We recently connected with Carly Kreiger and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Carly, so excited to have you with us today, particularly to get your insight on a topic that comes up constantly in the community – overcoming creativity blocks. Any thoughts you can share with us?
As a videographer and creative business owner, creative blocks are one of the toughest things to overcome. Because solving people’s problems through creativity is my job, there is a lot of pressure to consistently perform at a high creative level and always have a new and different idea for a client.
In reality, as a solopreneur, I have a lot of trouble immediately coming up with ideas just from my own head and bouncing my ideas off of…myself. So while this tends to be a struggle, I find that I am able to beat my creative blocks my stepping away from my desk and getting outside. Getting away from the pressure and getting away from the distraction of my devices is what helps me to come up with real ideas.
In our current times, we don’t really get “bored” anymore. If we’re bored, we immediately resort to our phones and keep ourselves occupied through scrolling. I think it’s important to actually exist in a state of boredom because that’s when the ideas in your head start to formulate–when there’s no distractions and you have to get lost in your own mind. A lot of times I get ideas when I’m driving or in the shower or on a walk–places where I have no distractions.
In addition to creating space for myself to think on my own, I also overcome creative blocks through finding other creatives’ work. And this can be all different mediums. A lot of the time though I draw inspiration from looking at other creators’ work on Youtube and Vimeo and piecing together my own ideas from the work I’ve seen and can relate to.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m Carly, owner & lead videographer at Wild Grace Video based in Denver, Colorado.
My journey into videography began with a simple desire: to capture and preserve the meaningful moments of my life. As I crafted a video compilation of the adventures I refused to miss out on in New Zealand, wove together college memories for my friends post-graduation from the University of Vermont, and captured the new setting and faces of a fun summer job at a dude ranch in Wyoming, I realized that I loved creating videos that told the story of adventures, people, and new places.
Over the past five years, I’ve had the privilege of creating content for a diverse range of brands. However I found myself staying up editing until 2 in the morning (by choice!) for those brands that featured outdoor adventure and wanted to get across a deeper meaning than just selling a product or service—they wanted to create a feeling that attracted a certain type of person and community towards the brand. This is what I found spoke to both me and viewers, and what really sets a brand apart from creating just another cool adventure video with a product.
With each project I’ve created, I’ve found myself diving into every detail of the creative process. From fine-tuning the sounds of a crashing wave to sculpting the vivid color palettes of a mountain scene that shaped the mood and atmosphere.
And now, I’m here to lend my expertise to you. My goal is simple: to help your brand forge meaningful connections with a like-minded community.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Looking back, the 3 qualities that were (and still are) most impactful on my journey are:
1. The drive to keep learning
2. Listening more than talking
3. Organization
1. The drive to keep learning–I am constantly investing in courses to better learn how I can succeed and build a sustainable income. I am also reaching out to cinematographers and production companies who are more successful and ahead in their career than me. This gives me a chance to ask questions, see how they operate and also just network. You never know what door may open for you next
2. Listening more than talking– This applies especially when working with clients. By not taking over conversations, especially in the beginning phases, I get to hear what their specific problems are in their business and better understand their needs. Of course I offer advice and feedback where needed, but I’ve found it’s so important to listen and let them feel heard in order to have a successful creative partnership.
3. Organization– this one is so important as a solopreneur. I have a million things going on in my head at all times, and without any structure I don’t think I would be where I am today. Whether it be writing out weekly, monthly and personal goals on my whiteboard or laying out the pre-production plan on a customizable online platform for both me and the client to look over, every aspect of my business needs to be organized. With this one there is always room for improvement. I can definitely find ways to organize my business even better to help it operate more smoothly, but that is just part of the journey and process of refining my systems over time.
Tell us what your ideal client would be like?
My ideal client industry-wise, is either a boutique hotel, outdoor product or gear company, or an adventure tour company looking for video production. These types of companies have so much opportunity to use video as a way to showcase not just what they are selling, but the experience and feeling that they are selling.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.wildgracevideo.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildgracevideo/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wildgracevideo
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carly-kreiger-a391a8133/
