Before he made the transition into filmmaking, Joseph Mbah worked in the information technology field. Even as a filmmaker, he still remembers to put communication and customer satisfaction first.
Mbah, who worked as a cinematographer on various horror and sci-fi films (including the Krampus films), has just unleashed his latest film onto the world, the action-movie throwback Expo starring Derek Davenport. We had the chance to ask him a few questions about his career and more. Here’s what he had to say.
When did you come down with the filmmaking bug, Joseph?
I fell in love with filmmaking at the end of my senior year in high school. I’ve some family in the biz – my older brother was an actor for a brief moment, my significant other Amber Thompson is a producer and all my friends are filmmakers and actors, so it’s definitely in the blood.
Do you remember your first script?
Yes, I remember my first short film script and, I’m very happy to say, it got made too.
Nice. Most in the industry, especially when they’re starting out, tend to have to wear two hats. Ever have to wait tables, work in I.T or do some other sort of job in those early days?
Absolutely, I worked mainly in the IT and call-center world. The last job I had was as a salesperson for DirectTV – I was responsible for convincing disconnected customers to return to their service.
When did you begin to realize filmmaking was working for you?
Honestly, I knew it was working from the first time I shot something but financially It didn’t start paying off until 2014 when I got a gig as a camera operator on a traveling reality TV show.
Was going from cinematographer to director always the goal?
I started off just wanting to be a director, but after many frustrations with cinematographers, I decided to become one. My goal was to be the type of cinematographer that directors enjoy working with, which is what I was seeking from the cinematographers I worked with. After becoming a cinematographer I realized that it is an organic process for me to DP and direct at the same time. So I plan to remain that way or at the very least be a writer, director, cam op combo.
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How did you get this latest project, Expo, up – was it a privately financed film?
How did you get this latest project, Expo, up – was it a privately financed film?Yes, Expo is financed out of pocket and with the help of friends.
Well done. It’s definitely very different to the other films you’ve done. Is that fair to say?
Yes, it is, and I plan to continue in this direction. It was based on my own concept. Action films are a bit more challenging to put together than horror films, but they’re so fun to make too.