Today we’d like to introduce you to Jean Carlos “JC” Falcon.
Hi Jean Carlos “JC”, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’m a first-generation immigrant from the Dominican Republic, my parents moved my siblings and I to the United States from the Dominican Republic when I was six years old. I spent most of my childhood years growing up in the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania where I discovered my interest for media and visual imagery through a combination of Youtube videos and my dad’s old home videos that he would play for my siblings and I every year.
I always tell people that I thought that I was going to go to college to learn how to properly shoot and edit videos so that I could start a wedding video business in the greater Philadelphia area but it wasn’t until I actually got to college at DeSales University and started to learn more about all the different positions that one could actually be on a crew that I started to want to be more involved in the TV and Film Industry.
I started to get my footing in the Greater New York City and Philadelphia areas but it wasn’t until I got to Los Angeles that I started to understand what direction I wanted to take my career. I’ve always been interested in business because my parents are entrepreneurs and I was also in love with the visual side of filmmaking, so starting some sort of business that combined the two was always my goal, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do until I started working in the Electric and Grip departments. I was learning from some great mentors while also observing the way productions operated with gear rentals.
I was usually the designated person who had to go pick up the rental gear on various occasions and one day, I was watching someone struggling to fit a few lighting cases and 4×4 floppies into the trunk of hatchback and it sparked an idea. There were always big trucks and vans on set with a ton of gear for the medium/high budget productions, but there was an entire market of freelance video producers, cinematographers and gaffers who also worked on smaller jobs who sometimes only needed a few lights and a basic small grip package. These smaller productions weren’t being catered to from a Grip/Electric truck rental business perspective. I saw this business model work on the east coast where I grew up but I wasn’t sure if anyone in the Los Angeles area was providing this service. That’s when Tiny Machine Lighting & Grip was born.
We just celebrated our one year anniversary as a Lighting & Grip Rental business in Los Angeles and we’re excited to continue working with everyone who’s helped us get to this point as well as welcome new productions with open arms! Thanks to everyone who’s supported Tiny Machine from the beginning, I’ve been able to provide great service as a Gaffer and Lighting & Grip business and continue to work on ways to improve our content on Instagram, our gear list and my skills as a Gaffer. I’m very thankful to the LA community of Cinematographers, Producers and Video Creators that reach out to me on the daily, whether it’s to work with them or if it’s even to just talk about lighting, it’s been fun being able to provide service and value.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I absolutely love what I do, I really enjoy responding to emails and prepping the van just as much as I love being on set with the gear, but the most difficult part has been learning all of the legalities and the marketing upkeep on my time off while trying to keep a work/life balance. As of right now, I’m only one person in the business and my fiancee is amazing, she doesn’t work in the film industry and she still decides to help me out whenever she can, but learning to automate and structure the business in a better way is a goal I have to make that work/life balance a little easier to achieve.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a Gaffer that specializes in documentaries, music videos and commercials.
I’m not a master at what I do, but one of the things I’m most proud of is the relationships I’ve been able to make through these productions that Tiny Machine LLC has opened the doors for.
I believe what sets me apart from others is my willingness to learn, continue to improve and hopefully always leave good vibes on whatever project I’m on.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love Los Angeles because it’s a city of opportunities, great food and beautiful sights. It’s easy to never leave it when you have absolutely everything you need in one place.
What I like least about Los Angeles is the fact that there isn’t a big Dominican population, so it’s really hard for me to find food that reminds me of home.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.jeancarlosfalcon.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tiny.machine/
Image Credits
Black and White Portrait Photo By Scott Simock
