We recently connected with Robert Jackson and have shared our conversation below.

Robert, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I luckily have been about to earn a living with my creative work, however it is not full time. I have been a freelance artist for multiple years now ranging from video editing, graphic design, photography, and multiple other forms of visual media. By working with multiple different clients it has rewarded me the opportunity to create a living for myself while still being able to indulge in different fun projects. My journey has been very fortunate, I got a job working as a photographer for my college at NYU Gallatin around my junior year which introduced me to many different students and faculty at the school. and brought in more opportunities both in that facility and outside. Right before graduation I was introduced to someone of the Tidal video team and started a relationship with them that has been a constant and growing still to this day with a multitude of projects from shooting festival photography to editing some of their live performances and interviews. Although at the start after graduation that was my only consistent gig so living in the expensive land of New York was not easy but through other sporadic opportunities and eventually other continued partnerships financial stability became less of an issue. Plus if you’re never broke in New York you’re not doing it right. There was no particular moments of speeding up or slowing down the process just always trying to be ready for the opportunities at hand.

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 was born and raised in Chicago and both my parents really always pushed me to follow my passions for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid I used to draw a lot and wanted to be an animator and was very into TV Shows and Movies and creating my own stories. I ended up going to a middle school that was partnered with an organization by the name of the Digital Youth Network that focuses on getting youth the tools to be prepared for the technological future to come. Through them I learned video editing, graphic design and many other skills that mixed my creativity and technology. From that point forward it’s always been something I’ve worked in whether it was teacher, helping out on projects of any kind, or creating my own. Video editing has become one of the bigger aspects of my career given its a more niche skillset and its always fun to be able to help make a clients vision come through. But no matter who I’m working with I was taught you should have a sense of pride if your name is on it so I always try to one up myself as well as inject a little bit of my own personality into it.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy I’ve found in my freelance experience for growing clientele is really just making sure you are a positive experience to the people around you. Of course you want your work to be the best it can be thats a given but a lot of work can be collaborative and if you aren’t a pleasant collaborator the calls stop. And in an industry like film, again you do want your work to speak for itself, but a lot of new clients and collaborators come from word of mouth. Most of the jobs I have gotten are because I have been recommended by someone else based on a prior experience. In that me being able to get the job done is important but equally as important is the person who you are working withs experience interacting with you. Not only does that dictate if they will contact you again but it effects if they will spread your name around; If they come by an opportunity that sounds like something you are good for they will be more likely to recommend you for it or connect you to people who may know where to find said opportunities. I think its very important when collaborating to be a person that others will want to work with again and from that more and more chances will come.

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

My goal isn’t concrete but I would like to positively effect as many people as I can with the stories I’m able to be a part of. I’ve seen and experienced how powerful stories of all kind have been to individuals whether it be religious text or short form animation. I think that storytelling in all mediums has the power to really not only bring joy to the world cus thats corny but really like just effect people in ways that we generally don’t think about on a day to day basis. Some revolutionize the way individuals can see the world while others can simply bring a smile to a kids face after a sh*tty day of school. So I guess like my mission would be to use my skillset in any form I can to spread these different experiences to as many people as I can and if those experiences hold weight to them hopefully they can spread that to those around them and hopefully overall its a positive impact

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/l0sr13/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/r-jalen-jackson-66622b68/

Image Credits
Levi Barrie (Photo’s of me on set with the Red shirt) Saanya Ali (Photo of me taking photos)