Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Loftin.
Brandon, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My senior year in high school, I took a film study class. I went in thinking we’d just watch movies all day, and we did, but it also forever changed the way I look at film. I became obsessed with the entire filmmaking process from creative inception to production to post.
I got my first camera the following year and I initially struggled with inspiration. It collected dust for the first few months until I realized how many amazing and creative people were all around me. I had friends, hand-making clothes, doing tattoos, making music, producing events, etc.
With this realization came my inspiration: I wanted to tell the stories of these people and their craft. I finally pulled my camera out and started figuring out how to tell these stories with my distinct vision.
I went to Towson University which is about 10-15 minutes from the heart of Baltimore, MD, another place with so much character. With so much content on and around campus, it was here the idea for Lowkey Media was born.
I spent hours in the library editing and learned everything I could about my camera & filmmaking. From there on out I was shooting/editing for Campus Org’s and creatives around my school, and throwing events.
I graduated from Towson in 2018 with a degree in Advertising/Public Relations & a minor in Film. I moved to LA after securing a job with Global Advertising agency TBWA/Chiat/Day.
It’s been amazing to see the similarities of Lowkey Media and what I’ve been doing since I was 18 overlap with my professional job. But it’s also been super tough to move my operation across the country and balance a full-time job.
My good friend & fellow director Juwaun Hatton is keeping the engine running on the East coast while I continue to build the foundation for Lowkey out here.
Today, Lowkey Media continues to help creatives & brands with their vision and gives a platform to those who are often imitated but never appreciated.
Has it been a smooth road?
Not at all. Anytime you’re trying to get a business, especially a media one, off the ground it’s hard to get people to trust you when you have no reel or past projects. I definitely had to “cold call” and ask that people gave me a chance early on in my career.
As a business owner, there’s also always work to be done. Whether it’s getting merch out, finding new content, or editing it’s a 24/7 job. It can get tiring and rough, but the payoff is always worth it and you have to understand there may be times when it gets rocky. You have to almost have a need to create more than a “want.”
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Lowkey Media is a creative collective and talent platform. As a collective we specialize in content creation, event production, videography and photography. As a platform, we focus on giving artists and stories of all types a place to be seen and heard.We’re also launching some merchandise (available next month!)
The Goal being to aid creatives and brands in articulating their visions.
I think what sets us apart is our collaborative nature. A lot of creatives tend to try to do everything on their own, which is good but sometimes areas of the work can suffer. Me and Juwaun, my other director will delegate certain pieces of any given project to ensure we’re making the best work. Whether it be editing, after effects, design, we have no problem finding/enlisting the best to produce the best work.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
LA is definitely a great place for any media business. There are so many amazing creatives to learn from and collaborate with. But that also crowds the playing field so it’s also easy to get overshadowed.
Because this is a destination city for so many people, I always advise them to do the groundwork in their hometown. Take that time to learn the ropes and strategize for the LA move. Coming out here with no plan and trying to work from the ground up is inefficient.
I don’t think it has anything to do with Los Angeles improving, I think you just have to be willing to work harder than the millions of other creatives doing exactly what you’re doing. But of course that’s always easier said than done.
Contact Info:
- Website: LWKYmedia.com & LWKYmedia.studio
- Phone: 3018014913
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: Personal: https://www.instagram.com/lowkey__b/
Company. https://www.instagram.com/lwkymedia/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/home
Image Credit:
Image of the girl in the lowkey hoodie – Juwaun Hatton All other photo cred – Brandon Loftin
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