Today we’d like to introduce you to Seth F. Johnson.
Seth, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Seth F. Johnson (Spike) is a Savannah / Atlanta, Georgia-based photographer and filmmaker. He got his start right out of high school in the New York fashion industry and has been working in the visual arts ever since. While in NYC, Seth worked for four years as a photo assistant and male model. He was also awarded a scholarship to the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, Summer Training Program (2010) where he studied Directing the Actor.
Upon receiving academic and artistic scholarships to the Savannah College of Art & Design’s Film & Television program, Seth returned home to Savannah to earn his degree. He graduated with a B.F.A. in Film & Television (2015). Honors: magna cum laude, with a focus in writing/directing. While at SCAD, he directed numerous narrative and documentary short films. Most notably, his senior thesis film One Traveler Too Many (2015) which was successfully funded via a Kickstarter campaign. This project launched Moon Rabbit Media, the multimedia film production company which Seth founded and continues to operate under.
In 2016, Seth had the opportunity to join the International Cinematographers Guild (ICG) Local 600, I.A.T.S.E. as a Portrait & Unit Stills Photographer. He has gone on to photograph films and TV shows for production companies such as Apple TV, Fox, Hallmark, Hulu, NBC, Sony, and Warner Bros. Seth is very passionate about portrait and unit still photography and understands the importance of this imagery for sales, marketing materials, web content, and posters. He sets out to create imagery that is memorable and iconic for years to come.
Seth has continued to direct films through Moon Rabbit Media, such as Death of a Dream (2016), Timeless Innovation (2016), and his last two films Soldier’s Heart (2020) and Pine Grove Vixen (2022), both of which were funded with outside investment. He has competed in numerous film festivals and competitions and has won awards both regionally and nationally. Including winning Best Director at the Summer in the South Film Festival (2020) for his film Soldier’s Heart. Seth focuses on highly environmental films set in the southern United States, which feature elements of folklore, magic realism, and a visual departure from reality. He has a strong disposition to use specialty glass such as tilt-shift and Petzval lenses as well as the use of high frame rate (HFR) cinematography. Seth has also had the opportunity to direct and shoot many commercial projects through Moon Rabbit Media. Including – architectural videos, fashion films, industrial videos, product videos, reality TV pilots, mini-docs, social media content, and more. Moon Rabbit Media also offers several specialized services for the film and television industry, such as Dailies Management/Color and (EPK) Behind-the-Scenes.
Seth’s love of the outdoors extends beyond the work he does on set. He is a passionate adventure photographer, hiker, kayaker, and Overlander. He goes on multiple large-scale Overlanding adventures each year with his fiancée Minji Kim. The two of them run an Overlanding and adventure-themed Instagram account titled Rabbit TraX: Adventure Humans, which features their journeys.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The world of film and television is one that requires you to be ready to overcome many obstacles and challenges. Whether a storm rolls in and changes the day’s filming schedule, an actor’s or model’s flight gets canceled the night before the shoot, or production is over budget and has to cut costs. Creative problem-solving is absolutely key for anyone working in production. Seth always reminds himself that the problems from day one of filming won’t matter on day thirty and definitely will not matter by day sixty. Seth is a very happy-go-lucky person and has often been told by directors and producers that his ability to boost morale on a hard day on set is just as valuable as the content he is producing for a production.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Moon Rabbit Media is a Georgia, based multimedia film production company with a unique vision. Our staff of directors, producers, cinematographers, and editors draw on their diverse experiences in film & television, advertising, social media, journalism, and photography to design content that connects with audiences intellectually and emotionally.
Something that sets Moon Rabbit Media apart from other film production companies is that we have experience working with the very top people in various industries, whether it is with actors like Hugh Jackman, Shia LaBeouf, Will Smith, Elle Fanning, and Dwayne Johnson or with award-winning architects, real estate agents, college and hospital administrators, internationally acclaimed chefs, small business owners, musicians, athletes, and corporate executives.
We have done projects for clients as close to home as the Savannah Voice Festival to as far away as the San Francisco Zoo and have worked for brands such as Bravo, Coca-Cola, Hallmark, Harper’s Bazaar, HBO, Hulu, Lionsgate, NBC, Netflix, Regal, Target, The American Institute of Architects, and Vistaprint.
With insight into the latest marketing strategies, we use creativity to persuade audiences on behalf of our clients. Our work is characterized by strong storytelling and stellar visuals. By applying narrative principles to everything we produce, our media is meaningful, impactful, results-driven, and increases our clients’ sales.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you.
Good long-term planning makes the best luck in the world of film and television, and in an industry that can be notoriously difficult to break into Seth has had some lucky breaks along the way.
Having an interest in the arts from a young age Seth always knew he would work in a creative field. In 1998, on a summer vacation to visit his grandparents Seth was first introduced to the Savannah College of Art and Design. After summer vacationing in Savannah for many years, his family officially moved to Georgia in 2004, and in 2008 Seth was accepted to SCAD.
Around the time Seth graduated high school the film and television industry started gaining momentum in Georgia. Seth was able to get on several film sets as a stand-in and extra to see firsthand what the process of creating a film was like. Seth worked on the Miley Cyrus film The Last Song (2010) as Liam Hemsworth’s stand-in in the summer of 2009. Years later Seth was the unit stills photographer for the film Killerman (2019), which Liam starred in. Being at the right place at the right time definitely played a part in the success Seth has seen in the film and television industry.
After graduating from college, Seth worked as a production assistant and started to build up credits as a unit still photographer on indie and short films. In 2016, Seth took a job as a unit still photographer on a little indie film shooting in Savannah. After several weeks the film flipped and became a unionized show. This was a major step in Seth’s professional career because he was able to join the International Cinematographers Guild (ICG) Local 600, I.A.T.S.E. as a Portrait & Unit Stills Photographer. This was a goal of Seth’s and was something that can take years to achieve. Seth was able to do this just one year out of college, which was extremely good timing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.moonrabbitmedia.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moonrabbitmedia/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moonrabbitmedia
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwXgjVwRuxuUM9Bt98bGaDQ/featured
