Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Joseph Hall.
Hi Justin Joseph, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I started in 6th grade in my friend’s backyard shooting a war movie in the style of Saving Private Ryan. It was the first time someone invited me to make a movie just for making a movie. I loved it and I knew I probably would do it someday, but this kicked it off for me and gave me permission to be a part of the process and think in movie terms by myself.
I never quite understood why my movies didn’t look professional until I took a course at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, my alma mater. Once I saw what it looked like when I moved a camera on a dolly, I had what I needed. I then added lighting to something I’d never seen before, I could tell when there was sound lacking. This was all due to my two professors Martin Gwinup and Gary Ludwitzke.
I then couldn’t bare that movies didn’t have the vibrance of Hollywood films, so I taught myself how to color through lots of practice with photos (and eventually videos and a bit of reading).
I then just kept applying until I got paid for any video work and made it my career. I got paid little sometimes having jobs barely related to telling stories, but always building on my knowledge in media. I eventually did an internship at Market Road Films for a feature and got hired by to Assist on a project that was heading to Sundance to fill in for my good friend Stephanie Gould. A couple of years after that I was in the career path I’d wanted, a long-term gig on a feature-length project for HBO, building on those foundations ever since.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When you exit college with $20,000 in debt and chose a career in the arts, financially the beginnings and even now can be a struggle. Especially since I produce all my movies I’ve directed with my own money. I do not come from money and I’ve never had a supply of it. I’ve never received a grant for my movies, nor had anyone support my projects significantly before I started shooting them. To not only make a living but also support your own artistry all alone is a struggle. I can say I’m not sure I know anyone else who has done it the way that I’ve chosen to this far into my career.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My business I started back in 2014 with a friend over at the Alligator Lounge in Williamsburg in Brooklyn. I was introduced by my friend Isabel Restrepo who set us up. We began creating together right away. We are now bi-coastal with our Producer Ricky Rosario out in Los Angeles, as well as our partnership with Mr. David Ruano & Los Ruanos Gallery. Also our esteemed Director of Photography Gary Jaquez is out West.
Fourwind was started to make our own projects and to make money. It’s a moviemaker’s dream. We create multilingual beautiful content for money, creative drive, or more and more often, both. I’ve always steered the ship to work with the least represented demographics from the U.S. population in Hollywood, which in my time working has been people of color, the Latinx community, and women. So we try to hire and create content employing freelancers from those communities as much as we can.
But what really sets us apart is our commitment to quality in video and audio. We don’t take shortcuts and have been working 4K well before it was required not charging extra. We’re adapting the new color standards rapidly in the ever-changing industry and don’t let technical complications slow us from having top-notch products.
In addition to that, I personally speak five languages adequately to communicate. We encourage working with multilinguists and our short, Abuela’s Luck (written and directed by Ricky Rosario), that was picked up by HBO was in Spanglish and my first feature Frames of Reference is in at least 6 languages as well. We love different perspectives on ideas and crave that kind of diversity in our creative process and in our subjects.
We’ve also recently split the Post-Production side of our company to a sister company called Quatre-Vents and moved the location to Hibbing, MN where our clients can get up to 70% back via tax incentives if they hire us through that branch. But basically, if you need something for video we can get it done professionally with prices that compete as our overhead is lower as we’re a small modern group of freelancers with a wide net of crew in Production and Post-Production.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
The folks that have always supported other than my family are my collaborators, who my most frequent and trusted are on my website and believe in myself and the visions I have not just for the company but myself as a creative: Elizabeth Chatelain (Quatre-Vents), Piper Werle, Ricky Rosario, Gary Jaquez, & Mr. David Ruano. They support me and we are community through our work. We have the same vision of progress and a more connected world uniting through stories that give a fresh perspective of some kind.
I also have to shout out to my good friend Isabel Restrepo who’s been in a few of my short movies connected me with Ricky Rosario and my former co-owner. Fourwind would not be Fourwind without her. And last and always, the bedrock of anything I do with my life is my family, parents, brother(s), & significant other (see, I can rhyme).
Pricing:
- Ask us how to get back up to 70% of your post costs!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fourwindfilms.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fourwindfilms/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fourwindfilms
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fourwind-films/?viewAsMember=true
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/fourwindfilms
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_0_KcS-dyAqWwGMhIrSCYg
- Other: https://www.quatre-ventspost.com/
Image Credits
Daria Huxley Justin Joseph Hall Gary Jaquez
