Conversations with JC Conklin

Today we’d like to introduce you to JC Conklin.

Hi JC, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I remember connecting a TV/VHS combo to another VHS while using an RCA camcorder and a boombox to make my mom a mother’s day video around the age of seven. When I saw how she cried, I knew there was something special about taking different elements and telling a story. From then on, whenever my friends would come over, I would pull out that RCA and we would make stories. I would film everything I could. I realized not long after my 13th birthday there wasn’t anything else I wanted to do then tell stories with movies and TV. I also learned that it wasn’t’ very normal at 13 to know exactly what you would be doing the rest of your life. In high school, I met my “Mr. Feeny” (for all you late 80’s early 90’s kids ) in video production. He showed me I had a special way I liked to tell stories. He said I could elicit emotion, and as a high schooler who cares about making stories that connect with people’s emotions again, that wasn’t normal.

I became the Director of the school’s morning TV show. And loved the feeling of making it all happen. My school’s tv room was the first place I realized there was this indescribable energy that happens when people make any type of production, and I wanted to learn more. I should also mention the other part of this puzzle is, after growing up in Oceanport, NJ, and then my dad retiring and us moving to the Pocono mountains, there wasn’t much to do there. I should also mention that my family has always and will always be the biggest support system I have ever had. I know many people have rocky relationships with their parents and siblings, but I can say 100% that if it wasn’t for their love and support, I would not be who I am today. Ok, so a family friend gave me an old Minolta film camera that I started to do nature photography with. It was fun to set the scene, and choose the lighting, and just observe. That is how I learned all about what a camera was and how to manipulate light. So I moved to Pittsburgh after graduating high school and went to the Art Institute.

Life is about finding the positive perspective in things that aren’t so positive. The school itself wasn’t the biggest help in the educational side, but it was there that I got my first real experience on a movie set. I was walking through downtown and saw a group of people with burger king headsets on standing behind what I could instantly tell was a movie set. Although I was beyond nervous, I walked up and said, “what’s filming”. One person who seemed in charge just kept staring, and the others were surprised I was able to gauge this was a film set apparently. So I mentioned I was at AIP for Film and TV and would love a chance to get on set. They were surprised but said if there was anything that came up, they would let me know. We exchanged numbers, and I turned away. The woman who I thought was in charge finally spoke up and said, “what do you want to do in movies”? I said,” look I know the magic that goes on behind the curtain, and just want a chance, I’ll do whatever it takes.” She told me there was room to be an extra in a few upcoming scenes and it could work into a 2nd unit day coming up as a PA. That was it, and I tell all my students this story because it goes to show that if you have confidence in who you are and what you want, it can happen.

Fast forward a few years I have graduated the Art Institute of Pit with a degree in Digital Media Production. I have three big movies under my belt that I have been part of “Warrior, Next Three Days, and Love and Other Drugs, and am building a life with a special person. But just like anyone playing this game of life, you need to afford to live, and I had to get a day job. Luckily I was able to get a retail job with Apple. Over the next few years, I rose through the ranks with the company and became a teacher of their software, as well as a manager in training. Interestingly enough one of my regulars was the mom of the director of the show “The Walking Dead”. Most of my clients who got to know me kept telling me that even at apple, I was wasting my God-given talent because I had to put the movie stuff aside to live. I made my first short film at 19 from a theater script conversion, and for my final project in college, I wrote, sang, and directed a music video. But outside that, I had not picked up a camera more than showing people how to link it to their computer.

I was being lined up for general manager of a big retail box store with a big pay increase and was busy playing house to realize I had become complacent. I am a stubborn man who doesn’t give up! Although I was still a nieve 20 something, I wanted another shot to follow my dreams. You know the universe speaks in whispers to you every day, and if you learn to listen, life can be much easier. I hadn’t. So it was more of a push. I got a call from a kid I helped get through college who said GA is starting to get big in the industry and you can come out and live behind my couch. Yes, behind not on. So I set up this plan with my wife at the time, to go down, get in, find a house and she would move down. Everyone thought I was stupid not to take the cushy job with the big pay, but I felt retail stealing my sole and my dreams slipping away. So I did. It was bad for a while until I got connected with some Indi guys making legit music videos.

I started to learn more about the camera as I was able to be more adventurous with the camera assistant and asked questions and offered help wherever it was needed. So they lined my work ethic and kept calling me back. It turns out a producer of Cartoon Network was one of the clients and also saw my work ethic. He recommended I go to this location in a studio that just opened. So I let the journey take me and I ended up interviewing for an office PA job on a tv show called “Quantico.” I thought it went great, and as I left, I found myself mentioning that I used to teach at apple. Then they pulled me back in and said our director from Europe is apple heavy. After a great meeting, I got a call on set later that week on a music video set and got the part. I learned so much about storytelling from Marc Munden and he became my mentor. A few weeks before wrap, I had two interviews set up, one for an office pa on walking dead and one for locations on Ant-man at marvel. After researching how family-oriented the walking dead was, it was a no-brainer. It was there where I started as another one of their “generic” office pas. But I was never one to fit into the box. So after just being me and talking to the DP while I was cleaning his office, he told me to come on set with us and see how things went. Finally, I had the opportunity to play with the big boys in the camera dept. But my name was also spreading that I knew apple stuff, even to the cast. I remember having lunch one day and getting a call from Lauren Cohen (Maggie). They said she wanted to see me in her trailer and I was very confused. But her dad in NY was having issues with his family computer. And it was such an easy fix I spent the next 2 hours just hanging out with her.

Also, the Executive Producer’s daughter’s computer was going to lose all their stuff and he basically set me up a spot at my desk where I could work in peace. He claims to owe me a favor, haha. But even though I was working on all those things, including I was the new film runner for the show. I was still nailing all the office work I needed to do, scripts, crafty, all that stuff. The film runner by the way takes the film after it’s done shooting and drives it to the film processing place. So for 2 hours, I was in charge of the protection of the most popular tv show at the time. Talk about a lot riding on you. But when you are more than what the role entails, sometimes it’s not taken so well, and I was soon released from that job. You know I never truly told that part of the story because I thought it was what defined me and getting released from the show made me somehow less of a filmmaker, but I learned if anything, it makes me stronger to have been doing so much more than what my job entailed, helping anyone I could famous or not, and to look back and have made an impact on those people makes me proud. I say I stayed as long as I was supposed to.

Because the next part didn’t have to do with my career but did at the same time. I met the woman who would change my life, my life partner, my wife in this life, and so many more, the mother of my child and soon-to-be children, and the strongest, kindest woman I ever met. Kami! She has helped me to realize that being myself is the best version of me I can be. I would use up a lot more space for this question if I said all the amazing things about her. But after we created a life together and built the life hacks of doing what we love, I can honestly say the best part of my job as much as I love every moment on set, is coming home to them. So fast forward my production company, chill baby productions, is built-in FL after we come down from GA to take care of Kami’s passing mom. We decide to make roots and try to make the world a better place from here. So pre-cover I was doing commercials for companies like Advent Health, United Way, things I thought were stories that deserved the cinematic emotional storytelling skills I had learned in the industry. Now I’m days from the green light of my first tv mini-series. I’m surrounded by people who love me, friends who are passionate about the industry and making a change in the world using film. I’m healthy and am blessed to understand the bigger picture. I was sent here to change the perception of people in positive ways using the emotional connection a person creates with a character. I guess I can also mention I am a singer, so its not all about film/tv.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There are always struggles. It’s about the ability to look at those struggles in the moment and say I signed up for this so I could learn from this experience and truly be able to evolve from every obstacle that gets in my way. Keep in mind that mindset took a long time to come by. People saying you will not get there, and should shoot lower in the sky. Trusting people who are not as genuine as yourself and having to learn to get a stronger shell. Your own levels of unworthiness, and how although we build it as a filter for everything we do.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Anyone can be a filmmaker, and many claim to be storytellers, but I have learned that creating a cinematic and emotionally captivating message can create instant trust. It can fully immerse the audience in the world you are painting. See storytelling in a way is the infinite knowledge of life passed down unconsciously from generation to generation, and when we recognize that everything is a story, then we find that all along we had all the tools to help the world. To help each other. So I focus on using industry-standard equipment in whatever I do to offer every story I feel called to help that comes my way, an opportunity to be trusted and make a change in the best way possible. I love narrative tv because the level of character development that can be built by a team can truly make a huge impact on your life outside what you watch.

Right now, think of your favorite show. Think of your favorite character in that show. I imagine you may know more about them and interact with them than you do some of your own family. But more so you are “emotionally invested” if done right. I remember when one of the characters on the walking dead was killed off, we got so much hate mail from fans. “I will never watch this show again” “how could you.” It was almost like we needed to remind them, “this is just a character. We didn’t actually kill anyone”. But see to them, we might as well have. Emotionally invested. Now think of the majority of shows that are on streaming channels these days, not something that emotionally investing in is going to do any positivity from the world. Now don’t get me wrong, there are some great ones that do that, but they are few and far between. But not take this concept and allow a character to do something different but healthy. It’s like your family saying try this restaurant because they have a great burger. You don’t even second guess. But take that concept and use it in a negative way, like tell little girls that they have to look and act a certain way or people won’t like them, or you have to drive this type of car to get chicks. These are using the power of creating emotionally invested characters in ways that don’t create any form of positivity in the world. So I know it was long-winded, but the question is, “What do you do” I make tv, movies, commercials, videos, content that uses emotionally captivating characters, and storytelling techniques to remind the world of all the positive things we have forgotten about. What am I most proud of, being able to show the world everyone can do what they love and live the best version of themselves. The limits are only the ones we put on ourselves. And that family is most important, blood or not.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
We are at a crossroads where thanks to COVID, the movie theater experience is dying. I am upset about this because although my wife will argue you pretty much watch everything from home and not pay extra, and if your tv is big enough and the sound system is nice enough, then what’s the difference. But I disagree. The experience for someone who is passionate about the film industry getting to immerse themselves in this beautiful dream that after the movie ends you see your name on the credits, is one that for at least me was a driving goal to keep my passion when life said you’re not going to be that. At most, you will teach video at apple and that is amazing? Why who said our dreams have a limitation, and if you knew all the amazing things that are outside the box society has built to keep us complacent, then you would realize the career dreams we have are so much easier to attain than we could ever know.

That is what a lot of my second TV series, “AWAKE,” will focus on from the perspective of a family of a shaman, a hypnotherapist, and an 8-year-old boy who uses Youtube to educate and empower kids. But back to the question, I think it’s a beautiful time for independent filmmakers because with even Walmart having a streaming station. I know Walmart. If you have the content, you can get it out there. The goal is to make it impactful, genuine, high production value, and relatable. Ohh and you need a following that is the frustrating part of the evolution of the industry. It has become a popularity contest you felt with in high school but on a worldwide platform. So just like with all growth in industries, there are positives and negatives. I would like to see in the next 5-10 years filmmakers realizing that when you make something, you are building a powerful tool, not just something that could get you famous and potentially rich, but a tool to influence and shape. If more people put that energy into their passion, the money comes because God, the universe, whatever you call it embraces and nurtures things of positivity and love.

Contact Info:

• Email: chillbabyproductions@gmail.com
• Website: www.chillbabyproductions.com
• Instagram: Chill Baby_Productions
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3849534/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1