Meet Aaliah Hartley

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Aaliah Hartley a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Aaliah, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

I get my resilience from my upbringing. I grew up undocumented in the United States, so I was forced to be a resilient person. I had to go through unconventional methods to get to where I needed to go and to obtain what I needed to have.
There were an enormous amount of roadblocks put in front of me as I grew into adulthood, I had to persevere and overcome them for simple survival. There were a lot of no’s thrown at me – you can’t work, you can’t go to school, you can’t drive, you cant travel, you can’t rent a place to live, etc…so my resilience, perseverance, and tenacity was baked in from an early age.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am a Visual Storyteller. I’m a Video Producer, a Photographer, and a Filmmaker, and I own and operate my business, Exalted Productions.
I love the creativity this job entails, it’s the closest thing to feeling like a kid, but also having it be your work. I get to create and produce visual stories that (hopefully) inspire and inform, which is amazing.

I’ve always been drawn to stories, both fiction and non-fiction. Most of my work consists of documentary style story-telling. I’m a lover of history and geopolitics, and how the world works. I attribute these specific curiosities to growing up undocumented in the United States. I had a completely different lens from most everyone I knew, and I was always driven by rage to figure out why the world works the way it does, and why some are more privileged than others. This is why I love telling stories, I find people and society fascinating, both in good and bad ways.

With my business Exalted Productions, I mostly create brand stories for my clients who range from small businesses, to individuals or artists. I also do promotional videos, social media, and photography that includes branding, events, and portraiture. The goal is to elevate their stories and have them be seen and heard in an artistic way.

Occasionally, and when I’m lucky enough, I get to work on films both short and feature length. Usually in a Producer role, but I’ve also covered many other roles depending on where I’m needed. Being on set is when I feel most alive, it really does feel like being a kid and playing make believe for a living.

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?

I think perseverance is a great attribute to have, because in my line of work, I’m not always busy with dream projects I want to work on, and that’s not a bad thing. It just means you shouldn’t give up if you find it difficult to find or produce work, because the next great story could be just around the corner. And the more experience you have (both good and bad), the better at your craft you become.

I also think being a good student of your practice goes a long way. Getting involved in different communities, gaining mentors, immersing yourself on diverse projects, and learning from others about technique, skills, equipment, etc. are essential. I love having a business of my own, but I truly miss having a team and community around me to learn from and lean on. It’s OK to ask for help and not do things all on your own. Collaboration is empowering and so fruitful!

I don’t think it’s necessary to follow a prescribed method of achieving success. For example, for what I do, it may not be necessary to attend film school, especially if you don’t have the means. It certainly is a great way to move forward, but not the only one. Join different communities who are doing what you want to do, find mentors, try different jobs or gigs to learn from, learn online and become a student on your own, and overtime you’ll develop what you want to be doing and how to be great at it.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

Yes! I’m always looking for folks to collaborate with. I’m a solo business owner and it can get lonely and formulaic after time. I’d love to collaborate with people who are working on short as well as feature length films.

I’m a great Producer, and I’d also love to try my hand on set in more roles such as being a Director or Assistant Director. I do small scale video production with my business, so I’d love to collaborate with more teams putting together stories I love. I’m really open to collaborate with anyone – directors, producers, photographers, anyone who is creating art where I can help put my expertise in.

Of course, I’m always looking for clients to tell their stories. I love exposing organizations and people who are creating positive change in the world, and who primarily operate outside of major corporate lifestyles. I think it’s important that small and local businesses stick together and take charge to help shape a new economy that is valued and valuable.

Lastly, I’d love to collaborate with someone who has a story to tell, perhaps it’s their own story, their biography, or something they need to expose to the world, to gain their own kind of justice. Those are the stories that intrigue me most.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://exaltedproductions.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exalted_productions_/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaliah-hartley-205151b8/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ExaltedProductions