Today we’d like to introduce you to Jon Collins.
Jon, before we jump into specific questions about your work, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I went to college to study music composition. I had been playing music since I was little and I couldn’t see myself doing anything else in life. My original intention was to be a film scorer. I idolized Danny Elfman and John Williams growing up and I wanted to do what they did… But probably not as good. In college, my friends and I started making short videos for the sole purpose of adding music to them. We would use them as video backdrops during our live performance art shows in Denton. Very quickly, I settled into the role of creating all the videos we would use for these performances. I was enamored with the process of shooting and editing. Although I did graduate and receive a degree in music, I quickly pivoted to the video after college.
Immediately after graduating, I started making videos for local bands with whatever gear I could get my hands on. I interned at a local recording studio that had a computer with an early version of Adobe Premiere and taught myself how to edit by doing video mashups, shooting music videos, and performance backdrop videos for local bands.
I learned by doing and getting around other people that knew more and watched them intently. I made some amazing connections with people that helped my transition to the commercial world, and quit my day job to focus my full attention on video production. Twelve years later, I’ve been lucky enough to be still making fun stuff for and with some really amazing people.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Every project you take on has its own built-in challenges. But I have a hard time conceding that these challenges are negative. Film production, by design, is rife with the challenge, solutions that are waiting to be found. I believe that’s why there is such a tremendous feeling of accomplishment and pride when you complete something, creative or otherwise. Sometimes you have to go through an obstacle course, but it wouldn’t mean anything if you didn’t give a little to get a little. You stay until the job is done. I don’t know any other way to do it.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I’ve had the opportunity in the past year to work more on narrative films. I’ve DP’d a feature length horror film and a short film that will be completed in the next couple of months. These collaborations are a tremendous amount of fun. Dallas has an incredible amount of talent and it’s been such a joy to work with some amazing people. It’s a great honor to have this opportunity.
I’ve also had the good fortune to work on more documentaries as an editor. I’m always blown away by the stories I get to witness while working on these projects.
Lastly, I hope to have time to work on personal projects with my wife. We are building a little studio in the garage to create miniatures and puppets. I’m terribly infatuated with stop animation and we want to make fun little videos. Most likely for ourselves. But at the end of the day, she’s my favorite audience.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jontoddcollins.com
- Phone: 2146768161
- Email: www.jontoddcollins@gmail.com
Image Credit:
Holden Foster, Andy LaViolette, Alex Rydlinski
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