Today we’d like to introduce you to JC Navarro.
JC, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I discovered my ability to tell stories through film effectively while working in a nonprofit organization that helped to transform student’s lives. Part of my job was to create partnerships and raise funds for the organization. I was an effective at communicating the vision and told stories clearly, but I thought to myself, “how powerful would this be if the students told of their life change rather than hear me tell their story.” From there, I picked up my Canon Rebel T3i and borrowed my sisters Canon Rebel T3 (for a second angle), cut off the earbuds of my apple headphones and paper-clipped the speaker – using my phone as a voice recorder. The final product was a bit long, but it drove the vision home and gained us more partnerships.
Since then, I’ve created films for other organizations, most of which are non-profits. And I’ve worked with small businesses who are truly making a difference in people’s lives. It’s been my passion to tell people’s stories which inspire them to action and rise to their potential. It is a true joy to help people not only feel the emotions and connect with those in my films but to also help them (the viewer) be stirred and love to action. I’ve been blessed to be connected to organizations like The Diabetes Research Connection, Cover Now, UrbanLife, Angel’s Family Foster Network and my current employer in Housecall Pro. Even in my full-time position as videographer editor, in a start-up, I’ve been able to tell the stories blue-collar workers and entrepreneurs who have made sacrifices and have taken the risk of building their dreams while serving their communities.
I haven’t always had the luxury of choosing my clients or this niche genre of storytelling. Like many creative people, I’ve grinded, filmed weddings solo, taken huge losses, undercharged and pissed customers. But it’s helped me sharpen my craft, grown my business savvy and have recognized what it means to be excellent. My work speaks for itself, but I believe my client network and reach have grown due to my ability to connect with people in both those I interview and those who hire me. I am not the kind of creative that gets my feelings hurt because of another round of edits requested by the person who hired me, even though I may disagree. My motto is “if the clients happy, I’m happy.”
With the attitude I carry, coupled with the speed to create what is envisioned, powerful stories are told to impact lives. I love people, the stories that are within them and the opportunity to connect people to make a difference.
Has it been a smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road. It’s been a journey of learning what it means to use the gifts you have been given and finding the places to use them.
My greatest struggle has been balanced. I’m a father of three and I discovered my gift in my mid-20s. I had no formal training, nor did I study film or media. For goodness sake, I graduated with a bachelor’s in Public Administration. Being a father and husband at a fairly young age, my goals was always to provide for my family and work hard to establish stability. One thing to point out is that I am an immigrant. Coming from a traditional Filipino household, stability is king. Sadly, we as a community with much creativity, we are risk adverse and conditioned to settle for what is stable. It’s a running joke by comedians like Jo Koy that we are mailmen, nurses and other government positions alike – but it’s true. And the reason for such a truth is that we are taught that to oppress our artistic selves, see them for hobbies only and make money to be the successful people we ought to be in the land of opportunity so we can build our families and the generations to follow. In short, I didn’t have the support to pursue creativity as a career.
Moving forward, film has always been freelance and only a small portion of my job when it comes to companies and organizations I’ve been a part of. In some cases, I’ve volunteered my time by producing and creating films simply out of the passion of doing so – and still my employers in the past did not see them to be valuable enough for a change in position. All in all, the challenges I’d face in not being able to gain financially through my gift of film brought the certainty and confidence that the filmmaker in me exists regardless of circumstance.
Please tell us more about your work. What do you do? What do you specialize in? What sets you apart from competition?
My business is telling stories of people’s lives. I specialize in squeezing emotions through my storytelling so that people can connect and feel what we desire them to in the story being told. What sets me apart from others is my ability to connect with people and my eye. My connection with people allows freedom for them to be real and my eye captures the image of framing, color and music to maximize the scene/story.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Our city is a great city for businesses like mine. On a practical level, the city is diverse in culture, experience, vocation, location, etc. I would definitely recommend they start here – simply because there are friendly people to connect with and vast options of filming locations to create and simply hoe in your craft.
But to be honest, the city does not matter. If you are hungry to create and willing to do the work regardless of the tools you process in gear – location should not be a deterrent. In the technological world, we live in today, one can make their mark and find their way. It’s a beautiful time to create media and share it with the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: Jcnavarrofilms.com
- Email: jc@jcnavarrofilms.com
- Instagram: Jcnavarrofilms
Image Credit:
Chill Photography, Lake Dallas, TX
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