View my Production Resume or CV
Mark Burchick graduated summa cum laude from Towson University in May 2014, with majors in Film and Journalism. He has freelanced in the Baltimore-Washington production industry for three years.
I currently work for Serious Grip and Electric, a production rental house based out of Halethorpe, MD, roughly three days a week. This flexibility allows me to take jobs in the G&E, Camera, and Production departments whenever possible. It’s a pretty sweet setup, and I recognize how insanely blessed I am to have full time employment right out of college.
I began school with an interest in film and advertising, but after an epiphany, decided to pursue journalism as my double major. Although I have a great passion and love for all genres of film, I noticed that over the course of my college career, I fell deepest in love with documentary film. My hope is to one day return to school to obtain a Master of Fine Arts, teach film at the college level and make documentary films as part of my scholarship.
But first, I need street smarts.
If I could be paid to be a student, I would. I love the exploration and structure that education provides, so in everything I do, I try first and foremost to learn. Whether that be juggling four or five projects in disciplines as diverse as writing, animation and film photography, or practicing the etiquette of professional filmmaking on local sets, I’ve committed myself to developing new skills.
In terms of filmmaking, I love grip, electric and art department roles. Filmmaking is most fun when it is a collaboration among friends, and I love the feeling of solving problems with a dedicated family of crew members. However, in my own personal projects, I approach writing and directing with an auteur mindset. This is not to say that I am not a collaborator, but I approach my own work as personal visions and growth opportunities as an artist.
I have a deep commitment to pursuing the truth in all that I do, hence my affinity for ethical journalism. As a writer and documentarian, I wish to tell human interest stories that capture the imagination. But I also have a great affinity for stories that are derived from reality. The best fiction comes from grains of truth and films like Richard Linklater’s Bernie and Michael Bay’s Pain and Gain illustrate that fact. The greatest television series ever, The Wire, is steeped in true crime stories and years of documented research by its journalist showrunner, David Simon.
In my free time, I’m an avid media consumer. When the mediated world fails me, I escape to the wilderness and shout off of mountaintops.
My media role models are Jim Henson, Werner Herzog, Fred Rogers, David Foster Wallace and Charlie Kaufman. My hope is that through honesty, sincerity and generosity in everything I do, I can bring some change to the world, even if it’s just a drop of water in the great river of the human narrative (This is an amalgam of quotes from Kaufman and Beau Willimon, I’m not cool enough to have said anything like this).
(But I did pose for this picture).
Serious Grip and Electric Bio
It’s not easy growing up Tungsten.
Sired by a 12k Maxi Brute and a 4K Supersoft, Mark Burchick grew up alongside siblings Junior, Senior, Inkie, Mickey and “Deuce.” His family had long been mired in a bitter feud with a family of HMI pars, and the community was nearly torn apart by top and bottom meat-axe cuts and prejudices. All along Mark secretly yearned to be HMI, fantasizing about playing outside in daylight, but he eventually came to appreciate the warmth of his own family.
We at Serious are proud of Mark for maintaining a strained-yet-cordial relationship with our HMI and LED fixtures with dignity and grace.
