Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ethan X Evans. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Ethan X , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
Before jumping into film I owned and ran a software development company. I was self taught in that field as well which caused me to have to rely heavily on my employees to scale. Often times as an entrepreneur you are forced to pivot, and that’s what happened. We were building software, websites and web apps for clients that also wanted us to market the software or website.
This lead to me having to hire marketing professionals which in tern lead to me hiring a small film crew to shoot commercials. I became good friends with one of my employees in my film crew and he would volunteer info about the process. This awakened a passion that I had lost as a child. Film, music and writing had always been a part of ,my life and something that intrigued me. The more I helped my crew film commercials the more I got involved! I ended up purchasing a camera and going for it!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Like stated previously, I got into the film industry by picking up a camera and going for it! I started helping my marketing team film commercials for clients and realized that I had an “eye” (thats what people would say). After shooting commercials for clients that landed on TV, I was approached by a producer who needed a Director for a small TV show.
I jumped on the opportunity while teaching myself the ins and outs of film. Once i felt comfortable, I ended up writing my first Amazon Prime series called Peace is and started putting together a small film team to help me bring it to life.
Right now my company, 7th Level Agency, offers film production, commercial production and TV production services. We help other writers, producers and filmmakers bring their vision to life. As a director I help actors tap into their character and truly become the script. When i first started in film, I would use my still vivid imagination heavily. The life i lived prior to becoming an entrepreneur forced me to imagine life in. better lights.
Before entrepreneurship and filmmaking I lived a life of crime from teenager to adulthood. I believe that a lot of things that experienced and trauma that I faced caused me to hold on to any glimpse of who i was as a child. Meaning, I had to keep my imagination strong just to cope. I had no idea that this would help me later in life.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is getting to see something that was once an idea, a moment of imagination, come to reality.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Pivoting is an important part of life. One time when I had to pivot was when I decided to get my GED and go to college for technology. Once i enrolled i found out that most IT companies wont hire people with criminal records so I decided to self teach and launch my own tech/marketing agency which led to me becoming a film director!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.7thlevelagency.com
- Instagram: @yeahimthedirector
