Digging My Own Grave
In the midst of a storm, a man struggles between burying his fears or facing them head on.
In 2016, J.B. Lawrence joined forces with Mississippi native and prolific music writer, Jim Beaugez, together forming a series with Guitar Player Magazine and guitarplayer.com entitled “My Life in Five Riffs”. Lawrence was chief videographer for the docu series, working with some of the biggest names currently in music: Samantha Fish, Marcus King, Jason Isbell, and Luther Dickinson, to name a few of the artists Lawrence has had the pleasure of working with for the series.
Under his direction, Lawrence currently holds 18 individual first place, “Best Of” Music Video Awards, one Documentary Film Award, one Cinematography Award, two Cinematography Nominations, and one Editing Nomination from various larger, mid-level, and smaller market domestic and international film festivals and award shows. In addition, he has premiered five of his music videos on the Country Music Television (CMT) Network, seven music videos on The Country Network (TCN), one broadcast music video premier on the American Country Network (ACN), and has featured a number of his Rock, Country, Pop and Alternative music videos on the VEVO Network.
Lawrence has had his photography and videography featured in multiple national and international publications and their online affiliates, including features in Rolling Stone, Guitar Player Magazine, Mix Magazine, and Garden & Gun.
Independently, Lawrence has worked on documentary film and music video projects with Legacy Artist’s Jimbo Mathus, founder and front man of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, Pam Tillis, The North Mississippi Allstars, Tom Hambridge, and prominent Blues Music icon, Buddy Guy.
In closing, Lawrence holds an Associate of Arts in Photography from the University of Maine, and currently resides in Mobile, AL.
At its core, “Digging My Own Grave” is about release-the moment someone chooses to face their pain instead of running from it. The rainstorm is central to the concept, representing the struggle and unrelenting force that mirrors his emotional state. I wanted the storm to feel like another character, alongside Sam, offering a sense of cleansing and renewal, while also serving as an obstacle for him to conquer. Filmed handheld in its entirety to create a raw and organic urgency and an emotional sense of instability, coupled with the use of one 50mm prime cinema lens, I wanted to create a realistic field of view, allowing the camera to be an observer, building an atmosphere that pulls the audience directly into his experience.