Today we’d like to introduce you to Josiah Paul.
Hi Josiah, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Well, how far back should I go? I was born Newport News, Virginia on February, 5th 1992. My parents are Native American and Irish with a few other things peppered in there. My dad was in the military, so we moved all over the place when I was younger. Eventually my dad retired from the USAF, and we moved to Metro-Atlanta when I was in 5th grade. I went to high school at Fayette County High for 9th grade, and then graduated from Henry County High. After high school I did a couple years of college–until I was presented with the choice to take out substantial student loans or withdraw all-together. I chose to withdraw and just go join the workforce. It didn’t take long– maybe 4 or 5 years for me to realize that I didn’t want my life to revolve around working a 9 to 5 and making other people rich, so I started driving Uber and seeing if I could replace my management job at QT making about 45k a year. Eventually, I realized I couldn’t fully replace it, but I could definitely supplement my income.. enough so, that I was able to step down from my manager position to a part-time role and do rideshare during my free time. This gave me a lot more control of my schedule and a lot more free time to be able to really think about what I wanted to do with my life. I had always been playing with the idea of pursuing acting, so after some thought, I kind of dove head first into the entertainment industry.. with really no idea what I was doing. As many actors do, I started my career by finding background or ‘extra’ roles on both independent and large scale tv and film productions in Atlanta. Pretty quickly I learned to network and worked into more featured roles, until I eventually started working on independent films by many up and coming filmmakers around the city. After a year or 2 of “doing background,” I started to feel like I wasn’t really learning much else and that I needed to start to train and ultimately look for an agent. After a little while, through networking and auditioning, I did just that. I finally landed 2 agents and started to audition for more and more speaking roles. I started to land some really minor parts.. I mean really small, but I was slowly moving forward, so I was satisfied. Around that time, I met 2 of my close friends, Mike and Rodman, and we started thinking of ways that we could advance ourselves in the industry. Eventually our brand ‘3 Kings’ partnered up with SixFeathers Clothing Brand, and we started producing fashion shows and events all around Atlanta. That period of my life was actually very pivotal, because Scott Freeze, the founder of 6F introduced us to a lot of people who we are still friends with today. Those relationships opened more doors and presented more opportunities for us all in general. Everything was going pretty smooth, and in March 2020, I was humbly awarded Best Supporting Actor in a Short at the 2020 Garden State Film Festival, for my role as Private O’Ryan in “Walking Point.” THEN.. Covid. EVERYTHING in the film industry shut down. The auditions stopped, the events stopped, the networking stopped, but I still had the urge and hunger to create. I wanted to still be able to act, and practice, so I ended up investing in a nice mirrorless camera– a Sony A7S3. Up to that point I had learned a lot about Sony cameras and about shooting from working and shadowing my friend Matthias. Matthias had filmed all of my creative projects and was always very open to showing me techniques and answering questions. Well, after I got my Camera, I spent a ton of time in Youtube university learning the ins and outs of being behind the camera, and began practicing everyday. Really quickly, I found out that people were willing to pay me to come and shoot video for them and their brands, so that’s what I did. I charged next to nothing starting out, and slowly built my skill level to where it is now. Today, my main commercial production company Kyng Media is now doing six-figures in revenue after only 3 years. It feels like a great accomplishment, and a great start, but the part that I am most proud of, and excited about, is that I now have complete control over my time and my own life. I don’t have to answer to a boss, or request time off, or clock in and clock out everyday. I get to live my life on my terms, which is invaluable to me. I am also still finding the time to step in front of the camera. In 2025, I completed filming for my most recent short ‘Penitence.’ ‘Penitence’ is my first short film that I wrote, directed and starred in. It’s currently in a festival run, but eventually will be available to watch online.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I mean every road has its potholes, speedbumps, obstacles. I would say in terms of smooth.. comparatively, there are people who are a lot less fortunate in life and have a lot more to overcome, so with that perspective–yes. It has been a pretty smooth road comparatively. Smooth, but not easy. I mean I work really hard. When business is booming, I like to do everything myself. I do all of the pre-production, the shooting, the editing, the correspondence, everything.. It’s not a great habit, but I have a hard time letting go and trusting other people to handle things with the same attention to detail that I do. So when things are busy, sometimes I work 18 hour days, I think last October and November I worked every day. If I wasn’t shooting, I was editing. I remember when I first started out, a few years ago, I had a shoot with a healthcare company, and they wanted a 45 minute edit for a documentary style project. Well after we shot that, there was one day where I literally edited for 24 hours straight to make the deadline.. All for $1000. Man I wish I knew then what I knew now..
As far as struggles, I’ve definitely had plenty. I mean, when I left my corporate job, me and my friends used to send $20-$50 back and forth when we needed it so we could eat for the week. We were that broke. In 2020, I got my car repo-ed, because I couldn’t make the note. I’ve lost people along the way, and it can be really hard to stay on the horse when things like that happen. Fortunately, I’ve always had a pretty good support system and they have made me feel like I can afford to take calculated risks if I need to, or if I’m trying to grow and get to the next level.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Kyng Media?
Kyng Media is a multi-faceted, full service production company that provides services ranging from film production to commercial video production.
Kyng Media has a network of industry professionals ready and equipped to execute commercial and video productions 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, domestically and internationally. Our portfolio and returning clients prove that we have been and will continue to be trusted by major brands for their commercial film and video production needs from concept inception through post-production.
We have access to all resources ranging from the best talent, and locations, to the most innovative producers, directors, writers and state of the art equipment in the industry. We pride ourselves on our connections in this industry, our established relationships and network, and the integrity and attention to detail that we treat every project with. Most or our projects are corporate, or commercial productions, but another large percentage of our business involves product videography and ads.
The thing that sets Kyng Media apart from others in this industry, is also the thing that I am most proud of. At Kyng Media we pride ourselves with being a very budget friendly production company. This means we work with most budgets. As many resources as we have, we also have the ability to work with skeleton crews and still produce masterful results. This makes videography much more accessible to individuals and small businesses. With such low overhead costs, we are able to offer very affordable rates to people who are looking to add value to themselves or their companies. It feels good to be able to give back, in a way, to small businesses, because I own a small business myself and I know how important it is to make every dollar count.
What matters most to you? Why?
Man.. what a tricky, yet simple question. Umm.. Making sure that me and the people I care about have happy lives. I mean I want everyone to have a happy life, but I want to be able to provide for my family and myself and feel creatively fulfilled at the same time. A lot of people don’t ever get to do both. They either have to pursue their passion, or make money, but I am fortunate enough to be able to do both, and I don’t take it for granted. I have an overwhelming desire to leave something behind, a part of me, for my family and friends and even strangers. Not just an estate, but like, a performance, or a film, a love letter essentially.. to anyone that is willing to read, that will outlive me and exist on in some form.
Pricing:
- $500 Minimum Budget –
- This budget is for super simple, easy shoots.
- More complex productions will require progressively higher budgets.
- For this reason, we do not offer “Packages.”
- Contact us now for a customized quote based on your vision and goals.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://josiah-paul.com
- Instagram: @Kyng_Josiah / @Kyng.Media
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@KyngMedia
Image Credits
Matthias Sarrell
Josue Herrera
Stephanie Kewish
Stephon Williams
James Ly
Michael Justice
Rachel Lynne
