Today we’d like to introduce you to Wes Evans Heidenreich.
Hi Wes, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m a filmmaker that started late; I was 30 when I bought my first camera, a Canon 60D, and decided to learn how to use it. Shooting my cousin’s volleyball games, and family events gave me a crash course on the basics of exposure and camera operation.
My best friend, Todd, noticed my new toy and suggested we shoot a music video for his band, Language Room / Kiona. So we went into the woods with a bunch of friends for 24 hours and came out with a really fun Ok Go inspired video. Then we decided to make a short film, so I wrote & directed my first short film, “Office Zombies”, that plays on “The Office” using zombies as a fun metaphor.
Our music video would link me with another local cinematographer, Andrew Barrera, who suggested we make 3 music videos, in one weekend, and that they all tie together to tell a story. So, he brought in a ton of amazing local help and we co-directed a short film, “Threads”, which turned out amazing and taught me that I had the skills to do this for a living, to be an artist telling stories.
And that’s exactly what I do! I write and direct all kinds of projects for so many types of clients. Ranging from medical dramas for hospitals, to commercials. There’s always a story to tell and a specific way to tell it. And I love it.
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?
Very smooth! Perfect! No bumps!
No, obviously there are always challenges. Sometimes the discovery process indicates a client wants “this”, but then the actual work reveals the client needs “that”. It’s one kind of challenge.
Then there’s the ebb and flow of being self-employed. The joys of entrepreneurship! My long term goal is to make movies, both narrative and documentary. The challenge here is to find the right balance of taking on new clients while also honoring my life goals. It’s very easy to focus on making other people’s vision come true and then lose track of your own, or to get so focused on your own goals that you go broke. Balance is key and something I’m still trying to get just right, but I’ve gotten better at reminding myself to make my own passion projects and not let my dreams sit on the shelf. Don’t let yours sit idle either!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Writing & Directing narrative stories, product videos / commercials, music videos.
Narratives. I’ve certainly made short films and have written feature scripts, but I’ve also written dramas that help train medical staff in psychiatric care to be more empathetic and understanding of the people in their care, or helping doctors better understand how to diagnose and treat a rare illness that’s more common in a minority population. Sometimes even writing to help Austinites better understand our own history. Storytelling is fundamental to humanity, and I always hope to emotionally engage the audience, regardless of the story being told.
Commercials. The last few years I’ve enjoyed helping clients launch products, often by making Amazon product videos that show off their product in a beautiful light while demonstrating features and benefits. These have been really fun as I generally take on projects that offer me a lot of creative freedom, so I get to bring my vision to life while ensuring my clients are excited about the direction.
Music videos of course are always a blast! I try to only take on music videos where I feel a connection with the music, but this always leads to an interesting creative place where often budget is less the focus than creative expression. Mad Valley’s “Take It All” was my last music video and I made it in my living room by myself with nothing more than a corkboard and index cards, and it was such an exciting project.
At the end of the day I love what I do, and I don’t take on projects unless I think I’m a good fit and will bring something that only I can bring. I am in love with storytelling and will be doing it for the rest of my life, whether I’m rich or poor. A week ago someone asked me what I’d do if they handed me 40 million dollars, and my response was easy: figure out how many movies I can make or support with it.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I’m self-taught. I didn’t go to college or grow up affluent. I come from a lower class background where simply having a soda was an exciting night lol. That meant we had to be self-sufficient, hard working, and caring about the people around us. I learned so much from my parents about all of that! Empathy and helping others, showing up on time, doing your best with what you’ve got. Internal things that are more valuable than money.
I believe one of my special qualities is that I always feel inadequate, the dreaded imposter syndrome is my secret weapon, because it makes me over-prepare, study more, practice, envision the end game. I always start a project feeling a little over my head, and then I get to work. In film this also meant launching a podcast as a means of working on my craft, The Pestle Podcast where every week I break down a movie with my best friend to see what we can learn.
Growing up with less has also meant I’m not at all risk averse. I started with nothing, so I know what life is like if I lose it all, I could rebuild if I needed. We’re alive in the universe, it’s all house money.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://icarusburning.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/icarusburning
- Youtube: https://vimeo.com/icarusburning
- Other: https://thepestlepodcast.com
Image Credits
All images are from my projects. The pics labeled “Short Film – Trauma Mines” were filmed by my cinematographer M. Andrew Barrera, everything else I am the cinematographer on, and the models/artists are credited in the filename (the couple in bed are not working models so I’d like to keep their names private).
