In one of the most artistic cities in the world, New York City, you will find many aspiring filmmakers making their marks through their work – but some stand out more than others. One of these stand out artists is Shawn Cooper. Shawn Cooper is a Brooklyn, New York based director of photography and filmmaker who has been building an elite portfolio and working with some jaw-dropping work. Shawn’s background is diverse and some of her roles and accomplishments include but aren’t limited to shooting for artists such as Linkin Park, Steve Aoki, Duke Dumont, ARTBAT, John Summit, Benny Benassi, Lil Jon, NERVO, PRØVOST and many more. In addition, Shawn has been championing the role of an LGBTQ Director and representative for the community. Shawn shoots, edits and does all the vfx for a wide variety of projects, as well, including brand commercials, music videos and live events.
You can find amazing work right here on Shawn’s Instagram profile.
Aside from music videos, branded commercial content and live event coverage – Shawn is an entrepreneur in her own right. Shawn’s career began with a cancer diagnosis. Missing a great deal of work due to surgery and chemo-therapy, Shawn lost her job, health insurance coverage at the worst possible time ever. Shawn was able to connect with legal counsel and utilize a settlement from a claim purchased camera equipment to launch her own career and start formal studio training. It was all history from that point on as Shawn poured herself into educating herself and expanding her knowledge on all topics related to film. It’s more than just a passion to Shawn, it’s an obsession. Shawn’s business BVLLSHVRK Media can be found here with resources that reflect her high quality work and passion for the craft.
Shawn continues to stand out in her industry because she uses what is not typically taught in film school and applies her own strategies to her techniques. There isn’t an aspect of filmmaking that Shawn cannot do – she fills the positions of entire teams, herself. Without any business loans, credit cards or financing dollars Shawn prides herself in starting her career from the bottom despite all odds. With grueling medical treatment since 2008 Shawn made it through the toughest times and is grateful that her work
is being respected in one of the most difficult places in the world to launch an artist career.
When asked what advice would you give people who have a hard time launching their own business, Shawn stated “I think the best advice I could give would be to wear as many hats as possible – learning to do things by yourself can really benefit your business.” Her experience makes Shawn who she is today and in the future he’d like to handle tour and production for major festival promoters, open a studio and create high-end productions. Keep an eye out for Shawn in the future, you’ll be seeing her work all over the world.
