Today we’d like to introduce you to Wesley Claggett.
Wesley, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born and raised in a small town outside of Dayton, Ohio. I was working at a recording studio when an actress from LA came through on tour. We hit it off and she ended up staying with my family and I While we started a band. The day I went to get her dog from the singer she was on tour with, her husband was brutally murdered around 30 min after I left the house. Super crazy. Had I been running late, I would be dead also. A few years later, we all moved to Lancaster, CA. We toured for a few years until I found the movie business. Left the band and never looked back.
Since sound and music go together, it was an obvious choice to be a sound mixer. My sound career blew up. I was working 28 days a month and pissing off every sound person in Los Angeles. At one point. I was the most searched name in the sound would. After saving up money from sound jobs, I bought a RED EPIC, camera and all the equipment to start a production company. Called KOED FILMS.
I love to help out small low to no budget productions because just like sound recordings of bands, if your recording quality is crap, you will never be discovered. People won’t listen to it and people want to watch your videos if the quality isn’t great.
I have worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood including Anthony Hopkins. Everyday I wake up, I’m thankful for yet another day to go out and help someone tell their story or tell mine.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, it wasn’t a smooth road. In 2003 when I moved to Seattle, WA I was 22. Because I assembled an older mature band, I was still treated like a kid amongst them. The singer had two insane crazy cousins we stayed with. One had demons from the drugs he took he would wake up in a screaming frenzy at night. Needless to say, that wasn’t where I wanted to stay. So I went to stay with the other one. HA!! This guy was a hard-core drug dealer that owned three wolves. When I walked into the place, I almost threw up. This guy didn’t know the meaning of cleaning. When I say his sink was full, the water was so black that it stained anything that touched it. Again I have standards and couldn’t stay there so it was better for me to live in my car while we tried to make it happen until my final house I resided in was a lovely Filipino home. Everything seemed so perfect. But with all things, there was something dark lingering around. There was a white man with a truck that I thought was dating the woman of the house. The more and more I got to know him the more evil that man became. I literally one day stumbled across a book in his truck labeled “Hoe to persuade the Asian mind”. Hmm, well that took a turn for the worst immediately. He had always talked about his excite and his son that went missing. And how much he loved his land up in the mountains. I started to put 2 and 2 together and realized he killed his wife and son. Well. Looks like I’m on the road again. I have way too many stories to add to this. But yes, it was a hard road.
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?
I started KOED FILMS so I could get to there with my friends and make our own TV shows, movies, commercials, etc.
In 2019, we moved into a warehouse in Van Nuys. Spent about $30k on construction to build out the perfect Facility. When you walk in, there is an amazing private hair salon and makeup studio. Then We have a state of the art Vocal booth for tracking vocals, recording instruments, Voice over work, ADR. I have been to many studios and they average around 30-32dB of sound when quiet. Ours is constantly at 27dB that’s so quiet you can hear your ears ringing. Occasional, I’ll just go in there to give my ears a rest for like 15 min. In the back, we have a 12’ Professional Cyc Walls for photoshoots, interviews, product commercials, music videos, etc. I edit and color in my office there. We are always looking to help the underdogs as I have said before.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Because I like to help people out, it’s more about how I can collaborate with them and help support them. In exchange, we both rise to the top.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/koedfilms/?hl=en
