Creative First

Renard is a camera and steadicam operator based in Los Angeles. This South Florida-native began pursuing videography in high school by making highlight tapes for himself and multiple other teammates on the football squad. After suffering from injuries that ended his college football career, Renard turned back to camera work — a skill he had never lost and a passion that had never died. He now works with some of the most talented and noteworthy names in the hip-hop industry making quick movements and action scenes in music videos seem flawless. Beyoncé, Snoop Dogg, Travis Scott, Nas and Juice WRLD are just a few artists he has had the opportunity to create with.

Kelsey and Renard discuss steadicam operation versus the norm (2:40), finding his passion for videography by making high school football highlight tapes (4:47), an injury that led to the end of his football career and the start of his creative pursuit (6:46), how to shift into your creative career (7:50), finding his path in the music video industry (9:09), the importance of reaching out and mentorship (10:45), the challenges of niche camera work (13:23), teamwork on set and who brings the energy (15:03),  working on Beyoncé's Black is King (17:51), learning to be confident (20:54), and his craziest experience on set (21:46). 

Sadé is a Caribbean-American filmmaker and photographer born in the Bronx but currently based out of Los Angeles. Her ability to write, direct, shoot and edit have made her an incredible storyteller. Her work, which has a focus on underrepresented groups, has won her the Director’s Guild of America John Frankenheimer Fellowship, features on VICE, Forbes and Rolling Stone, premieres at Tribeca Film Festival, and the opportunity to direct a feature documentary alongside influential artists such as T.I., Quincy Jones, and Common.

Kelsey and Sadé discuss her background growing up in the Bronx (2:32), her journey to Los Angeles and time at USC (6:48), telling the stories of underrepresented groups (9:10), the making of Ponyboi (11:08), producing Spotify’s first narrative short film (15:27), directing the Trap Jazz documentary with T.I and Quincy Jones (20:53), why having community support is so important (23:45), her experience founding Out of Many Media (27:04), and her proudest moment (31:44).

Annie is the Director of Marketing at JuneShine Hard Kombucha. In her role, she has had the opportunity to lean into her own creative approach and assist in the development of this rapidly emerging brand. However, this is not the first time she has used her skills to create an authentic brand look. Her professional journey has taken her from lending her skills at Fortune 500 companies like Birchbox, American Express as well as growing businesses such as Imperfect Foods and JuneShine! Along the way she has stayed true to her adventurous and sustainability- focused roots to build a career she loves.

Kelsey and Annie discuss her vision as a creative (1:48), how rest and the outdoors inspire her (3:26), aligning adventure with a corporate career (4:34), how culture and brand ambassadors attract a loyal audience (7:28), utilizing past jobs to impact your current job (9:20), the ways JuneShine builds relationship with creative individuals (11:02), the difficulties of marketing an emerging brand (14:41), developing campaigns for collaboration marketing (16:38), Annie's favorite aspect of being in a business position (19:22), and first steps to entering commercial work (20:45).

Santino is a Colorado-based photographer and producer at ROAM Media. His story takes him from skateparks in New York City, to the coast of Hawaii and the cobblestone streets of Italy before landing a position at the company of his dreams. Santino's career has taken him to some of the most incredible locations on Earth, including remote areas in the Arctic that can only be represented by numerical coordinates. 

Kelsey and Santino discuss how he discovered his passion for filmmaking through skateboarding (2:46), the ways your home city can impact your creative style (7:39), finding Christopher Jerard and ROAM Media (9:23), the advantages of working within an agency (12:50), learning creative skills from your network (16:34), Santino's work with ROAM's "Boundless" series (19:36), and his proudest moment in his career (23:10).