Today we’d like to introduce you to Zeke Jeremiah.
Zeke, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My journey all started when my Dad got them digits from my Mom…. oh wait, too far? Ok, let’s fast forward a little bit to my teenage years. Me growing up, I always had a love for acting. I would always mimic one of my favorite actors, Jim Carey because he was so animated as me. So I would go around the house, school, parties, and grocery stores at times doing impressions of people while changing up my voice to sound like someone else like Jim did as different characters on “IN LIVING COLOR”. Everyone at school, yes everyone, called me weird, with the exception of the school nurse, because she was always out sick, which I found rather odd.
Anyway, as long as I made them laugh, it was ok. With that being said, I have been entertaining all my life, like that one time I made a 70-year-old woman throw up because she started laughing hard. True story! In the year 2016, Not knowing how to get into the industry, one of my coworkers tells me, “You really need to get into acting” well, to make a short story shorter, I said how and she introduced me to a friend of hers who was already in the game named Michael Green. Learn and worked with him for a few months then decided I wanted to start my own brand to create more opportunities for others in the Entertainment industry. So I ventured off accompanied by Fred T who has played a BIG role along with a few actor friends who have since then moved on to do some pretty awesome things.
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?
This path is not easy! I’ve had to embrace the difficulties and challenges of pursuing these dreams and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I look back on the past and scale my way to the present, some challenges that I’ve had or continued to have are the continuous sacrifices I have to make. Through the times I would have to go with no money because I had to put it into a project, asking for help which I had a hard time within the beginning, having this BIG DREAM as a new kid on the block with only a cell phone to work with while also having to get others to buy into your vision, and to the continuous no’s I had to dig myself out of.
There are a few days out of the week when I don’t even sleep because I was up working on a project. I’ll tell you what though, I can honestly say through all of that, God continues to sustain me. What I love about the challenges, hard times, and trials, is that they refine you! When we fail, there’s always a learning experience lerking in the midst and through those refining moments is where the most growth happens. What I’ve come to know, is that the easiest thing to do, is to give up, but it takes so much more to keep moving forward. I know in this industry, I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for people in my life like Fred T (who has his own brand called PHTV Network) who has been pushing me and challenging me for three years.
Someone like Kelly Turner and Amber Natasha who encourage me to trust others to work alongside me knowing that’s one of my weaknesses, from being let down by others multiple times. New comer and one of the best photographers out there who specializes in kid photography, Marcus Photog, who has been a great mentor on business and time management. We’ve had conversations here and there that are so encouraging and motivating that it sparks and gets me moving even more. I appreciate the honest friendships of Jasmine Joi, Jeff Watson Monique Peters and John Davis who are some of the hardest working people I know, who also keep me on my toes and push me even if it’s seeing how hard they work. I’m so thankful an blessed for photographer Justin Carson of Jcarsonproductions and Director of Photography Bruce Latimer who has been a joy to work with through my challenges! I’m standing firm with some amazing people.
Tell us about your company. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of, What sets you apart from others?
UTubeSensations is a Brand that produces content from Skits, Short Films, Web Series and Feature Films. I am the Director Writer, Actor, Casting Director and CEO/Founder. We are a positive, fun group that prides ourselves on growing in our craft and bringing quality content everyone can enjoy and be apart of. As of now, we are in phase II of our development with our youth department called UTubeSensations Kids. UTSKids was motivated and created to give young actors in the Dallas surrounding area more opportunities while being hands-on to build their confidence in their craft while encouraging them to pursue their dream.
I have two proud moments in my career so far. The first one is creating UTubeSensations kids and being able to work with all these amazing young actors in the Dallas area. They are so great, willing to learn and bring 100% effort every time. Its been a complete joy and their parents are just as great with their willingness to assist in anything we need. Such kind-hearted people. UTSKids have some amazing Brand Ambassadors that I have to mention; Lexi Graves, Tre Johnson, Alexander Torres, Tristan Pravong, Croix Chevalier, Leslie Sanders, and Jadynn Bryant. You will be seeing a lot more of them throughout the year. I’m so proud of these because the kids in Dallas don’t have anything geared towards them, until now! We look forward to the continuous growth in this department that has been a safe haven for many.
My other proud moment in my career was creating our Feature Film “Forever and a Day”. This film was created for the youth! I and Fred sat down and talked about a film that would be impactful to this generation and generation to come. What I love about it is that it’s dealing with real-life problems and situations. It’s an emotional rollercoaster that will have you angry, happy, sympathetic, empathetic, sad and inspired to take action. “Forever and a Day” had some amazing people attached to it with leads such as Charlotte Delaney Riggs who played Haley and Keegan Bouton who played Daniel.
Huge shoutout to our amazing production team who to be honest, would not be as successful if it wasn’t for Writer/Actor Fred T who really did a great job with the story and characters, our amazing Assistant Director Amber Natasha who did such a great job and we couldn’t even tell that it was her first time on set as an AD, our Crafts Services Coordinator Kelly Turner with help from Kyra Turner who made sure everyone was fed and also ran errands and kept the production flowing, our amazing Art Director on set April Dawn who really outdid herself personalizing the set for the characters and theme of the scene, our H&MUA Kitty Timmerman who really did a great job bringing out the characters look bringing more value to the film, Production Manager Jasmine Joi who kept the production running smooth with business aspects of the production, our composer Edward Antiono, a great contact I met recently and was excited to come on board, and awesome contribution from Jae Dyer CEO/FOUNDER of DWSTUDIOS with Larry D Johnson Jr. assistance from Cat Valles. I met with Jae Dyer and talked with him about this film and he loved it! Literally, that’s what he told me, and was excited to jump on board. He was really invested into this story and went above and beyond to make sure this film was great. Jae was the first crew member apart of this project. As a filmmaker, I appreciate his work ethic, attention to detail and time spent developing his craft. It showed in Pre-production and during production as he rallied his team behind him. They did an exceptional job creating quality shots for the film and working tirelessly to make sure it was perfect. They did an exceptional job creating quality images for the film and worked tirelessly to create magic onset.
I appreciate everyone for their hard work, even the ones I didn’t mention because it’s too many to name. Also, grateful for the donation and contributions towards this film, they didn’t want to be mentioned, but they know who they are. Grateful for them because they clear the way for us to do a lot of what we needed to do for this film. Working on “Forever and a Day” was my first time Directing a Feature, I learned so much from it, made mistakes, but that’s the process, you live and you learn, but you get up and keep moving forward! I appreciate the whole crew and cast who did an outstanding job bringing this film to life. Really proud of this film because we came together for a common goal and accomplished it, through all the obstacles, we did it! “Forever and a Day” will be edited by DWSTUDIOS and we are looking forward to a release in 2020.
In this industry, everyone is always competing with each other. That’s one thing I’d rather not do. It’s not a competition for me. Creating is something I’m passionate about and to do it while bringing others around that have that same passion and goal is ideal. It’s great seeing others succeed, an being able to congratulate them on doing something they love is meaningful. I want people to know that UTubeSensations and UTubeSensations Kids are all about going above and beyond. We love encouraging, uplifting and inspiring others along their journey. We pride ourselves on creating a safe environment that’s welcoming and professional to children, adult actors and crew members. I’ve adopted this saying for myself called “Beyond the Film”. It’s a saying that keeps me reminded that it’s not just about a project, it’s more than that. It’s about the lives we encounter and the impact we are making in the community. It’s about empowering others in pursuit of their dreams.
Future plans are to keep making quality projects that are fun, inspiring, motivating and impactful. More films are already in the works as we will be casting soon creating more opportunities for our community. I one day want to have UTubeSensations and UTubeSensationsKids as a global brand with branches in other states and countries that’s a beacon of trust love and respect in the film industry.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I wouldn’t say luck, but I would say, God! As a business I have seen God’s hand all over it, here is why I say that. Luck is something that comes and goes, something that might drop in your had with chances of it benefiting you, but in the three, going on four, years UTubeSensations has been active, there has been no setback. It’s really been a healthy consistency in the growth of our business. We are still in the beginning stages, but look to keep moving forward. Our Brand has about six phases in total and is currently on phase two with UTSKids. We have an abundance of people wanting to help out and leave life-changing reviews on our page because of the positive impact we are making in an industry currently filled with bitterness, competition and envy. That my friend is not luck at all. Our success is solely on the big guy upstairs. So thankful!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8514727/?mode=desktop&ref_=m_ft_dsk
- Phone: 8173233389
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zekejeremiah/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZekejeremiahC/
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10826164/?ref_=nm_knf_i1
Image Credit:
Jcarsonproductions, DWSTUDIOS, UTubeSensations
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