We recently connected with Justin A. Rodriguez and have shared our conversation below.

Justin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your career and how did you resolve those issues?

In filmmaking as a director you are faced with nothing but obstacles. That’s the job. One of the hardest obstacles that I can remember is just starting out. In your mind you are filled with doubts and uncertainty. In retrospect this is actually the fun part. Embrace this part because the canvas is blank and the optimism is high. Creativity is at an all time high because you don’t know your limits at this point. Here is when you can make beautiful mistakes and learn. A necessary step in order to get better, excel and further your career.

Justin A., before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a filmmaker and founder of Brave Pictures and I’m set apart by my voice and style. In the past four years I’ve won two filmmaking/artists grants to help further my creative filmmaking which is a blessing in itself. Making me realize I’m on the right path. I have a film on Amazon Prime as well called Glossolalia. What I’m most proud of really, is under my company Brave Pictures I’ve put a couple of young future filmmakers under my wing and helped them with their film projects. Helping the future in filmmaking makes it worth it for me. I’m excited for what the future holds.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

One of the most rewarding aspects of being a creative is having your art last in permeance. The ideas in my head are translated in film form and can be seen even well after I’m gone. There’s something beautiful about that. Another rewarding aspect are the bond’s created during my film projects. It takes a village to make a film and what I’ve noticed is that there are lasting friendships created from the different crew’s on my many project’s. That makes it worthwhile to see other’s create bonds and collaborations in this creative field.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Usually the typical answer is the Bible of filmmaking, A Rebel Without a Crew by Robert Rodriguez. To be honest I was 17 years old when I checked it out at my local library almost by chance, and It really did change a lot for me. In there it shows all the struggles of taking that chance. Another book is Conversations with Darius Khondji, in there is some of the most beautiful imagery from one of the best cinematographers in history. Once you open that book you can’t help to be inspired to create stories. It covers a wide range of cinematographic and technical topics — lighting, camera operating, film processing, color correcting, lens selection, digital photography and much more.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bravepicturefilms.com/
• Instagram: Bravepicture
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/justin.rodriguez.100
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinbrave/
• Other: https://vimeo.com/user57300099

Image Credits
Saige Thomas Photography