We were lucky to catch up with Bill Wisneski recently and have shared our conversation below.
Bill, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
The best part of being a documentary filmmaker is having the ability to shed light on issues people know very little about and give a voice to those you don’t often hear from. In my career I’ve been able to meet and interview a very diverse group of people. From homeless individuals to celebrities, and what I’ve learned is that there is much more that unites us than divides us. Regardless of our backgrounds, wealth, politics, or beliefs, we want the same things. Everyone wants to feel loved and appreciated. People want to be able to provide for themselves and their families. They would like to have good paying jobs, preferably ones that they don’t hate. No one is perfect. Everyone has insecurities and times of self-doubt, no matter how successful they are. Some people have more challenges than others though, and many people are often misunderstood.
A great example of this is the documentary we have just finished called “Almost Home: Life After Incarceration”. In the United States, more than 600,000 people return home from prison each year, often with little support or stability. For people who live in the shadows of their criminal records, overcoming the extensive legal restrictions and social stigmas is a daunting task. Once released from the prison gates, individuals face staggering rates of unemployment, discrimination, and homelessness. Without the support needed to overcome these devastating barriers, people often return to illegal activities just to survive. Our film follows formerly incarcerated students enrolled in an innovative program at Palomar College in north San Diego County. Their inspiring stories illustrate how education and support can transform lives, open doors to new careers, heal trauma, and uplift entire families and communities.
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
Growing up, I was always interested in photography and filming, but for some reason I never considered it as a career possibility. After graduating from Cal Poly with a Speech Communications degree, I was unsure of what to do for a career. On a whim I applied for an entry-level position at the CBS affiliate in Southern Oregon. I was selected only after the two more qualified candidates turned down the minimum wage job. I quickly worked my way up into more advanced positions at the station though, and after a few months, it became clear that video production in some form would be my career. After working a year at the station, I decided to go to graduate school at Washington State University, where I discovered my passion for documentary filmmaking.
After moving to San Diego with my soon-to-be wife, I worked many unfulfilling part-time jobs trying to get more experience. I feel fortunate to have gotten a full-time job at Palomar College early in my career, which provided both stability and many growth opportunities. Palomar College Television (PCTV) is known for having one of the best educational television studios of its kind in the country. I’m the director and producer who leads our team in the creation of instructional videos, promotional content for the college, and social and environmental documentaries.
I’m most proud of the positive impact the documentaries we have produced have had locally and across the country. We’ve focused on human trafficking, immigration, how climate change is affecting California’s water supply, and many other important subjects. Our films have been broadcast nationally on PBS, streamed on Amazon, and they have screened at many prominent film festivals throughout the world. Over the 21 years I’ve worked at Palomar, I’ve been so fortunate to have won 25 Pacific Southwest Emmy Awards, which is a direct result of my crew and the quality of the projects I get to work on.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
Unfortunately, you can’t really turn creativity on like a light switch. Sometimes the good ideas don’t come as quickly as you would prefer. I often find creativity comes more often when I have time to relax and think. Hiking, biking, in the shower. Sometimes ideas come waking up in the middle of the night or sitting in traffic.
If you are used to doing something a certain way and have had some success, it can be challenging to push yourself to try a different approach. It’s essential though if you want to continue to grow and improve. It’s much easier if you can surround yourself with other creative people who have different perspectives than you do. Brainstorming sessions where all ideas are considered has worked well for my team.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
It’s great to be able to have a tangible thing to show for your hard work. When making a film, especially a comprehensive, feature-length documentary like we just finished, hundreds of decisions are made throughout the process, some good, some bad. It’s a very interesting experience to sit in the back of a crowded movie theater at a film festival, watching the responses to the decisions that you made months before. Inevitably, no matter how great the film turns out, there’s often a “what were we thinking moment?”. But there is nothing like the incredible feeling when you can see, hear, and feel the positive response to something you agonized about creating. Those moments of making an audience laugh or cry and hearing them tell you about the impact the film had on them, it is such a rewarding and soul fulfilling experience.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://vimeo.com/palomar
- Instagram: palomarcollegetv
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PalomarCollegeTV/
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/billwisneski