Today we’d like to introduce you to Joel Ruiz.
Hi Joel, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I moved to Atlanta in 2015 to start my career as a freelance videographer and editor. Since then, I’ve been able to do so much in this city that I wasn’t able to do before in my hometown of Chattanooga, TN. It did take a few years to get a stable footing in the freelance world, but it was something that was only possible in Atlanta for me. But since then, I’ve been able to do so much that has made me be able to get to where I am today. After I moved to town, I started a filmed sketch comedy and a stand-up show called Ladies Night, and yes we knew it was spelled wrong; it was a comedy show. That led to me meeting so many amazing filmmakers and actors around town and launching my career in ways I couldn’t imagine. After that show ended, I started up an Actual Play TTRPG Podcast called Critical Bits that ran for 3+ years with over 94 episodes of content. That ended in 2022, which was also the year we started our new show, Oddity Roadshow. That show has been running strong for the last year and led me to my newest business venture and project, a podcasting recording studio and network, Do You Validate. This new studio and network are what I really want to build up and work on for a long-term goal in Atlanta and use it to allow other creators a leg up with quality content and affordable prices to show off all the talent Atlanta has to offer.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was a few tight years, as freelance work is hard to start up since you’re just depending on random gigs and hoping relationships come out of it. The first year was for sure the hardest, not knowing if I’d be able to pay bills that month or where my next gig was coming from. But, it got better year by year, eventually even leading me to be able to not only pay bills but upgrade gear slowly to be able to offer more to clients. It’s a hard industry to break into, but once you get there and find your people. It is something that can sustain a career and lots of growth opportunities.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am most proud of my new podcast and film studio and the network I’m building alongside it, Do You Validate. It’s a culmination of all the things I’ve been working on and not knowing where I wanted to go until the idea came to me earlier in the year. It allows me to produce higher-quality work for myself and offer up the studio to other creators at competitive rates while allowing others to benefit from my years of audio and video production. I offer video and audio recordings, live engineering, streaming, and editing services at the studio, and have all the gear and knowledge needed to make stuff for almost anyone who needs it. We are located in the Encyclomedia building that is home to many other great video production companies and the collaborating we are allowed to have here really makes anything I can’t do on my own easy to accomplish.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Tons of risk. Moving to Atlanta without a typical 9-5 job and hoping to build up a freelance career was the riskiest thing I’ve ever done. And more recently, I started up a small business that is a studio that needs clients that I have to find and convince to come in and hire me, but I know that without any risk, nothing great comes with it. I believe in myself, my skills, and what I have to offer to the community, and can’t wait to keep growing with the city and the film and podcast scene.
Pricing:
- Basic Video Podcast Recording w/ 1 Camera and Two Mics – $150/h
- Adding on camera angles – $25/camera
- Adding on Mics – $20/mic
- Video Editing Services – $75/hr
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.doyouvalidate.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/do_you_validate/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Do_You_Validate
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDOx3X0Pb5m4fDTtBg7RzLA
Image Credits
Photo of me by Lola Scott Do You Validate logo by Jack Bloom
