Today we’d like to introduce you to J.I. Mardones.
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?
Hello there! This is J.I. Mardones and I am a chilean/texan filmmaker.
I was born in Austin in 1987, but at the age of 4 I moved with my family to Santiago de Chile, where I lived for 30 years. When I was a kid, I remember that I did not feel “100% chilean” because I knew that I was born in the USA and, at the same time, I neither felt “100% american” because I started to live great part of my life in Chile and maybe that could explain why I always have felt a strange need of escaping from reality, which is something that also started to be present in my first scripts.
At 9 years old, I saw Star Wars for the first time and because of that saga I became very interested about filmmaking, storytelling and sci fi stories in general. Years later, that led me to apply to the Film & TV Direction program at University of Chile, from where I graduated in 2015. Parallel to my film studies, I also developed my music skills by taking electric guitar classes and learning to compose music by self-taught. Besides, during these years I also used to record live concerts of my most favorite local metal bands, using my first camcorder.
After graduating from the film school, I realized how difficult (if not impossible) was finding a job in the chilean film industry, so I had no more option than start looking for a job in the video industry (brand activations, commercials, corporate videos, events, social media content). And when I found it, I had to adapt to a completely different work philosophy. In filmmaking, projects often take time, and you often work with more people on set, in a more specialized work environment. However, in videography, you have to learn to deal with tight deadlines and often work alone or with not so many people, which is an advantage from a certain perspective because you learn that you can perfectly handle projects with very limited resources, but at the same time, is means a huge disadvantage because sometimes (I am talking about those companies that have an “audiovisual department”) you are the only one in the team who actually studied an artistic career and no one else understands your field at all or they actually care a $h*t.
In the year 2020, during Covid Era, Blade Runner 2049 was the movie that inspired me to improve my skills and develop my own style as a cinematographer, and then, one day, while investigating about 7Artisans lenses, I casually discovered an ukrainian videographer (https://youtube.com/@U4F_ToL) that inspired me to create J.I.Mardones Films in the year 2021, my video production company, life project and safe place, just one year before moving back to Austin.
When I landed in Austin, in April 2022, I started to realize that no matter how famous or not I was in Chile, I knew that I had to start making film projects in my new place and meet new people, so I started to attend as many networking events as I can every month, in special those photo meetups, but not precisely to take photos of the models, but actually to make video recaps about those events, so that is how I started to connect with other local creatives, build a portfolio with projects “Made In Austin”, and take my career to a new direction, finding out in the process that I enjoy a lot working in fashion projects.
Now, after 3 years living in Austin, I proudly can say that I already have built a reputation as one of the most proficient video producers in the city, even being recommended by friends and other people, and since 2025 sometimes I have met some people that tell me “I have seen you somewhere, before” which is a good signal that maybe I am doing things well.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Definitely, it has not been a smooth road.
I already have spoken so many times about how challenging was finding job opportunities, how I built my career with everything against me, as well as how challenging was finding out my own identity as a filmmaker, however, this time I would like to talk about another aspect that I haven’t talked much: proving my value in THIS Economy.
The world economy never recovered at all after Covid pandemic. And during the last 3 years, sometimes it has been frustrating when I go to the supermarket and I see that a few products suddenly increased their prices just a few more cents… and at the same time, our salaries remain stagnant yet.
Of course, it is not nice losing potential clients when I let them know my rates and the payment conditions, but unlike other countries, at least in the USA people are not unrespectful in the senses that they try to convince me to take the job for a much lower rate and they neither make unsolicited comments about how I introduce myself, how I advertise my services, how I set my prices and payment conditions, or what kind of gear should I buy to do my job, etc.. You just loose the job because “you are out of the budget” and life continues.
In the same line, I also have learned to identify the main red flags when receiving job requests and dealing with clients. Sadly, this kind of things are not being taught in film schools, at least in Chile.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about J.I.Mardones Films?
In a society currently oversaturated of guys with a camera plus a gimbal, to make the difference is a must.
My work actually is so much more than “just showing up to the venue, setting my camera, doing my ‘thing’, getting paid, sending the raw footage and bye bye”. I create audiovisual stories that allow brands, companies and artists to advertise their products, services, events, etc, on YouTube and Instagram. I enjoy working with clients that understand my field, trust my vision and give me total creative freedom.
Having studied in the film school has helped me to develop a unique aesthetical taste and also has taught me to explain my creative decisions with solid arguments, but most important, it has gave me the capability of finding creative solutions to any problem that may happen during the whole film production process and being open-mided enough to adapt to different genres and styles.
Despite of being practically my whole professional career working in commercials, brand activations, corporate videos, events and social media content, my “inner filmmaker” always has been within me. So that is why, since the creation of J.I.Mardones Films, I have been shooting and editing most of my video projects in widescreen format and also preferring to use non-copyrighted music tracks.
I want every video project looks and feels like authentic theatrical movies, but most important, I want you to see them, feel impressed, raise your hands and exclaim: “Wow! Absolute Cinema” (insert Martin Scorsese’s meme ha ha ha ha)
Any big plans?
In the year 2025 I already have completed 10 years of career as a graduate filmmaker. So right now I am looking to make my next move.
During the present year, I have been trying to connect with more creative directors, event producers, brand representatives, business owners and fashion designers in order to get better job opportunities as a video producer in the fashion industry, one of the fields I have been actively working and specializing in, as a video producer, during the last 3 years.
However, and just recently, I started to work on my first short film as a producer/director/screenwriter/cinematographer/editor to be submitted in film festivals and streaming platforms that accept shorts. I am just thinking about something not so complex, like a 3 to 5 minute short movie… I think it is a good starting point! and obviously, if things go well, I am going to make the next short film with more budget and, of course, add more cast & crew members and new challenges.
Besides, I currently am looking to make more sci fi/fantasy/horror themed projects, as well as rock & metal live shows. I know getting the exact type of job you are looking for may sound like a pipe dream in THIS Economy, however, in the beginning of this year I worked in a project that made me realize how important is making films that are totally aligned with my professional goals, personal beliefs, work ethics and aesthetical taste.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jimardones.wixsite.com/films
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/jimardonesfilms
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/jimardones
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@jimardonesfilms
- Other: https://tiktok.com/@jimardonesfilms
Image Credits
All images (screenshots and BTS pictures) belong to J.I.Mardones Films, except the Personal Photo which was taken by Cindy Livingston.
