We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Drew English. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Drew below.

Drew, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, let’s imagine that you were advising someone who wanted to start something similar to you and they asked you what you would do differently in the startup-process knowing what you know now. How would you respond?

Hindsight is always 20/20 and, though we can’t change the past, we can take what we’ve learned and use it for inspiration going forward. I’ve been a professional cinematographer for over a decade, the owner of a production company since 2016 and have recently started a video-first podcast studio this year. The common thread (with the podcast studio being a slight exception) is that I’ve jumped in head-first without a well thought out plan or road map to follow.

If I could start all over, I would take my camera, lighting and production skills and quickly leverage them into a business with extremely low overhead who’s sole purpose is to be a revenue machine. I find that in the film industry specifically, everyone is seeking accolades or big paydays and are always chasing that carrot from gig to gig. The problem, as we are seeing now with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, is that when the gigs dry up, many folks are left without options. Conversely, by starting small and far less glamorous, I think I could have been in a far more leveraged position than I am today with a more consistent base.

All that being said, yes, I’ve built a career that is multifaceted and reasonably successful but I think it’s healthy to consistently reassess. Goals and ambitions will change over time so getting clear on where you’re at with those frequently is paramount.

Drew, 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 work in the film and video industries primarily as a Cinematographer with most of my work being in the commercial and documentary space (www.drewenglish.com). I also run a small production studio call Lights & Years Media (www.lightsandyears.com) as well as a video-first podcast studio and remote interview space called Upstate Podcast Studio (www.upstatepodcaststudio.com).

I fell into filmmaking later than most at around the age of 30 after struggling to build a sustainable career in music. I was living in Brooklyn and had some friends making legitimate livings shooting content for clients with early DSLR cameras and I figured I could do that. So, I bought a used Canon 7D camera and taught myself to shoot and edit and started making some of my own work. Those early pieces were directly responsible for me getting hired by those same friends to edit some of their jobs and the rest has just happened organically over time.

I feel lucky that I’m in a position now, where I still shoot a lot of jobs for various clients, but I also have a couple of other businesses that I can lean on not only for diversity of income, but also to creatively shake things up. Now I get to wear multiple hats: I can make beautiful images, be a creative director, revisit my audio background with the podcast studio and most importantly keep things fresh.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The older I get, the more I realize that a holistic, balanced life is what I’m looking for. I’ve worked a corporate 9-5 before and I have no interest in going back to that. Working for yourself and running your own business takes a lot of energy and commitment. It’s also easy to always “be on” or constantly be in the hustle mindset.

If I have to summarize my thoughts I’d say the goal is to build a strong Lifestyle Business, where the word “lifestyle” intentionally comes first. Ideally I can get to a place where I can personally take on the projects I’m passionate about and then delegate the rest to talented collaborators whereby I’m also providing them a fair wage. There’s room for everyone to win, I believe. We just make it hard on ourselves some times.

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

This is easy. I got laid off from my corporate job in January of 2009 – Barack Obama’s first inauguration day. At first, I welcomed it. I had become complacent and bored, but I probably never would have jumped ship on my own. So, I collected my severance and unemployment, naive to the rollercoaster that was coming my way.

To make a long story short, I floated from city to city for a bit. Did a stint back at my parents’ house for almost a year. Got depressed and directionless and spent a lot of time feeling sorry for myself.

It took time and work to turn things around but I eventually wound up in NYC where I met and moved in with my now wife, Amy, who was instrumental in showing me what was possible working for yourself and building your own career. This is where I started my freelance journey in music and then eventually made the shift into filmmaking.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.drewenglish.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drewenglishh/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewenglish/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedrewenglish
• Lights & Years Media: https://www.lightsandyears.com/
• Upstate Podcast Studio: https://www.upstatepodcaststudio.com/
• No Set Path Podcast (My Show I host): www.nosetpath.com

Image Credits
Lights & Years Media