We were lucky to catch up with Luke Ostermiller recently and have shared our conversation below.
Luke, appreciate you joining us today. Have you been 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? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
Earning a full-time living with art takes extreme dedication, but it is possible for anyone willing to put in the work. It all comes down to creating different revenue streams. For myself at this stage of my career, my income is generated by making one movie a year and directing as many music videos as I can outside of production of said movie. With feature films you often won’t make any back-end money for a year or more after principal photography, but my music video work provides me a stable income during that waiting period. I built both these sides of my production company Loste Films from scratch over several years before I was able to make a full-time living from it.
Before getting into features I knew I needed to build an audience. I’ve always had a natural talent for marketing and was confident that I could get achieve that goal with short films. The very first time I was able to secure financing for one was back in 2016. With $5k, I was able to make my horror short “Turn Around”. Instead of being paid to direct the film, I put 100% of the budget into the production so we could make the best film possible. I was banking on this sacrifice paying off in the long run, as many directors do early on in their careers. “Turn Around” was indeed quite successful in film festivals and slowly began gaining a solid fanbase online. Experimenting with marketing strategies in this stage was a critical moment of growth for the Loste Films brand and I took note of where to improve on my next film. The following year, I took it upon myself to finance “Where Are We?” so that I could both direct and star in something. We had a smaller budget but more experience this time around. Plus we had a small online following eager for more content. Going from Horror one year to a Stoner Comedy the next really started to perpetuate the idea that “you never know what Loste Films is going to put out next” and helped us build mystique around the brand. And finally, with my 2020 film Sick, I learned through experience how to produce and profit from ownership in a film for the first time. That skill has continued to open new doors for me ever since.
At the same time I was making a name for myself with my own films, I was hustling to make ends meet with other types of video work. I tried various crew positions on other people’s films, commercials, corporate videos, live streaming, and music videos. I quickly realized that music videos were my favorite gigs and decided to make it my niche in late 2017. A flexible graphic design day job supported me until I was established enough to make more money directing music videos, which took about 3 years. The rest is history and I still direct music videos as a day job to this very day.
I am still learning all the time, but I’m proud to say I have a foundation that supports me in my current lifestyle. The advice I have to anyone looking to do the same is to use your time wisely. We all have the same 24 hours in a day and I will always be creating or working on a new skill, which keeps me sharp for when the opportunities arise. I’ve also personally found it helpful to not have a plan B. When you have an escape hatch it can be tempting to take it when things get rough. The truth is this industry will never be stable and you have to be okay with that while still putting in 110% every day. I knew this is what I wanted to do and wouldn’t accept anything else, so I just made it happen. Manifestation is real and anyone can do 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?
Loste Films is primarily a studio that produces original feature films and shorts, so we attract a very particular type of client in the music video world. To put it bluntly, 99% of the music videos that get made in Colorado are generic and don’t have any vision behind them from either the artists or the videographer. But the artists who truly do have vision will often come to Loste Films because they don’t want a generic video. We work closely with our clients to portray the themes they want to come across in a meaningful and artistic fashion. The key difference is that I’m a feature film director who also does music videos, rather than a videographer. I treat each music video like it’s own film and I take pride in making an exceptional end product every time. We do sometimes get clients who want the more generic music videos and we’re happy to work with anyone who inquires. But our body of work proves that storytelling is where we shine most, and is where our clients will see the most value.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Film is a collaborative art form with a lot of moving pieces. Different people may be involved at different levels and for different reasons, but ultimately this is a dream we all share. Being able to help others follow achieve their dreams while also achieving your own in the process is crazy to me. I think the that role we play in facilitating a path for people to do what they love is the most rewarding part to me.
Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)
My knowledge of NFT’s is limited. However, I do think there is a lot of potential for creatives to monetize their work in new ways with NFTs. I’ve heard of movies being crowdfunded with NFTs, access to events requiring NTFs and many other interesting ideas regarding NFTs. I plan to get into the NFT space within the next year.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lostefilms.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lukeostermiller/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lostefilms
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lostermiller/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/lukeostermiller
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaDVm56zG7XlGla-d7tWafQ
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6857620/?ref_=hm_rvi_nm_i_2
Image Credits
Cameron Padilla