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

Alright, Cory thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you manage your own social media?

I have personally been running my social media account for the last four years. At one point, I did have a marketing group running it for me, but I never saw the engagement the way I do running that personally. I have managed to gain almost 90,000 followers since 2021, because I am constantly posting, engaging and providing knowledge to the community of filmmaking. Once you figure out what people want to see, it is more automated to post accordingly, and develop a strategy that way. People like to engage with real people, they want to know the person behind the account and what they have to offer.

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.

Ever since my dad bought me a Hi8 camera when I was seven years old, I’ve had a passion for filmmaking. I grew up in Laguna Beach, where I shot films of my buddies and myself skateboarding and surfing. My hobby eventually turned into a healthy obsession, and I aspired to live and breathe filmmaking. Once I decided that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, I enrolled at a film School in Los Angeles. I enthusiastically went on to complete my degree in cinematography and post-production.
Fresh out of college, I started working in the television industry for various producers and gained valuable experience on programs for television and the internet over seven prosperous years.
After learning the ropes, I decided to take a leap of faith and launch my own company in my hometown in 2010. I initially started with the support of one other cinematographer and grew the company progressively.
Little over a decade later, I’ve grown the team to five members and added the latest equipment to create a full-service media production house. I’ve now successfully served over a hundred clients, and last year, I generated over $40k worth of profits in a single month, which was particularly rewarding.
While money is not my primary motivation, being able to achieve financial milestones year on year, tells me that I must be doing something right. As an individual, I believe what sets me apart from others is my reliability, honesty, and integrity.
I endeavor to maintain open communication with the client and create a pleasant experience so that I can deliver a captivating final product that builds brand equity. Crafting creative storytelling has allowed me to get my clients’ message across to their target audience and has made me successful in the process.
I believe I was put on this earth to be a filmmaker, but when I am not crafting videos, I live every day like it’s my last. I love hanging out with my wife and dog, hiking in nature, and going to the beach.
I also derive pleasure from organizing barbecues with friends and family, traveling, exploring new things, and shooting landscape photographs. Last but not least, I go to the movies frequently as film is such a significant inspiration in my life.
I have enjoyed sharing my story about the things which matter to me and how they influence the way I do business.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

During the time period of 2009 to 2010 is when I was wrapped up in a separate company. I was actually one of the partners and focused on the creative activities. But that was during the time where I was transitioning to starting my own business full-time. So, at one point, I was juggling both at once, which became very overwhelming. I had to make a decision as to which career was better for me, working for a company with partners, or starting my own business. Eventually I took my own route which was the best decision I could’ve possibly made, because even though it was a struggle at first, ultimately as let me know, much more success than I could’ve ever anticipated.

Any advice for managing a team?

In this day and age, having a team of people is crucial to manage your business and help you push forward. Even though I do focus on a lot of personal projects that I will work on Solely, there are projects that require a team of people with somebody helping manage and oversee the production from start to finish. My only advice to people would be to hire a team of people you trust, working with close friends can be great as well, but I don’t recommend it. Sometimes it’s great to find something right in the middle between business and personal. Of course you want to work with people that have a good attitude on set and can provide quality work as well.       

Contact Info:

• Website: Sparklefilms.net
• Instagram: Sparkle_films
• Facebook: Cory Love Sparkuhl
• Linkedin: Cory Sparkuhl
• Youtube: @Sparklefilms
• Yelp: Sparkle Films LLC

Image Credits
Cyrus Polk and Cory Sparkuhl