Rising Fyre

Marcus Kent Hamson

Director of Photography

 

Marcus Kent Hamson started working with video at the young age of 11 when his friend purchased a VHS camcorder. Together with their friends they made many films throughout their teenage years. In the mid 1990’s he even experimented with editing the videos by using multiple VHS decks and a cheap video switcher.

 

His older sister introduced him to photography through her high school photography class projects. Marcus found the visual medium very interesting and set out to learn as much as he could. Through 4 years of high school he took a total of 7 Photography courses and used what he learned to improve the short films him and his friends were making. He was elected to be the primary camera operator for many of the projects because of the visuals he could capture.

 

After moving to Memphis Marcus did not touch a camera for almost 5 years. One fateful day in 2002 he was invited to attend a local church with a friend and saw a VHS camcorder in the back of the sanctuary and asked if he could run the camera. It was at this time he truly found his calling in life working in video production. Marcus purchased a professional grade camera and over the next several years was filming events, pageants and shows around the region capturing thousands of hours of video.

 

His life truly changed when a friend introduced him to J. Lazarus Hawk. While Mr. Hawk was watching Marcus edit a pageant, he noticed a unique characteristic that separated Marcus from other event videographers. Seeing great potential for film in Marcus he asked, “Would you like to shoot a movie?” The answer was an overwhelming YES!

 

In January 2010 J. Lazarus Hawk and Marcus Kent Hamson worked together to shoot the short film, “Words of a Father”. That film opened doors for Marcus to not only work with Mr. Hawk, but also a dozen other film directors in the Memphis area. Marcus was fortunate to find mentors that helped him learn and grow as he pursued capturing the perfect image. He not only spent time learning the art of camera and lighting techniques but the entire production process from writing, storytelling, directing, sound recording, sound design, editing, acting, producing and marketing to become well rounded in every aspect production. One mentor, Mike Bradshaw, said that, “[Marcus] has learned more in the first three months of making films than most people learn in their first 3 years. [He] has great potential and I am looking forward to seeing what [he] is capable of in the future.” 

 

In 2010, Marcus became the official Rising Fyre Productions Director of Photography and helped build the brand into a recognizable force in the film and also through the sister company that he manages, New Sun Media Solutions, the local business community.

 

Since 2010 Marcus has shot over two dozen short films, countless corporate videos and music videos and worked in key positions for other projects when not running the camera. The most notable and favorite productions he has worked on are the films, “Words of a Father”, “The Bag” and “ColdBlooded” and music videos, “Hey Ma” for 3MK, “Listen to the Words” for Lila and “Pillars of Salt” for Prey 4 Me.