Today we’d like to introduce you to Evan Schneider.
Evan, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
When you are trusted out into the world after graduating High School you are often pressured into finding yourself and what you want to do the rest of your life. I never had a traditional career goal in mind. Other kids I grew up with wanted to be Fire Fighters, Doctors or Lawyers. Some kids wanted to open their own hair salons or start their own green company. I played Videogames, managed a horror movie fan website & filmed short comedy sketches with my cousins on a VHS Camcorder. So when time came to decide what I wanted to do with my life I had no idea. I loved movies and I always admired some of my favorite Directors and aspired to try to work alongside them someday, but after joining and completing a 2-Year trade school I found myself an overweight, out of touch barely 20 year old whom despite receiving endless promises from the school I attended it appeared that I was taught only the very basic of basic in filmmaking, thrown into a tiny class of 14 students whom mostly 35+ Years Old and wanted nothing to do with the short, fat kid who happened to really like the movie Jaws and taught by a group of “teachers” who were really a mixed bag.
It took me three years of working three jobs constantly before I matured and realized one day “I don’t need to be working for anyone, but myself” and “If I have a dream, I’m the only one who cares and I’m the only one who can make it happen”. I rounded up as much money as I saw fit to be able to afford some rudimentary camera equipment and started reaching out to the few kids I met in school who also wanted to make movies, but didn’t know where to start. I hit the ground running. I started seeking out and messaging hundreds of different people looking for Cinematographers on message boards and cold called connections and we started low balling everyone there was to low ball in the film industry just to get our foot in the door and show the world we are here to make movies.
It’s been a long road. I stand today as the proud founder of Hop Top Films. The friends and colleagues that I started this push with in 2014 are still here and have graduated to exciting levels in their careers. We are still in the beginning stages of our company, but we have been able to build our ranks to include hundreds of loyal Independent Filmmakers, Actors/Actresses & Affiliates. We have built up an insured arsenal of professional film cameras and equipment, a massive local presence, a strong work ethic and laundry list of successful narrative films and an increasingly high demand events & corporate videography sector. We’ve produced hundreds of videos for local businesses. I couldn’t be happier to now be in a place where I can Direct films and have full faith in the crew I work with to get the job done and done right.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Every single day you will be met with obstacles when you run your own business. They come in all shapes and sizes and it sometimes will take your breath away and make you want to crawl back into bed and sleep forever. It’s completely normal to feel this way, but it’s your choice how you handle it. I’ve encountered technical difficulties, human error, bridezillas, jealous and borderline maniacal filmmakers and jealous, actually maniacal aspiring filmmakers. It’s a tough industry. If you want to be in the film & videography industry get ready for 17 hour days and extreme labor. Sometimes getting sick is just part of the job. When there is a schedule to keep it must be kept.
Hop Top Films – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Hop Top Films was founded by me to bring professional filmmaking and videography to the forefront of Boston. We are lucky to have such a vibrant and expansive community of independent filmmakers, actors and actresses in New England and we all help each other out. I started my career in the industry as a Video Editor whom aspired to Direct and realized when I stepped back into the water after taking a 3 year hiatus that I would need to make myself valuable if I wanted to get ahead. I’ve always been the man with the camera growing up filming sketches with my family and friends so I figured why not try my hand at Cinematography.
To date I’ve been the Cinematographer for several Independent Short Films, Feature Films, Micro Documentaries, Music Videos and more. Becoming a Cinematographer allowed me not only to sell my services behind the camera in the narrative world and charge for the rental of the gear I chose to invest in house instead of renting, but also allowed me to start a very lucrative professional videography sector.
I’m very fortunate to have gotten to a point where I can direct our projects and trust our amazing crew of 25-35 whom has included some of the best Filmmakers, Actors & Actresses in New England. Along with my partner Shane Uriot we have a handful of network reality shows coming out soon which we cannot talk much about quite yet. And coming down the pipe our first professionally made short film: Lifted. Lifted is a Science Fiction Drama detailing the life of two young sisters in search of answers when their parent’s turn up missing.
What sets us apart from other companies is our devotion to no man left behind. We work with everyone. There is no closed curtain. We are unselfish & we push for the best and that is why people will always work with us and trust us.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is such an easy thing to realize when you have it. It’s not money. It’s not notoriety. It’s the ability to wake up and be in control of your day, your week, your year, your whole life. When I work I’m doing what I love and it never feels like work. It feels like I’ve tricked the world into letting me get paid to play and it’s only uphill from here.
One of the biggest things to watch out for in life is Envy. If you are envious you are killing yourself. Envy is the opposite of Success.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hoptopfilms.com
- Phone: 5088218827
- Email: evan@hoptopfilms.com
- Instagram: hop.top.films
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HopTopFilmsCompany/?pnref=lhc
- Other: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm7281744/?ref_=tt_ov_dr
Image Credit:
Taylor Briand
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