Meet Maurice Victor Ii

We were lucky to catch up with Maurice Victor Ii recently and have shared our conversation below.

Maurice, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

Developing self esteem and confidence honestly came from continuing to do the work I was made for & constantly learning and growing while doing it. I think when you settle into complacency, your confidence will waver because of a lack of growth. A major proponent to confidence came from allowing others in; by working with others, I have been able to raise the bar with my projects and offerings. Doing everything yourself, you will realize you fall short in certain areas. Once I relinquished the control and started collaborating with people that specialized in the areas I don’t, I saw my work soar. True confidence comes from within however–regardless of if my work was praised or I could source a full crew or not–I still am confident because I know what I was gifted from God and I will always develop this gifting and use it for Him.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I started MV2 CREATIVE a couple years ago after doing video as a side gig for so many years. I have almost a decade of experience in videography & photography, but only recently did I transition from typical videographer roles into more of a director/dp role. My passion began in high school – around 2015 when I took a digital multimedia class & instantly fell in love and became a “try-hard”. From there I got my first camera when heading to college and I used that camera & others to capture ANYTHING I could get myself into (football games, basketball, tennis, birthday parties, gender announcements & more). This developed my passion towards video specifically which led to me getting my first cinema camera: the Blackmagic 6K Pro. After that I worked full-time at a couple of jobs before launching into freelancing full-time. Ever since then I have been focused on making commercials for brands and businesses as well as high-budget music videos, live recordings & weddings. I love telling stories and focusing on people.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Three qualities that I find impactful on this journey are adaptability, proactiveness & personability. You have to be adaptable to new situations and the things that will arise while being on set. There will always be problems, no matter how much you plan and prepare; it’s vital that you are flexible & able to think on your feet to solve issues as they pop up. Proactivity is just as important because it can help minimize the issues that will happen on set. Pre-production is something I ignored for years, but once I started to take it more seriously, the quality of my productions increased because I was much more prepared. Take the time to be proactive; think through your project and think of every scenario that may happen so that you can mitigate it ahead of time. The last one–personability–I think is the single most important thing to anyone in this business. No matter how amazing your cinematography is (or whatever your skill is), if you cannot be personable, you will suffer. Whether it’s because clients won’t enjoy the experience, or collaborators won’t connect and want to continue working with you–there will be a consequence. I always advise creatives to meet others and be friends with other directors, Dps and anyone you can think of, because probably 20-40% of my business comes from a connection that ends up needing some help on set. These connections don’t only lead to business, but friendships, passion projects, great consult, etc. People are so important, so treat everyone with kindness and you are bound to flourish in some area.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

My current challenge is actually due to the success of the business as of late. That is an ever expanding editing queue. With a busy end of 2024 heading into a packed 2025, I find myself struggling to keep up with projects that I am required to edit and deliver to clients. I have fallen significantly behind which creates a looming shadow which sometimes can be paralyzing as I think through the giant to-do list.

What I am doing to work through and overcome this is first–delegation. I have connected with great friends of mine that excel in post production work & have hired them for upcoming projects, so that I don’t have to bear the pressure of needing to execute post production myself.

And then for the projects I need to finish myself, I am prioritizing the most important and knocking them out one by one. It can be hard to figure out where to start, so by using priority to-do lists, it simplifies what I have to do and makes it seem attainable by finishing one thing at a time.

Lastly, I keep a flowing line of communication and honesty with clients. While clients do appreciate their projects being delivered on time, they can understand delays and be forgiving — as long as you are honest and prompt with letting them know. The silence and delays can cause them to get nervous and not trust you. So, I try to be pro-active and let them know the delay & give a reasonable timeline to get them their deliverables (this also helps me set deadlines to counter my paralyzation).

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Headshots by Alyssa Carrai (@alyssa__carrai)

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