Today we’d like to introduce you to Mickel Garrett.
Hi Mickel, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My journey has always been rooted in creativity, even though the path hasn’t necessarily been a straight line.
I’m originally from Kansas City, but I spent over a decade in Los Angeles building my career and working across photography, lighting, video, and production. Photography was one of the things that really helped define my creative voice, but over time I became just as interested in everything happening around the camera. I wanted to understand lighting, grip, production, how a set operates, and how all of those pieces come together to create the final image.
Working in Los Angeles gave me an opportunity to learn by being around working professionals and real productions. I’ve worked as a photographer, lighting technician and director, camera assistant, production manager, and creative director. Every position taught me something different and made me more valuable when I stepped onto a set.
Eventually, I started thinking beyond simply getting hired for the next project. I started thinking about ownership, infrastructure, and what I could build.
I returned to Kansas City in late 2024, and that really started the next chapter for me. I began looking at the resources, equipment, studios, and training opportunities available here and comparing that with what I had experienced in Los Angeles. I saw an opportunity to bring some of that production knowledge and infrastructure back home.
That vision has grown into Frameline Studios, which I’m developing as a production resource for photographers, filmmakers, agencies, and other creatives in Kansas City and the Midwest. Alongside that, I’m developing KC Film Academy, a nonprofit focused on practical production education and helping people understand how to actually work on professional sets.
For me, everything connects. Photography introduced me to the industry. Los Angeles expanded my understanding of production. Coming back to Kansas City gave me a reason to take everything I learned and build something with it.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road.
One of the biggest challenges has been learning how to build something while still doing the work necessary to support yourself. There’s a big difference between being a creative professional and building the infrastructure that allows other creative professionals to work.
Returning to Kansas City after spending over a decade in LA definitely required an adjustment. I came back with a different perspective on production, equipment, studio infrastructure, and how crews operate. At the same time, I’ve had to rebuild relationships locally and figure out where I fit into a creative community that continued to grow while I was away.
There’s also the financial reality of building something like Frameline Studios. Professional production equipment is expensive. Studio space is expensive. Moving equipment halfway across the country is expensive. A lot of this has required me to be resourceful, build relationships, acquire equipment strategically, and grow in stages instead of waiting until everything is perfect.
These challenges continue to help shape the vision.
I’ve realized that I’m not interested in building something that only benefits me. I want to create resources that make it easier for the next commercial photographer, filmmaker, production assistant, lighting technician, or young creative in Kansas City to get started.
Sometimes access is the difference between somebody simply being interested in this industry and actually realizing they can build a career in it.
As you know, we’re big fans of Frameline Studios. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Frameline Studios is a Kansas City-based photography and production studio that I’m developing to serve commercial photographers, filmmakers, agencies, production companies, and other working creatives throughout Kansas City and the Midwest.
The vision goes beyond simply having a space to shoot. I’m building Frameline around the type of production infrastructure I became accustomed to working around in Los Angeles, where the studio, lighting, grip equipment, crew, and production support all work together.
My own background is in commercial photography, lighting, and production, so that experience has heavily influenced how I’m building the company. Frameline is being designed from the perspective of someone who’s actually worked on sets and understands what photographers, producers, lighting crews, and filmmakers need to get the job done.
A major part of what we’re building is our lighting and grip inventory. I’ve been intentionally acquiring professional equipment that can support everything from commercial photography and portraiture to video and larger productions. As we continue to grow, the goal is for Frameline to become a place where creatives can rent equipment, build out a production package, work in the studio, or get production support without having to source everything from multiple places.
What I’m most proud of is that the company is being built with a bigger purpose in mind. I don’t want Frameline Studios to exist only for my own work. I want it to become part of the production infrastructure of Kansas City and help create more access for the creative community here.
That also connects to KC Film Academy, the nonprofit education initiative I’m developing alongside Frameline. KC Film Academy is focused on practical, hands-on production education, including set etiquette, production assistant fundamentals, lighting, grip, camera, equipment, and the skills people actually need when they walk onto a professional set.
Long term, I see the two working together. Frameline Studios helps provide the professional space, equipment, and production infrastructure, while KC Film Academy helps develop people who know how to use those resources and work professionally within the industry.
I spent more than a decade learning, working, and growing in Los Angeles. Now I’m interested in bringing that experience home and contributing to what’s already being built here. I want Frameline to help make Kansas City an even stronger place to create, produce, learn, and build a career in this industry.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up, I was a pretty quiet, creative, slightly nerdy kid. I’m the youngest of three and the only boy, and because my sisters were older, for a lot of my childhood it was really just me and my mom at home. We also somehow always ended up living on blocks where there weren’t many kids my age, so I spent a lot of time entertaining myself.
I was always drawn to creative things. I loved to draw and color, and I was probably a little too obsessed with staying perfectly inside the lines. I was also fascinated with disposable cameras and taking pictures, even though at the time I obviously had no idea photography would eventually become such a big part of my life.
Personality-wise, I was pretty reserved and didn’t really start coming into my own socially until around ninth or tenth grade. That’s when I started opening up more, making more friends, and finding my confidence.
As I got older, music became another big creative outlet for me. By college, I was heavily into music and poetry and even started putting together poetry events. For a while, I thought music might be something I pursued professionally. Eventually, I realized I wasn’t necessarily meant to be an artist. I just had this constant need to create.
Looking back, I think I was always searching for a creative outlet. At different points it was drawing, music, poetry events, and eventually photography and production. I didn’t necessarily know where any of it was leading at the time, but creativity was always a constant for me.
Pricing:
- Commercial Photography / Brand Content: Starting at $1,250/10hr day
- Studio Rental: $65/hour, 3-hour minimum
- Dry Studio Full Day: $475 / 10 hours
- Lit Studio Full Day: $600 / 10 hours
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.framelinestudios.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frameline_studios_kc/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/frameline-studios/
