Today we’d like to introduce you to Darius Stephens.
Hi Darius, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
What’s up, everyone! My name is Darius Stephens and I’m the founder of KhamenLenz Media. I grew up in Syracuse, NY where I graduated high school. From there, I attended undergrad at Buffalo State College. I had a common goal when I first started college. I wanted to study the most interesting subject that made me the most money. Buffalo State was such a diverse school I quickly found myself gaining traction. I was always into taking pictures & seeing things in a creative perspective. I captured traveling pictures frequently with my iPhone where ever I went. I would edit them and post them on to my page. Not too many people were aware at the time until I made the decision to take this full-time. I purchase myself a laptop, camera and some accessories to get myself started. I got into doing party recap videos. That turned into graduation pictures, local music videos, interviews, etc. Once I realized my clientele was growing, I had to take it full-time. That’s when I made the decision to attend film school to obtain my master’s degree. I was accepted into New York Film Academy located on south beach. From there was history.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I definitely came across a lot of challenges growing my business. In the beginning, I struggled with organizing, budgets, marketing, you name it. I basically went through all of the mistakes possible to be able to learn the basics of growing a success business. A lot of time I did free work just to get my name out there. During college getting booked wasn’t the problem but clients meeting my budget quota was more of an obstacle I had to work around. I was more lenient at the time because I knew if I gave a great product, the client would come back. Learning different editing and color programs was also a challenge but YouTube helped me a lot. I came into film school with more editing knowledge than the average. I had about three years under my belt from freelancing. I enjoyed and still enjoy any obstacle I come across because it’s just another opportunity to grow.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I like to call myself a creative director. I specialize in creative visualizers, Camera operating & editing. I love almost all aspects of the film. I work closely with my business partner Auqiie. He’s a tremendous writer & director as well. We do everything from short film script writing to music video treatment development. I’m very great with premiere pro & after effects which are my main programs that’s I use to create my projects. One thing clients love about my business is the fact that I have a great turnaround time and I really love my business with a passion. When I build my production team I want to make sure my team has a passion with every decision they make. I’m most proud of how far I came with the connections I’ve made, the amount of satisfied customers that I make every year is a really great feeling. My brand and my logo is everything that consists of me. I feel that all the hard work & energy I put into this company will come back & change lives in our communities & young kids growing up. I have a much bigger mission than just filmmaking. KhamenLenz will live on for generations.
How do you think about happiness?
When I spend hours on a video & then finally export it to see the final product makes me extremely happy. What makes me even happier is when my client blows my phone up with all different kinds of emojis telling me how much they love the video. I feel like making people feel like themselves and comfortable with who they are makes me feel like I’m doing my job. Making others happy while creating a piece of art that lives on forever is an unexplainable feeling.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/khamenlenz?igshid=Zjc2ZTc4Nzk=
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCNVIcaAG3YM7hzZ0QCMJvOA
Image Credits
KhamenLenzMedia
