Barrett Hilton was raised in the rural farming/mining community of Moroni, Utah (pop. 1,100). He watched a lot of TV, and his parents instilled a love of cinema in him through trips to the local drive-in and family-owned theater nearby. Barrett’s parents were also among the first in town to buy a Betamax VCR, and recording movies off HBO and renting videos became a family tradition. Barrett began his pursuit of a career in the film industry as a media arts student at Brigham Young University, where he graduated with a BA focused on screenwriting and film theory, along with a second major in English. While at BYU Barrett’s interests began to shift toward production, which he further pursued at Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, where he recently completed an MFA in film production from the university’s School of Film and Television. LMU allowed Barrett hands-on experience in all aspects of production and post-production as he worked on dozens of projects in various crew positions while mentored by industry professionals. As a student Barrett wrote and directed four short films that have played in various festivals and competitions around the country. Barrett won Best Director and Best Screenwriter at LMU’s Film Outside the Frame competition for his short, “The Pickerell Kids,” and he was the recipient of the production department Dean’s award for his graduating class. Barrett currently works for a major motion picture studio in Los Angeles coordinating distribution of feature-film content for various post-theatrical viewing windows, including hotel and cable pay-per-view, cable Video On Demand, and airings on top subscription cable channels. His time at the studio has given him great exposure and insights into the motion picture business and has expanded his technical understanding as he has worked at the forefront of the ever-changing and expanding world of digital video. Barrett has been married to his wife, Katie, for 9 years. They live in Santa Monica, Calif. with their two daughters. Barrett appears on the Considering the Sequels Podcast as the special guest of Episode 7.
