024: How To Become A Filmmaker (Wes Wages)

What would you do if you were hired by a high profile client, say Marie Forleo, and after you completed your work for her, the equipment you saved it on was stolen? What would your reaction be – would you give up, call it quits and get a regular job or would you talk with your client and figure out your next steps?

That’s exactly what happened to our guest for episode 24, Wes Wages. Listen in to find out how he handled losing all of Marie’s footage, as well as many other valuable lessons he’s learned as he’s become the premiere filmmaker he is today.

MORE ABOUT THIS SHOW

Wes has always been intrigued by filmmaking. One of his first forays into the craft was using a video camera from his local church while still in high school. He shot some silly footage of his best friend dancing in a field in a Twinkie costume!

But his first love was music so he pursued percussion at a community college for two years before applying to Belmont University, a highly-competitive music school. It was the only place Wes had applied, he had no back up and he was crestfallen when he didn’t get in.

He took a bit of time to evaluate his next option and he soon realized the University of North Alabama also had a great music school. When he got in, he settled on a major that combined his music and film interests: entertainment media production.

For the next two years, he pursued his education while working at a local church and honed his expertise in Avid, a digital media program. His program also offered him the opportunity to study at UCLA for a few months and with a friend, he ventured into the wild world of Los Angeles film. While in LA he gained tremendous on-the-job experience, far more than what he was learning in the classroom. So after talking with his family, he and his friend dropped out of their summer courses and pursued film opportunities full-time.

THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:

When did he realize he needed to be self-employed?
When to do work for free, according to Wes.
Do he and his wife advertise to generate work?
How he and his wife managed the transition from full-time to self-employment.
What’s a gap year and what can we learn from it?
And so much more!

With that knowledge and training under his belt after graduation, Wes took a series of full-time jobs over the next year. He felt like he needed to start working right away, although now he’d advise anyone else to not jump into the full-time career world immediately after school.

During that same time period, he married his wife who had long held a passion for photography. Being a generous husband, he encouraged her to follow that passion and he would hold down the fort while she grew her business.

For the next two years, they hustled 7 days a week: he worked at a church from Sunday til Thursday and then Friday through Saturday night they would shoot weddings. Sunday morning they’d start again. But by the end of those two years, her business was thriving…so much so that he could now leave his full-time job and begin building his filmmaking business. And that’s exactly what he did!

With hustle, time and persistence, Wes and his wife were making their mark in their respective fields. They were asked to film the first World Domination Summit by Chris Guillebeau, which opened up a new world of entrepreneurs and bloggers for them. Not long after, Marie Forleo hired them to shoot testimonials for her B School program.

Wes has learned some valuable lessons along the way and now he’s working on a few different projects to share those lessons with the world. You can follow his progress and learn more at his Armosa Films web site.

Please join me in thanking Wes for being a guest and sharing his amazing journey on the show. Leave him a comment below or send him a Tweet!

Tweetable: “You can’t depend on one person to tell you what you should learn.” Wes Wages

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