Tales of The Accidental Director

It is getting harder and harder to define what “being creative” truly means. Creativity in 2023 knows no bounds and distilling the true essence of the word feels virtually impossible. For Justin Bastien, this has always been the case. Fanatical about the infinite adventures awaiting him in the great outdoors, LBB’s April Summers hears how a series of serendipitous events led to him unearthing his creative potential, paving the way to uninhibited freedom.

The Path to Creativity 

Justin was born in Southern California, home of the Santa Ana, San Jacinto and Laguna Mountains. Naturally, he grew to become an avid outdoors enthusiast, spending every moment he could spare climbing mountains or chasing waves. 

Although he can’t remember exactly when, the concept of committing to the 9 to 5 grind never appealed to Justin. Instead, time and again, he would find himself retreating to the mountains and the beaches, living life on the road. He speaks about this time with great fondness as a smile unfolds across his face, “I lived in my little Toyota pickup truck with a shell on it and spent about 12 years roaming around the country rock climbing with a nomadic group of friends and extended family.”

Even nomads need to get paid, though, and Justin was more than happy to try his hand at whatever odd jobs would fund his next adventure. In his 20’s he took on an array of titles; firefighter, paramedic, engineering geologist, labourer, rock climbing guide, stunt rigger and talent for commercials and TV – to name a few. In hindsight, the value of these experiences are clear as day, “I learnt a lot about life in my 20’s, both in terms of how to be creative, and how people from all different walks of life share a passion and join together as a group to work together on things – which is kind of similar to what we do in filmmaking.”

As luck would have it, it was filmmaking that found him. During a stint working for Patagonia - “doing everything from digital asset management to web design” - Justin’s nomadic nature caught the attention of then-photo editor, Jane Seaver. “I was going on a lot of surf trips at the time and Jane, who had become a friend of mine, really liked the fact that I was living this life on the road, travelling and following my passion for climbing and surfing. So she told me, “You need to take pictures for us for the Patagonia catalogue.”” Although it may be hard to believe now, given his epic creative catalogue, at this point Justin didn’t even have his own camera, let alone know how to use one. But his lifestyle had inspired the Patagonia photo team, who set him up with a little Yoshika point and shoot and sent him off to document his trips. 

“I didn't realise what a gift it was at the time. To me, it was just a way to facilitate my expeditions and keep playing. So I'd shoot these terrible pictures and I'd bring them back and they would critique them and tell me what to do better. Occasionally they might use one or two, and that would help pay for the trip.” It’s not often that you are presented with the opportunity to carve your own life path based solely around the wants and needs of your most authentic self – but that was the catalyst for Justin’s creative journey. 

Learning Along the Way

Once Justin caught the creative bug, there was no stopping him. From outdoor photography for Patagonia, to directing his first commercial job for sunglasses brand, Maui Jim, to working as a camera operator on car commercials – the self taught cameraman’s appetite for creative projects was insatiable.

Over the years the polymath has mastered the art of outdoor photography, commercial filmmaking, directing and DP-ing. He has won an Emmy for his work on National Geographic's short film Free Solo 360, racked up multiple industry awards for his contributions to adland and photography, while maintaining his portfolio of personal projects. 

Sifting through his extensive commercial cannon, one campaign stands out as a particularly unmissable opportunity - both professionally and personally. It was Christmas 2016 when Justin received a last minute call from a producer at Red Bull. Despite having forged good relationships with the team, he was still taken aback by what came next. Could he fly to Mongolia in two days to document traditional eagle hunters living in the Bayan-Ölgii province? 

“I looked up where we were going – it was the westernmost province with the highest elevation in Mongolia. Temperatures would be negative 40 and I would be living in a super remote area with these nomadic hunters in a yurt made of felt, riding horseback in the snow for two weeks.” Although it may sound incredibly left field for most creatives, shooting Mongolian eagle hunters had apparently been on Justin’s list of dream projects for a while. And his openness to adventure paid off. “The project was very successful. It was originally meant to be a couple of pages but it ended up making the cover and becoming a 12-page feature. Plus it won a bunch of awards. The owner of Red Bull was like this is exactly what we need to be doing more of, which was great feedback, so it was a really cool project to have been involved with.” 

Becoming a Mutt

Given the broad-range of projects Justin has turned his attention to, it’s no wonder that he would eventually cross paths with experienced producers and founders of Mutt Film, Beth George and Shannon Lords-Houghton. Justin kept in contact with the duo after a freelance project, having taken a shine to their “refreshingly badass” attitudes. 

“I always really liked Shannon and Beth. They're super smart, hardworking and fun, and everything they do is for all the right reasons,” says the director. “They're extremely experienced and their skill sets complement one another. Both of them are amazing but, as a team, they are phenomenal.”

Despite only joining Mutt’s roster earlier this year, the director has already delivered a major commercial project for Chevrolet. The brief for the Chevrolet Colorado ‘Big Life’ campaign called for an authentic approach that would tell the story of “real people”. The final film follows a central character who is passionate about the great outdoors with his friends and family - remind you of anyone? - demonstrating how the Chevrolet truck enhances his various experiences. “I focused on every detail of this narrative, to ensure that it reflects an authentic depth of experience. For example, when we were shooting a scene at the masonary yard, I was already familiar with the environment. I've been to a masonry yard hundreds of times, I've mixed cement and all that stuff. So I knew how to prop the truck so it didn’t look fake, and what kind of clothes they would be wearing and what tools they would have.”