10/27/2021
To meet Barrett Burgin (in my opinion) is equivalent to meeting the next household name in the filmmaking Industry. This new but experienced writer and director grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, where his skills for composing music, creating art, writing novels and acting all forged together to create a passion for filmmaking. He took that passion and refined it in BYU’s Media Arts Program.
While balancing school, work, and film, Barrett also married his childhood sweetheart, Jessica, whom he met at just twelve years old while helping her family move into the neighborhood. He counts himself extra lucky that she also works in video production, and that they get to spend so much time with friends in the same industry.
Barrett’s most recent work “CRYO” is a feature film about a crew awoken from cryosleep who can’t remember their identities, which quickly becomes a whole lot more complicated when they find evidence of a murder. Keep an eye out for this thrilling film, and in Barrett’s words “I think you're gonna like this one.”
Before graduating, Barrett began looking for a job that could fuel his early film career while also utilizing his skills and knowledge in his field of study. While freelancing, he found himself working a camera gig for a media production company called UpLife Studios at an event near Park City. Attendees were participating in a hands-on team-building activity that was supposed to feel dramatic and cinematic, but there was an issue with mixing the music. Barrett was asked to jump in, and though unfamiliar with the equipment, he began to work his magic “directing the scene” by selecting songs and giving them the “score” they were looking for.
From there, Uplife Studios continued to ask Barrett to come back again and again, first live cutting for their events, then directing the whole show, until his role grew to Studio Director. His job today is to apply his directorial knowledge to almost every piece of video content that comes out of Uplife Studios. Even after four years, he still enjoys his job, as it continues to present new and interesting challenges that need creative solutions.
When asking Barrett about what life lesson has helped him get to this point, he said “I like it when I’m wrong. I like it because that means I’m learning. That’s just what has worked for me. I have nothing to gain by being right, besides continuing to do what I’m doing. When I’m wrong I learn to improve and get better.”
