Hi, I'm Shilah Stanford, a creative director, editor, and designer based in Southern California.

I got my start in the film industry while studying Media Arts + Practice at USC's School of Cinematic Arts, where I minored in Music Recording. The combination of visual and sonic art with technology is what excited me most, so I dove in deep to studying video editing, music, and sound. All while taking piano, guitar, and dance classes. I loved art so deeply, but felt like I was all over the place with my interests. Everyone else seemed to have it figured out. They wanted to be a director, a writer, or an actor. But I loved the entire process.

My editing professor, editor Duwayne Dunham, got me my first film job while I was still in school, where I had the privilege of assisting him on Twin Peaks: Season 3. This opened the door to post PA'ing on several blockbuster films, and apprentice editing for an independent film he later directed. After graduating, a connection my sound editing professor had made for me freshman year came through, leading me to sound design on network series at Warner Bros. And all throughout, I was freelancing on the side, editing branded content, short films, and anything that kept me close to the work.

Then the strikes hit. Like a lot of people in the industry, I had to pivot fast, and that pivot turned into something I didn't expect. I took on a role at Heartbeat Music & Performing Arts Academy, a San Diego nonprofit, where I ended up building two entire creative departments from scratch: designing the brand system, rebuilding the website, producing campaigns, and creating every piece of content the organization needed to tell its story. Some people have told me I can make something out of nothing. This experience showed me just how true that was, and how deeply I enjoy building art and community, and utilizing everyone's passion and skillset together to make it. Since then I've leaned all the way in. I started directing music videos and live performance reels, editing short films, continued my design education at San Diego City College, founded LeShái where I serve as both a band member and creative director, and continued freelancing across editing, design, and production.

For a long time, I thought being multidisciplinary was a weakness. But now, I've realized it's really my greatest strength. Storytelling is the thread that runs through every form of art and media I work in. It's the reason I'm drawn to so many parts of the process. My dancing makes me a better editor because I understand rhythm and flow in my body. My design makes me a better video editor because it sharpens my eye and elevates my graphics and styling. And every art form I've learned has taught me something new about what it means to tell a great story. Which, in the end, is the entire point.

Learning each of these art forms has allowed me to more clearly see the bigger picture and use that vision to tell the most authentic, cohesive story possible. In the end, that's always what serves the work best. I deeply connect with authentic stories, and I'd love to help you tell yours.