We recently connected with Caleb Wiley and have shared our conversation below.

Caleb , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Talk to us about building a team – did you hire quickly, how’d you recruit the first few team members? Any interesting lessons?

Our video production business is currently a force of two, comprising my cinematographer/steadicam operating partner and myself, the managing producer. From that starting basis, our company’s first step was to build our roster of extended team members to give us a variety of options for any particular project we’re developing.

Several key favorites we’ve found were due to the benefit of a friendly connection with a local studio called Cinepacks, who produce short films and other content in-house. This location continues to effortlessly attract a wealth of talented artists and craftsman who are all hungry to work and build their network of frequent collaborators, allowing solid opportunity for mutual support and crossover among the groups involved.

The ultimate keyword I consider and look for in collaborators to work with us is integrity. People who show care for their work or the task at hand through dependability, consideration for the larger team, and general enthusiasm. We do occasional projects on spec that may be more open concept with lower stakes involved that allow us to invite new acquaintances to come out and work with us or try out new roles on set. These are excellent chances to organically build working relationships with growing talents covering the wide range of services and skillsets that our company requires to operate successfully.

Caleb , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I began my film career in my home state of Louisiana during the industry’s big boom there working as a production assistant on projects like Jurassic World, Logan, The Free State of Jones, Scream Queens, among others before moving to Los Angeles in 2016. My prior connections made while working in New Orleans gave me enough of a network to find a studio job working for the longtime head of production for Sony Pictures Television, Ed Lammi. After 5 foundational years working and learning about the broader entertainment business from Ed and his team, I felt the desire to move away from corporate work and back to being on set, doing some hands-on producing of my own. Since my leaving Sony Studios, I’ve continued expanding my television knowledge by assisting producers and directors on series such as The Rookie: Feds and a personal favorite, the second season of The Afterparty airing on AppleTV+.

Though I was enjoying life as a freelancer, the ongoing volatility in the scripted industry and my desire for ownership challenged me to seek other means to better control my career destiny. This idea strengthened by a productive collaborative relationship with my now business partner sparked our launching a production company of our own that we elected to call No Face Studios, LLC.

With this company, we aim to produce content of all types and formats but current focus provides all-in producing services for music videos, live performance sessions, social media content, and commercials. I feel we differentiate ourselves by the friendly professionalism, preparedness, and creatively conducive environment that we bring to our sets or work functions.

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

Thus far the best source of new clients continues to be word of mouth via direct referrals from projects we participate in, either our own or for other companies. But we’ve also had success in directly contacting aspiring artists on TikTok, Instagram, or other social media whose sound and look inspire a concept for a video.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

Isaak and I met by working together at Sony Pictures Television under two closely linked department heads covering Post Production and Physical Production, respectively. In these positions, I like to think we both grew to be pivotal support for our teams as we all managed the wide slate of SPT’s series until they were ready for air, including Better Call Saul, Cobra Kai, Outlander, and dozens more.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/caleb.wiley
• Instagram: @calebwileyhxc
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wileyhxc/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calebjwiley/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhXEdMG3Qo1pF1Di_eWlgXCI93xW01N_N
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=lMt2iPTtMIrQtIEKh3zi1g&utm_source=ishare
• Other: No Face Studios Instagram: @no.face.studios Website: https://nofacestudios.myportfolio.com/work

Image Credits
Isaak Morin, Jordan Brown, lokii reis da silva, Taylor Hilliard