We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jordan Chervitz a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jordan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I always do the opposite of what’s been proven to work. Life is more interesting to me that way, not to mention more authentic. I think a lot about my trajectory as an artist and professional creator, but I usually go with my gut feelings on important decisions that build the foundation of my career.

It was a risk to start a film production company at 16 and attempt to document once-in-a-lifetime events for adult clients. It was a risk to start a podcast and post my unfiltered voice online. It was a risk to move to LA from Missouri at age 18 for a questionably-useful degree from a film school. All these choices were made out of an internal passion that compelled me to see what would happen, and hope that I wouldn’t be proven wrong.

The biggest risk I took this year was to purposely take a step “backwards” on a path that was crystalizing before me. I essentially walked away from multiple life-changing professional opportunities to prioritize my own health and independent artistic fulfillment. I wanted to make sure I was in control of my perceived image as a creator, and demonstrate that I could see a serious personal project through to completion, no matter how ambitious. Once more, I found myself wanting to see what would happen, and hoping that I wouldn’t be proven wrong.

A few months after graduating college, I was lucky enough to get recommended for a full-time contractor position working on a huge TV-show for one of the world’s biggest streaming platforms. I had consistent industry work for nearly two years, and I got to live my dream of contributing to an impressive Hollywood project that was going to mean something special to a huge audience. But- as the months went on- I began to feel certain of exactly what my next full-time gig was going to be: *nothing*.

In order to make it through the intense process of putting our show together, I had started to look forward to the extended break I was going to take before looking for / starting another full-time job. At first I thought I could reasonably afford 3 months- but that number creeped up to 5 months, then 6. It was as if I was prescribing a prolonged creative retreat to myself as medicine to nurse my body and spirit back to health after putting them through their paces in a stressful environment that honestly took a toll on me.

I never intended to take a break from actually “working”, I just wanted to be my own boss again. I envisioned this as a time to reignite the personal projects I was forced to put on pause, regain a social life, and find better ways to take care of myself- even if it possibly killed my “traditional” career momentum. I was willing to exchange stability to go a bit rogue- and have fun while doing it. When asked about potentially carrying forward with the team, I made it clear that my next move had to be taking time for myself.

Long story short, it’s been 10 months since my intentional “Renaissance” period began. During this time, I made up for a huge debt owed in hours-of-sleep, started taking walks around my neighborhood, and published some creations that I’m extremely proud of. I was able to invest in my life again with the income I had made, and I got a lot done to show for it.

I ran the entire pipeline of work necessary to complete the finale of my animated miniseries, HOWIE!, which had been left on a cliffhanger since 2022. I made the difficult choice to prioritize concluding this passion project over tempting job opportunities that came my way like an interview at another big network. The eventual independent release was celebrated with a record-breaking virtual premiere, where I launched my company’s first-ever merchandise store, a goal I’ve had since founding the brand. The finished miniseries will now be re-released next year, recut into a feature film.

I also put a lot of energy into growing my latest YouTube channel, The Midnight Rangoon. I began hosting variety livestreams that served to document my life in a transparent and entertaining way. Due to the consistency and quality of my streams, I was able to build a community and hit the monetization threshold for the first time since I started uploading videos in 2010. I capitalized on that by expanding into other forms of content like Shorts, which I shared on social platforms that were new to me. I directed and starred in a rap music video to flesh out the unique narrative world-building elements that drove the channel’s success and made it stand out. I wrote some screenplays, took freelance gigs to stay sharp, experimented with music production, and caught up on the year’s best movies and shows to continue my studies on modern storytelling.

I did as many of these independent projects as I could until I got dangerously close to running out of money. The risk I took this year was essentially paying myself to be the type of artist I felt like I needed to be. I traded in most of my life savings for the chance to explore my creative mind every day, learning, completing, and trying a ton of new things. This effort satisfied myself and my communal audience, despite looking nothing like the success I had achieved previously. I do want to work in a professional place again, but I want it to be the right fit in every way. If I have to try climbing a few different ladders to find this, (starting from the bottom each time), then so be it. At least we’ll all have a clearer picture of my style of climbing, and what I’ll bring to the top when I get there.

Jordan, 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?

My name is Jordan Chervitz, I am a writer, director, editor, VFX artist, and aspiring show-runner from St. Louis, Missouri. I also founded my own production company, WLDWLF FILMS, to help clients creatively tell their personal/brand stories in engaging ways, as well as produce high quality original content ourselves. These days, I’ve also become a variety streamer on YouTube, documenting moments from my life, meeting people from around the world, sharing long-form creative experiments, and, of course, streaming video game playthroughs.

I’ve honestly been interested in storytelling for about as long as I’ve been conscious. Somehow at age 5 or 6 I broke my dad’s point-and-shoot camera and decided to buy myself a new one, and I just used it all the time. Living next door to my best friend, Jacob, meant I always had an actor on hand, and our young imaginations were disturbingly active. Now, Jacob and I live together in LA- pursuing acting and directing, respectively- and I feel like my childhood dream is weirdly attainable, or possibly even already achieved.

I was lucky enough to grow up as the early era of YouTube was absolutely thriving. Therefore, I got to see a ton of talented people express themselves in a huge range of unique ways. Being a creator didn’t look like typical adult work, it looked like the best job on earth.

I realized anyone with a computer and a camera could transcend the laws of time and space, constructing whatever evocative concept they wanted to present. I knew I wanted to be on the other side of that process… I enjoyed being a viewer, but really yearned to be able to produce those same feelings of whimsical inspiration and introspection for other people with my own original ideas.

My efforts, experiments, and sheer luck led me to USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. By then, I had developed an equal interest in TV as well as Film, and also Writing in addition to Directing. I was inspired by tightly-written shows like Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Silicon Valley, Barry, Bojack Horseman, Wilfred, Arrested Development, Community, and Rick and Morty. I wanted to be the guy who could do vibrant absurd comedy really well, but keep it semi-grounded with lots of heart and real stakes.

At school I learned a lot about my voice by constantly seeing my projects screened next to the work of my peers. I realized my ideas often had one foot in reality, but one foot out in the unexpected, the never-before-seen, the abstract. I tried to use VFX to keep people on their toes, standing out in a crowd as a writer/director with a perfectionist-esque commitment to quality, stylization, and over-ambition. My favorite filmmakers are the DANIELS duo for this exact reason. I enjoy making you laugh, cry, and feel a little bit of everything else in a short timeframe, like eating a multi-course meal with flavors you’ll never forget.

My biggest independent project so far is the complete 5-episode run of WLDWLF’s first animated miniseries: HOWIE!. It started as a quarantine project during the pandemic, and took over 4 years to reach its ultimate conclusion. I’ve also worked for brands and studios in the real-world- I served as the Post Production Assistant on Apple TV+’s “Masters of the Air”, Executive Technical Producer for an innovative homemade poker stream called “Low Stakes Live!”, and have done work for Instagram and my favorite LA restaurant, HOWLIN’ RAYS.

I’m most proud of my own work ethic, as building up these projects from scratch and growing my skillset requires a lot of sacrifice and devotion. I’m super passionate and high-reaching if you can’t tell, so it’s hugely rewarding to see my ideas eventually leap from my imagination into their final forms on a screen you can actually experience. It’s also great to share the journey with incredible crews of people who are better at their own roles than I ever could be. A strong team with a good leader + a cohesive vision is when the magic happens, and I want to keep witnessing that magic for the rest of my life.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I solidified my mission as a creative when it came time to apply to film schools. I didn’t particularly have a backstory filled with cultural significance that I felt compelled to write about. I had enjoyed using my absurd comedic projects as a way to escape from the weight of reality, rather than always holding a lens up to examine it. Therefore, I had to figure out what it was about myself that would compel someone to take a chance on believing my voice was worth developing and capable of universal appeal.

The answer lied in the approach I took to getting accepted to USC in the first place. I knew that some administrator would be sifting through thousands of applications and short films, responsible for plucking just a few hopeful people out of obscurity. I wanted to make something as authentic and striking as possible, that couldn’t be ignored. I wanted them to go home thinking about the imagery from my film in particular, and wake up the next day wanting to watch it again. Thus, the main character in my acceptance video wore a somewhat unnerving sheep mask, never revealing his face. Anyone could be under that mask, making it a thematic choice, but also an immediate icon for the project itself and what I represented as its creator.

From then on, I tried to include strong and memorable aesthetic choices infused into every piece I make, with each configuration being totally different from the last. I love to obsess over designing impossible shots, picking eye-catching color palettes, selecting stylized fonts, and leaning on textural inspirations from graffiti, a deck of cards, animal fur, lava lamps, stained glass windows, etc. I always want the sense of branding in my work to be tangible, thematic, intentionally detailed, and exceptionally meaningful in service of the creation. If these things are cohesive and executed to a high degree, the quality and passion of the project will speak for itself, and it will stand out.

Being unique, authentic, and known for superb quality is truly the goal of everything I make. Sometimes it slows me down, but I really wouldn’t want to be told a concept I’ve invested in has already been done the same way before, or that I could have released a project quicker if I had cut some corners. I usually work with what I already have instead of going overboard with budget or labor to get what I need, but I always attempt to push my resources to their limits.

When I started my live-streaming journey, I knew the market was already saturated with people who talk to chats and play video games. That’s why I decided to develop an entire universe of fictional and cinematic lore to accompany my online alter-ego. This way I could create an intriguing mythology about my character, my studio, and the purpose of the stream itself. The cherry on top was to then offer anyone who stopped by the broadcast the chance to reserve their own in-world persona and participate in the mystique of collectively forging a new destiny within the realm I’d built, where anything was technically possible. The gratifying payoff / consensus from the viewers was “Wow… I’ve never seen this before. I think I’m gonna stay.”

Any aspect of a project has a potential to showcase specific intentional details, and I don’t want to waste any of those opportunities to strengthen a concept. I have to give credit for this obsession to another artist that builds layers of double, triple, and sometimes quadruple-meanings into every conceivable element of what he does: Tyler Joseph of the band, Twenty One Pilots. I gained immense respect for how well-thought out and ambitious Tyler’s art was, and knew I wanted to adopt that mentality for myself, even if people thought I was crazy. It’s just fulfilling to watch people slowly discover how deep things can truly go, knowing you’ve put satisfying answers there for anyone willing to engage that substantially.

I also enjoy putting easter eggs from my life into scripts, logos, merch, and videos, especially as homages to things that influenced me. I want all my work to be so authentic in representing my voice that everyone knows exactly who made it. I really don’t like chasing trends or catering to algorithms, even if they’d provide an easy path to growth. Bearing my actual soul in original work can be excruciatingly tough, but that’s what makes it more rewarding when it connects with the right audience.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

At least for me, making independent art is often isolating and hard. The funding comes from my own pocket, the time investment comes from my own life, and the result often flies under the mainstream radar. This is all okay, because I know what I signed up for, but there are ways for people who enjoy what I do to help keep the lights on in my studio. I’ll speak for myself as an example, but I feel like this can apply to most general creatives.

-TIME: Time can be gifted to an artist in a few ways. A lot of people understandably have short attention spans, but clicking away from someone’s video in the first few seconds actually damages its potential to be recommended to others. Retention-rate analytics keep track of how long people stick around, and an algorithm uses this data to gauge whether or not it’s a “good” video worth sharing to a wider audience. That’s why I’d love to know that people are making an effort to actually watch as much of my uploads as they can. To reward retention, I usually include fun bloopers or a post-credits scene at the last possible second, that only the most dedicated supporters are meant to find.

If someone hosts an in-person premiere or gets into a gallery / film festival, attempting to show up will mean a lot to them. A piece of each person’s soul is often transferred into their work, and they made it to share it with people like you, after all. Interactions on social media are also a great way to show support, via likes reposts, etc. This can be very validating, and also help the work reach new eyes. Without little voluntary boosts, independent projects risk falling into a void.

Additionally, a director may require volunteers on their shoot, or a writer might ask if you’re willing to read their script and offer feedback. Everyone is obviously busy with their own lives, but if you believe in that person’s art, you should try to help them out if you can. It could make the difference between the project actually getting made, or losing steam due to lack of public support and encouragement. Creators are constantly solving logistical issues to get something across the finish line against significant odds, so if you have the power to make their life easier, you’ll get to participate in a new experience, enjoy the final product, and watch the artist flourish.

Lastly, leave a comment! My favorite part of uploading a video, posting on Instagram, or finishing a stream is reading the comments that start to roll in. It’s the only way I know people actually absorbed whatever I was trying to share, and getting to see how it affected them really validates the efforts I spent. If you believe in someone, try to hype them up and legitimize their work as much as you can, it may have a powerful domino effect. I’m really grateful for certain people that have told me some of my projects have connected genuinely with them, I’d never really know otherwise after hitting “upload”. I even get excited to read my hate comments- it’s still better than total silence.

MONEY: Personally, I’m not into the traditional concept of crowdfunding, because I don’t feel like my friends and family are responsible for getting my passion projects developed. That being said, living fully off of independent art is fulfilling, but essentially a speed-run challenge for going broke. So, I could really use the money, I just won’t ask for it without feeling good about what I’m offering in return.

Therefore, if an artist you enjoy presents you an opportunity to support them financially for a fair deal, it’s very helpful if you take it. For example, I lived off my savings while animating the finale of our show, HOWIE!, and then gave it to the world for free. However, I also created an online store at wldwlf.com/market where we now sell the first batch of low-cost shirts, stickers, and hats to promote the show. It’s a win-win, you get a cool physical garment representing a project you enjoy, and you get to pay the creator who will likely reinvest in themselves to give you more cool art.

I plan to release more high-quality merchandise collections soon, but also want to experiment with other ways to earn revenue. Perhaps the feature-length cut of HOWIE! is behind a reasonable paywall, or perhaps I offer extra features to paying members on The Midnight Rangoon. I don’t love it, but it sort of has to be up to my audience whether or not I retain the privilege of time to experiment with these endeavors, or have to trade it all in and find other ways to make a living. If I’m not able to practice these skills, they start to fade away, so that’s why I’m so desperate to continue what I’m doing.

I’ve also tried to maximize my other passive income streams for people to support me optionally at a range of levels in different ways. You can send a fun super-chat on my livestream for anywhere from $0.99 to $500. Even just watching my stream casually earns me revenue due to occasional monetized ad-breaks. My website has a new page for accepting donations from kind-hearted people that want to share some wealth with a guy who constantly tries to entertain them, (wldwlf.com/donate). I started multi-streaming on Twitch, and I even have a Fortnite Item Shop affiliate creator code, “RANGOON”. If a creator you admire gives you that many opportunities to be a part of their ecosystem, find a method of helping that works for you if you can!

This final perspective is a bit tricky to navigate, but keep in mind that your money tells the world what direction it should go. If you go out and see movies that were potentially developed for the wrong reasons, we’ll get a lot more of those. If you buy products from big-name sellers, you’ll keep a giant corporation in business. But if you seek out the artisan films, the small-business owners, the indie creators that NEED YOUR SUPPORT to keep contributing their voices to the world, your money suddenly has a lot more power. If you genuinely like what we do, you know where to find us.

Thanks for reading!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.wldwlf.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jordanchervitz/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanctv/
• Twitter: https://x.com/JChervitz
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheMidnightRangoon/featured
• Other: I have two other YouTube channels besides the one I included, which is my most active variety streaming channel. If you can include them, here they are!

  Personal YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JordanChervitz

  WLDWLF FILMS YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WLDWLFFILMS