IDEA TO REALITY

The beginning.

Flash back to 2004. At the age of 8 years old my family moved and built our new home. Beyond building forts in the woods, playing Legos, and fighting imaginary enemies with clumsily assembled wooden swords, there wasn't much to do. Until the day my mom bought her first digital camera; a little Kodak point-and-shoot, which she never saw again. 

I spent all day every day creating stop motion animation videos of Legos and clay figures. We didn't have a computer that could put the images into a sequence, so I would scroll through the images on the camera LCD as fast as I could to play them back. I would then delete them and start all over. Looking back, I realize that this was the start of creating for the love of it.

Fast forward several years - my parents recognized my passion and wanted to support it, so they bought a 2008 iMac. This was a game changer for me. I raked and mowed lawns for a year, saving every penny. I took that money and bought a camcorder. At least four times a week my friends would come over and we would spend all day filming, then all night editing. Wash, rinse, repeat. 

Cut to high school graduation. I had access to real world equipment, a short lifetime of experience, and a burning passion for film making. I carried (and still carry) the value that education is only as valuable as ones desire to learn. I had every ounce of desire, drive, and work ethic. I made the decision to forgo traditional education and debt for real world experience. That day I enrolled at the University of Hard Knocks, and never looked back. 

At 17 I got my first gig as Director of Photography with my first music video,  and through this I was hired and mentored by JohnPaul Morris at Practical. I jumped into creating client work with both feet, supporting my passion work by spending my summers delivering rental boats all over the state. At 18 I put pulling boats in my rear view and pursued video work full time. 

I operated a personally financed business for three years, taking every opportunity that came my way. Through this I built business know-how, experience, connections, and expertise. Through this business I was able to travel the country, film a show for G-Eazy, spend two months doing freelance work in the UK, tour with The Accidentals, produce countless videos, and receive my first gig as a Director of Photography on a feature film at 20.

After four years of focused real-world education in the video industry, I decided it was time to take the next step. It was time to create art for myself and others. It was time to start something bigger. This was the beginning of Cardboard Robot Visuals.

A company built on the same values I carry; the world is here to learn from. The day you decide you know everything is the day your career ends. Hard work and desire to learn is the pathway to success. Collaboration is key. Lastly, that the difference between average and excellent is found in details. 

Written by Jake Burgess, founder of Cardboard Robot Visuals