Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph Lavender.
Joseph, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Myself and my partner Allie are both actors in the Film/TV industry here in Atlanta. I moved here in 2013 from South Georgia to pursue it full time. We were both struggling to get footage back from student and indie projects we had worked on, and as most actors know reel footage is like the Holy Grail for actors. You can’t get opportunities for bigger projects without it, but it’s hard to get it back. Since we’re also filmmaker, we decided to take matters into our own hands and shot some 1-2 minute scenes for some friends of ours and ourselves so that we’d have footage. We wrote the scenes so they were short, concise, and focused on the actor’s facial expressions and acting ability. One thing lead to another and before you know it, more people are asking us to provide this service to them. At that point we knew that what we were doing was a needed service, and we decided to open up shop helping actors by writing, shooting, and editing high quality footage for their actor demo reels. We coined the term for our service, “Speed Scenes”, in 2013 and it has stuck and become nearly a house hold name when it comes to custom demo scenes. We were working off of our independent production company name, Blackflight Studios until last year when we rebranded permanently to Atlanta Speed Scenes to differentiate our Speed Scene business from our production company. As of today we’ve shot over 300 scenes for actors in Atlanta! Many of them have booked commercials, TV show and film work after having shot with us.
Has it been a smooth road?
Running a small business is always challenging. We were sort of thrown into it. Prior to doing this I worked in IT, and when that ended abruptly we were left with a choice of what to do. Find another 9-5 or start our own business? It’s presented a lot of great opportunities and much more freedom to do what we want to do, but at the same time has added a level of stress that people who have normal jobs probably don’t have. There’s more to keep up with and since we work out of our home (for now) it can be difficult to separate work from home life. We’ve also struggled with the ever changing market here, and we’ve tried our best to expand and change with it.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Atlanta Speed Scenes story. Tell us more about the business.
Atlanta Speed Scenes creates custom written demo reel scenes for actors in need of footage. When actors book with us, we consult with them online to determine what kind of scene to write that will be suit them in terms of skill level as well as target the shows they want to book. Once the scene is written and approved, we set up a time to shoot and they arrive like they would on any other set, and we shoot! Scenes usually take a couple hours to shoot and they are on their way. We’re known for having the fastest turnaround time PERIOD of anyone who offers a similar service here in Atlanta. Most offer 2 weeks or longer wait periods for footage. Us? We offer 48 hour turnaround time after shooting. Sometimes we even get the scenes back to them the SAME DAY. We also offer the lowest prices for our service. I don’t know of anyone else offering a similar service who has prices as low as we do. We’re actors too, so we try to make it affordable for struggling actors. The biggest thing that sets us apart from our competitors is that we’re local, and we’ve taken a lot of time to learn what our market is about, and what the casting directors here are looking for in demo reels. We’re actors too, we’re in the thick of it just like you, so we’ve taken a lot of the guess work out by doing our own research. We’re not just facilitating scenes, we understand the industry we work in. Many of our clients say that they feel like they get an acting/industry lesson when they shoot with us, because we share our vast knowledge of the industry with them. We’re most proud that we get to work full time in an industry we love, and get to help others succeed!
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
That’s always a fear for any business. We hope that the industry either stays pretty much the same, or we continue to see a growth in actors here. The need for demo reel footage will always be there. It will just remain to be seen if at some point, what we do is no longer needed. As long as filmmakers are holding footage hostage, we’ll stay afloat! So, on one hand we wish that this wasn’t happening, but on the other hand, it’s the reason we have a job.
Pricing:
- One Scene $250
- Two Scenes $450
- Three Scenes $600
Contact Info:
- Address: 1454 Cobb Branch Drive
Decatur GA 30032 - Website: www.atlantaspeedscenes.com
- Phone: 404-579-6877
- Email: blackflightstudio@gmail.com
- Instagram: Geotag under Atlanta Speed Scenes
- Facebook: facebook.com/atlspeedscenes
- Other: www.blackflightstudios.com
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