Today we’d like to introduce you to Alton Glass.
Alton, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’m a creative entrepreneur with a background in the commercial janitorial business. This is where I transitioned into working in the camera department after cleaning sets for Dreamworks I was moonlighting as a camera intern on a film called Biker Boyz. I was going to school in the day time training in camera and joined the Local 600. I was able to keep my janitorial business and work as a camera assistant until I eventually saved up and took out a business loan to invest in production equipment and kickstart my first production company in 2005. Through great mentorship and working under other seasoned directors I eventually started raising funds to do my own films. My first feature film was called The Candy Shop which was a labor of love and taught me a tremendous amount.
Through persistence and focus I was able to navigate through the normal ups and downs of the entertainment business and once I was able to grasp this as a business it put things in perspective as a creator/ artist and made me think like a business. After running my company for the past 14 years I ended up producing and directing several feature films and transitioned in Virtual Reality in 2016 and restructured the business as Creators Labs dedicated to the advancement of knowledge in immersive storytelling. Now I run GRX Immersive labs working at the intersection of entertainment, education and technology and I’m supported by a wonderful and diverse team of alchemists.
Great, 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?
My biggest struggle was balancing my creativity as a “starving artist” with business. It took me a while to realize I didn’t have to eat top ramen and sleep on air mattresses to full fill my dreams in LA. So thats when I diversified and also started to trust my peers. I had to learn even if I didn’t start a business I still needed to think like one.
GRX Immersive Labs – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We create culturally responsive immersive experiences and interactive workshops. At the core we are storytellers and educators using VR as a pathway to understanding how we can leverage emerging technologies with storytelling to create new realities for ourselves and our communities. We are world-builders working to reshape false narratives and empower individuals to take control of their “story” because the most important story you tell is the one you tell yourself.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Winning my first technology award from Accenture at the Black Enterprise annual Tech ConneXt Summit.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.GRXImmersive.com
- Phone: 8186001061
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @altonglassvr , @grximmersivelabs
- Facebook: grximmersivelabs
- Twitter: grximmersivelab
Image Credit:
Headshot/ @eltonanderson
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