Meet Kiley Rizzo

We recently connected with Kiley Rizzo and have shared our conversation below.

Kiley, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

I think imposter syndrome is a condition that ebbs and flows throughout my life. Starting this business in the first place required me to overcome the imposter syndrome that was telling me I simply wasn’t ready to enter this industry. Surrounded by excellent wedding industry professionals with my “Dad Cam” from the 70s, it’s easy to feel like I’m truly not meant to be there. I wondered what other people would think – if I’d be viewed as someone simply “following the trends” versus creating art that I’m passionate about. Which is why I had to start telling myself that when I do something I enjoy, the right people will show up. Everyone has to start somewhere, and no one is truly “ready” for anything. It’s rare for someone starting something new for the first time to enter the industry as a pro – and I just have to be willing to make mistakes as I go along.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

My name is Kiley, and I am the face of Velvet Letters Cinema Co here in Wilmington, North Carolina. After learning the ins and outs of Super8 Videography for my own elopement back in 2022, what started as a personal passion project became a desire to capture love stories everywhere. Coming up on 1 year of business, I am still learning what it means to be a business owner but have loved every moment working with my clients. I have fallen in love with the timeless, nostalgic quality that film brings to everyday moments, where we can mythologize these moments in time to become heirlooms. I am not a photographer or traditional videographer by trade, nor will I ever claim to be. At the end of the day, I’m still that little girl making home movies with her camcorder and the teenager who made VideoStar music videos with her friends. But in all honesty, I believe my background shapes my work in a way that highlights the genuine, candid moments in our lives, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

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?

Although I grew up around the wedding industry as the daughter of a wedding coordinator, taking on the pursuit of vintage film videography was something I never thought I would do before. However, the fundamentals have been within me since childhood. Growing up, I was fascinated with my family’s Panasonic VHS film camcorder. I remember making short films with my barbies and inserting the tape into a VHS for the whole family to watch. When I got my very own laptop, I remember learning how to create slideshows with family photos through windows media player, and eventually using a Flip video camera to make silly short films with my friends. While I feel that was a childhood commonality for most people in my generation, I didn’t realize that those moments of play were priming my knowledge of basic videography.
In terms of giving advice, I would still consider myself early in this journey of merging my creative endeavors with my business pursuits. But because of that, I believe it has given me further insight in knowing that while the journey is far from easy, it is also extremely rewarding. Being able to put yourself out there and find other like-minded creatives has helped me the most. By building both a personal and social media network, I have made wonderful friends and fellow business owners that have provided me with the support I need to keep going.

Tell us what your ideal client would be like?

Because my business is within a specific niche, my dream clients are those hopeless romantics who have a desire for the bespoke and vintage media. Commercial digital videography is extremely enticing in the wedding industry these days, and some may say that Super8 is simply a passing fad. But I believe that those who are looking for something both untraditional and authentic will find enjoyment in my films. Those who want to look back on a wedding day that’s imperfectly perfect, that can only capture what’s in the moment. Anyone who is willing to trust the process and embrace the experience is a client of mine.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Portrait of Kiley Rizzo shot by Malia Bever of Malia Lynn Photos

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