Meet Emma Gillespie | Videographer & Creative Producer

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

Hi Emma, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I fell in love with all things video creation at a young age. It became a very integral part of who I was and what I wanted to do. I really liked that aspect of video, how personal it was to me and how it wasn’t just a career aspiration- it was a part of my story.

When I began the transition of personal videos into getting picked up for professional video projects, I discovered how deeply rooted my passion for telling people’s stories was, and how I was unique in that way because I did not have a specific niche that I wanted to target- I loved all of it. I loved the creative freedom that came with taking a project from the ground to its final, and I also loved building connections and relationships with people along the way. I started to realize that I wouldn’t have been able to incorporate all of my passions for the industry working for a large corporation. I was already getting reached out to as a full time student for video projects just through word of mouth; what potential could I have if I decided to completely lean into this full time? This is when I decided to fully jump in to running my own business and seeing what fruit could come from it.

I feel very blessed that I have the opportunity to a pursue a career that happened to be a major part of my story. This business has been pivotal for combining my personal passions into a career. My passion for both people and video has carried with me through the entirety of my life, and I have viewed this business is a launch pad into what my future could look like career wise.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My company, Captured Media Co, is a video marketing and freelance company that reaches a variety of clients. I believe that people and business have stories to tell but do not always have the skills or assets to do so in a creative or tangible way. My solution is exactly what Captured Media Co. offers- to cultivate a vision through film for my clients to use to share their stories.

For as long as I can remember, I found myself pulling out my camera to capture experiences in photos or videos. When I was ten years old, I offered to do extra chores so that I could buy the five-dollar iMovie app to make movies for my family and friends. Taking and editing video became one of my favorite and most constant hobbies I did while growing up. While on a mission trip the summer before my senior year in high school, I created a short film documenting our experience. The director of the ministry was so impressed that asked to use it as a promotional video on their website. I realized then that this was beyond just a hobby and decided to pursue videography as a career.

That experience was pivotal for me, and after it, I really leaned in and began to see myself as a creative professional. I took my video projects more seriously. I accepted a job with North Point Ministries Creative Services Department where I worked two summers during college. As I gained more experience with new cameras and equipment, learned the intricacies of the editing software and welcomed constructive criticism, I gained the confidence to share more of my work with others. At this point, people started to reach out to me for various filming projects. I discovered how deeply rooted my passion for telling people’s stories was, and how I was unique in that way because I did not have a specific niche that I wanted to target- I loved all of it!

That is when I decided I wanted to start my own company- and on January 27th of this year, I officially launched Captured Media Co, LLC. I believe that the main aspect that differentiates me from other videography companies is that I do not limit myself to a specific videography niche: I have a variety of clients, from smaller local businesses to weddings, to bigger companies such as mega churches. I believe having a wider target audience allows for more growth; the more people I work with, the more connections I build, and the more I learn about the industry in general.

I am really proud and excited about the business that I have already gotten from only being officially launched for about half a year. I have about 17 weddings booked over the next year, along with several projects on the calendar for local companies such as Jewelry Companies and Distilleries, and for bigger companies such as Chick-Fil-A. I really believe a large part of this success is due to how much I highlight how strong my desire is for making my clients visions come to life. I really do not believe my projects are about me, but about them and their passions!

The “Why” behind my business is ultimately the value that is carries not only in my work life, but in my personal life. I feel very blessed that I have the opportunity to a pursue a career that happened to be a major part of my story. This business has been pivotal for combining my personal passions into a career. My passion for both people and video has carried with me through the entirety of my life, and I have viewed this business is a launch pad into what my future could look like career wise.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
One of my favorite aspects of living in Atlanta is the variety of things that you get to do here. I am a very outdoorsy person, but I also love a day in the city. There are not a lot of places I know of that I can incorporate all of those things just a short drive from each other.

My perfect week would look like a camping trip on Lake Lanier, early morning wakeboarding and kayaking and a late night bonfire and drink with friends and family. I also would throw in a hike in North Georgia, such as Raven Cliff Falls or Duke’s Creek.

Downtown Alpharetta is one of my favorite spots as well- shopping, restaurants, live music, etc. Ponce City Market/Krog Street is another one of my favorites- it is home to my all time favorite restaurant, Superrica, owned by Ford Fry, a close family friend of mine.

I would end my week with dinner and a drink for the Braves game at the Battery! (Which also happens to have Superrica as well!)

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are two specific people/groups that I would love to shoutout:

I spent two of my college summers interning for North Point Ministries Creative Services Department. North Point Ministries has several different campuses all over Atlanta, and the department I interned for manages all of the creative content for all of the campuses- such as filming, editing, graphic design, live event production, etc. With there still being a lot of uncertainty in what specifically I wanted to do career wise, I wanted to be exposed to everything that comes with creative content creation. My bosses Brad Bretz, Dave Blakeslee, and Nick Chislett along with producer Kim Lundy and videographer and creative producer Chris Fake, were quick to throw me into projects to expose me into all kinds of projects.

Brad, Nick, Dave, Kim, Chris and the rest of the NPM creative team still don’t realize that their encouragement is what gave me the adrenaline and confidence to create more projects and keep going throughout the summer. In any industry where you are creating some sort of artwork, affirmation is everything. You need people to like what you’ve made, or else you cannot succeed as a creative. This is always something that has intimidated me; but this past summer I found that you have to find a healthy balance of welcoming feedback but also being confident in your vision. You cannot expect people to love and support your work if you don’t love and support your work first. It’s okay to be nervous- but if you set fear aside, you will leave so much room for courage. Another aspect that I appreciated so much by the team, specifically Kim and Chris, was that they blindly threw me into projects; and they did this because they both knew this was the best way for me to learn. You can shadow people every single day and take observational notes, but it isn’t until you are individually entrusted on a project that you establish confidence in your capabilities.

Another person that has been pivotal in Captured Media Co’s growth is my dear friend Kendal Patterson. Kendal is an incredibly gifted entrepreneur for her video company Lovely House Media. We grew up sharing a lot of the same interests and with her being a few years older than me, I viewed her as my role model in almost every area of life. When I began to express interest in starting my own company, Kendal was so quick and eager to get me on her shoots so that I could learn and get experience. She also taught me everything there is to know about running your own business; she even gave me a run down on how to do my taxes! Though Kendal and I are in a very similar field of work, rather than looking at each other as competitors, Kendal has taught me the importance of women supporting women within a small business context.

I can confidently say that I would not be currently running my own business if it was not for the support and encouragement that started behind my little intern desk at North Point Ministries along with the major support and guidance from sweet Kendal!

Website: https://capturedmedia.co

Instagram: @capturedmedia.co