We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Christopher Jones. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Christopher below.
Alright, Christopher thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
Acting has always been my dream :) As kid growing up in the 80’s, I was always a fan of the action genre, Sly, Arnold, Van Damme, etc., however I had no idea acting would be possible for someone like me. At the time, I thought movies were only for Hollywood. Right out of high school, I walked into Best Buy one day and came across a box of computer software that said,,.”Make your own movies from home”, which was Adobe Premiere. I didn’t even own a computer, but that’s when I realized, maybe that’s what I need to do, learning everything, so that Hollywood or not, I can act, make my own movies and no one could tell me no. I then took out a small loan for 3500, bought that exact box of software, bought a computer and bought my first mini dv home camcorder. Working and learning with a computer wasn’t easy, so I would edit VCR to VCR, which sounds insane lol, but was easier at the time. I have no formal training, everything I’ve learned has been through trial and error, using and referencing the movies that have always inspired me.
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.
With no formal training, over the years I’ve tried to learn anything and everything to create my own films. From concept to screen, I write, direct, edit, shoot and choregraph all my work. Growing up in the 80’s, it’s the “heart” that I saw/felt in movies that I try to incorporate into my work today. Regardless of the genre, I try to produce/create something for everyone. I also produce other commercial and music videos to make ends meat. Project I’m most proud is my feature film “Save Me”. It’s a project that I had to stop just before COVID hit, it’s about 90% complete and I will resume production again next week, so that I can complete the story as I intended to. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, especially when it comes to my movie work. Save Me is my passion project, and had already been in production for 4 years.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
To date, I’ve hit rock bottom 3 times, financially and personally. I have 2 daughters and because of that, I will never stop, never quite. Regardless of how hard life can hit, no one can take away your dreams, your smiles. So when there are obstacles, it only motivates me more, to produce and create bigger, better. When you have a passion, when you love something more than yourself, it will always love you back. Patience was the real lesson learned, which I’m still learning but embrace today.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The only reward I cherish, is watching/hearing the audience reacting to my work. When screening my work, I always stand in the back or to side, because I watch the audience. It reminds me of how I reacted, laughed, cried, etc, when I was younger, reminding me of how movies inspire me.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @superchrisjones
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christopher.jones.1447342/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk0IxbUx8WtshIuhJ728WPQ