We caught up with the brilliant and insightful JT Penderville a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi JT, thanks for joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later?
Starting a business can be very scary! When I decided to go full time with my videography business, Penderville Films LLC, I was approaching my 15 year anniversary at Carnegie Mellon University! I thought for many years, CMU would be my lifetime career. I was on a pretty great trajectory. I started there in 2007 as an intern for the School of Computer Science. I quickly worked my way through 3 months of paid, part-time work, and then got hired on as a Video Technician full time. My job was to record classes for distance education. I spent 11 years at SCS before I accepted a promotion as the A/V Distance Communication Manager for the Electrical and Computer Engineering department, where I spent 4 years before deciding to leave it all behind, so to speak.
See, during my entire time at CMU, I was working freelance videography gigs on the weekends to supplement my income. At some point around 2016, I started to take my side hustle doing random freelance videography a little more seriously and started filming weddings, almost exclusively. It took many years of honing the craft, but eventually, I was able to make more money with my “side business” than I was at CMU… and ultimately, it felt more rewarding on every level. Working for CMU was great, but my heart started to want more, and I had to answer my calling to become self employed. I didn’t do this until I was in my mid-30s, and after taking the risk, my only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner. It took me a lot longer than I think most people would to realize my earning potential, and to take the leap into working for myself. Since April of 2022, I’ve been completely self employed, and I could never imagine going back to working for someone else. Sometimes, I can’t help but imagine where I’d be now if I had just taken that leap a little sooner.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I count myself as one of the lucky ones in life where I pretty much felt like videography work resonated with me early on. My junior year of high school, I was doing what a lot of kids are doing at that time… trying to figure out where I wanted to go to college! At my school, we had some really interesting electives offered to us, and video editing was one of them. I think it was a half a semester course, and we used some pretty mediocre and old equipment to learn on, but there was just something about it I liked. It wasn’t until my senior year, when the school upgraded some of that equipment, and revised the course so much that I could actually take it again and still get credit for it! It was at that time, combined with new technology, more creative freedom in the projects, and a GREAT teacher, I REALLY found something I was passionate about.
I decided to attend the now defunct Art Institute of Pittsburgh, where I majored in Digital Media Production. I was pretty average in high school, and classroom work was always the hardest for me — I am more of a visual, hands-on learner. I was really excited to attend AIP as I felt like it was kind of the perfect school at the time. In hindsight, I have my qualms with it, haha. That being said, I wanted to get through it ASAP and get out into the real world. I graduated high school in June 2004; started AIP during their summer semester July 2004; and went straight through every summer, fall, spring, and winter with a full course load until I graduated with a B.S. in Digital Media Production in June 2007! Just under 3 years! During my last semester at AIP, I was able to obtain an internship at Carnegie Mellon University where I worked one day a week, filming classes for distance education. When I graduated AIP, I was immediately offered a part time job for the summer months doing what I was doing as an intern. After 3 months, I went full time at CMU!
While I was very much looking forward to maybe becoming a filmmaker, or joining a union for camera operators, I was very happy to have landed a job at Carnegie Mellon University, so I stuck with it.
Around 2010, I decided I wanted to pay off my student loan a little faster, so I started doing some freelance videography on the weekends. It started with filming my cousin’s wedding… then a friend’s wedding… then their friend’s wedding… then a former teacher’s wedding… it slowly went like that for awhile. In 2014, my high school alma mater reached out to me asking if I would film the high school marching band’s highlight video for the year. That’s when I started to make some real money, and instead of paying off that student loan faster, I decided to re-invest in myself and bought some nicer camera gear. I did the band video for a few years, while picking up some more weddings here and there. I was filming something almost every weekend. As I got more skilled, and purchased better equipment, I was able to charge more for my services. Eventually, I was making more filming weddings, than I was filming the marching band, so I had to retire from that, even though it was one of my favorite gigs at the time! Over the course of many years… 2016 – 2021, I was able to really narrow down some stylistic choices in my filming and editing that set me apart from other wedding videographers. My bookings were skyrocketing, and before I knew it, I was working about 80-90 hours a week with my freelance, and CMU hours combined. This went on until April 2022, when I decided to leave CMU and go full time with my business.
Videography is something I live and breathe. I often joke that it’s very much part of my personal identity. I love the technology. I love the medium. I love the art! I think that’s one of those unquantifiable things that sets me apart from others… I REALLY love filming and editing and putting a project together. I especially love capturing weddings, because it is just such an important and personal day for people, and I love being there for them. It gives me a true sense of accomplishment when I deliver those edited videos to couples.
I am able to apply classic filming techniques I learned in my formal schooling, while mixing energy and authenticity into my work. I consider myself an introvert, but I am also a people person, and that’s why I think wedding videography resonates with me above all else. In a sea of services that may seem very transactional, I pride myself on connecting with clients so it never feels like that.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I think what’s helped me build a strong reputation is a mix of creativity, technical skill, and being someone couples genuinely enjoy working with. As I’ve been in the industry for many years, many younger videographers follow me on socials and see my work. So, I often get messages and questions about my process and if there’s anything I can help them with to become better videographers. I am always willing to help colleagues, and I think by doing so helps build a strong community on top of being looked upon as an industry leader. Whatever you want to call me, I just think being kind and helpful towards my colleagues goes a long way in gaining a great reputation among my peers.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I do not take it for granted that I’ve been able to turn a passion of mine into something that I can use to earn a living. Not a lot of people in this world can say that they genuinely love their job, but I can. That is a reward to me, in and of itself. But sometimes, nothing beats getting that text or email from a couple that just watched their wedding video and reliving one of the best days in their life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.pendervilleweddingfilms.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pendervilleweddingfilms
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PendervilleWeddingFilms
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jtpenderville
- Twitter: https://x.com/JTPenderville
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/pendervilleweddingfilms
- Other: www.twitch.tv/pendervilleweddingfilms
https://www.tiktok.com/@pendervilleweddingfilms
Image Credits
Tyler Norman Photography, Mariah Treiber Photography, Penderville Wedding Films