Kiunte Watkins editing a recently shot music video.
Fresh off of a flight from Dubai, 22 year old Kiunte Watkins barely realized what he’s accomplished after a year of launching his video production start up. A kid from Queens has just experienced international business travel, armed with his DSLR camera, Apple laptop, and his creative talent.
Successfully transitioning from college student to business owner didn’t register as a definite possibility just a few months back. At that point, still a student of NYU’s film production program, Watkins found himself at a forked road. He had the option to take out student-loans to continue following the traditional college route, or he could take a shot in the dark and build a business from the ground up. “College got too expensive forcing me to take a semester off,” said Watkins. Stuck between the choice of continuing with the perceived “safety net” of academia or following his passion for photography without submitting to the academic machine, Watkins chose the latter, and is thankful he did.
According to a recent Georgetown University study, “Unemployment rates are generally higher in non-technical majors, such as the Arts (11.1 percent).” However, incurring debt that may not have had a substantial return on investment was now just as much a risk for Watkins as leaving school to start a film career from scratch.
Watkins’s company Exit 91 Productions technically began as an unpaid hobby. “My freshman year of college, I purchased a DSLR camera to shoot music videos for me and my friends.” said Watkins. “Word got around that I did videos, and from there, I got a large number of inquiries. It just so happened to pick up when college got too expensive forcing me to take a semester off.”
The trials and tribulations of going from hobbyist to professional can factor in much joy, but also much doubt and the inevitable hurdles of failure. The ability to push through failure is one of the entrepreneurial qualities Watkins possessed at a time it was much needed. “My camera fell out off my bag while traveling. It was tough because I had so many plans and inquiries.” said Watkins. “People constantly asked when was I getting my camera back, so I took it as a sign to continue.”
When building a business, any sign of failure can be soul crushing. The broken camera situation crept up on Watkins, but turned out to be an indicator of potential success. Once he viewed failure as an inevitable hurdle on the path to success, there was an incentive to push through that specific tough time. Not letting a broken camera end his brand new career as a film producer–afforded Watkins the opportunity to not only work in different parts of the States, but also different parts of the globe.
Photographing in different environments can have an effect on the direction of a photographer’s creativity. Working in New York may provide different artistic inspiration than working in Asia. Watkins has worked in both. “Anywhere I go scenery is key. The vibe, the smell, the idea of interest, what kind of people reside there. all of these things play into the awareness of one’s surroundings.”
The opportunity to be a 22-year-old entrepreneur with a network of reference experience and professional connections in different parts of the world is positive reinforcement to continue working. No longer is a Master’s degree in Fine Arts needed to build a business surrounded by a fine art, all thanks to the connective possibilities of the internet.
A close look at Kiunte’s production editing.
Networking has become easier through the medium of the internet and more specifically, social media. We’re in a digital age where someone from China can scroll through someone from the US’s social networking page.,” said Watkins. The perceived branding that being a New York photographer provides can be exploited through social media at the click of a button, and Watkins certainly takes advantage of that fact every day.
Abandoning college textbooks, and putting his all into the art of entrepreneurship has certainly paid off for Kiunte Watkins, at least so far.
