Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian La Belle.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was always a story teller. I made stories up in my head and sometimes just imagined them for pure self-entertainment. That was my childhood. I used my imagination to take me places. I made short films on a super 8 film camera then tortured my family with abstract stories in our living room by spooling up the film projector. That’s what I did from 1984 on. Nothing has changed.
My aspirations drove me toward any direction that would allow me a way to publicly share a story. In grade school I wrote plays and made my friends be in them. In high school I took drama classes and learned the power of acting and the emotional impact it can provide. I also continued my love for short films and photography.
It tessellates from there. After high school I directed a short film and took it to film festivals while applying for college. I was accepted to four California State schools before getting an internship working for Peter Guber at Mandalay Pictures. Somewhere between doing that job and taking off beat writing classes I changed my mind about college. I knew I was only going to end up right where I already was so I elected not to go.
It’s funny. Two weeks after I was let go from Mandalay as the executive I assisted moved on! These are the challenges that come to play. I always say if you have a passion for something another door always opens. Sometimes you can barely hear it creek but it does. I ended up in a journalism class and had to interview someone I truly respected. I chose filmmaker Andrew Davis who just had success with The Fugitive. After the interview I was asked by the president of his company what I really want to do. I explained my story telling passion and brought up my short film. A week later we were all watching it together. It quickly turned to a trail by fire righting assignment to adapt it to a feature length screenplay. That was my film school. Drive up to Chicago Pacific in Santa Barbara on rainy days and pounding out outlines for hours at a time. Before I knew it, I had my first screenplay.
This was the beginning of a continued love for writing and listening to those doors creek open! Today I have produced three independent films. Two of which I am also the screenwriter. I’ve been lucky enough to work on some fantastic television shows, Malcolm in The Middle, Bones & Black Box to name a few. I was a reality show victim as a top 10 finalists on the second season of Project Greenlight and as of three years ago formed a digital media company that specializes in destination commercials and social media marketing. It’s far from over! Currently direct commercials and long form video content for Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau, Santa Monica Travel & Tourism, The City of La Quinta and The City of Indio.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
A good road is never smooth. It has dirt that gets everywhere, pot holes, switch backs. You get lost on them because there is no map other than what drives you internally. Those struggles are opportunities you don’t grab on time, or decisions that side track you. I have always been on the road and then there is something that takes me way off course! Those things happen but no matter what eventually I find my way back. To be specific, I remember leaving Malcolm in The Middle to move to Florida for an opportunity with my wife at the time. It was the same year I made my first film in Thailand. When I came back from that film I had a bit of buyer’s remorse. Questions came up in my head like, maybe I shouldn’t have left the show, or make the movie which I still needed to raise money to finish at the time.
Maybe I should not have moved to Florida. I felt at the time that Los Angeles was the only Mecca in which you could find success and that living 3000 miles away spelled impending doom. Six months later I ended up on national television being selected out of 8,000 potential scripts for Project Greenlight. That January I walked the red carpet in the company of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. One year later I wrote a pilot loosely based on I am Legend that put me in the room with filmmaker Joel Shummacher and CAA heavyweight Kevin Huvane. I learned quickly that it didn’t matter where I was in the world. My passion for what I love was a bit of a homing device. I would always end up back on course at some point. Quite honestly, it was the time off course that were the best parts of my life so far,
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Summerland Creative story. Tell us more about the business.
My business continues to be to tell stories. I formed Summerland Creative with my brother in law and closest friend from my high school years. Tom McDonald and I had been through the gamut of producing music videos, editing freelance television projects. We both worked in separate sectors of the entertainment business for over 15 years. The network series Black Box a show I worked on and truly loved got the ax and I found myself disenchanted with jumping back into television again.
It was the right time to form a digital media company. Social media videos were barely on the rise but different companies were seeing their potential early. Our first client was Safe Text, a fantastic private messaging app. that operates on off shore servers to keep your messages genuinely private. I produced a couple of spots for them and then got word from a dear friend that Greater Palm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau was requesting proposals. We submitted and I directed my first spot for them and from there forged a wonderful creative partnership. One year later we were also creating content for Santa Monica Travel and Tourism. Both remain our loyal clients to this day. It’s been a fantastic run so far. I Think what separates us from the competition is that we believe anything is possible at any budget. Our prices come in at a comfortable place for our clients and we give them our 100 percent creative ALL. I also believe in the value of our work history.
We were trained for delivering a mass amount of content in a short period of time. On all the network shows, I was delivering 24 episodes in a season. There is no more of a pressure cooker than that. So I think we understand the value placed on working hard, working fast, working economically and staying lean and creative. I also feel the key is collaboration. We have a very collaborative relationship with our clients. We always keep our minds open. My policy is to leave ego at the door and have a good time. We can accomplish so much that way.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Bad Luck and Bad Timing are the evil twins of fate, right? They have their way of edging in for better or for worse. They have their place. I have had tons of bad luck so I thought at the time it occurred. At the time it happens it definitely feels like BAD luck. However, as time works its magic, you realize it was just a signal light to direct you down another path. It’s very difficult to believe in luck or any of those things. As I said before, if you love it, you will find your way back to it. It never leaves you and just keeps knocking on your creaky door!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.summerlandstoryco.com
- Phone: (818)577-3162
- Email: [email protected]
mage Credit:
Dejas View Photography
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