Hi, I’m Sydney Spaw, a
Screenwriter, Director, Editor, and Sound Recordist.

My Story

I grew up in Wayne, Michigan, a small city outside of Detroit. I began taking acting classes when I was thirteen years old in and outside of school. I was very passionate about the art of storytelling and loved the expression of realism through acting. Outside of acting, I spent my free-time writing different forms of literature including screenplays, novels, and short stories. I loved writing screenplays most of all because I could focus in on the characters and their dialogue versus descriptions. In my junior year of high school, I co-wrote, co-directed, and edited my first project which was a soap opera titled Web of Lies. I knew from then on that I loved both directing and editing. I enjoyed being able to lead a team and carry out my vision for the project. When I began post production, I was learning as I was doing the work through researching editing techniques and watching tutorials. In my senior year of high school, I had the opportunity to co-direct a stage play. It was an exciting experience and through acting beforehand, and then directing, I learned what actors need from a good director and the importance of being a good leader. Once it came time to apply to colleges, I knew exactly what I wanted to pursue – film production and screenwriting.

I began my collegiate studies at University of Michigan in 2018. I took several classes in various departments of film production including acting, screenwriting, audio production, editing, news-casting, gaffing, cinematography, and directing. I gained experience working with several different types of equipment such as RED cameras, Blackmagic cameras, Canon cameras, tungsten and LED lights, various audio mixers, super-cardioid and lavaliere microphones, and gimbals. I have gained immense experience in various editing software including Adobe Premiere, After Effects, Adobe Audition, Davinci Resolve (including Fairlight, Fusion, and Color), Apple’s Final Cut Pro, and Audacity. I graduated with a Bachelors Degree from UofM in April of 2022 and have since continued working on various film projects.

Values I hold onto as a creator are mental health awareness and intersectional feminism. I have struggled with Major Depressive Disorder and Anxiety since I was quite young, and even though there is more awareness now than ever before, there is still a great amount of stigma surrounding mental health. It’s not just abound being aware, but understanding that mental illness is truly an illness that can be disabling. For me, creativity is an outlet for me to escape my depression, and that is exactly what I want to do for those struggling that watch or read my work.