Braden Lee
Who are you, and what do you do?
My name is Braden Lee. I’m a creative at Minneapolis ad agency mono, a music video director/DP/editor, Founder of Against Giants, Vows & Valor and co-manager for a producer/DJ that’s about to blow up named su na.
In the ad world I’ve worked with brands like Target, Harley-Davidson, Carl Zeiss and Propel Water. I’ve made music videos for Atmosphere, Channy of Poliça, Psymun of Thestand4rd and others.
What forms of media have influenced you the most?
Collectively, I would have to say all forms of media on the internet influence me whether it’s an article from The Great Discontent, a Vimeo Staff pick, an unknown Soundcloud lyricist or a Stanley Kubrick film someone shouldn’t have torrented.
Almost anyone can learn just about anything from searching Google and YouTube. It’s exactly how I taught myself to make videos – by scanning the web for tutorials all night and faking it until I actually understood what I was doing. This will age me, but I remember when I was 12 or 13 on my first desktop computer waiting for AOL to load up. Sometimes it felt like it took five minutes to load a single page! The struggle was real.
What hardware / software do you use?
I own way too much equipment so I’ve been selling a lot of stuff and just renting when needed. For hardware, I use a Macbook Pro + Thunderbolt drives, Sony A7S, Metabones adapters, Canon 5d Mark III, L-Series lenses, Steadidrone QU4D, Wooden Camera shoulder mount, Defy brushless gimbal, SmallHD monitors, Vanguard and Manfrotto tripods. Recently, I developed a new interest in analog devices and shooting 35mm film.
I use Adobe Creative Suite CC, Cinema 4D, Davinci Resolve, REDCINE-X, MPEG Streamclip to name a few.
What would be your dream creative setup?
The agency I work for has a great creative environment. It’s very bright, wide open with high ceilings and a 360 degree view of Minneapolis. However, when I need to be most productive I actually prefer locking myself in a small dark studio and turn off email/notifications. Less distractions, more action.
