Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian D’almeida
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Ever since I was in middle school I knew I wanted to get into a career in visual media. I was really into photography, movies, and video games from a young age. My favorite hobby was and still is photography. At first, I just used my phone and uploaded my pictures to Instagram. Later in high school, I got into film photography and digital photography, eventually getting my own Nikon DSLR.
I knew I wanted to pursue my passion and stumbled upon an ad for Full Sail University, a university with an assortment of accelerated arts programs/degrees. So I moved down to Florida from New York to commit to my studies.
I graduated from Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL as a Valedictorian with my Bachelor’s Degree In Recording Arts & later with my Master’s Degree in Film Production with high honors & as a Valedictorian again as well. Upon concluding my studies I decided to move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in filmmaking because I felt it was the place that would give me the best selection of opportunities.
When I arrived in LA it took about a year of unpaid and low-paid narrative film gig work and working part-time at the New York Film Academy as an Equipment Technician before I would land my first full-time job at SDI Media (acquired by Iyuno) working in dubbing & translation. I worked as an audio engineer during the night shift. It was a technical and routine job handling the QC of audio stems for multiple languages for a variety of programming for clients such as Netflix, Paramount Pictures, Mattel, and more. I stayed on for about a year before I found my next opportunity at Slate Digital.
Slate Digital was where I began to grow my talents in video production within a corporate environment aside from the freelance work I was doing in film production. It was a tech audio software/hardware start-up and when I was brought on the team was small so I had to wear multiple hats. I was brought on as a multimedia specialist but quickly moved into a content lead role handling every aspect of content creation. I did camera operation, set lighting, production sound, screen capture for product videos, video editing, motion graphics, equipment rental/purchases, booking talent/film locations, and more. I worked there for over three years until I landed a dream job as a Cinematic Editor working on Call of Duty at Infinity Ward – Activision Blizzard.
To date, I would say my job as a Cinematic Editor was my favorite job that I’ve held. I worked in the narrative team producing the in-game cinematics for Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, & Call of Duty Warzone. I had followed Call of Duty ever since I was a kid in middle school so for me it was truly a dream come true. I was working alongside some of the people that had made in my mind some of the best videogames ever made. I edited the actors’ performances coming from the mocap stage and worked closely with the animation team at Infinity Ward to get cutscenes into the game engine. We had weekly meetings with the design, animation, lighting, art, and production teams to evaluate how cinematics were playing out in-game. Notes were given and scenes were stood up over time until they were finalized so I could do my final captures and edits before each Call of Duty game launch. I worked at Infinity Ward for 2 ½ years until I moved on before the Microsoft Merger to become an Associate Creative Director at Trailer Park Group.
At Trailer Park Group I worked on trailers for videogame marketing. I worked with clients such as Electronic Arts, Meta, Blizzard, Activision, & Riot Games. I gave direction for game capture, video editorial, graphics, & client relations. I worked on marketing for Dragon Age Veilguard, Multiverse, Call of Duty, and more until eventually I was struck with a layoff six months into the role. I had felt it coming. Over the past few years, the videogame industry has been experiencing studio shutdowns, staff cuts, and mergers. My time in the videogame industry had come to an end for the time being.
I quickly got back on my feet by pivoting to product marketing as a senior video editor at Video Fresh, an advertising agency for various consumer products marketing themselves on Amazon and other social media platforms. I worked there for half a year until I landed my current contract role as a Creative Lead at Experian the Credit Bureau. I work on their financial social content handling video editing, filming, creative direction, and more.
Even though I’ve gone into a different field and have diversified my portfolio I would say that my passion still lies in the videogame industry and I hope to re-enter it. Ultimately I’d like to become a Cinematics Director at a videogame studio.
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?
I wouldn’t say it’s been a smooth road and I think there’s a beauty in that. I never would have thought that I would contribute to Call of Duty but I thankfully was given the opportunity to do so and to me, that was a privilege.
I come from a hardworking lower middle-class immigrant family. My father was a driver for over twenty years and my mother was a housekeeper for many years. I was never handed anything in my life. My parents instilled in me a great work ethic and the grit to pursue my career and do the best work.
The first year in LA was probably one of the most difficult for me personally because I didn’t know anyone yet and I was cold applying to roles with no portfolio to back me up.
So I did a lot of free work and unpaid work at the start to get my name out there. I think now more than ever it’s more about who you know than what you know.
2024 was the most difficult year I’ve ever faced. I lost my father to a long battle with cancer and shortly afterward I was laid off from my role at Trailer Park Group. It was the first time in my career that I was facing unemployment and admittedly I did not expect the job market to be so bad. I even had one role I applied for that made me go through seven interviews before ultimately rejecting me in the final round.
But despite the challenges I was able to land the contract role at Experian that I’m in now while I continue taking interviews to land my next full-time job.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I specialize in video editorial, content creation, creative direction, and production with expertise in marketing, tech, & entertainment.
I’m most proud of my work in the videogames industry especially my work on the cinematics for Call of Duty.
I am an award-winning Creative Director with a strong track record in producing engaging video content and managing teams for industry leaders such as Activision Blizzard and Trailer Park Group.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.briandalmeida.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brian_dalmeida
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/badalmeida
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8019797/
