Meet Walter Wallace | Technical Film & Photography Instructor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Walter Wallace and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Walter, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
For me, the big thing is not trying to wait for everything to be perfect (I did this with the first app I created). In my experience, it will never be perfect and start the process of running your business, things are never going to go exactly how you plan for it to go. I think it is important to be someone who is nimble, can adjust to change quickly, and is a good listener. I try to get as much feedback from friends, family, and your target market as possible. When your customers are telling you things about your product, listen to them and don’t write them off. I learned not to fall in love with anything that I create because I didn’t create this business for myself, I created it for the people I am trying to serve. People can tell you all day long that they love your product, but the question is, will they buy your product? The best teacher for me has been making mistakes and learning along the way. Whenever I do not have the answer, I will hop on the internet and start my research. I tend to use different forums and communicate with others who I have build a relationship with over the course of the last several years. Building and leveraging relationships is something I am working on, and I am aware it is a process that takes time.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The Black Film Guild is a non-profit designed to train the local Oakland community on the technical aspects of filmmaking. We teach people how to use professional-grade equipment such as ARRI Alexa, MAVO LF, and Canon C700. We believe it is important for people who are interested in getting more involved in the professional filmmaking space to be familiar with professional-grade cameras and equipment and we offer them the opportunity to get more familiar with it. There are a lot of great artists in Oakland California who have the skillset to create beautiful photos and engaging videos, but one of the things that I noticed is there is a disconnect with the technical aspects of what the camera can do. You might ask, “Why does that matter?”. This is important because if you ever want to get a job with a film production company or work on a large production, you need to understand the language that is used in a professional setting. Most people learn the lingo in film school, but most of the filmmakers in Oakland did not attend film school, mainly because of the cost barrier to entry. Film school can range from $25,000 to six figures in some cases and many people do not feel comfortable making that financial investment in themselves. In those cases that is where the Black Film Guild comes in. We have a mailing list where we send out opportunities to work on production sets and attend free upcoming workshops that we host. We also have low-cost online courses that students can take that teach them the basics of photography and filmmaking. Like many businesses, we had to cut one of our main outreach methods which were in-person workshops. For the last year and a half, we have not had any in-person instruction, which has made connecting with the local community much more difficult. As things start to open back up, we are planning to look into safe ways we can conduct our workshops and increase the amount of in-person training.
There is nothing better than seeing someone come into the Black Film Guild, eager to learn, and then see them working on a major production set. Our goal is to help our community develop the technical know-how to be able to be self-sufficient and talk with confidence about the photography and filmmaking trade.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
There is always something going down in Oakland. For me, I would start the day with a nice hike at Grizzly Peak. There is nothing better than starting the morning walking amongst the redwoods. Right after the hike, I would take them to Brown Sugar to grab some chicken and waffles. After this, I would take them down to Jack London where we could go kayaking and then close the day off by walking over to Plank to have a few drinks and go bowling indoors. If they wanted to grab some dinner there is an amazing place called Homeroom where they have hundreds of different mac & cheese combinations. Every time I take someone there they always want to revisit before they leave.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have to give a shout-out to a great course that I have been a part of for the last several years called HOPE. It is a course designed for entrepreneurs that not only offer weekly lectures on business development strategies but also offer insight into some of the pitfalls that business owners commonly face. We also get the opportunity to network with other entrepreneurs and discuss a host of topics related to business, behavioral psychology, and emotional intelligence. The best part about this course is it’s taught by business owners who are running successful businesses. Before this course, I was not aware how human emotion and behavioral psychology played a role in business, and because of this class, I have not only been able to better navigate my personal business but have also been better able to navigate personal relationships in a more healthy way. If there is one gift I could give to any and all business owners out there; It would be to join this class. If you do join be sure to say hi to me! https://www.510mediafoundation.org/hope21hq

Website: www.blackfilmguild.com

Instagram: instagram.com/blackfilmguild

Twitter: twitter.com/blackfilmguild

Facebook: facebook.com/blackfilmguild

Youtube: youtube.com/blackfilmguild

Image Credits
Walter Wallace