Meet Trevor Motes | Filmmaker

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

Hi Trevor, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
My life for the past few years has been all about taking risks. I have evaded being miserable countless times by taking a chance on myself and taking a leap of faith, and it’s benefited me in my professional life as well as my personal life. I’ve learned that you are the only person stopping yourself from achieving your goals and living a fulfilling life.

To me, taking risks shows how badly you want something. If you really want to get something or achieve a goal, then you’ll be willing to take a few risks to get it. Taking a risk shows that you believe and trust in yourself to make something great happen. The way I think about achieving goals and taking risks is: If you want it, then don’t let anyone/anything stop you from getting it. Again, it is entirely up to you if you want to achieve your goals.

There was a time a few years ago where I was at a really low point in my life. I was depressed, emotional, I wasn’t living the way I wanted to live, and I wasn’t doing anything significant with my life. In that low point, I came up with an idea that would pick me up, get me out of it and pretty much give me an entirely new life from that point forward, though I didn’t know it yet. It was a small idea for a short film that I wanted to do, and the idea ended up taking me pretty far, and it’s actually still taking me places today.

I was determined to prove to everyone and myself that I could make this short film happen, and eventually, I did. The short film I made had a lot of moving vehicle shots and fight scenes, and the film school I went to made it really hard to get approval for using their equipment if they didn’t like your project. Before making this project, I wasn’t very well known at my school for making anything. I was just the guy that had a truck and hauled film equipment around, and I felt unseen by a lot of people.

I wanted to prove to my school and colleagues that there was more to me than what they saw. I wanted to show that I am a very creative person who is capable of doing multiple roles on set, so that’s exactly what I did. I took a risk and gave my school a fake script so they would let me use their equipment, and it worked. I felt bad for giving my school a fake script, but I was determined to do what I wanted to do. I didn’t want to be stopped or have my time taken up by people disapproving of my short film and telling me what I can or can’t do. I knew what me and my crew were capable of, and we succeeded. From what I’ve heard from students and teachers recently, the film school ended up loving my project despite what I did, so it all paid off! I took a risk and made myself the writer, director, producer, actor, editor, assistant music producer, marketing team, and more to show that I was dead serious about making something that I wanted to make without anyone’s interference. I wanted to do things the way I thought they should be done, and so I did. That paid off, too.

I wouldn’t be as happy or as far in life as I am right now if I didn’t take risks. You only get one life, so do what makes you happy.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I don’t really know how to describe my “art”. I just like making movies. I want to make what I want to make, and that’s pretty much it. I’m not acting like what I make is different or better than what anyone else does, because that doesn’t really matter to me. I like to make something that I would personally want to watch. If others happen to like it and want to see it, then great! So far I’ve gotten great reception from audiences who have seen my work, and that makes me happy. Even if they didn’t like what I was doing, I would be fine with that too. I’m just happy that I get to be on film sets with my friends, create memories, and be creative with them.

When I made my senior thesis, “The Fabulous Misadventures of Pizza Boy”, I wasn’t expecting anything to come from it. Then, it became pretty popular at my school when I was marketing it, and I realized after we premiered it that there were so many things I could do with a character called “Pizza Boy”. Having a pizza delivery boy as your central character allows you to put him in literally any situation imaginable, because you run into all sorts of people and scenarios when you work in the delivery service. The original short film got us nominated in a lot of film festivals, and we’re still winning awards as of this year. Now, we’re making a sequel to the original “Pizza Boy” short. I’ve gathered a larger budget and a bigger crew, and we’re shooting this summer.

Obviously, none of this has been easy. Making movies is really hard, and really competitive. I’ve had to fight for crew members and show why my project is worth working on, and luckily, people believe in my creative vision. Making the first “Pizza Boy” was hard because I had so many different jobs during the making of that, but I’m really grateful for the crew I had during that time.

I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned as a filmmaker is that if you want something done the right way, sometimes you have to do it yourself. Everyone has their own unique vision for what they want their movie to look like. I’ve been extremely fortunate to work with the most talented people and make my vision come true. I chose to be the writer, director, producer, actor, editor, and marketing team on my projects because I want those roles done a certain way that I’m not sure how to communicate to others yet, so I’m more than happy to do them myself. What do I want the world to know about me? I’m young, I’m determined, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to achieve my goals and live the life I want to live. I think everyone should hold themselves to that standard.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I live in Downtown LA, so I would take them on a walk and go eat at Grand Central Market a few blocks away, then walk a few more blocks to The Last Bookstore. Elysian Park has beautiful views, and Sunken City is a great place to spend a sunset with someone.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My closest friends deserve a lot of recognition. I moved to Southern California when I was 18, and I’ve been living out here on my own since. My family still lives in Dallas, Texas, so my friends are the closest thing I have to family out here. They’ve helped me in so many different ways, I love them all so much. Lauren Good, Andrew Etzweiler, Ryan Jachetta, Joey Khazanedar, Jess Taylor, Nate Bannister, and Richie Gunasekera are all people who have been there for me countless times over the years. I wouldn’t be anywhere without them. They’re all people who I have close relationships with and have worked on countless film sets with, and I hope to continue having great friendships with them over the years as well as continuing to work with them professionally. They’re like family to me.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trevmotes/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF4HZZ1FI1iCgnZDBj2WFGw