Today we’d like to introduce you to Wesley Kirk.
Hi Wesley, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I’ve always been interested in creating things, whether it was music, drawings, or just making silly little things with friends. When I was 13, I got into photography & filmmaking around the same. When I was 17, I started my first film & photo production company (now called Vision & Verve), and have been lucky enough to make a living with a camera ever since. When I went to the University of North Texas, I founded UNT Short Film Club to teach film production. During that time, I learned a lot about leadership and building a community of creatives, which has really come in handy with so many projects I’ve been involved with since, such as co-founding an art collective for outsider artists, House of Iconoclasts and creating an arts advocacy organization, Support Fort Worth Art.
Now, everything I do is a combination of creative ideas, storytelling, and empowering communities.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The nature of running your own business, especially in creative industries, is that it’s a lot of feasts & famines. It’s rare to ever do the same thing twice, and I don’t often know what I’ll be up to more than a couple weeks out, but it also means that every day will be interesting and that you have to become an expert at adapting. Something that has always made the trials & tribulations of running a creative business easier is being a part of a community.
When pretty much all of my film equipment got stolen in 2019 at the beginning of a huge project, and insurance refused to pay a dime to replace any of it, I had so many kind people reach out to offer help. Fellow filmmakers lent me their equipment until I got new equipment, fellow business owners helped throw a fundraiser for me, and musician friends came to play music at the fundraiser. It meant so much to me.
When the pandemic hit, and it wasn’t safe to film all the human-centered storytelling projects we had planned, we switched to more creative and community-based projects, like making videos for non-profits dealing with helping people through those times and livestreaming puppet shows for kids in quarantine.
I feel strongly that the more you invest in your community with your time, energy, and creativity, the more that they will invest in you by speaking your names in rooms of opportunities, helping you navigate through hard times, and playing a significant role in your success.
We’ve been impressed with Vision & Verve, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Vision & Verve is a film & photo production company based out of Fort Worth, TX. We make high-quality short-form content. If you’re a business wanting to show off how cool your products/services are or a non-profit wanting a fundraising video that’ll tug at heartstrings, we can help you with that.
We’ve helped corporations make videos where we condense big, complex ideas into easy-to-understand and personable stories. We’ve helped small businesses create videos & photos to launch new products. We’ve helped organizations create recap videos and photo highlights for their events. And we’ve helped artists document their art works and shows.
We create a wide & diverse array of content that involves vibrant cinematography, playful visuals, and human-centered storytelling.
What matters most to you?
What matters most to me is creating a more joyous world together.
With my work, my art, and my life, I try to make decisions based on that goal.
Through my work with Vision & Verve, I enjoy working with clients that are working towards making the world a better place, and I try to help them tell their stories in creative ways that are unexpected. I don’t believe there are boring subjects, just boring ways to talk about them. The more fun you have in creating something, the more fun it is for people to watch.
Through my art, and art advocacy, I like to think of out-of-the-box ideas that lead to folks collaborating on something delightful and unifying. A great example is my upcoming show, Eureka, an art show without art, just ideas. It acts as a community brainstorming event where we can see the wealth of talent & creativity and learn how we can collaborate on bringing those ideas to life.
When doing work for non-profit organizations, I often try think how we can inject joy & community into everything we do and make sure that we are building opportunities for others. Whether it’s through my work with SteerFW’s Arts & Culture committee, introducing emerging leaders to Fort Worth’s rich arts scene, or with my work with Support Fort Worth Art, fighting to preserve the Fort Worth Community Arts Center to ensure that everyone has access to great local art & opportunities.
I feel that “creating a more joyous world together” is a wonderful north star for guiding decisions, and it starts with what we can do right now, where we are, with the people around us.
Pricing:
- Photos start at $250
- Videos start at $1,000
- Consulting starts at $50/hour
Contact Info:
- Website: visionandverve.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/visionandverve
- Facebook: facebook.com/VisionAndVerve
Image Credits
Vision & Verve
