Creative First

Chispa House
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Powered by Chispa House, Kelsey Cochran explores the spark of creative leaders and the moments that define their career. Creative First brings together diverse individuals across all industries to share how they discovered their passions, what inspires their work ethic, and their journey of getting paid to do what they love.

  1. 01/26/2021

    Creating You Own Path with Conrad Golovac

    Conrad is a Los Angeles based DP and stills photographer who has quite the impressive client list. He shares experiences working with Adidas for the Players Tribune and filming some of the biggest names in sports such as Patrick Mahomes from the NFL, Donovan Mitchell from the NBA and Madison De Rozario from the Paralympics. In addition, his client list includes Neiman Marcus, USAA, San Pellegrino, Audi and Callaway. Conrad also gave some insight to how nearly every job he's landed can be traced back to his first internship. Kelsey and Conrad discuss Conrad's journey to filmmaking (1:37), finding the "I'm meant to be here" mindset (4:32), the importance of your first big opportunity (7:05), word-of-mouth in the freelance world (8:14), his experience with the Adidas Player's Tribune (11:36), separating your social presence (16:14), creative freedom in your career (17:42), finding a production company vs. jumping into freelancing (20:21).

    25 min

  2. 01/19/2021

    The Golden Age of Documentaries with Duncan Sullivan

    Duncan is a director and cinematographer based in New York City. He has combined documentary work and commercial filmmaking to develop an impressive portfolio. Some of his most awarded docu-films include Brothers of Climbing and Ten Thousand Bolts which have been featured in multiple film festivals nationwide. Duncan’s commercial clients include REI, Redbull, Hennessy, American Express and Adidas. Kelsey and Duncan discuss his journey toward cinematography (1:31), being a director vs. being a cinematographer (7:14), who makes a story come to life (8:36), the desire to make both commercial work and documentaries (11:03), how he got backing from REI Co-op (13:53), what skills create a diverse client list (21:50), and Duncan's career inspiration (26:24).

    30 min

  3. 01/12/2021

    Learning and Unlearning with Reginald Cunningham

    Reggie is a freelance photographer and entrepreneur based out of Washington D.C. Although he has been surrounded by photography his entire life, he spent more of his young adulthood searching for other career paths. He eventually found his passion for the creative industry and has honed in on portrait, event, and music photography. He also is the founder of the brand Be Pure Black. His work has been featured in the Washington Post, Huffington Post, Forbes, Ebony and Cosmopolitan magazine and even the cover of British Vogue. Kelsey and Reggie discuss growing up with a photographer (1:34), finding his own passion for creativity (3:32), whether he believes he has ever developed a creative style (6:43), marketing for a brand vs. marketing yourself (12:53), achieving desired recognition (14:47), recognizing affirmations and adapting (17:05) and the Black Women Save movement (19:42).

    24 min

  4. 01/05/2021

    Comedy, Acting and Kollaboration with Minji Chang

    Minji is a natural born creative. She has her time filled with many facets of the industry: comedy, acting, podcasting, producing, and directing a nonprofit called Kollaboration. She has trained at UC Berkeley, the Beverly Hills Playhouse San Francisco, the Beverly Hills Playhouse in Los Angeles and Upright Citizens Brigade. Minji is also a commercial actor and voiceover artist, and has represented companies such as Toastmasters International, Humanify, Pablo, HP, Intel, OPI, Spotify and Wells Fargo. She hosts a weekly podcast called "First of All" and has created multiple online viral videos that can be found on Buzzfeed. Kelsey and Mini discuss her decision to return back to a career in the arts (2:04), her experience with the non-profit organization called Kollaboration (4:05), what she’s learned from the growing community of artists she surrounds herself with (6:36), how she measures success (9:05), Minji’s experience finding her place in comedy, acting and content creation (13:48), aspects of a crew that create a smooth production (18:23), the biggest obstacle into infiltrating the narrative industry and how social presence plays a role (22:06), her podcast “First of All,” (28:03) and some amazing final words!

    30 min

  5. 12/29/2020

    Start Early, Work Hard with Liam Trumble

    Liam is a childhood friend of mine. He’s always had creativity at his core; his favorite class at our high school put him in front and behind the camera everyday and gave him the freedom to explore his imaginative ideas. He left for Chicago after graduation, studied at Columbia College in the city and found himself working his way through the freelancer community quickly. After landing an internship at Havas Media, an international advertising powerhouse, Liam’s career rapidly accelerated into what it is today. He’s done work for clients such Adidas, Louis Vuitton and Footlocker; filmed artists such as rappers Joey Purp, Chance the Rapper and Vince Staples; and put his innovative work into projects with Yeezy, Complex Con and Volkswagen. Kelsey and Liam discuss how travel effected his early creativity (2:23), his video work in high school and when he started realizing his passion (5:25), why he started diving into the commercial world (7:39), how Chicago accelerated his career and what he learned by working "too" hard (10:40), higher education versus freelancing to start your career (14:40), the biggest challenge of working with high-end clients (18:33), why he started his own agency venture and his career now (23:14), and his proudest moment (26:17).

    29 min

  6. 12/22/2020

    Traveling Photojournalism with Charlotte Maxwell

    Charlotte has always had journalism and photography in her back corner. Growing up with a family full of journalists, she has a true skill for storytelling and capturing people’s most intimate moments. From studying Chinese at Edinburgh University, to working alongside a pop-star in Russia and volunteering at a refugee camp in France, Charlotte has allowed her camera to be her safe space and allow her acquaintances share their journeys with her and her audience. She is also a co-founder of Time Peace, a community that allows refugees and locals come together and create friendships that last a lifetime. Kelsey and Charlotte discuss the creative industry in the UK and her journey to becoming a photojournalist (time), when she decided to create her base in London to pursue film and photojournalism (9:17), how her past experiences impacted her creative style (12:55), creating the Time Peace community (17:20), how she’s managed the challenges of balancing business and creativity (23:00), how she incorporates positivity into darker documentary topics (27:20), and her proudest moment (30:00).

    33 min

  7. 12/15/2020

    The Reality of Media and Using Your Life as Inspiration with Megan Nager

    Megan is SAG-actress, filmmaker, screenwriter, and comedian who has appeared on television shows on TruTV, Amazon, and MTV. She performs stand-up at The Comedy Store and The Hollywood Improv. She is witty and outgoing, and commonly known for her comedy sketches and mini series that showcase and comment on the unrealistic standards of beauty that are widely seen in today’s media. She is the creator of Verified, an original short series that has been chosen as an official selection at the Atlanta Comedy Film Awards and won best rom-com at the Los Angeles Film Awards. In addition, she is the co-founder of Wake and Make Media, a creative marketing agency based in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she and her team develop targeted online campaigns and help clients achieve digital awareness. Kelsey and Megan discuss how she found the multiple facets of her career (1:51), when she realized she’s actually very funny (5:49), what motivated her to create content exposing today’s beauty standards (7:40), how she created Verified and what she's learned from writing this narrative (10:15), her predictions on the narrative industry (16:08), why she started Wake and Make Media and the challenges that surprised her (18:02), why they emphasize spreading content for their clients and her advice for young professionals (22:11), and her proudest moment (25:35).

    28 min

  8. 12/08/2020

    Making in the Midwest with Kurt Schneider of The Eightfold Collective

    Kurt is a director and videographer based in Detroit, Michigan with a passion for creating. His desire to tell visual stories started early, but his decision to pursue video work as a full-time profession is not like many others. At the end of Kurt’s college career, he paired up with his now co-founder to develop videos for commercial clients. Kurt is now the co-founder of Eightfold, a production agency in the Midwest creating work for Pure Michigan, Porsche, GMC, Dodge and Wells Fargo. Their team has also produced narrative shorts such as Speed, which received a Vimeo Staff Pick. Kelsey and Kurt discuss how he found his desire to pursue videography (2:10), how he and his partner have been to tap into local Midwest industries (6:35), what opportunities Michigan has provided him (9:40), what being a collaborative group of artists means for his company (13:06), how their clients appreciate their production sets (16:34), why they continue to market their stills photography campaigns (19:14), his prediction for the future of branded campaigns (21:56), their short film “Speed” and his desire to write narrative work (25:12), and his proudest moment (30:50).

    36 min
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About

Powered by Chispa House, Kelsey Cochran explores the spark of creative leaders and the moments that define their career. Creative First brings together diverse individuals across all industries to share how they discovered their passions, what inspires their work ethic, and their journey of getting paid to do what they love.

Information

  • Creator
    Chispa House
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2021
  • Episodes
    16
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Chispa House
  • Show Website
    Creative First