Today we’d like to introduce you to Steven Romero Jr..
Hi Steven, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve been interested in video stuff ever since I was a kid making ungodly YouTube videos on a laptop whose fans resembled jet engines when I dared hit render on a video project I worked on in Windows Movie Maker. Once I got to community college with no real way to go, I was welcomed by a guy who ran a multimedia department within it as a work-study hire, where I taught myself Premiere Pro (My go-to nonlinear editing program despite its flaws), and I eventually went up to be one of the lead editors and videographers within the department, where I also met my best friend and biggest inspiration, Angus Penland.
Thanks to that work, I went to college at Sam Houston State University, where I met Kazai Drew, who would end up being a very important figure in my life both professionally and personally. Eventually, I graduated and got my cool little degree paper that tells companies that I’m good at holding a camera.
After college, Angus and I worked on a couple of short films together, including assisting with the writing of Desolate and being the editor and VFX producer of Whatever It Takes. Desolate was picked up and featured in a theater in California, and we got to be there for a Q&A from the audience which was a surreal experience to say the least.
Eventually, Kazai Drew dropped a project that I didn’t realize would’ve been the biggest achievement in my career so far, on my lap, that being The Hamilton Park Way, a feature-length documentary that ended up being featured in 3 film festivals including the Denton Black History Film Festival, and the Prison City Film Festival. I was hired on as the sole editor of the production, and whilst it came with some hardships, I am extremely proud of the film and the impact it’s made on the community it featured.
Now, I still work with both Kazai and Angus, alongside other clientele from time to time, to tell stories and be a part of some projects I’m extremely proud of.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I won’t say everything was easy.
Balancing running this side-hustle/passion project and a full-time job hasn’t been the smoothest road so far and has involved multiple nights of staying up super late to edit that project or polish up that shot or get that cut out in time, but I’m just as dedicated as I am detail-oriented, so I’m willing to do whatever I got to do.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
So, I mostly specialize in post-production, so things like editing and VFX and the sort. I’m most proud of and most known for my feature-length documentary “The Hamilton Park Way”, which was my first feature film and my first entry into multiple film festivals in my career.
In regard to the art of filmmaking, I’m a jack of all trades, and I think that sets me apart from other filmmakers. While my specialty is in post-production, I’ve taken on different roles from audio specialist, assistant director, and director of photography on multiple occasions depending on the project, and during my college years, I was usually all three.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Take filmmaking opportunities as early as you possibly can. It can be making silly YouTube videos on your own, joining a film or AV club at your school, or getting your friends or family together to make silly short films just for the fun of it, you never know how far those projects can take you, and I wish I took more of those opportunities when I was first starting out.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://stevenromerojr12.wixsite.com/portfolio
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/an_editor_4_u?utm_source=qr&igsh=dmc0aW9iazA0ZG42
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@highlyunlikelyENT
Image Credits
Amanda Lauren Photography
