Check Out Garet Maddox’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Garet Maddox aka Cinemaddox.

Hi Garet, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My journey as a creative started very early in life. I’ve been creative ever since I was a child. I still have vivid memories of being a kid in my room, letting my imagination take me wherever I wanted to be—playing with Legos, stuffed animals, couch cushions, and anything else that allowed me to create my world. The only difference between those memories and today is now people will pay me to use my imagination! I still find that pretty wild, to be honest. It almost feels like I got away with something I shouldn’t be able to do. I carried that creative energy throughout my life and explored it through different avenues, which eventually led me to get my hands on a camera. I was about twelve when I started making home movies in my backyard. I’m talking whole storylines like I thought I was Spielberg. That pure passion is a blessing from God, which still drives me today. As I grew older, I encountered several people who believed in my vision for one reason or another. Each of those interactions led me to grow confident in my craft and take things to a new level. I started by creating promotional content for churches and businesses in my early professional career. Across these past few years, I’ve been given several opportunities by a music artist/friend, nobigdyl, an independent Nashville artist, to bring my talents with video into the music industry. Eventually, I made some of my first music videos with nobigdyl and several other artists that believed in me early. As a business, I still create for a variety of video projects, but the music videos are definitely what have brought the most eyes to my work over the past few years. The music videos have also allowed me to feel like that kid again, expressing my creativity and creating new worlds in my art. These days a good majority of my work has been with music artists, which has given me the confidence to explore my creativity in every creative avenue I can. Recently I have been exploring by making songs, fashion, designs, and building a brand. I want to stretch myself in every creative avenue, even if It’s “not my thing,” and I’ll still create things for fun. I don’t want to regret not trying something because I fear how it might be received. God has blessed me along this journey and allowed me to learn so many lessons during these starting years in my career.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I wish I could say things have been completely smooth sailing, but the reality is I’ve encountered a fair share of bumps in the road on this journey and still do to this day. I have had to deal with missing out on big video shoot opportunities, getting thousands of dollars worth of gear robbed from my car, or even having to deal with the constant fears every artist experiences once they attach their art to their livelihood. Also, there are constant lessons I’ve had to learn about work/life balance, which I once learned the hard way when I fell asleep at the wheel one day due to overworking myself the night before. However, I am genuinely thankful for these obstacles because without them, I wouldn’t be able to grow as a business, artist, or person.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
The work that I currently specialize in is professional videography/directing. I have become well versed in many skills within this field, including video editing, sound design, lighting and production, marketing, writing, and a variety of other skills that I have picked up over the years. The main passion and role that I thrive is directing. Nothing feels better than being able to focus on the “big picture,” be one-on-one with the subject/talent, and make decisions that allow the overall vision to come alive.

I would say I am currently most known for my video editing and my directing styles. I have mostly seen this within the music video work I have done. I am most proud of the music videos and longer-length documentary-style work. I have done this because it gives me a chance to fully exercise my ability to story tell and build a whole world visually that accurately displays how my imagination interprets the song, artist, story, etc.

I would say the key component that sets me apart in the video production world is the choices I make in the postproduction editing phases and how I work with the client on set and push them to get outside the box. I am always making creative decisions that are most beneficial for the project, rather than what makes me seem the coolest as an editor or cinematographer.

Creating songs recently has been freeing, and I constantly seek other creative outlets to broaden my horizons. I have also been venturing into other creative fields recently and have pushed myself to express my creativity in other ways. I don’t want to look back years later and think, “what if I did that?” I just go for it now and see where it takes me. So, diversity in my creativity is something that sets me apart.

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Everything is under the name Cinemaddox. This seems like a good place to stop, I am sure I could write a whole novel trying to explain my brain and how my imagination works, but the best way to understand it is by viewing my projects and seeing them yourself. Or, if you want to have a good time, give your ears a treat, and listen to music that makes you say, “wait, what?” then you can go check that out.

Also, I want to clarify that without God’s provision and the support of all my family and friends, I would have no shot at making any of my creative goals a reality. I might do much of the work myself, but this is not a one-person job. I have had a lot of much-needed help to get here. I am very thankful and blessed that my dreams are coming true one day at a time.

Pricing:

• Pricing varies depending on project, feel free to contact me

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cinemaddox.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cinemaddox/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjXUyarSgNNx8Cmzs_48Mew
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4nhL038F3BIhwV398uZSoK?si=e8OAFedxSSKiQIq5CC60XA

Image Credits
Anthony Ferrell Ethan Bledsoe Rascreative Garet Maddox