Today we’d like to introduce you to James Bustamante.
James, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born and raised in the small town of Las Vegas New Mexico. The population is about 17,000 people. There wasn’t a huge art community there so most people didn’t gravitate towards that type of thing. After graduating high school, I attended film school in Santa Fe New Mexico. Santa Fe had a small rather unknown school called College of Santa Fe. This was somewhat of a hidden gem for anyone interested in the arts. What made it special was it had a theater department, photography, music, creative writing and of course the moving image arts department. All the things any aspiring filmmaker needed in one school. The faculty was also a mix of many skill sets and industry professionals. With small classroom sizes, I was able to get a top of the line education. The film industry was also starting to take off in New Mexico with the addition of tax incentives at that time. It ended up being the perfect time to gain quality experience in the industry.
As a result of being in film school and having two studios as part of our department, we had access to many films shooting in New Mexico at that time. I was able to get an internship with Ron Howard during the filming of The Missing, the film he made right after winning his best director Oscar for a beautiful mind. This is the type of experience for for an aspiring director was invaluable. After graduating with a bachelor of arts, I took a year and worked on a corporate documentary. After doing that, I really didn’t have a plan and lucky enough my old college started a program very similar to that of the American Film Institute. They were accepting a small amount of directors, writers and producers for a year-long intensive program, called the New Mexico Filmmakers Intensive. I wasn’t really sure that I would make the cut but lucky enough I was invited to be one of the directors in the program. This program ended up being just what I needed. Film school does a great job of giving you an all-around education but I needed to know what it takes to be a director in all aspects of production. This program took me through the process of being a director during pre-production, production and post-production process. We had industry professionals that came to give workshops and talk to us not just about what they did but how they interacted with directors.
For instance, we had an editing class with an editor who edited Mission Impossible. His goal wasn’t to teachers how to edit but how to tell a story through editing and how a director should prepare for the edit. The biggest part of this program is we teamed up with a writer and producer and had to make a film. Although I had made many short films in college, this was the first time I had a chance to work with a team and focus just on one project without all my other classes in the way. In the end we made a film called American Dream which focused on how families are affected when trying to make it in the US while not being American citizens. What made this different from any other film I had made was for the first time, I used professional actors, crew and had the resources needed available to do it the right way. The film was very successful on the festival circuit. When the program was complete I felt even stronger than I had the skills to go out and be a filmmaker. I just didn’t have a plan. I knew I didn’t want to go to LA like everyone else. I wanted to stay and make independent films in my home state. I figured with all the things happening in New Mexico at the time I could benefit from that. I was lucky enough to get a writing apprenticeship with a writer and director team, Gregory Nava and Barbara Martinez Jitner. I worked with them for over a year on a mini-series they were developing. I worked on various feature films mainly as a PA and second second assistant director but I still didn’t have that opportunity to make another film. At a certain point, I realized I needed to make a change. I didn’t want to get stuck in the industry doing something I didn’t want to do. I wanted to direct and even though it was a great experience watching the process of a major motion picture production it wasn’t necessarily helping me get closer to my dream.
My younger brother lived here in Phoenix, Arizona, so I thought maybe I would make a change and move to a bigger city. Having grown up in a small town with 17,000 people it would be an experience to live in a bigger city with millions of people. I also figured I’d have an opportunity to concentrate on doing more of what I wanted to do. I realized very quickly that the film industry here in Arizona is very much non-existent. I did find that there was a lot of work in the corporate/business world. I found myself working as an independent contractor for various companies making corporate videos. It wasn’t telling stories the way I wanted to but it was an interesting challenge. It also helped me accomplish a very important thing which was making money so that I could pay off my student loans and at the same time pay my bills. I was gaining some traction, so I went ahead and started my own LLC, In Motion Media and figured I would try to do more on my own. I was able to have a little success but I found myself hustling and started to lose creativity because all I was doing was being a businessman.
The industry also have change so much that anyone could make videos. The cameras have gotten good enough to the point that you can go and buy a $500 camera and make an image that most people would be OK with. I was starting to lose jobs to people younger than me and started to lose interest. At that point, I thought maybe if I worked a regular job for a larger company I could spend less time worrying about getting clients and more time worrying about how I can be creative and tell stories. On a whim, I applied for a position for a local company that was looking for a video producer. I ended up getting the job and decided to take it. The company had a very unique set up with a team of other video producers. It was a very good decision because it helps take the stress off of trying to compete with a market that is all over the place.
The most important thing it did though was give me the time to think about what it is I really wanted to do. I found myself thinking creatively again and wanting to tell stories. I started collaborating with people and writing scripts and in my free time started making short films again. This took me back to why I wanted to be a filmmaker in the beginning. About six months ago I was starting to notice that a lot of the people I went to college with were starting to gain mainstream success. It was motivating because those are people that I knew and they were doing exactly what I wanted to do. It really got my mind thinking about how I could get there. I have a full-time job, so I couldn’t really do it alone but even if I didn’t have a full-time job I’ve already tried to do it alone. It really clicked that most of these people that have success in the film industry don’t do it alone but they do it with other people. I was lucky enough to have met a bunch of local talented individuals who also had similar goals. I thought it would be cool if we started a company whose goal was to really try and plan and execute making films.
With the changing market and Netflix, Hulu and Amazon offering new opportunities. The obstacle was not as big as it was in the past. Getting content distributed is actually something that is more attainable. We all decided to create VISION5 , Inc. with that goal in mind. The first thing we started to do was think of longer form content that we could produce. The first project we greenlit and started to shoot was a documentary titled Sammy’s School. It’s a documentary film about a mother who created a charter school all to create a better learning environment for her son that has autism. Even though we are shooting, we actively trying to reach out to Netflix and others to try and get interested to help produce the film. We also started to write a narrative fiction feature screenplay that we hope to produce in 2019. In the end, even though we’re in the state that doesn’t have any film incentives or really a film industry we have a team that is motivated to do it regardless.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As a filmmaker, there are always obstacles. For me, the biggest obstacle has always been a balance between trying to pay your bills and do it by working as a filmmaker. While I was in college I worked in many restaurants as a waiter and I’ve been lucky enough since I got out to have made all of my money by doing something in the industry. The experience I had working as an apprentice for the writer and director team was very interesting. I had to transcribe screenplays and books. The technology wasn’t how it is today. I had to type these in manually. I wasn’t making a lot of money mainly just enough to get by but it taught me how to research. When preparing to write a screenplay really researching all aspects, even other films help. With that experience, I also learned my first lesson about the hard knocks of the industry. I thought this experience was going to open up a lot of doors for me because I was working with well-known filmmakers. In the end, I learned a lot during the process but when I tried to apply for a Directors Guild of America program I wasn’t even able to get a letter of recommendation. It was disappointing but it made me stronger and also helped me realize that not everyone in this industry is loyal. The other obstacles had to do with being a filmmaker in your 20s. Trying to get financing and backing to make films when you’re young is very difficult. People look at you and don’t even think twice.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about VISION5, Inc. – what should we know?
VISION5 , Inc. is a film production company based out of Phoenix Arizona and was founded by a group of passionate filmmakers that believe they are stronger as a team than as individuals. Whether it’s branded content, documentaries, narrative or creative work, they are a company that believes that cinematic storytelling will always have a place in our society and can change the way we view the life around us. What sets us apart from most of the companies that do the same thing are that we have a strong team that brings specialties from all aspects of pre-production, production, and post-production. We also own the top camera in the motion picture industry, the ARRI ALEXA LF. We value quality and are dedicated to providing the best in all aspects.
Here’s a link to our latest project:
http://vision5inc.com/portfolio/the-journey/
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
In my opinion, the best quality you can have is the ability to not take no for an answer. This industry is far too difficult and you hear no far more than you ever hear yes. You have to have a thick skin and find a way to turn that no into a yes.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1 N 1st. St. Suite 690
Phoenix, AZ 85004 - Website: www.vision5inc.com
- Phone: 602-910-3132
- Email: creative@vision5inc.com
Image Credit:
Ming Pluemjit
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