Devin Lockett — Writer, Director, and the Vision Behind the Studio
Devin Lockett writes and directs, and Lockett Productions exists to protect that combination. The studio is deliberately small: developed material, a tight collaborative core, and a preference for finishing well over starting often. That structure is a choice about quality control, not a limitation — when the person who wrote the scene is the person directing it, the notes that matter get resolved before the crew is standing around waiting for an answer.
It is also a legitimate professional path rather than a romantic one. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a May 2024 median annual wage of $83,480 for producers and directors, with the top ten percent earning more than $198,530, and projects 5 percent employment growth from 2024 to 2034 — faster than the average for all occupations — with about 12,800 openings each year. The field pays for craft and judgment, both of which take years to build and minutes to demonstrate.
The Los Angeles market is currently rewarding independent producers who move quickly. FilmLA reported 5,121 on-location shoot days across Greater Los Angeles in Q1 2026, up 10.7 percent from the previous quarter, with feature film production up 52.3 percent year over year to 687 shoot days. California's Film & Television Tax Credit Program, expanded to $750 million annually, accounted for nearly 7 percent of all local shoot days in the quarter — including 21.8 percent of feature production shot on location.
If you have a project that needs a writer-director rather than a vendor, start the conversation. Lockett Productions develops its own slate and takes on a small number of outside projects a year, and the earliest conversations are always the most useful ones. Tell us what you are making and when it needs to exist.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Producers and Directors; FilmLA — Research & Production Reports; California Film Commission — Film & TV Tax Credit Program
