Meet Daniel Mendoza of Amoroma Productions

Growing in Southern California I watched my parents work incredibly hard to build a better life for us. Despite not speaking English when he first moved to the US my father eventually earned a bachelor’s degree and started his own business. That truly showed me that anything was possible if I worked for it. My parents were very supportive of my creative pursuits but they also reminded me not to rely on my artistic talents alone. In my twenties I decided to be a filmmaker so I scraped up enough money to buy a camcorder and off I went.

After moving to Arizona in 2009 I had to rebuild my community of creatives and within a year I was working on short films, attending workshops and taking on just about any opportunity to film something. The projects I worked on were so diverse that I started to sharpen my skills tremendously and build the confidence to take on new challenges. By 2015 I officially became a full time filmmaker. Though I had originally dreamed of making my own films I realized that any job with a camera in my hands was an opportunity to tell a story.

My love for storytelling has compelled me to find ways to try to elevate every job I work on. Films that induce emotions have always inspired me. My favorite films are the ones that make you laugh and cry as well as self reflect or see things differently. I aspire to create content that resonates with viewers and engages them in ways that feels interactive. Films are personal experiences and trying to evoke that same response in branding content is what we strive for.

Initially, one of my main challenges was finding my worth as a creative. When you first start out it seems like it’s all feast or famine. So you take jobs at lower rates and before you know it you find yourself in a cycle of attracting more of those low paying jobs. It can take time to build the confidence to charge what you know you’re worth and hold firm with your pricing.

Another challenge I faced was identifying who my ideal clients or team members were. Nothing will affect your feelings about what you do more than the people you interact with regularly. Establishing and maintaining good partnerships requires awareness and a great deal of effort. You learn fairly quickly into most projects what someone is going to be like to work with, if you pay attention. I was drawn towards collaborations where both sides worked together to get the best results. Clients that trusted me to execute their vision as opposed to micromanaging me was when I excelled.

The best lessons for me always come from failures or difficulties. An entrepreneur’s worst enemy is inexperience and there really isn’t a way to speed up the process aside from working through challenges. Looking back now it’s hard to recall specific times of struggle or anguish. Not because they didn’t occur but rather because of the growth that came as a result of overcoming those challenges.

I have truly come to value those in my life who are willing to tell me the truth instead of what I want to hear. These are the people that will push me to be the best versions of myself because they want me to succeed. Challenges are simply a part of life so you have to be ready to act and call upon your circle of trust when difficulties arise. Doing so will increase the chances the things will go a lot smoother.

I would want readers to know the variety of what we can do. Along with branding and events, we work on a lot of documentary and narrative content. In 2021 we filmed our first feature length film which premiered at the 2023 Phoenix Film Festival. You can see the trailer for that film at https://foreverhomemovie.com/ We are incredibly proud of the film and the work we do.

Video content is not only a powerful marketing tool but it can really help you engage and interact with your audience as well as your team members more effectively. We love learning all about a client’s goals to see how we can best help them. Everything is truly customized to the client’s vision, their industry and the budget. I believe we have a lot to offer anyone looking for a creative storytelling approach.

I always associated happiness with being able to do what I love for a living. Currently sharing this passion with my wife and running our company together is the absolute cherry on top. Since coming on full-time in 2019 she has helped the company grow so much and it makes me extremely happy to see her succeed in her role. Helping clients grow their businesses and form deeper connections with their audience is also incredibly rewarding.

Outside of work I find great joy in simple things such as spending quality time at home with my wife and our miniature pinscher terrier, Diego. We are all about experiences and there is always something fun to do around town. Running your own business can be exhausting so we often balance that out by reading or watching movies. We also enjoy having dinner dates with friends and visiting our family in California as often as possible.

Cyndi Hardy

Nick Gasmena

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