We recently connected with Julian Tejeda and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Julian, thank you so much for making time for us today. Let’s jump right into a question so many in our community are looking for answers to – how to overcome creativity blocks, writer’s block, etc. We’d love to hear your thoughts or any advice you might have.
Creativity blocks/burnout is almost impossible to escape in my opinion. I think we’ve all gotten into a headspace where we genuinely believe that if we aren’t creating or constantly on the move we’re a failure. The best way to overcome a block on the road to creativity is to allow it to happen, I like to think of it as our brains way of telling us “Hey!!! I need a break!!!” There’s absolutely nothing wrong with taking a step back from a project or just taking your time. I’d rather be known as someone who consistently put out good work over a long span of time rather than someone who churns out a product they aren’t going to remember in a month. If your heart is truly in something, the ideas won’t stop.
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 am a filmmaker in the Dallas, Texas area! Although I wear multiple hats (score composing, writing, producing), I’m most confident in my abilities as a director. What I love about filmmaking is it allows me to be the most creative I can be while also providing an outlet for me to pour my emotions into. If I’m ever feeling down I can take those feelings and put them into a piece of music or a script! In November of 2022 I was very depressed and I felt somewhat alone, rather than being a sad “woe is me” person, I channeled that emotion and put it into a 3 minute short horror film fittingly titled “ALONE”. I shot and edited the film completely by myself only bringing in one other person (Mathew Ward) to do some VFX work. It was very much a project I needed to make. Alone was released on my production company’s youtube page on January 13th, 2023 and has since garnered 73.9K views! It’s the most successful short film I’ve ever done (it even won an award at a festival)! Based on some of the comments the themes of loneliness really stuck with some people. It felt cathartic to kind of open this wound I had in front of thousands of people and have them actually relate to me and enjoy the film!
As mentioned earlier, I run a production company! It’s called “Out Of Touch Productions” and I’m currently gathering new ideas for more short films to release with this company! I’m taking my time to find the right idea, after seeing how much ALONE resonated with my audience I don’t want to just churn out something that doesn’t have anything to say.
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?
Always be on time, Always keep a good attitude (one bad mood can ruin an entire workplaces vibe), and most importantly, Be a team player. I’ve made so many lasting friendships and gotten so many opportunities by simply being willing to do whatever needed to be done even if it wasn’t my department. Be willing to work and be willing to learn and you’ll go far in this world.
If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?
I would do what I’m doing now and simply follow the path to happiness. No one is getting out of here alive whether we have 10 days or 10 years left, so it’s detrimental that we spend whatever time we have here importantly. Time is our most important currency, why not spend it on the things that will make this life worth living?
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.
com/julian_d_tejeda?igshid= MzRlODBiNWFlZA== - Other: IMDB: https://www.imdb.
com/name/nm11718235/ Company Instagram: https://instagram. com/out_of_touch_productions_? igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Image Credits
Julian Tejeda, Rene Garcia
