Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Robbie J. Atkinson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Robbie J., appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear your thoughts about making remote work effective.

Since RPX Media Production was born a year before the pandemic, but was mostly inactive [more-so passively involved in a partnership] we didn’t really branch out and begin self-initiated projects that challenged our team’s creativity until the following year when the pandemic started. When most businesses were shutting down, we were just getting started with dance-visuals and experimental pieces. We basically started off having pre-production meetings via Zoom, taking notes on a Google Doc and planning out aesthetics using Google Jamboard during the “Shelter-in-Place” orders during the pandemic.

While constantly racking my brain about new ways to expand my team’s creativity, technical skills and develop my own sense as an auteur, I realized I was equally vexed by the amount of manual work I was doing behind the scenes for paperwork and general communication–responding to client inquiries through our LinkTree booking tab, sending follow up emails, keeping track of pre-production paperwork, etc. I realized I was a bit scattered and knew that we were still not at a point where I could afford to hire someone to help me out but was bordering burnout.

I eventually came across a social media account that offered advice to new female entrepreneurs and read a newsletter that talked about the importance of automating–I had a voila moment! I began looking into platforms like Honey Book that served as a one-stop-shop for automating processes related to finances, invoices, contracts, scheduling meetings, more seamless booking pages and even follow-up emails to clients.

At first, I was concerned that automating anything for my own convenience might make the process more complicated for clients–ultimately back-firing and making us lose potential clients but with a bit of trial-and-error, and time, I figured out what works for us and have been growing my business online while working from home!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

At least once a month on Saturdays when I was a child, my Dad would take me out to the Regal Cinemas movie theater at Arbor Place Mall to see a myriad of action movies, super-hero movies and more. Afterwards during the drive home, we’d have an in-depth conversation about the theme, the characters, our favorite scene in the movie and–if you listened to the enthusiasm in our voice, you couldn’t really tell who the excited child gushing about film really was. We both treasured the experience and I believe that my exposure to Hollywood cinema through my Dad was integral to framing my passion for film.

In addition to instilling that passion in me, Dad was also an immense advocate for my business. He consistently encouraged me to take the risk of starting my own company so that I could have the freedom of time and money that he didn’t have. It was their encouragement and my experience filming Kpop concerts with Atlocal Entertainment that enabled me to see that I was more than capable of not only starting my own business but being successful at it with my team!

To this day I feel gratitude for the sense that both he and my Mom believed in my ability to succeed, sometimes, way more than I did. Being a first-generation American of Jamaican descent, I knew that we don’t often have the luxury of choosing a career that is full-filling and having parental support as you’re typically expected to conform to the traditional nine-to-five office job that offers safety and security.

RPX Media Production is a hybrid production company that specializes in experimental film-making [for commercial and cinematic purposes] as well as graphic novels. We’ve worked with creatives to produce promotional videos for tours, music videos, dance visuals and have even created advertisements for local businesses. Our collaborations have taken place domestically as well internationally–from America to South Korea and even the United Kingdom. We offer the opportunity for artists and businesses to develop compelling and unique branding through visual story-telling/videos.

I couldn’t boil RPX Media Production’s accomplishments down to a single moment that’s made me proud, but rather, I can highlight a collection of moments that contributed to our gradual growth and development. Moments like the day our production team filmed its first music video with the girl group that was, at the time, named After Dvrk. For that shoot, we overcame an unbelievable amount of obstacles ranging from the departure of 5 members of the group [putting the group into financial hardship and throwing off their choreography] to re-working the shot list for the video on-sight without a prior rehearsal and still managing to wrap within a six-hour window. Within RPX’s second year we had collected a database of five unique digital illustrators across Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and America who could contribute to our Graphic Novel projects that are currently in development. Another proud moment, one of our first, was when we completed a virtual collaboration with the Korean Choreography company Peacemaker and the American producer/artist R3dblossom.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Growing my business online has proven to be both a challenge and a blessing at the same time. We’re often approached online through Instagram but have received referrals through word-of-mouth and our reputation.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Build trust with your team and they will be willing to weather any storm with you. Let them know that you are serious about taking care of them while constantly holding them accountable and challenging them to branch out of their comfort zone!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rpxmediaproduction.com/
• Instagram: @rpx_media
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rpxmediaproduction
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rpx-media-production/?viewAsMember=true
• Twitter: @RpxMedia
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCrLDqb1Ho6xfFx1OzJFo7A/featured

Image Credits
Photography by Marissa Panyasith and Keson Graham