Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dalton Okolo. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Dalton, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
Storytelling, plain and simple. As my work in video production has grown so has my enjoyment of crafting narratives from that media. Writing a script, then collaborating with a cast and crew to bring that script to life on set and in the edit is truly a fulfilling purpose because of it’s allowance for perpetual growth – you’re never done, just iterating. I love that there’s always something to chase but also a tangible trail of growth in the stories you get to tell.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Back in the heart of pandemic-2020, a friend and I tried to make this short about a normal guy who goes from flippant to paranoid about the virus while isolated in his house – it was going to be called ‘Asymptomatic’. Unfortunately, as sometimes happens when you first try storytelling, we were a bit overwhelmed by the amount of work a film takes to craft and never finished the project. But there was something there. By the next fall, I had formed my production company, 1108 LLC, and had produced ‘Missing You’, an award-nominated short about political apathy in times of mass civil engagement. The following summer, with a cast and crew of over 40 people, we produced the award-winning pulpy, crime-drama, ‘She’s Mine Now’.
I think the most exciting thing about 1108 isn’t just the ability to tell original narrative content but it’s flexibility to be a tool for other creatives and corporate clientele. Throughout the time I was making the aforementioned films I was also working on smaller productions that allowed me to build a network and sharpen my skillset. My hope is to grow the company into a DMV-based media production boutique that people feel is a worthwhile collaborator and originator of creative work.
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?
Vision, fortitude and patience.
First and foremost you have to know what your end goal is, otherwise some other market force, whether it be viewers, clientele, collaborators, distributors, etc., will decide for you, and that is not a position you want to to be in. I think in order to follow that vision you need a sincere excitement for what you’re doing and who you’re doing it with – which is where fortitude and patience come in. The projects that you choose to work on are just as important as the ones you choose not to. I’ve had to learn that sometimes it’s better to hone your craft on smaller, better-resourced projects than with larger higher risk productions, just building gradually as the stories and work come.
Candidly, I’m in need of this advice just as much as anyone – but as long as I can keep these three qualities front of mind then I can keep on creating purposeful content.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
Encouraged and criticized my storytelling – the latter becoming more and more important as I got older. The ability to have parents that push you to create but also give a conscious eye to what it is you’re creating is certainly meaningful and something I try to remember when looking at the work of others. The creative process is almost always going involve a shared input or solution, so the ability to be open to what others can bring to the respective work while also maintaining a shared purpose has had a tremendously positive impact on my my storytelling.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.1108media.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1108media/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalton-okolo-463080a5/
- Other: https://vimeo.com/user177624134
Image Credits
Image Courtesy of 1108 LLC
