Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Armando DeMarchi. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Armando, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
As I was learning how to film weddings, I utilized the “free-to-fee” approach. I shot weddings for friends at a low or no price in order to accumulate a portfolio and learn. I was also lucky enough to have a very successful friend who let me second shoot for him, which helped me improve much quicker than I would have on my own. I think the best way to speed up my learning process would have been to watch more wedding films from other people. I didn’t really think about my end goal when I was filming, and that caused problems in post that could’ve easily been avoided. Being adaptable while also striving to be as prepared as possible definitely helped me the most.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I started my filmmaking journey as a production assistant on a Reality TV show in Manhattan in 2018. I started to learn editing and storytelling core values, and when I moved to Virginia, I made friends with people who were telling stories via weddings, and I fell in love with telling love stories. Every year since I started back in 2022, I have tripled my business, through word of mouth, being a fun and memorable vendor, and providing an exceptional film to commemorate my couples’ big day. I’m so proud of the stories I’ve gotten to tell and the presence I’ve carved out for myself in the industry. My style emphasizes light and ethereal colors, showcasing passion, emotion, and true love. It is by far my favorite thing in the world to do.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My goal is to not only be able to support myself full-time doing what I love, but also to get rewarding opportunities to travel outside of my state and film across the country, and hopefully one day, the world. Meeting new people, seeing new places, telling exciting stories, and getting paid to do it all? That is a dream worth chasing.
Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.
Last fall I was unfortunately affected by layoffs at a big company. I decided to lean into my business full-time. Although it isn’t quite where I want it to be, once I switched my mindset to making it my daily driver, I found way more success than when I treated it as a side hustle. I’ve brought in business from all sorts of places, but one of my biggest ever jobs that actually referred another job later on, was someone who found me off a craigslist ad. Thousands of dollars in revenue all from a $5 posting. Obviously that is a pariah and not the norm at all, but it just shows what some luck and creative marketing can do.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.demarchiproductions.com
- Instagram: @demarchiproductions
