Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian Bradley.
Hi Brian, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I got into videography because I was always the person who wanted to make things. What started as me figuring out how to shoot and edit my own projects eventually turned into freelance work, and over the years I kept saying yes to opportunities that forced me to learn new thing after new thing.
I’ve been working professionally in video and multimedia since 2018, with a lot of that work rooted in the Dallas-Fort Worth creative community. I’ve been blessed to be able work on everything from music videos and live concerts to festivals, weddings, conventions, and branded work, with clients ranging from local artists and businesses to companies like Whataburger, Shiner Bock, Warner Records, Sony Music and Ford!
I also had a full-time “creative” job for several years, working in-house with Rippaverse Publishing (a comic book company), which gave me a completely different perspective on what it takes to build and maintain a creative operation beyond just shooting and editing. Since then, I’ve continued building my own business as a director and media producer, while also developing my own music as Brian Damon! (Middle name).
At this point, I’m less interested in simply being “the video guy” and more interested in being someone who can help turn an idea into something real. A lot of my career has been built through relationships, referrals and simply being willing to figure things out when there wasn’t an obvious solution. That resourcefulness is probably the biggest thread connecting where I started to where I am today.
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?
While I feel grateful and a lucky to get to do what I do for a living, it has definitely not been a smooth road! One of my biggest struggles was learning how to actually value my work. I spent years undercharging to get my foot in the door, and trying to handle everything myself, which combined, eventually led to burnout.
There were also plenty of dry spells (as it is when you freelance), projects fell through, or I questioned whether I was really building a business or just creating myself another job. Those experiences forced me to get more intentional about what I take on, how I price my work, and what I want my career to look like long-term.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I work primarily as a director and creative, with a focus on the entertainment industry and branded content, and an intense passion for music and the arts. I like taking an idea that exists in someone’s head and figuring out how to turn it into something people can actually see and feel. I involve myself in the entire process, from concept and production to delivery, and I’m comfortable figuring things out when there isn’t an obvious path from the idea to the finished product. What is stressful for some, is kinda fun to me.
I’m probably most proud of being able to create at a high level without always needing a massive production around me. I care a LOT about the people I’m creating for, not just the final product, and there’s an obsessive attention to detail that goes into my work. That can mean coaching someone to look and perform their best on camera, solving problems on set, or quite literally going frame by frame in the edit. I think the TLC is a big part of what sets me, and my results, apart.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was a pretty creative and restless kid. I was always doodling in school, to the point where my teachers knew I was going to become an artist before I did.
I’m also part of the last generations that had no alternative other than spending our childhood outside, disappearing until the street lights came on. There was no social media, and I was pretty sheltered from chatrooms and online play (still in its infancy). My school friends, or cousins, and I would invent our own games, re-enact our favorite TV shows and movies, and just make things up as we went. I enjoyed every second of it. I’ve always had a brain that’s moving in a hundred directions at once, and talking about it now, I can see how it’s probably shaped both my personality and the way I create.
Pricing:
- Music video production can range anywhere from $3,000–$15,000+ typically, depending on creative scope, locations, crew, talent, equipment, VFX, and post-production
- Live events, concerts, festivals, commercial, and branded content: custom quoted based on scope and production requirements
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dollardirector?stkn=MWF2d3hqdzJnNzBxZw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/briandamonmusic?stkn=NmNla3VtMWQ5MXh6&utm_source=qr
Image Credits
Bailey Willis, Nicole Resh, Brent Tinsley, Camryn Moore
