Today we’d like to introduce you to Victoria Va Jones
Hi Victoria VA, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I guess it all started for me back when I was in high school. I have always loved movies and televisions but in high school I really got into looking at films and really paying attention to how things looked and how I thought they put them together so much so that I would rewind movies and see if I could figure out how they put together the sets. I never really thought to much on wanting to make movies until I got into college. In college I learned how behind the scenes really worked and I fell in love. After college I hooked up with my with my good friend Flo Gibbs who has a vision for film and we completed our first documentary called “Mentality ‘Girls like Us” back in 2014. We learned a lot doing that project and I thank Flo for allowing me to be apart of her vision we brought that doc to life and I am proud of how successful it turned out to be. I didn’t know I wanted to be a movie director until I hooked up with my friend Clarence Scott Jr. We both had a passion for film and started putting together a plan of going after our dreams. Not to long after that I ran into Rob who has a passion as well. Rob also had a radio startation that he started and wanted to work with me with called WIAN radio. The three of us started on a journey I never thought would take us this far. I wrote my first short film in 2016 “Before the Night Ends” and a year after that we shot the film. It was the most fun and terrifying thing I have experienced only because it was the first film but also we finally starting on a project. Shortly after that we shot our next film called “Cubbin” and in 2018 I directed my first feature film “The Story of Randolph: The Man of the Cloth” . That was the first time I got to see what I really could do as a movie director. Thank to to Tony Jackson who took a chance on Clarence and myself with that feature film. With all of the challenges we had to go through with that film Clarence and myself pulled it off and I am very proud of that movie! With that movie a lot was starting to happen for us! We had a successful movie and we where winning a lot of awards in film festivals. Covid hit and all of that went down hill when the world shut down but we still where able to complete a short film called “First Date” Written by my friend Kevin Mumphrey. Also in the middle of Covid Kevin, Karsten Ferguson and myself started a podcast called “F*** It W’ell Fix It In Post” and we still continue the podcast to this day. I owe a lot to those guys because they have allowed me to become the great director I am today. Together we have completed over eight films and it just keeps getting better!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
This has not been a smooth road. What people do not understand is it takes a lot to put a movie together long or short and on the independent level things are not just given to you. I have always worked with a small crew and the same one at that and when we run into a script that one of us has written or someone else wrote we all hit the ground running to find locations, actors and everything else we need to make the project come to life. What people don’t get is we invest our own money in these projects. From the locations to making sure the actors and crew are taken care of. People come to me all the time and say I have a idea for a movie well that is cool but what are you going to bring to the table because that idea has to be put into play and action. When we first started looking for actors I didn’t know a lot of actors so I had to call on my cousins and close friends to be in the film and they went above and beyond to make sure I had what I needed I am beyond grateful for all of them. Others like Movie Go and Carlton Boleyjack and Flo Gibbs who help find actors and locations made things smooth for us to get the movies done. When the script calls for a building that we don’t have the funds for we have to change the location. I always say write within your budget. Another big obstacle for me is being a female in a mostly male dominant industry. Being a Director you have a lot of responsibilities and if people don’t listen or your voice is not hard it is hard to bring the vision to life. I did not become a good film director on my own it is also the people I work with.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a Film Director and entertainer. I have directed over twelve film. I help run a entreatment/radio station “WIAN” along with Rob and Clarence. I also have a podcast called “F*** it We’ll Fix it in Post” Kevin, Karsten and myself have over 100 episodes and continue to keep going. we have a lot of films and projects in the works and I am very excited for what the future holds not only together with the crew but for us all individually! I would say the most thing I am proud of is finding a story and putting a plan together and seeing the film complete and come to life! Moving pictures as they call it is something magical when it is done right! I have always said any idea can be made into a movie it’s just the way you go about it. This is not just a hobby for me it is my life.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
My advice it if you have a idea just do it! Do not worry about the “what if” or the ‘I can’t” because you can! The best teacher is failure! You learn from your mistakes and you only get better with time. Don’t worry if you don’t have the best equipment or the best camera just shot something and everything else will fall into place.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/va_jonesfilms/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victoria.v.jones.5/videos_by
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@charmed056
