Artist Spotlight—Marcus Catlett

This week, we’re excited to feature Marcus Catlett, a talented cinematographer whose passion for the outdoors and unique storytelling style have made waves in the outdoor lifestyle space. With an eye for capturing fresh perspectives and a drive to push creative boundaries, Marcus has worked with top brands to produce visually stunning content that holds viewers’ attention. Join us as we explore Marcus’s journey, his favorite projects, and the gear that helps bring his vision to life.

1. When did you decide to pursue cinematography? 

I decided to pursue cinematography more seriously in 2021. I was working as a freelance photographer and had just moved to Salt Lake City. I was inspired by commercial I saw on YouTube and decided it would be fun to mimic the style. I decided to make a spec for fun and see if I could create something I was proud of. While it wasn’t as great as I had imagined in my head, I showed it to my photo clients and two of them asked for the same thing but with their products. I started shooting video and photo for those clients quite regularly and from their photo phased out of my career and I put all of my attention toward video. I instantly fell in love the complexity of video and the larger projects it brought.

I think a lot of us start by filming what’s available and familiar to us. I’ve always felt a strong connection to the outdoors and grew up doing many outdoor sports, so when I started using a camera I was usually pointing it at a friend. The more I started doing that and sharing what I had captured the more I gained interest from brands to do the same for them. I think the outdoor lifestyle space sometimes crutches on the location and skips some of the principles of cinema.

2. How did your passion for the outdoors transform into a full-fledged cinematic production company?

While I agree location is important, I’m always trying to find a new perspective or camera angle that will retain interest and keep the viewer from scrolling. It’s not enough to just have a pretty view with a sunset. I think going above and beyond what expected has helped gain traction with being recognized more and more in the space. We’re all desensitized and brands are looking for ways to hold people’s attention. I treat every shoot as an opportunity to grow and push the envelope on what people are used to. The client is never asking for crazy unique shots, but if you can provide that to them and exceed their expectation, you’re likely to get hired back.

3. What has been your favorite project you've worked on so far with Alpenglow, and what made it stand out as a memorable experience for you?

I think my favorite piece we’ve made at Alpenglow has to be the RockyTalkie spot. We shot over the course of four days, two in the winter and two in the summer. Everyone I hired for this job was a friend or immediately became one. We kept the crew small, but everyone gave 150% and we were able to be extremely efficient. For the summer portion we shot kayaking and rappelling from a 130 foot waterfall in White Salmon Washington, where I grew up. My parents housed the crew and it was really special to go back to a place I cherished so much and not only shoot some epic scenes, but also share it with my friends who were on the team. My mom even brought us lunch and got to be on set with us which was very special to me. The whole experience was extremely fun. Each day was its own adventure and everyone’s spirits stayed high with imagery we were capturing.

4. You have the most unique camera angles. Can you give us an inside look at how you come up with these?

Early on, my big client was a cooler company. This was great because they gave me creative freedom and it made sense to have a cooler in almost every outdoor scenario. After 2 years, it was starting to feel repetitive so I started getting creative with camera angles and rigging it to things. Once I started this mindset when going into pre-production there was no going back. I started looking at things differently and was constantly thinking of how to tell stories from unique perspectives.

I also started to realize that these unique angles were ideal for showing a lot of features on products. Sure you can use a long lens and tell the same story, but to be the perspective of a mountain bike shock and see it move up down while hauling down a hill, suddenly makes a boring feature exciting. A lot of brands tend to focus on showing features of the product, but if it’s done in a traditional sense you might lose the viewer and then you’ve lost the sale. But if you can show features without losing the viewers attention, then you’ve locked them in. My goal is always fulfill the clients needs, without sacrificing the overall vibe of the video.

5. Tell us about your gear bag. What are you typically bringing to a shoot?

For gear, my work horse is the DJI Ronin 4D 6K. This camera has so much versatility and allows me to have every type of camera available in relatively small package. We use the 4D flex on a monopod quite often for on the go jobs. Being able to have a camera that can go from being a hand held unit to being mounted on a hydra arm for rolling shots allows me and my team to be quick and achieve shots outside of what the budget would typically provide. My favorite new camera this year though is the Blackmagic Micro G2. This comes on every shoot and is exclusively used for fixed shots and any mounting we might do. Its lightweight and small size allows us to put it in places that have not been possible before hand. This also makes it easier to mount to people which allows gives an interesting perspective.

We’re excited to see where Marcus' journey takes him next and how he’ll continue to redefine what’s possible in the world of outdoor filmmaking. A huge thank you to Marcus for letting us get a glimpse of his inspiring journey and for sharing his insights with us this week.

To see more of his work, check out his instagram or visit his website.