We recently connected with Joseph Pollock and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Joseph, thanks for joining us today. What’s been one of the most interesting investments you’ve made – and did you win or lose? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)
The best decision I made was investing in my future! As a freelance DP \ Cinematographer there is no retirement plan. Early on in my career I had a great friend, boss, and mentor (Michael Ransdell) teach me the value of long-term investing and compound interest. I was so distracted thinking about which camera, lens, or light I was going to buy next, I wasn’t thinking long-term. It wasn’t long after I got married I realized if I was going to retire I needed to start planning now. He helped me get started with investing through a Roth IRA. Now when I meet with younger people wanting to get into the film industry and they ask me what’s the number one thing I should buy or invest in, I always say yourself / retirement! You can always rent gear, make friends with people who already own gear, or work on projects for free to learn and get experience, but the best time to start investing was yesterday. After you check off that box; save and buy quality gear! Don’t waste your time with cheap stands, lights, etc. buy quality and avoid debt if possible.
Fortune from a fortune cookie that sits next to my Mid-America Emmy
“Good luck is the result of good planning.
Lucky Numbers 6, 25, 30, 35, 45, 50”
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My parents have always been huge supporters of me and my brother! They pushed us to go after whatever we were passionate about. As long as I can remember, I always had a camera and wanted to film something.
Professionally, I got started in video production in 2007 working for an esports company (MLG). I would film B roll and cam op the live ESPN broadcast for major esports events all over the US and Canada. That job evolved over the next decade. With some of the highlights being, filming winter and summer X Games. It was weird filming gamers win X Games medals, but so fun!
In 2012, my friend Michael Ransdell, asked if I’d be interested in helping shoot a wedding. I was nervous because I had never filmed a wedding before, but I agreed to do it. For the next few years, I filmed almost every single wedding One Tree Studios did. Working my way from third , second, to lead shooter. It taught me a lot, but like most of us who shoot wedding films, there comes a time to move on. In 2015 I started working more as a corporate / commercial DP or Cinematographer.
Nowadays, I am lucky enough to work with my best friends! There are a few who own their own businesses / agencies and they hire me as their DP. I have worked on some really fun projects, including DP’ing commercials for One, Two, and Three Light luxury apartments in downtown Kansas City as well as countless projects with The Power and Light District. I have DP’ed commercials for Bally’s Casino, online courses for Harvard business school of education in Boston for over four years, and won a Mid-America Emmy for a project with Visit KC. Those are just a few of the projects I’ve been lucky enough to work on!
I want to create a film set of excellent work, encouragement, and fun! Because of my wide variety of experience, I have the ability to adapt to whatever the project needs. One week I can be DP’ing a nationwide broadcast commercial with a large team, then the next week film some interviews for internal use only with no crew. Even though they are vastly different, both productions have the same amount of importance to that individual client so I want to execute the vision and deliver the best product for my client no matter the size of the project.
My best friend, Matt Terwilliger, is the Creative Director at an agency. He has a saying that I love; “It’s not what you do when everything’s going right on set, It’s what you do when everything goes wrong.” That is what sets apart the people I work with consistently from others.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
YouTube! I know it seems obvious now but it’s like film school for free. You can learn cameras, lighting, audio, and basically everything you would need to know on a film set! I am a very hands-on learner so there’s nothing quite like picking up a camera and creating something, but YouTube or other online resources are so helpful. Really, if you’re wanting to get involved in the film industry, be like Nike and “Just do it!” Meaning, start now. You probably have an iPhone with a great camera. Create a story, meet people, make fun and interesting things that you care about. Contacts and friends are your number one asset for future work in my opinion!
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Hard work, care, responsibility, and being proactive.
I am willing to work hard. I care about the project, no matter how big or small. I believe being someone others want to be around is a choice. No matter what I’m getting paid or how exciting the job is, I never let that determine the effort or focus I put into my work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.JosephPollock.com
- Instagram: @joseph_pollock
Image Credits
Addison Sauvan, Travis Carroll, Micah Blosser