We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Miguel Angel Ferrer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Miguel Angel below.

Hi Miguel Angel, thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

My entire career has been built upon calculated risks. I took a risk coming out to LA by myself, not knowing anyone, or having a job, or having a place to stay. But I found my way and landed my first job as a Cameraman for National Geographic. (There’s a funny story about how I got that job, which also involved some risk).

But the biggest risk lately was financing my own feature film. I wrote and planned this entire production in Venezuela, where I had never shot a film before, in a city that’s four hours away from the capital, where every day there’s a 4-5 hour power outage.

I had 3 financiers lined up, even had the entire rehearsal process at one of their offices for two weeks. But the money had not been transferred over. I was going on a “promise”. About a week into production I realized that these investors were not going to give me the financing. So in the middle of writing, directing, producing, even camera operating my first true feature, I had to make a decision: Stop the production and wait for the money to come in, or finance it myself. I ran the numbers, and after thinking about it for a couple of minutes I remembered the words of Warren Buffet “The best investment you can make is in yourself.” And so I did.

A lot of people say “never invest in your own movie.” And I would alter that statement. I would say “Never invest in your movie if you don’t know how to make it profitable and if you’re not confident you can tell a good story” I’ve been fortunate to have learned not only the craft of filmmaking, but also how to sell it in the current marketplace. I had to both be creative, execute the art, and also keep myself fiscally responsible. All while having 15-16 hours days in the extreme heat of South America. So yeah, it was a risk.

But what got me through it all is that I believed in myself. I’ve been in this industry for 15 years and, on the feature film side, no one in a position of power had given me the opportunity to do what I know I can do. So, instead of waiting for someone to give me the chance, I gave it to myself. And now, we have a beautiful film titled The Shadow of the Sun that is currently making the festival rounds and something I, and the rest of the team are extremely proud of.

MIguel Angel, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a Venezuelan-American business owner. I own and operate Magic Films, a commercial, branded and narrative production and post-production company, as well as Multi-Studios, a narrative driven production studio with my partner Maylen Calienes.

At Magic Films we focus on commercial brands and provide them with high quality audio-visual products that can be exploited across al platforms. We have a foot in the Latin market as well as the domestic market, so it allows us to have a unique perspective in bringing the clients products to their desired consumer base.

We base our operations in Los Angeles, but have offices in Miami, Mexico City and Caracas, Venezuela, allowing us to cater to dozens of clients, from Fortune 500 companies to regional and local brands that want to make a lasting impact. Our post-production arm has been one of our strengths throughout the years, giving us the flexibility to achieve client needs.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I think the 2020 pandemic forced a lot of people and companies to pivot. For us, we had the good fortune of having the team and skills to focus on our post-production work while there was a four month shut down in the industry. We catered to clients from all over the world and delivered their digital products throughout 2020 while they got their productions up and running with the new Covid protocols.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

We are definitely focused on story. We know the power a good story has and whether that is a 30 second commercial, a 3 minute branded piece or a feature film, we treat each and every single one of those pieces as a potentially life changing journey, not for us, but for the viewer.

This is the core of what we do at Magic Films and Multi Studios, and every single one of our employees carries that vision with us.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.magicfilms.us
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/magicfilmsus/

Image Credits
Antonio Figueredo and Maria Luisa Martinez