We had the good fortune of connecting with Phillip Wheeler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Phillip, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Where I am from not many people are into photography or videography and those that are only do it as a fun side hobby. Also, the ones that did decide to take it seriously would release half completed work. This inspired me to start taking my own work a lot more seriously due to the vision I have with film. I decided to name my company Rectify Film, the definition of Rectify is “to make right”, my purpose behind this name is to create content the “right” way. Yes I know, it is very ambiguous but what I mean in “right” is work that is completed, thought through, and artistically pleasing to the eye.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
A lot of my photography is centered around a cinematic style but also taking in consideration the basic fundamentals of the craft. A mix of the basics of photography, a variety of different angles of my choosing, and an editing style I have been practicing for 7 years. However I do love photography, my main goal with the camera is to focus on film. I want to perfect my craft in screenwriting and make the necessary connections to create films with no limitations. I’m most proud of the film work I have done so far which is a couple of short films and a feature film that is nearing its completion. There were many challenges I had to overcome in regards to getting where I am today, many of those challenges were financial and experience related since I was just starting out. What I want the world to know about my story is that I come from a place that is NOT creatively driven and I base a mass of my inspiration on my every day life experiences. Growing up I was not around many artists nor cared what art was but the whole time I was working on my craft unknowingly. Taking in inspiration from films and reenacting scenes from all types of films since a child. I have grown to truly appreciate all forms of art and to have a strong caring nature towards those with artistic endeavors.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well first off I would want to take them to Atlanta which is an hour and half drive for a photoshoot around the city. Probably go to an Atlanta Hawks game or a concert that is going on in the area at the time. In terms of the Middle Georgia area, I would take them to see a theater play at Perry Players, I would also take them to see the downtown Macon area which is historically relevant musically, and I would take them to see Triangle Arts Macon which is an area for all types of artists to come and work on their craft (mainly graffiti).

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Honestly there are a lot of people I would like to credit especially in the beginning of my career when I had little to nothing financially. In terms of who really got me set in the right direction I would like to thank my old friend Tank for lending me his Canon 60D and allowing me to experiment with the latest equipment of that time, my graphic design teacher in high school giving me advice on how to get better and giving me the boost I needed to hear when starting, my old friend Rudy Santana whose passions intersected with mine leading us to creating a lot of content, my friend Loagin Sneed who pushed me to keep working when I was borderline about to quit, my homie Jelani Perkins who’s passion was mutual with mine which led to us to getting known in the local film scene around the Macon area, and last but not least my close friend Garrett Thomson who’s family company has taken me under their wing as a photographer/videographer. In terms of those that pushed me to keep grinding on my passion I want to credit Deveche Jahray, Alex Walton, Connor Vinson, Dustin Bennett, Kasime Johnson, Kaylee Bromell, Chris Haughton, Nik Lopez, Jordan Brown, Chris Stewart, Derrick Wade, and my brother Christian Serrano.

Website: phillipswheeler.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rectifyfilm/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/phillip.wheeler.52/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGf2ab0SABWRynrqjmKZUVg/videos

Image Credits
Loagin Sneed

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