Today we’d like to introduce you to Ian Wakeman.
Hi Ian, 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 got where I am today through a series of random connections. Throughout my schooling, I had no clue what I wanted to do for a career. My father had always instilled in me “do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life”. Yet, there wasn’t one particular avenue that I was passionate about enough to make a career out of. I was however passionate about rock climbing at the time. Although nowhere near good enough to make a career out of it, I still pursued climbing every chance I had. Going to all these remote climbing destinations took me to some of the most obscure and insanely beautiful places that the general public would most likely never get a chance to see. I had this urge to document and share my experiences so I picked up my first camera, a Sony a6000. Not knowing anything about photography at the time, I fell in love with the trial and error that came with this new hobby. I loved the story-telling aspect and the emotion that each photo could convey. My first pivotal connection was through the climbing community. I had met a group of climbers at a local gym, one of them was a director/photographer/videographer, you name it. More than anything, he was just a creative. His name was L. He ended up becoming my mentor in a way. Teaching me not so much about the technical aspects of shooting, or the gear itself, but more about the creative process, emotion, and story telling. I’m forever grateful for his knowledge because I don’t think a lot of creators these days get the privilege to start out this way. A lot of them go through school or watch YouTube videos that are so focused on the the technical aspects of photo. What camera to use, what settings, proper lighting, etc. L’s motto was “the best camera is the one you have on you”. Through his guidance I really expanded my craft and furthered my desire to shoot, not just climbing but anything else for that matter. Although I was head over heals for photo, I still didn’t think making money doing it was feasible. That was until another connection came along. One of my climbing buddies had reached out to me and told me that one of their friends was getting married and they wanted photo and video for their wedding but had a really tight budget. He said he thought of me and wanted to set up a meeting. I met with the couple and although I had zero wedding experience, they liked my work. They said they weren’t sure if they wanted me for photo or for video yet and would let me know later that week. The entire week I was praying they would pick me for photo, since at the time I had zero video experience. They came back a week later and decided they wanted me to do video. After watching a hundred youtube videos and borrowing most of L’s equipment I shot their wedding video for a whopping $600. As a 17 year old at the time, I thought I was rich. It was also the first time that I thought a career like this is doable. Looking back now, I’m forever grateful that they happened to pick me to shoot video because if not I might have stayed in the photo world indefinitely, and not had the opportunity to tell stories the way video allows you to. Ironically, my next connection was sparked from that same wedding. I had posted a story on my social media that day captioned “shooting a wedding video today”. One of my friends from community college (who is now a badass director of photography) saw my story and said “i work for a wedding company who’s always looking for shooters, can I send you their info?”. I enthusiastically said yes, which is how i came to meet Dillan, my second mentor. Dillan had owned a very successful wedding video business at the time. While he had seen my potential with my creativity, he saw that I needed a fair bit of polishing. Afterall, Dillan was the yin to L’s yang. While he was also insanely creative, he was much more of a gear wizard. He was very technically sound, a proper cinematographer. I worked for Dillan for over 3 years working my way up to become lead shooter and editor. He taught my all the things that L didn’t. He taught me about industry standards, gear proficiency, all the various technicalities to make me a very well-rounded shooter and editor. With all the knowledge and connections I had gained, I realized that a career in video was more than possible. Eventually, I had decided that it was time to start my own business. I started to hone in on my specific passion and niche. Fast forward to today, I have been running Wake Films for 3 years, specializing in brand content, and I’ve been loving every second of it.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s never completely smooth. I think every business owner can attest to that. Starting out, there were definitely some bumps in the road, the main one being the lack of a guaranteed income compared to a 9-5. There’s definitely slow and busy seasons in this industry, and it’s easy for that to get in your head. For me though, even when my business was at its worst, I still wouldn’t had traded it for anything with the amount of free time and flexibility I have now.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Wake Films?
Wake Films is a video production company based out of Encinitas, CA that specializes in Brand Story Videos. Think of the “about” page on a website. Instead of reading a lengthy couple paragraphs, it’s much easier to digest information in a short video that helps brand’s connect with their audience “face to face”. We also specialize in social media content for brands as well. Some of our clients include Stance, Frontwave Arena, Weck Method, Father Joe’s Villages, Iron Rebel, and many more. Interested in our services? Mention SD Voyager for 10% off your next brand video!
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Hopefully this article will resonate with at least one person who’s on the fence about what to do with their life. As corny as it sounds… follow your dreams. It’s always going to be daunting but the best time to start is now, the safe option will always be there. Also, I can’t emphasize this enough, but the number one thing I’ve learned getting to where I am today is that it’s truly not about what you know, but who you know. Take every opportunity to meet new people and get outside your comfort zone. Try to make a lasting impression on people, they may give you a job years down the line. Your network is your net worth.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wake-films.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wakefilms/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wake-films/
