We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ty Hunt a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ty, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

The whole reason I got into filmmaking was to tell stories. Growing up watching movies like Star Wars, Aliens, Mission Impossible and Lord of the Rings (just to name a few), I loved being immersed in these worlds. My family would sit for literal hours after the movie ended just talking about what made it awesome for us and how we each related to it in some way. The one thing that I didn’t see was a lot people who looked like me in them. And I didn’t understand why. I loved these movies. My family loved these movies. But people that looked like us was very few. So, that’s one of the reasons I started my own production company. I wanted to tell stories in this sci-fi and fantasy realm. And the timing couldn’t be more perfect. You can start to see that a bit more now thankfully with some of these more recent projects.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started out from ground zero. I knew very few people in the film industry, so I went to film school. Graduated as the Valedictorian of my class and then hit the ground running in the commercial market in Orlando. I worked my way up from a PA, to 2AD, to 2nd Unit Director on a pretty big brand name spot. During that time, I was also working on my own company. I started out with a few clients and learned the business side of managing clients and creating content that provided some tangible result for my clients. Once I did everything I wanted to do in Orlando and it was time for me to move forward, I decided to migrate everything up to Atlanta. My goal was simple: tell bigger and better stories. I still wanted to create content that enabled me to fulfill my mission and also gave me the creative freedom to explore my voice as a filmmaker. Coming to Atlanta has proven to be a good move. The company has grown considerably and I’ve won several awards for the content I’ve created.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I needed to learn how to do cold outreach, building marketing campaigns, and nurturing a community earlier in my career. I’d be MUCH further along now. I realized very quickly that until you target your content to a specific person, and really hone in on the pain they’re experiencing, most people will just move on from your content. I mean, it’s understandable considering the sheer amount of content out there. But, it took WAY too long for me to realize that and shift. It’s not enough to just create pretty images and tell interesting stories. Until you connect with whatever your intended audience is going through, it just won’t matter to them.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I think the entire journey I’ve been on has been about pivoting. From each part of the journey to now, If I had stayed in the same spot the whole time, I’d stop growing. My great-grandmother always used to say, “don’t let the grass grow under your feet.” And that really stuck with me. I’ve always tried to keep moving forward, even when making the choice to do so was hard or seemingly impossible. Somehow, though, it always worked out, even when it got scary. I’ll say this though: you know when it’s time to pivot. When whatever you’ve been doing is now a chore or doesn’t give you any sense of peace, that’s a signal that it’s time to make a change. I’ve experienced that push at the end of every period of growth. And I had to make a choice: listen to it or stay on the hamster wheel. I am proud of myself for always listening to it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lighthawk.studio
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/thatdirectorty
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/thatdirectorty
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/thatdirectorty

Image Credits
n/a. I own the copyright to all of these images.