We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Joseph Blute a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Joseph , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
“If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.” I know not who came up with this quote but I feel this is applicable to almost everyone who takes the human form. Especially artistic creators. Whether they are actors, writers, dancers, singers, directors, you name it. Many of us artists begin our adventure with the grandest of plans on how we are going to change the world with what we feel obliged to say. And then life happens. For many artists, it feels as if sometimes every variable occurs in life to obstruct what you are set out to create. As I have aged, I realized the answer is neither to become an all-stubborn entity where you ignore or try to avoid the obstacles that life bestows on you. Nor is the answer to entirely vacate your creative powers because you have not found the outlet you originally desired. No. It becomes a dance of utilizing the creative forces within you in whichever opportunities life presents. For the first time in my life, I am beyond proud that I have embarked on a full-time living off my creative work. And it happened in the last place on earth one would suspect. At school.
In November of 2022, after directing my first play at one of my alma matters, my former high school film teacher asked me if I was looking for some more work. This would involve helping run the district TV and media studio that he built up and was no longer in charge of. I said why not. After returning to one of my sacred spaces that was instrumental in my development, my artistic brain would ruminate on the possibilities of what this place could become. What could be created with the resources we had at our disposal. My former director of technology shared the same sentiment. We had an in-depth conversation on a possible vision. My former high school film teacher understood this vision with what he was able to create in the past when he used to be in charge of it. The path was now clear.
And for the remaining months of the 2022-2023 school year, the onslaught of creating new media for the district began. In order to demonstrate what was possible. The mission statement was simple. To visually communicate the happenings from inside the school district to parents and members of the community. Alas, Eagles Studio was born.
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?
As I mentioned prior, my old school district was the last place on earth that I ever thought I would embark on a full-time creative job. I have been an actor my entire life. Both on stage and on screen. Dipped my hands in directing short narrative films, as well as writing those films and other projects. I have worked behind the scenes whether on set or at a desk. That includes working for a close collaborator’s production company which involved development coordination, management and eventually producing. And most recently, I have been directing and producing plays at my old high school player’s club. Which has been one of the most surreal, fulfilling experiences of my life. And that is just creatively. Along with all the other jobs I have had to work in my life in order to eat, I’ve been forced to become a swiss army knife. And while I was unable to appreciate it when I was younger, I am beyond grateful for all the uncertainty, constant new adventures and different walks of life I have been able to experience. It has been bonkers. So many highs and so many lows. But that is what makes it fun, right? And running the now ‘Eagles Studio’ happened spontaneously. I was asked to return and lend a hand. And then birthed a new pride and joy of mine.
The most prideful aspects of what led me to this position is the resilience, acceptance and spiritual growth. Those are not easy things to work towards or embrace. Those life experiences that help you become resilient, help you accept and grow spiritually can appear to be brutal. Painstaking. And a lot of those rites of passages hit me violently at incredibly deep levels. But what defines your character isn’t what life throws at you. It is your RESPONSE to what life throws at you and what you make of it. I am now able recognize, the resilience brought me to this situation, the acceptance allowed me to explore the opportunity when it presented itself and the spiritual growth makes me understand why I am here. Lastly, the GRATITUDE makes me appreciate the incredible opportunity I am able to live out everyday in a community that is second to none.
The other “main thing” that I learned that I want the artists specifically to understand is never underestimate your creative powers or the environments you will stumble upon that seem alien to any artistry, but can certainly benefit from your expression. How artists can get stuck with tunnel vision of where they only think they can express, in limited environments. As opposed to embracing what is outside the box, in areas they never thought they could express. In my current position; I direct, produce, write, edit, sound design, operate an entire podcast, am the cinematographer and create content from scratch. And within the guardrails of public education, I have complete creative control of any product I am putting out for the community to view. Thanks to similar ambition from our district superintendent, director of technology’s (current and former), faculty, students and the community. For the artists in the world, do not restrict yourself to expressing creatively from only what society deems as normal places to do so. I’m not saying go bang a drum in the middle of an operating room. But embrace what is outside of the box and explore areas in which businesses or communities can benefit from your creative prowess.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
What is fascinating about this position and the pre-conceived notion that I had to unlearn was I believed that any production or content creation developed within our district would be different from how show business operates. My belief was that it would be more formal and more of a straightforward production. And this belief was shattered in my first couple of weeks into the job. There is no straightforward production. Ever, anywhere, anytime. Even within an educational environment. I have to film and interview the teacher who only has 15 minutes free for lunch. We have to film and interview the student who has chemistry in 5 minutes. I have to change the camera angle because they lighting is set in a specific way for each classroom. I have an idea for a video but it turns out to be completely different based on what I am filming in the moment. All of the same rules when you film a narrative, TV show, or documentary apply to what I am creating in an educational setting. The same uncertain adventure to finish the product. It is just the nature of the beast anytime a camera is involved. And success is only possible with an incredible supportive team around you. In fact, so much product has been made in my first year due to the exceptionalism demonstrated by the superintendent, administrators, faculty, staff and students who have been nothing but brilliant in working with what the studio has asked of them. From being on camera, to scheduling and etc. It takes a village for something like this to be successful. In this case, a school community.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect for me as an artistic creator is to communicate the human experience as truthfully as possible to others, simply put. I will create a video now showcasing a specific class, teacher or event. People will watch the video and they will say “I wish I had a teacher like that!” “I never knew that teacher does this!” “I never knew that class taught that.” “That event looked incredible, I wish I was there.” Or even, “That video was great! It totally did justice to what that event/class is or was.” To hear this feedback makes it all worth it – because it tells me whether or not I did my job.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.joeblute.com/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@eastchesterunionfreeschool6381/playlists