Today we’d like to introduce you to Pat Shafer.
Hi Pat, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I think the one thing I was put on Earth to do is create. Film, music, etc. I am happiest and have the strongest sense of purpose when I am creating something. My mom claims I was humming a song on my way home from the hospital the day I was born. It’s hard to dispute that, considering I don’t remember anything from my birth!
Growing up, I roped my cousins into putting on little performances for my family. I did plays, art shows, and even did a shadow puppet play about a killer giraffe when I was stuck at home with chicken pox. I loved being on stage and performing. But unfortunately, there just weren’t many resources for doing that in my hometown. The nearest theatre was about 45 minutes away, and with two working parents, that commute wasn’t much of an option.
Luckily, though, I did grow up with the internet and discovered YouTube when I was a teenager. When I turned 15, my parents got me a camcorder, and I immediately started documenting my life in the form of very cringy, angsty vlogs. Eventually I found an online community among other smaller creators on YouTube. It was around that time that I switched schools, so having an online community that could follow me anywhere meant the world to me.
Sometime between middle and high school, I also picked up music. I took piano, vocal, and guitar lessons for a few years and even played the saxophone in my school band. I started posting covers and original songs on YouTube, which got me into music production.
When I got to college, I let go of my creative ambitions. I was a first-generation college student and had been taught that an arts degree was a waste of money. I was also coming to terms with being transgender, and it wasn’t until I started medically transitioning that I could really see a future for myself at all.
After transitioning and being unsatisfied working in communications, I went back to school to get an MFA in film at Florida State University. It was here where I revived my love for storytelling and picked up film scoring. I was never happy with the music we had as students, so, using my little music production knowledge gained from my YouTube days, I decided to start making my own film music. And that’s what I’ve been doing ever since – writing, directing, and scoring films in Los Angeles.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being an artist is never easy, especially when you don’t come from a family with connections in entertainment. My parents weren’t exactly enthused when I decided to pursue film and music. But despite their hesitations, they’ve always remained supportive.
I think perhaps the biggest challenge that I face, as many creatives do, is maintaining faith in myself. In a city like LA, it is easy to compare yourself to your peers and get lost in spirals of self-doubt when it seems like everyone is more successful than you. It’s much harder to be kind to yourself and remain focused. I try to do the harder thing, because it is ultimately more rewarding.
For me, art is about connecting with others. As an artist, I’ve learned that you must spend just as much time networking as you spend on your art. Talent alone will never get you the job. Connecting with people who believe in you, however, always will.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I think directing and composing go hand in hand. Both are all about crafting a meaningful cadence and tone in your art. I’m actually surprised there are not more director-composers because the language of each craft is so interchangeable. Like a scene in a film, a piece of music always has a central character or theme and should have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Actors are like your instruments, and it is your job to work with them to find the heart of a scene or composition.
I’ve been very fortunate to make films and scores in various genres – drama, sci-fi, coming-of-age, comedy, thriller, etc. As a director, I gravitate mostly to coming-of-age stories and family dramas. As a composer, I really am game for just about anything. I’d love to work on a western or fantasy film next. I’m also curious about scoring for video games. At my day job, I spend most of the time listening to scores from video games like Legend of Zelda and Stardew Valley. What a joy it would be to write soundtracks like those!
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Making an impact in the lives of other people through my art is the greatest measure of success to me. Whether that means I make someone feel seen, made them laugh or made them cry, I simply aim to make people feel moved through my art. I am particularly touched when other trans people in my life find meaning in my work. Feelings of loneliness and being misunderstood are rampant in the trans community. To know that I make even one trans person less alone keeps me motivated to keep making art.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.patshafer.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justpatshafer/
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/higashipat?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4rVxalEbZnA313nFYRbelA?si=JV-6_LRAQ1-WbMBzS6ODZw&nd=1&dlsi=26961e5cf5c34f8d
Image Credits
Brook Lee Karner
Pat Shafer
Brook Lee Karner
Gabrielle Chapman
Emma Francis
