We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nick Cavalier a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Nick, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think it takes to be successful?
Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work. I believe in my industry, consistency and work ethic is the most important part of being persistent enough to survive the gig economy. You can have all the talent in the world but you have to apply it constantly to not only stay sharp, but grow. That way of thinking has always pushed me through creative roadblocks, by just showing up you seem to be rewarded by the muse.
Nick, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I got into filmmaking in college, by sheer passion of making something interesting. My buddy DJ and I would work on music videos for friends bands outside of our college curriculum and I slowly started to build a portfolio, and confidence in the technical side of storytelling.
From there, I graduated, and worked in Advertising for a few years, and learned a lot about how to work with clients and create branded films that had substance to them. I decided to quit that job and jump full time into directing. I worked in Chicago as a freelancer for years until I created my first film, Forced Perspective. I then Moved to Los Angeles to pursue my passion in making films.
Since then, I’ve balanced my commercial work with my passion projects inching my way closer to larger goals. In pursuing my own path to excellence, I’ve met other excellent people, and have been lucky enough to develop a style and voice through those explorations and collaborations. I believe in timeless story telling, and I like to create films that immerse you in the world of a subject, by following real people like characters in a play. I try to chase down subjects I find interesting and have worked across industries including the culinary world, music, architecture, design, mental health, clothing and more.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
Not a specific one other than to tell the stories I want to see. Things I find interesting and wish were out there for me to watch myself, as a fan of films. If I can watch my own work and be engaged, I believe I have done my job.
Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.
In a weird way yes, It did. I went to art school for painting and drawing on a scholarship. I realized along the way I wasn’t Picasso, so I decided to chase down the idea of merging my love of music and film together into something new.
Along the way I discovered documentary film, and that really grabbed my interest. Alongside working on commercial jobs, and branded content I developed a body of my own work on the side that has helped me on the branded content side as well. In my mind one hand washes the other, and I try to flex both muscles as often as I can.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.nickcavalier.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/nickcavalier
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nickcavalierdirector
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/nickcavalier
- Twitter: twitter.com/nickcavalier
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP2_-9sKMaQmYjFOa9-83yg
Image Credits
Photo By: Evelyn Stommel