We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Srvent (Spencer Richard) a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Srvent, 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?
Before I made a living as a filmmaker (www.srventfreelance.com) I didn’t even know it was possible. I was pursuing my creative passions as an aspiring author and self-produced rap artist while working a joe-job on the side. I started taking my music as Srvent seriously around 2015 (when I turned 25) by setting up a Kickstarter that ultimately funded me getting my first production software, Ableton Live. I was a prolific song writer and musician prior to that but I couldn’t afford professional production, mixing or mastering, or any of that. I had just started my family and knew that the only way I could make an impact with my art would be independently. So that’s what I did. I learned how to produce via YouTube tutorials, some occasional mentorship, and many hours of trial and error. And over time, my musical engineering skills increased as well.
Alongside my efforts as an independent musical artist, I started to direct my own music videos. Again, this was born out of frugality. I wasn’t afraid of cameras and so used every opportunity I could for learning. Anytime I convinced a friend who had even minor film knowledge to collaborate with me, I paid attention, asked questions, and developed my film instincts.
One day in the summer of 2019 I was approached by a local realtor while out filming something. He was familiar with my music videos as Srvent and asked if I did it professionally. I told him “not yet” but that I would learn how. The realtor hired me for a few house videos and it allowed me to invest in a little better equipment, which got me started.
Gradually, the work I did for him started to get noticed and I was contacted by a few more business owners and the like. I branched out on the side for business advertisements and whatnot. In November of 2019 I was let go from my joe-job and found myself in a precarious financial position. I had two kids, a third on the way, and not many jobs available in my community (Edson, AB) that I was qualified for. I had no choice but to dig deeper and try to make more money doing film work while throwing out resumes. At this point it did not occur to me that I could make a living doing film work. It was a side hustle, is all.
I got a part-time job driving bus in December and between that and my freelance work doing video stuff (and occasional audio/producing work), I was able to make enough to get by for the next few months. In March of 2020, one of my video clients began to get frustrated that I couldn’t devote more time to their business. I was live-streaming and creating advertisements for them but couldn’t just ditch the steady bus work. The regularity of my bus job was at least somewhat grounding. Nevertheless, this client of mine offered to pay more money to cover what I was making as a bus driver on the condition that I devote more time to them. It was a crossroads. Only in this moment, when it was literally presented as an option, did I realize that I could make a living doing film work. I took her offer and quit my driving job. One week later, COVID restrictions slammed everyone and I discovered that if I had stayed driving bus, I would have been let go, since busses were suddenly no longer allowed to operate.
If I knew then what I knew now, I would have focused harder on developing my film and music skills earlier, started my business and invested in film gear sooner, and generally treated these creative skills more akin to trade work. It was never an option to me psychologically because growing up in Alberta, I was surrounded by blue-collar types who lauded trade work and decried creative work as an impossibility. As creative as I was, and devoted as I was to making art, it never entered my brain that I could leverage the skills I developed my whole life as an artist into making a living until I was literally doing 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?
The previous question helps illuminate my origin so I’ll focus on my services and what I do.
I consider my professional designation to be filmmaker. This is because when I am hired, it is most often because of my ability to see a project through from conception to execution. From idea generation to filming and editing, the generation of the entire digital product, I operate as a full-contact creative. I am often contacted to work on projects involving the human element, or work that wants to tell a story. Things like flagship introduction videos for businesses, mini-documentaries, creative advertisements, music videos, and the like. Because of my experience as a musical artist and published author, and I can even add now (with blushing excitement) as an award-winning filmmaker (my shortfilm “Very Common” won 2 awards in a recent California film festival), my clientele seeks me out to help them tell the stories that they find meaningful too.
The thing I am most proud of has been the fact that I get to do meaningful work that actually makes a difference in someone’s life. Seeing how some of these videos impacts my clients and their audiences has been crazy. The fact that I don’t have to compromise my own artistic sensibility or take on work that I find myself psychologically at odds with is a huge blessing. I have enough work being thrown at me that I can be choosy. In this way, when I work with someone it feels much more like a collaboration and less like a job.
This isn’t to say that everything I do is all artsy-fartsy. Especially in the earlier days of my business, I solved equipment problems and learned about live-streaming, and various other technical issues my clients had in order to set them up for success. It’s just that when I look at a video, my primary interest is in narrative–the point of the video. The technical skills to do with lighting, lens choice, etc, have come with experience but I’ve learnt them in order to serve the video, not the other way around.
A typical experience between me and a client starts with a conversation about what they are trying to accomplish. I often give my input and let them know how I would tackle the concept. Then if we’re sounding sympatico, I work with my staff to do up a proposal and if everything looks good, we get to work. My administrative assistant, Kayla Johnson, organizes the contract, scheduling, and invoicing, and I focus on the interviewing, filming, and editing. Sometimes I bring in my assistant video editor, Niki Lyumes, to help organize interview footage or do B-camera operation.
Another area that separates me as a filmmaker is my experience as a musical artist. Areas of my films that tend to stand out are the music sensibility and pacing. As an independent musical artist I regularly lean into my musical knowledge to support my film work. I also have experience running a podcast focused on creative guests (www.srvent.com/podcast), and combining that with a high frequency of interviews for documentary style videos, work that demonstrates the human element has gradually become my strong suit.
My big philosophy as a filmmaker is that I want the video to serve its purpose and draw the viewer in to an engaging, meaningful, or entertaining experience. I don’t want to distract them or waste their time.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
About a year ago I realized that I was spending an inordinate amount of time doing contracts, proposals, invoicing, and general scheduling communication with my clients. The bulk of my work should be filming and editing, after all. I couldn’t think of a solution. One week I spent almost 4 days doing correspondence and only one day editing. It had to change.
As a freelancing creative, I didn’t think it was a good idea to bring along a regular staff. What if I get slower? Would I have to pay them an hourly wage to do nothing just to keep them occupied? Would I have to count their hours and babysit them, adding more work for me? The idea I came to was to hire an admin staff as a contractor but instead of having them paid on a different schedule, I essentially pay them when I get paid. I pay a biweekly stipend that is minor (I pay myself biweekly too), just covering general communication on their part such as emails and assistance with proposals that might not turn into jobs. Something I can afford. But then for all the work we get, she gets 10% of my labour charge. So the bigger the job, the more she makes, but also, the more work she will be doing. It incentivizes her to get her work done efficiently. Then when the client pays me, she receives her cut. When she was hired, I increased my day rate to cover her portion too, so effectively, my clients are paying for her, which I discovered, is how business works. The clients are getting a more efficient, well-oiled machine; high responsiveness and all that. Plus my bases are covered too, allowing me to get through more work in less time because I am not spending time on the support for my work, but my actual work (filming, editing, etc).
This concept has been a total game changer. I interviewed and hired the perfect person (Kayla Johnson) who can work remotely, although she is local too if I expand more in the future.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I am trying to make meaningful art that is worthwhile. Both personally as a rap artist (Srvent), and through my business. I am not trying to trick people into buying things, I am not trying to manipulate them for nefarious ends. I am trying to give an experience that enriches their lives. If the video I am making is also trying to encourage sales for a business, my approach is to help cause that by giving something authentic. Fundamentally, people like people. People want to connect with people and that is only possible if it is authentic. They don’t want to connect with fake, scripted things because they can’t. So my approach is to facilitate connection, in a way.
My biggest creative drive is to tell stories or give experiences that help inspire others to be the best they can be. In my own life, I have had experience of so many stories that have changed my life for the better, impacted me deeply, and caused all manner of growth. I know I am an artist and that to be sane, I have to produce work I am proud of. I’m grateful that I get to do this in collaboration with my clients and also that my skillset continues to develop, which gives me more freedom for my own projects as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.srventfreelance.com and www.srvent.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/srvent_kingdom
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/srvent
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/spencerrichard
Image Credits
My headshot picture is: Lockyer Mercer (Lockyer Mercer Photography) The photo where I am showing the camera image to the bride-to-be (I have a red patterned short sleeved button up shirt) is: Alyssa Michelle (Alyssa Michelle Photography) All other photos are: Bradley Wari (Three Tree Photography)