Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Cruz.
So, before we jump into specific questions about what you do, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
First, I’ll provide a bit of family history for context. My parents immigrated to the states in the ’70s from El Salvador. El Salvador was going through a civil war during that time, my parents escaped to survive and searched for a promising future. They both immigrated to California and the funny thing is that they didn’t meet in El Salvador, they met in California. Fast forward, they had four kids, then came me. During the time, my mother was pregnant with me, my father began to work in Atlanta. The family moved to Atlanta, and I was the only one out of my siblings to be born here.
I grew up on the south side of the city, right off of Metropolitan Pkwy and Cleveland Ave. I lived there until I was 11 or 12 years old. As I was wrapping up the 5th grade, my sister Gayle had just moved to Smyrna. She was concerned about the schooling zone my sister Kim and I was in, so she moved us in with her.
Now living in Smyrna, I started attending a charter school: Imagine International Academy of Smyrna. Here I met my friends who are my brothers today and are also part of an independent music label: DOLO Records. I’m now the head film director for DOLO Records. I work with all of the visuals for the collective from treatments to directing to editing. Kev Cruz Productions is my video production company.
I’ve been filming and directing for about three years now. I embarked on the filming and directing journey my sophomore year of college. As our creative collective DOLO Records grew, I was searching for ways to add more value to the team. I would always contribute with different projects for the team but I didn’t have something I was sincerely moved by and passionate about until film. I needed something to call my own while providing value. I shot my first music video for Hadi sophomore year of college. It wasn’t good looking back in retrospect but at the time the video came out better than I had expected and I felt moved by it. I actually had fun putting the vision together. From there, I stuck with film and found myself getting better and better at it. It was something that felt natural. I would wake up and do research on different editing techniques, watched films and music videos. It was a craft that I admired and enjoyed studying.
Three years in now and I haven’t looked back. It was a win-win because I’m able to help my brothers achieve their goals while living out my dream as well. I’m very grateful and fortunate to have had this experience. God is Great.
Has it been a smooth road?
Not at all by any means. Finding this craft took real effort. In order to find out I enjoyed film, I had to try a couple of other things. Before film, I helped the team with whatever I could. I tried engineering and photography. My main goal was to add value to the team so I set out to do that. Engineering lasted very briefly, it just didn’t fit. I had no connection to it. Then I moved to photography and it was an improvement from engineering. I stuck with this for a bit. I felt I could get more creative and it was enjoyable to edit but I felt that there was more out there. Then, came film with my first music video for Hadi. Now, film was a craft that I felt in tune with. It was an opportunity to tell a story or message from any perspective I chose. With video, the creativity is endless because it’s about how you want the viewer to feel when watching and what you choose to show them. Pair that up with dope sound design and the possibilities are endless.
I spent about 1-2 years trying out different crafts and paths before I found film. This is the way it should be, try a bunch of things until you find something you’re sure about. Especially at a young age.
In addition to figuring out my craft, I’ve dealt with chronic health issues since I was 14 years old. Chronic inflammation and chronic gut issues like leaky gut have been a real struggle. I’ve improved drastically over the years, I’m still working on it and receiving treatments. It’s made me stronger and has given me the tools to remain in a state of gratitude. Anything can be achieved with faith and hard work.
We’d love to hear more about your company.
My company is Kev Cruz Productions. It’s a video production company based out of Powder Springs, GA. I launched Kev Cruz Productions at the top of this year in January with a website: Kevcruz.com. As a small scale company, I’m deeply involved in the creation process for all videos. I play many roles within the company; Director, Writer, Producer, Editor, Cinematographer and others.
My main focus with the company is to provide compelling cinematic videos. I work closely with clients, custom tailoring their vision and input to create tasteful videos. This close cooperation with the client and cinematic focus makes our work stand out. Kev Cruz Productions is focused on tailored quality.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Absolutely! Atlanta is booming, especially the filming industry. It’s probably the best place to be for people starting out with film. The opportunities in the city are growing significantly. Creatives in Atlanta are also becoming more aware of each other and networking. I can see Kev Cruz Productions scaling in Atlanta for sure. It’s a matter of time. I’m very excited for what’s to come.
Contact Info:
- Website: Kevcruz.com
- Email: kevcruzproductions@gmail.com
- Instagram: kevcruzprod and 1kevincruz
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCteEVwN4Nl6z0oaMY7PpP7w?view_as=subscriber
Image Credit:
Greg Calhoun and Hadi
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