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

Brandon, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us a story about a time you failed?

Straight out of high school I started interning for a local production company. It was my first experience being on my own and I learned tons from that experience. Failure is just a step to success and without all that I learned from that I wouldn’t be the person I am today. During my internship there were many ways I let my personal life get in the way of work life and to an extent when you’re building a company it’s important to have some separation. The most important thing I learned however is that create what you want and never let it get the best of you, once it feels like a burden take a break, the worst feeling in the world is feeling burnt out from your passion and it’s okay to take a second to step back and look at all the amazing things you’ve accomplished.

Brandon, 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?

For as long as I can remember I have always loved movies, whether it’s going to the theater to have the full experience or sitting at home, I’m never more at peace then right before a movie starts (call me crazy but trailers are my favorite part)

I started making YouTube videos with some friends in high school not really seeing the connection yet but I knew it was something I enjoyed. Then came 2014 I believe when Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar came out and it was the first IMAX movie I saw in theaters, I left the building knowing exactly what I wanted to do with my life. I left that movie in awe of what I just saw, I had so many mixed emotions, I knew that I wanted to be apart of the movie making world, so I could get other people to feel the way I did walking out.

Cut back to high school and I took a tv production class for a couple years where I learned a little about basic lighting, camera work and editing. However, coming from a small town they taught us more so in the ways of television news broadcast instead of the cinematic journey I was craving to go on. I felt that I really shined in that class and it lead me to an internship with a local production company straight after graduation and I felt that I was really on my way.

After a couple years working with the company I learned a lot, we made short films, commercials, and even tried producing a show, which has a pilot available now on Amazon. I was grateful enough to works with organizations like advent health and united way, where I felt like I was making a true difference with the videos I was making, highlighting true heroes of the community.

Once the pandemic hit I felt it was time for a major change and I decided to move up to Jacksonville where I would recreate my image and fully dive into my passion. I now currently freelance as a cinematographer, always looking for my next project! I’ve done a few film festivals so far and am trying to build my portfolio in the process.

My services include pretty much anything you would need a video for! I shoot, events, weddings, commercials, brand videos, music videos, short films, BTS videographer, travel videos, etc.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Easily one that everyone can relate to is the pandemic, 2020 was a rough year no matter who you were. Before Covid the production company I worked for was doing spectacular! I was even able to quit my regular 9-5 and become a full time employee but little did we know the world would stop in a few months. Financially I was not prepared and it became extremely hard to pay for the bare necessities. That’s what lead my to the ultimate decision to pack everything I had up and move to start my own path. A way that I could create what I want to create and possibly make a living off of it. As much as I was learning working for the production company it was holding me back creatively and it started feeling like a regular job. I couldn’t stand that, I needed my passion back and it took moving away from home and changing my perspective to do that. As hard as it was at first I don’t regret any of it now and I wouldn’t have nearly as many opportunities as I do now.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I don’t have a huge following on social media. Honestly I feel like I’m pretty ignorant when it comes to social media presence and the algorithm and all that. Plus there’s so many to keep up with and so many formats it gets draining trying to be at the top of any of it. I would like to give the advice to be yourself, no matter what the algorithm is telling you to do, post what you want, create what you want, be true to yourself and I think it’ll go a lot farther. It’s better to have a strong following of 1000 people who love your art than 1000000 people who just know your name.     

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @rains590
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brandon.rains.904?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/brandon-rains-5133b31ba
• Twitter: @B_rains18
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@midtownproductions5779