Today we’d like to introduce you to Kirk Jackson.
Kirk, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Born in Fort Worth, raised in Houston, educated in New York City, planted eleven years in Los Angeles, I’m now back in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I’ve been attached at the hip to the disaster response organization Team Rubicon helping to mold the story, message, and brand of the organization since its first year in 2010 while also consulting and collaborating with large & small companies and other nonprofits to expand their digital media and online presence.
Off and on through my adolescence I had some sort of camera always nearby – be it my Kodak Disk camera in 4th grade, my dad’s VHS camcorder in high school, and – finally for my eighteenth birthday – a Hi-8 video camera and 35mm Canon Rebel. I used to send home mini documentaries to family to update them on life in NYC, and I worked on numerous independent film and video projects between night’s bartending and waiting tables.
For so long I was a jack of all trades and a master of none. At the age of 23 a friend of mine hooked me up with a job at a small production studio where I was surrounded by cameras all the time. I taught myself to edit, helped out a co-worker on his documentary, and gravitated toward actually making a living from the craft.
It wasn’t until I saw the documentary Buena Vista Social Club on the big screen that I felt the instant clarity of what I wanted to do. I wanted to go to places so foreign to me, near or far, and find the story and the simplicity within it. In 2000 I left New York and went home to Houston to begin saving for the high startup costs of a video production company.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
As is common with life, it has its own plan for you. Just as I was hitting a groove in Houston my wife’s work led us to Los Angeles in 2005. There I worked on scores of random and often odd projects for the first two years before diving into corporate promotional and documentary video. In late 2010 a contact from the corporate world put me in touch with the co-founder of a young organization called Team Rubicon – a veteran based disaster response organization. I edited some shaky footage into a compelling genesis story, then got hooked and found a new purpose when I deployed to the 2011 Joplin tornado. For the next six years I led their digital media content and worked closely with the marketing and development teams.
Along the way I worked on occasional promo video for other nonprofits, commercial work, and more corporate promo work. But Team Rubicon had the wealth of my attention as I relished in rolling out thematically unique fundraiser videos, operation updates from the disaster zone, or the occasional April fool’s Day spoof for social media.
Team Rubicon opened its National Operations Center in Grand Prairie in 2016, and I took that as an opportunity to return home to Texas and gain closer access to our most active disaster regions in the US. In August Hurricane Harvey decimated my hometown. After weeks of responding with Team Rubicon along the Gulf Coast, seeing my old communities decimated, I came back to home to Fort Worth, admittedly with an empty creative tank. It was then I decided it was time to take a more limited role in the organization in order to avoid staleness and to free up more time for other ventures.
Going Home Pictures – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I founded Going Home Pictures in 2003 with the intention of bringing social issues to light and producing meaningful and engaging content through the power and intimacy of documentary filmmaking and photography. I set out to produce media content geared toward making a positive change or contribution to society rather than solely entertaining it.
I’ve always had problems applying a simple label to my profession. I don’t call myself a videographer, nor do I find it all encompassing enough call myself a Producer or Director. I’m a storyteller. I take time to know a client, their challenges, wishes, concerns, victories & failures, and whatever else helps weave the threads of a story. I look at the project from many angles before diving in and, if necessary, start from scratch until it’s exactly what is needed.
Two key components to success: image and authenticity. I write the copy, storyboard, produce, direct, shoot, edit the project, and then work with my composer and motion designers if the project calls for it. Whether the client is a new nonprofit or a well-established corporation, there is still a story to tell and an authentic way to tell it. Maybe that’s through 360 VR video, or maybe it’s a web series for social media.
My work with nonprofits has been the most fulfilling, and it’s been at the core of my mission from day one. I’ve been leading the photo/video content for the disaster response organization Team Rubicon for the last 7 years where I’ve deployed to dozens of US and international disaster responses. My content has been on numerous national broadcasts, most recently opening the 2017 MLB playoff games and appearing in the middle of NCAA and NFL games this Veterans Day weekend.
Other clients include Yamaha Motorcycles, the Home Depot Foundation, aerospace manufacturers, tech startups, and dozens of nonprofits at all stages of development. Most recently, I’ve been approached about doing a series of commercials and a documentary for a startup with a breakthrough technology.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Finding purpose in my work.
Surpassing a client’s expectations.
Helping them see their company in a way they possibly have not seen before.
Engaging an audience, not talking at them.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.goinghomepictures.com
- Phone: 3232513558
- Email: kirk@goinghomepictures.com
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/going-home-pictures-fort-worth
- Other: www.linkedin.com/in/kirkwjackson
Image Credit:
All images ©Kirk Jackson
Personal photo ©Chris Ryan
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
