Meet Sam Miller | Director of Marketing at a FinTech, Filmmaker, and Founder of Vidjam

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

Hi Sam, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My filmmakers obsession began as a child, carrying around my dad’s old VHS camcorder and creating my own “talk shows” and skits. This evolved into more skits throughout my teenage years. After school, I had secondary education in Information Technology, but always wanted to revisit film and video.

I was inspired to begin Vidjam after attending a class at the Harrisburg Improv Theatre and realizing how much raw talent there was in the area. I was lucky enough to meet Dan Brenkert, a local filmmaker, as he was making a documentary about local artists in our area, and he helped me make our first event, a 48-hour film festival, and reality and success.

I knew I wanted to build a community of like-minded people who wanted to learn, create, and improve, and Vidjam was my way of doing that. I eventually teamed up with Sam Melville, a local writer and filmmaker, who had begun a wildly successful filmmaking meetup group. We are now a registered non-profit with events, screenings, workshops, and meetups throughout the year.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I began my career in IT because I was scared of not being able to make a living creating art, or being forced into a job that might make me take my passion of filmmaking for granted. Founding Vidjam helped provide me with the confidence to become more well-rounded as a filmmaker, but also as a person and in my regular career. Since Vidjam, I have used a lot of the things I have learned to do more and more at my day job, to the point where I began as a Systems Administrator and have since become Director of Marketing & Creative Strategy, where I get to use the skills I have learned every day to help the business succeed.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would either take them to a Vidjam screening so they could see the work of our awesome local filmmakers, or take them around to different filmmakers during the 48-hour film challenges so they could see how these different artists come together to make great art. Then I’d take them to Zero Day to get a pint of Mango Hab!

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?
The Harrisburg Improv Theatre and its owners, Jake and Somers Compton, were absolutely critical to the story of Vidjam. They build a beautiful community that drew in amazing actors and filmmakers from all over the area. Their generosity and support over the last five years have helped keep me afloat and driving me towards making Vidjam bigger and bigger.

Vidjam would be nothing without our community, filmmakers, and patrons. I have a huge well of admiration, respect, and gratitude for those who have participated in our events, regardless of their age or skill level. It can take a lot to challenge and push yourself, but our community doesn’t shy away.

I also can’t say enough about the people who have helped Vidjam as an organization, including the board and co-founders, Dan Brenkert and Sam Melville.

Website: www.vidjam.org

Instagram: samutopher

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelcmiller/

Facebook: hellovidjam

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpZ1-ewksUcqitrMt3b7zTQ

Image Credits
All Photos by Somers Compton besides… BTS Vidjam Photo (Bloody) by Abdullah Abu-Mahfouz BTG Vidjam Photo (Projector) by Claire Collison