Samuel O’Connell Coal Creative

Samuel O'Connell is a filmmaker, co-owner of Coal Creative and a driving force in ushering creativity forward at his company and beyond.

As one of eight children, born to a cartoonist and an art teacher, Samuel (Sam) was raised in a home where creativity was fostered, and all of the latest creative tools and programs were available to him.

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Thinking outside the box

He began his career in advertising at 15 years old, working part-time designing ads for a local magazine company. He credits his creative upbringing for his innate desire to tell better and more captivating stories. As a filmmaker, he produced a semi-autobiographical feature film titled Milk Mustache, in 2011. He also went on to produce the award-winning independent film Blackhole, which readers can view on Vimeo.

Sam is the recipient of several awards recognizing his leadership, particularly at such a young age. (He is currently 32.) Sam also serves on several regional boards. When he isn’t working, he spends his time with his partner, Holly, and their five pets. He is constantly developing personal creative projects, including composing music with his family. He recently shared insight:

In some regard, the ability to think outside the box is part of a personality but it can also be learned. I believe there are two methods that lead to thinking from unique angles. Firstly, is to have an outside perspective. In my role at Coal Creative, I do not always know all the ins and outs of a business or organization, initially. This ignorance can be leveraged to provide fresh ideas or thoughts in collaboration with the folks who are working within the industry every day. Secondly, I think it is important to learn the “in the box” rules and try to abide by them before you break them and infuse your unique perspective.

Storytelling marketing

As humans living in 2023, we get marketed to constantly, whether we like it or not. As a filmmaker, my personal approach to marketing involves taking an audience on a journey, almost like watching a movie. By the conclusion, the audience should be very engaged and excited about the story being told.

Chief Creative Officer seems a bit stressful? Is it?

Oftentimes it is my job to look a collaborator in the face and say, ‘yes we can do this. We can accomplish your goal.’ That has a weight to it and can be stressful at times, but the reward and thrill of working with a team of creatives and guiding a project from an idea to delivery far outweighs the stress of the job. Coal Creative works with so many different industries so every day is something new. It is an exciting life! At 32, I bring fresh perspective and I’m also grateful to balance that with more experience to tackle just about any creative project or undertaking.

On having many siblings

I think one of my most important roles in life is to be a brother. In my experience, the incredible thing about my tribe of siblings is that there is very little judgment if life gets busy or if I fail in an experience or expectation. There is always support. In my personal creative endeavors, my family has been my greatest source of inspiration.

I recently heard an analogy that being a creative person is a lifelong illness and the only remedy is to create constantly. While I have the pleasure to constantly be creating at Coal Creative, I feel some of the creative works I am most proud of have been personal projects or collaborations.

Blackhole was a micro-budget short film that went on to win Best Short, Best American Film and Best Cinematography at the LA Cinematography Awards. At many other festivals, it also received a lot of recognition and numerous accolades. We made this film in such a small way and made it feel huge. In 2022, I recorded, mixed/mastered and released the full length album Rattlesnake with my family band called, Noxen. I self produced the album and it took a hell of a lot of work. Countless hours were spent listening, tweaking and relistening to riffs and tunes to get to a place where it felt complete. In 2022 I also worked with my friends to produce a globetrotting golf talk show called Next Round’s On Me. (That is a story for another time.)

It is rare that I look at a project through the lens of size or scope. I become drawn to create something or tell a certain story and I do the next thing and then the next en route to completing that project and sharing it with the world, or maybe just my world. H