Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon James.
Brandon, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
It all started in college, 2011. I went to the University of California, Santa Barbara, in which I studied communications. Believe it or not, my first real video project was ACTUALLY FILMED on a MacBook’s webcam. A friend and I created a parody video to the well-known song “Cat Daddy” and made a song called “Liii-brary” to express how much we didn’t want to study. We ran around the library with my computer’s webcam faced outward as I looked down to make sure everything was composed correctly (although I knew nothing about video composition at the time). Soon after “Create 2 Relate”, my companies original name in college was born.
Shortly after I bought a Canon T3i, nifty-fifty (Canon 50mm 1.8 lens), and a GlideCam 4000HD, all with a couple of hundred dollars I managed to budget outside of my financial aid money I received every quarter. I didn’t know much I just knew that it came natural to capture memories and showcase them in a unique way. I simply enjoyed collecting pieces of the past, combining them together, and sharing on social media so everyone could remember the moment forever. So my Senior year I went all in, created over 75+ video projects, all for free (sometimes for gift cards) in the first two quarters (2o weeks in total). Videos ranged from passion projects to campus event recaps for student programming at UC Santa Barbara. Then I got a call.
The Counseling & Psychological Services department wanted ME to do a whole campus-wide video campaign about depression on our campus. I was nervous, didn’t know how to charge, and had no clue of what was a W-9 or sole-proprietor. But I figured it out (which has been the lesson of my life). That break out opportunity blessed me with the opportunity to do many other video projects for the campus for departments including the Vice Chancellor’s Office, Campus Police, Alcohol & Drug Program, Housing & Residential Services, and more! At the time, I was on a cloud of ambition and motivation because I was running a growing video production business, serving as a contractor for the University of California, Santa Barbara. Getting paid well! It was a blessing. So I graduated with a BA in Communications in 2012, had a one-year stint as an Assistant Resident Director on the campus. Then, I took a chance.
In 2013, I contacted the UC Santa Barbara’s Division of Student Affairs had a meeting about proposing a new position on campus, the Video Communications Coordinator. The position was created and I was hired within 3-weeks. It started out as a vision, but then came to physical form (another lesson of my life). I now had great medical benefits, a great salary, and was officially doing video production full-time. While still doing my company part-time for various small businesses and non-profits.
I remained in this Video Communications Coordinator role for three years. During this time I created a self-sustaining Student Affairs Media Internship Program (SAMI) on campus where I hired 27-interns to create video, photo, and graphic design for all departments within the Division of Student Affairs on campus. We produced content that made the news and impacted the community in ways that were not happening before we existed. I achieved a lot in that position and I was very grateful for it. Learned how to navigate video production in a professional setting and how to work with others to achieve a creative goal. Then I had a thought. Was this something that I wanted to do for the rest of my life? It wasn’t.
I wanted to grow my own roots with my company, C2R Productions, and move back home to Los Angeles. In 2016, I gave my letter of notice. I took the leap and it was by far the most thrilling, intense, and frightening moment of my life. I moved in with my girlfriend, who is my fiancé and soon to be wife (September 6th, 2019) and it was head to the floor, go get the clients. I have grown with steady incremental success by doing great work while providing my client with the upmost customer service. That is my recipe of success. I am currently directing, producing, and expanding on a scale that I would of never imagined. Leaving my 9-5, that I created for myself, was a blessing to say the least. It was a challenge, but a decision that I will thank my past self forever.
From working with friends and student organizations and now working with clients (via direct client relationship and in partner with various agency/communication firms) like the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, Louis Vuitton, Los Angeles World Airports, AT&T, Chevron, American Cancer Society, NBC Universal, University of Southern California, University of California Los Angeles, and many more. The history of growth has turned into a future of expansion. C2R Productions LLC is growing and I am excited for it all!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The biggest struggle is the success. No one ever tells you this. I went from worrying about how I was going to make my bottomline every month, to how can I fit everything into my calendar to do the work. Success becomes a heightened stress because it is something to lose. Your back isn’t against the wall anymore but limitations on time can have a gravitational pull. For me, I had to become very keen on understanding that success is not a land of paradise and grind-free festivities. It is literally grind, grind, grind, breathe and celebrate, grind, grind, grind.
I have had many milestones in the success of my video production company, and most of them had serious challenge that overshadowed each victory. Some were efficiency issues (how to properly keep projects moving along), financial issues (how to keep purchasing equipment but also pay the bills), mental set-backs (burn-out, stress, and lack of leadership), and personal (balancing your life as best as possible to show people you are still human). I have and continue overcome these issues by continuing to do the work on my business and myself and pushing through. It isn’t easy. But my biggest advice is one word: Anticipation.
I anticipate the obstacles before they even come. Therefore the emotion in my present obstacle, in that moment, is obsolete. I already have a plan on how to push through and overcome. I perceive obstacles as wall of glass, not brick. They may cut you upon impact but you will continue full speed ahead. Take care of your “wounds” (I call these micro-failures, things that don’t go as planned), patch yourself up and be ready to the next impact.
Please tell us about C2R Productions LLC.
C2R Productions LLC produces corporate videos that captivate audiences, inspire action & drive results for businesses & brands. Content that your audience will love. Content that gives your customers the confidence to take the next step. Telling your brand story, in the most engaging and effective way possible, is what we do.
I am proud to say that through the years we have never compromised our vision to do work that is, at its core, positive. I am willing to be patient for the right client rather than make a lot of money with a client that isn’t worried about positive messaging. This fuels me and my business. That we can make a difference with our skillsets.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I am a strong believer in everything happens for a reason. So I wouldn’t change anything. Both successes and failures combine to create what I have today. Since I love where I am, how could I look back and change anything?
I could say that I wish I would of never went to college because I am not actually using the degree I paid a lot of money for. But then what? I never would of had the exposure and freedom to create my business in a controlled setting like a University. I would of never met my wife-to-be Aisha. I would of never gained the professional skills necessary to defined and evolve business relationships. Everything is intertwined.
A long day in traffic can be frustrating because you took the wrong freeway (especially in Los Angeles) but you also pondered up a way bring in a new business while sitting patiently bumper-to-bumper . The past is all beautiful to me, every ounce of it. The key thing is to observe the past to have those “lesson learned” moments, and not dwell on what you could of changed.
Pricing:
- Exclusive Los Angeles Small Business Video Production (Starting at $850.00)
- Exclusive Los Angeles Wedding Video Production (Starting at $1750.00)
- Corporate Branding/Media Production (Starting at $4500.00)
Contact Info:
- Website: www.c2rproductions.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: create2relate
Image Credit:
Photographer: PorterhouseLA
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