Meet Jacob Poag | President and Founder of S.T.E.P. Studio Inc

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

Hi Jacob, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
As a 15-year-old filmmaker, the opportunities to get involved in the film industry were few and far between. When I could finally create a script of my own, I could not find a single studio that could help me make it. This is when I had the idea of a student-run studio. This studio would be completely run by students, and help other students create their own films by providing organization, budgets, and distribution. Once the studio was established, we began work on our first project, a documentary. Through Covid-19 we assembled 15 teenage filmmakers and spent two months shooting. We later spent the next year editing and sending our film out to film festivals. We were accepted into three film festivals and won two of them. After our success at film festivals, we realized our idea was working and decided to take it to the next level. We transformed S.T.E.P. Studio into S.T.E.P. Studio Inc and turned our corporation into a non-profit. We grew to five branches and 60 students involved. Today, we are working on expanding our studio up the East Coast. We have just finished and premiered our next film, Tickets, which gained acceptance into 5 film festivals, including out first international film festival. We are continuing to build and grow so that S.T.E.P. Studio Inc can grow to become a true competitor in professional filmmaking. No matter how large we get we will always remember our roots, that we started to help students have a voice in one of the most competitive industries in the world.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
When I was 15, S.T.E.P. Studio just started as an idea. Today, we are competitors. Fighting the societal norms of age and lack of experience, we are growing our company into a studio that should be placed among the top independent film studios in the country. The challenges of being student-run come every day. We are constantly having to battle people doubting us because of our age. We have to scrape for every penny that is donated just to keep us going day to day. However, it is our hardships that put everything in perspective. While it may be easy to quit, we want to keep pushing to improve our company and share our stories with the world. With new ideas and films coming, S.T.E.P. Studio Inc. is growing faster than ever. We are excited to step into this new age of film, as we know the future leaders of our industry are among our ranks.

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.
You can never go wrong with some food at Ponce City Market where they have tons of different options to choose from, and then head over to the Fox for a show or the Atlanta Symphony to hear great music.

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?
My shoutout goes to all the filmmakers at S.T.E.P. Studio Inc. Without them, we would not be where we are today. Their constant work and dedication to our studio have allowed us to have the successes that we have recently experienced. It was these film makers, script writers, editors, and more that originally said ‘yes’ to the unique idea of creating a student run film studio. I am thankful for everyone who works at S.T.E.P. and their constant dedication to being a part of something truly special. Being one of the first independent student film studios to exist, the work they do each day is ground breaking and it is what makes us one of the top creators for student film in the country.

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Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-poag/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JacobPoag