Sam Hicks is a Mississippi-raised cinematographer and business owner who moved to L.A. with a dream: narrative filmmaking In the four years of living in the City of Angels, he founded a camera rental company, Sam Shot It, worth over a quarter of a million dollars in equipment and has worked with worldwide brands including Hulu, Roc Nation, Vanity Fair, BET, and Issa Rae’s Hoorae,
“I come from Moss Point, Mississippi. It’s a very small town…rooted in Blackness and rooted in grit. [Moss Point] is predominantly Black, predominantly low income, but the people really don’t use that as an excuse,” Sam recalled in an interview with the Sentinel.
“I vividly remember when [our Church] would save up for trips, the way that we would get money for those trips is on Saturdays, we would wake up at 2 a.m. and drive 30 minutes to Biloxi and buy 300 boxes of donuts to go stand on the corner and sell them”, he shared.
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If Moss Point was where Sam learned grit, his subsequent moves were surely a test to see exactly how much grit he gained. “I was living in New York City and was working full time at [TV network] Cheddar. I loved my job, but I couldn’t find my way to do narrative films full time. I just wanted to tell stories, narrative stories [about] Black culture,” Sam shared in an interview with the Sentinel.
With two successful short films he executive produced and one key contact- co-founder of Color Creative, Denise Davis – in Los Angeles, he decided to make his way west. “I decided, ‘I’m gonna do a kickstarter, I’m gonna quit my job, I’m gonna move to L.A. and start a production company.’”
Between his kickstarter and private donors, Sam raised over $30,000 and was able to buy his first camera. This new chapter of his life began in a new city, merely one month before the pandemic hit.
COVID-19 and its multitude of obstacles, ultimately, did not hinder Sam’s business; not only did he scale his business, his equipment quality and quantity, and grow a community of filmmakers, he also began offering programs to help entrepreneurs execute their business plan.
“The biggest fundamental [of starting a business] is business credit. It’s best to start working on it when you don’t need it. It takes time to build it up,” Sam advised.
When it comes to his career as a business owner and a DP, Sam is clear on the direction. “At this point in my life, yes I’m looking to get more into commercials [as a director of photography], but the goal is really to own my I.P. Intellectual Property is like digital real estate. To be able to produce movies, series, TV shows, sketches…that’s my goal.”
However, Sam’s robust career has also provided him enough experience to know that life is not all about work: “For a long time, I was ‘business, business, business’, and everything else doesn’t matter. But now, I’m more intentional about spending time with my family. I don’t want [Hollywood] to be my identity,” he revealed.
For Sam, work requires balance. “It’s more to life. I just think it’s important to find your peace.”
Engage with Sam via Instagram: @samshotit.rentals
