WTF Was I thinking?

So, I’ve been a little quiet in the blogosphere lately. So far I’ve been able to to post at least two articles a month, and I still have some time left in this month. But it’s getting late. It’s only because I’ve been busy in another area of my life.

What area would that be?

Well…I’ve been busy making a huge career shift. It seems that as I entered my tenth year of work in the video production field, I also decided to start my own business.

WTF was I thinking!

"Mavis" - She's a beauty, and for sale!
“Mavis” – She’s a beauty, and for sale!

As if being a 50-something single dad with a mortgage and car payment wasn’t enough, I decided to give up a steady paycheck, take on more debt with a business loan, increase my administrative and bureaucratic bull shit workload, give up benefits (whoops…didn’t have those to begin with), sell my Harley (by the way, here’s the CL listing if you’re interested), take on jobs at all hours of the day and all days of the week, call on people I’ve never met to ask to do business with me… Dang! I Better stop before I talk myself out of it.

Wait…I CAN’T talk myself out of it. I’m already listed with the City of Roanoke as a business, joined the Chamber of Commerce, enrolled as a client with the SBDC, paid the Commonwealth of Virginia SCC for articles of organization to form an LLC, and quit my day job…

Here’s what I’m thinking.

I’m a 50-something single dad with two teenaged boys that teach me something every day. I’m blessed with a nice home to raise them in and a kick ASS Subaru to drive them to and fro and satisfies the curvy road, speed demon in me (as well as cart camera, grip, and electric around), and I’m stable enough that a bank sees me as low risk. I’m a 50-something middle aged man who has the desire of a young buck half my age to learn new things (thought I was gonna use the F-word didncha), meet new people, collaborate and create…and check it…I have the life experience that no young buck can learn in film school or college. I have the freedom to travel to new locations for new clients and new opportunities, call on new people I’ve never met to see what we can create, and if I ever get so attached to a motorcycle, guitar, car, or camera that I just can’t bear to let it go, then I didn’t deserve it in the first place.

Things come and go.

I’ve got the ability to create and inspire. I know this because you, my colleagues tell me so. Every one of you that I’ve told I was starting my own business has said “What’s taken you so long?”, “You deserve it!”, “I’m excited for you!” (PLEASE remind me of these things when the going gets tough).

Add to this the fact that as a 50-something middle aged man, I’m running short on time to “think about it for a while”, “sleep on it”, or “pray about it for a few days”. I’m all prayed up right NOW and God said He’d guide me but I’d better get ready to work my ass off!

The name of the business is Dave Perry • Cinematographer, LLC.

When I’m looking through the lens of a camera I’m in the moment and life is live and turned on! It’s like years ago when I was a working musician and there were times when we would perform and play music that we could never reproduce again but inspired us to continue to search for that sound. I’m always in search of the next amazing series of images and motion that I may never compose again, but motivates me to keep on keepin on.

I love doing pre-production for a shoot, visualizing the shoot, and when it finally gets to production time, seeing an actor deliver a line or perform an action better than I had imagined. It’s like a jam session…music and imagery are so close to each other…I see things when I hear certain music and hear things when I see inspiring images (no…I’m not on acid either). I’m not alone. I think that many of you reading this know exactly what I’m talking about.

I think I just talked my self into it.

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Dave Perry is an award winning Roanoke Virginia digital film producer.

Gold Addy Award

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