J.Lee Glassburn
Based in Hollywood, California, USA
OTHER PROJECTS
I am a storyteller. And I think it is one of the most important jobs a person can do. Sure, doctors, teachers, firefighters, and farmers are all doing important work too. But people need stories, right? I don’t completely understand it but as I look around, there is no shortage of stories being told. They're everywhere. And we can't seem to get enough. So it must be important.
Stories aren’t just about entertainment and recreation. Since we’ve developed language (maybe before) we’ve been telling stories. And there isn’t a human civilization on Earth that doesn’t have stories. We tell each other stories to imagine, “what would I do in that situation.” Stories teach us to empathize with other people. Stories connect us; the teller and the listener, as well as real and imagined people from ages ago or miles away. Stories help us make sense of the world. And I want to provide that vital service to my fellow man.
My Hero's Journey begins in the smallest of rural Indiana towns, where I spent my childhood daydreaming of leaving, and escaping into TV and movies. They were my window to the outside world. (imagine right here that music from the scene where Luke Skywalker is staring at the double sunset)
I first began studying my craft at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. Upon graduation, I decided to join the Navy and go see this world that I had been watching on my TV. Luckily the Navy needs visual storytellers. So I was able to continue working in my field. I traveled to Greece, Japan, Panama, and Virginia. One of those places isn't as exotic as the others.
Everywhere I went I pointed my camera at what I found and produced video stories for my Uncle Sam. But I knew that I would soon promote to a rank where I would manage video makers and not actually be doing the work. So, I left to pursue this passion in the civilian world.
But first I wanted to pick up a few more tools. So I used the G.I. Bill to pursue a degree in graphic design and the Adobe Suite. Now with a larger arsenal, I’m ready to create some moving images to entertain, educate, enlighten, and engage.
Seeing so much of the world through that small television of my Indiana childhood, it shouldn’t be surprising that I settled in Los Angeles. But, the world has changed. TV and movies can be made just about anywhere and find a worldwide audience on the Internet.
While television and film continue to fascinate me, I have fallen hard for online content. I love how quick and unencumbered the process of making something for the web is. I love the audience it can find there, whether niche or vast. It's clearly the future of video. And it's where I would love to be telling my stories.
