set for 12+ hours then up until the wee hours of the morning answering emails or instagram dm’s. That’s just the way it is sometimes and I love working so I saw no need to change that. When I first started working in the film industry I was taking pretty much every gig that came my way, good or bad. I was always stressed about the amount of emails I had to catch up on or projects I needed to edit and I was getting burnt out. That’s when I realized that I needed better time management and scheduling when it came to working, now I set specific hours for work (outside of being in production) and stick to them. I think it’s important for artists and entrepreneurs to realize they are human too. It’s okay to take breaks, recharge and be mindful of your mental health.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
When I was a child I was really into theatre, acting, and backstage, I was really fascinated with what was happening between scenes and would strain my eyes to watch the stagehands moving props around and creating new worlds for us to experience. Eventually, I moved on to watching the behind the scenes of films and I wanted to be a part of that magic by becoming a director and director of photography. I like to use color to convey meaning and tone in my films and photography, I think it is one of the most subconscious ways to impact an audience. There’s a lot of different techniques I like to use as a DP but it always depends on the scope of the project. So much of our lives are influenced by the media so more than anything I want to create meaningful content. Things that, while entertaining, can make someone stop and think about a perspective that they didn’t think of previously. Growing up most films I’d watch had that token black friend, a stereotypical rise from the ghetto, or show some sort of “black pain”. I aspire to tell stories that challenge those stereotypes. I’m most proud of the thesis film that I wrote and directed in a month with only a couple hundred dollars and two and a half days of shooting. It’s really hard to pull something together all alone and one of the best parts of filmmaking is that I get to work with amazing and talented people all the time. I really appreciated everyone that helped bring my vision to life on that project. I moved to L.A 3 years ago with about three thousand dollars in my pocket and the desire to make my dream happen. It definitely wasn’t easy. I’ve survived multiple bad housing arrangements, totaling my car and being jobless just by continuously grinding. You get a lot of “no’s” in this industry, sometimes you just have to grin, bear it, and move on to the next. My mother once told me the quote “You don’t drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there.” and I think about it all the time, failure is only failure if you don’t learn from the experience and find a new way to do things. Everyday I learn something new because you never know when one of those proverbial doors is going to open and I’m going to be ready for it. One of the biggest things I’ve learned during this journey is to value myself. If I had kept waiting for someone to tell me I was good enough I wouldn’t be where I am now.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Honestly, I’m not sure I would probably consult Tripadvisor for some ideas haha. I would definitely take them to some of the touristy spots like Griffith Park Observatory, The Huntington Library, and Santa Monica Pier, you have to at least visit them once.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Oh wow, there are so many people that deserve credit! My mother, Adriane, for buying the first digital camera I ever got my hands on and for sending me to film camp as a child. My father, Kenny, for his entrepreneurial spirit. My uncle, Marcus Simmons for believing in me and financing my first DSLR. Barbara Naylor, an amazing professor, and mentor who has taught me so much. I would not be where I am today without her. All the people that have ever taken a chance on me and my projects. The mentors that have helped me hone my skills. The amazing friends that have listened to me nerd out gear or worked as crew and talent in exchange for credit and food, Y’all are the real MVP’s

Website: visualsbywolf.com
Instagram: instagram.com/visualsbywolf
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xavier-dubose/
Youtube: https://youtu.be/YBc0LlhPNAU

Image Credits
Leigha Hardy Alex Huang