We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shane Reitzammer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shane below.

Alright, Shane thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

CinemaStory was created in 2010 for two reasons.

First, I witnessed the need for a production company that truly cared for their client’s success instead of just collecting a pay check. Too many companies were focused on “one-offs”, pump and dumps or even just the ability to create any type of content. Our process starts with relationships and is focused on our client’s experience with us, not only through a well conducted production but equally important a well guided overall project that results in success for our client.

Secondly, I experienced first hand the need for video producers that truly cared for their freelance artist instead of treating them like expendables and sometimes the scapegoat. Yes, our market is oversaturated with talent especially now more so then back in 2010, however investing in an artist long term is a moral that will go beyond the walls of your own company. By investing in our freelancers with training and constructive feedback on each project we’ve seen artist grow from college graduates to feature film DPs in the span of 4 years. Another thing that sets us a part is treating them how we want to be treated with fair wages increasing as their abilities increase along with timely payouts, our company rule for compensation is 3 days or less after a project has been completed which is unheard of in our industry.

With a focus on experience for not only the client but also those that serve the client’s, I felt that our company would stand out among the competition. We’ve been blessed with some of the greatest, trusting repeat clients and seen our growth nearly double each year in revenue and crew for the past 3 years and I think a lot of it has to do with our original why of creating a company that serves others first instead of focusing on solely on ourselves.

Shane, 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 grew up with cameras because my mom was a an avid family moments photographer and also recorded special events with her VHS camera. My passion grew for capturing memories and storytelling in cinema by watching the great classic filmmakers like Hitchcock, Coppola, and Leone as well as our family memories on tape.

In my teens, I had saved up to buy my own professional camera and would shoot short films and content with my friends and siblings. When it came time for college, I attended the University of North Texas and received a bachelors degree in Radio-Television and Film (RTVF as it was called back then).

Shortly after college is when reality kicked in: if you wanted to actually work in this industry you either had to (at this time in 2009) move to LA or NY, get hired on at a local TV station or create your own company. The latter at that time was very rare, most would end up at a TV station or even change industries. Starting a company in 2010 was the second scariest thing I’ve done in my career next to going full time in 2012. Now, there are so many opportunities for college grads or really anyone with talent and a camera (yes even a phone) to start in the video/advertising industry that is needed by almost every other industry!

With the ever growing saturation in our industry we knew we needed to set ourselves apart and that takes us back to our founding why, to give the best experience of success to our client’s and our artist.

Our sweet spot is when we have the creative freedom and trust from our clients’ to combine cinematography and storytelling in memorable content that moves a viewer to action.

We are passionate about guiding our clients’ through the entire journey of the process which typically starts with the end result; what will this project do for our client and how will we achieve that success metric with them? When we start with their why, we are able to use our expertise and past experiences to achieve their success.

We primarily focus on creative storytelling projects including commercial and advertising work along with some entertainment industry projects such as narrative films, episodic content and documentary type storytelling.

We also find fulfillment in assisting brands and influencers, by creating content engines for their media marketing outlets, creating a constant flow of content to engage their target audiences and capture brand attention.

Finally, we also love non-profits and promoting their stories through all types of initiatives. It truly makes us feel like a part of the cause when we can see the successful results of a video campaign that nets millions of dollars to better assist the community.

I think to sum up our work and brand would be simply put like this: Our clients’ success fuels our passion to create.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

One story I would love to share is about a major decision I had to face shortly after going full time freelancer and investing fully in my company in 2012. Back then it was only me instead of 30+ team members and paying bills was a struggle. Around 2014 had just completed over 900 videos for an editorial company and as that opportunity was coming to a close I was looking for another consistent revenue stream. With some networking, two opportunities came up. The first was a full time position offered by a recruiter for a medical company that needed a video producer. Pay started at $90,000 which would probably have been triple what I was making back then. The other opportunity was an unpaid trip to India to co-create a documentary as well as shoot some content for a non-profit that helped orphans and widows. This latter opportunity would allow me to continue pursing the dream of having my own media company, potentially with new partners and portfolios. After much consideration and prayer, I took the unpaid gig. That was the beginning of so many opportunities that have bloomed from taking a chance by following passion instead of a paycheck. Paychecks eventually came, although there were many tough years, but the major payoff was worth it.

I’ve had the opportunity to shoot a documentary, travel the world, shoot a reality TV show and be part of a narrative film called Washington’s Armor that is sure to open even more doors for me and my team in the entertainment industry.

My piece of advice is to always pursue your passion over a paycheck. Yes, pay your bills and do what you have to feed your family but major decisions will shape the trajectory of your career so lead with what you are passionate about and for me that was creative storytelling that made a difference for others.

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

Here is my short list of books (there are many more) that will change your life in regards to building a business, especially in the creative field of filmmaking or advertising.

“Building a Story Brand” by Donald Miller is a game changer for how you position yourself in the market and your clients’ experience.

“Vivid Vision” by Cameron Herold is a fantastic book for CEOs, COOs and anyone that manages their own business with employees to remind you how to dream again and relay that dream to your team.

“Brand Gap” by Marty Neumeier will give you some ideas on how to stand out among the competition and remind you that you need both sides of the brain to be successful in marketing.

“Start with Why” by Simon Sinek will make you reconsider everything you are doing and make you focus on what is important for your brand.

“Save the Cat” is a bonus book I just have to include for storytellers that really helped me turn the wheels of writing instead of just always imagining myself writing the dozens of ideas constantly circulating in my brain.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cinema-story.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cinemastoryproductions/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cinemastoryproductions
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cinemastoryproductions
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQxrzaZdk2myuwbQgPE7U0A
• Other: Personal IG: https://www.instagram.com/shanereitzammer/ and personal LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-reitzammer-26140a13/

Image Credits
Jonathan Arce Joey Nicotra Aggie Brooks