Today we’d like to introduce you to Colton Duncan and Jessa Ripley.
Colton and Jessa, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
The company actually started as a commercial video production house, back in 2015. We primarily focused on commercial work for local businesses and music videos for local artists who were trying to make a name for themselves.
About a year or so in, a dear friend of ours asked us if we’d want to film his good friend’s wedding; we emphatically said “No.” We had heard horror stories about filming weddings (just stupid stuff you read about on the internet) and thought that it just wasn’t in the cards for our company, nor sparking any interest. After some convincing, we reluctantly said yes, provided that we were not obligated to produce a quality product (as we’d never filmed a wedding before).
Without going into too much detail, that wedding was one of the most fun experiences we’d ever had, being behind a camera. It was so much fun. The couple was amazing; the family was adorable; their friends were so kine; it was just overall a really nice experience, and the wedding film turned out pretty cute too.
Immediately following that event, we restructured the company, completely, to pursue the wedding event industry. We took everything we knew about narrative film-making and adapted it to fit our needs and appeal to our clients; ultimately setting us apart in a unique way. As a company, we haven’t looked back. Our clientele is now 90%-95% Wedding Film Production and a small continued amount of commercial work only by referral.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I would never say anything in life is smooth, otherwise, there’s no growth to be had. While parts of Fox Jump Cinematics have been smooth, others have certainly presented challenges.
One of our biggest challenges in the beginning was getting our name out there (or brand recognition). We work in a pretty saturated market and proving yourself as a company that can offer what other companies can’t, I think, is always a struggle. Luckily, we’ve been able to embrace what each of our team members can uniquely bring to the table and craft a product that stands out amongst our peers.
Another challenge, I think, could be attributed to the fact that Jessa and I are a “couple team”. And being a “couple team” presents its own set of challenges. We have to constantly remind ourselves to keep business life and personal life separate and be able to cohesively work together if a disagreement arises. However, with that being said, I believe overall working together has made us a much stronger couple; a more loving couple; and a couple that knows how to achieve any goal they set forth. We’ve learned some of each other’s nuances and how to use those to our advantages rather than our disadvantage.
I think maybe our biggest struggle right now is COVID-19 and everything that’s associated with California’s Shelter-in-place order. Luckily, most of our affected clientele have rescheduled rather than canceled their weddings and that is certainly helping. Our biggest struggle with all this, aside from the temporary loss of income, is the fact that these couples that we’re building a relationship have to put their dreams on hold, and it’s truly heartbreaking.
However, again, every struggle has its silver lining. Most of our couples now have more time to make their dream wedding that much “dreamier” and they’re/we’re realizing what’s truly important in life and learning to embrace the small stuff. And really, to us, that’s what struggles are all about, how you learn from them and become a better person or company as a result.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Fox Jump Cinematics – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We are a Wedding Film Production company specializing in blending cinematic and journalistic filming techniques to achieve a story-driven retelling of our client’s wedding day.
We take pride in being able to truly immerse ourselves with our client’s needs and effectively produce a quality narrative film that lets the couple relive the moments again and again. Also, while letting anyone watching for the first time experience the day as if they attended themselves.
Truly I think that what sets us apart is our willingness to accept that what makes us unique is to just do what we love to do. We don’t ever go into a job thinking, “how are we going to make this, unlike anything anyone has ever seen before?” No, we go into each job being our best selves we know how to be and know that we’re going to produce a quality product by just being us.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Expanding our team is within the most immediate future.
Also, we’re currently working with a company called Project XO on a fun little experiment with our couples, post-wedding. I can’t really talk about it yet but it has to do with first-year anniversary dates.
Also, working on a podcast.
Contact Info:
- Website: foxjump.org
- Phone: 805-540-0297
- Email: clients@foxjump.org
- Instagram: instagram.com/foxjumpcinematics
- Facebook: facebook.com/foxjumpcinematics
Image Credit:
Alexander Bissell
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