Rayka Zehtabchi’s career path has been, to put it mildly, anything but ordinary. “Everyone has their own journey,” says Rayka. “Some people’s journey starts at the Oscars when they’re 25 years old.” She’s referring to her stunning documentary “Period. End of Sentence.,” which took home the statue for Best Documentary (Short) at the 2019 Academy Awards when she was still in the early days of her filmmaking career – and made her the first Iranian-American woman to win an Oscar. 

“I was really young,” explains Rayka. “I had just left my job as a PA and an Uber driver. It was a very strange out-of-body experience.” But as improbable as the win might have felt to Rayka at the time, it was in no way an overnight success. “It was a project that we’d been working on for years at that point. But I don’t know that we ever thought it was going to be possible to even be a part of the Oscars conversation.” 

And while production of the short was a long-won labor of love, the visibility and notoriety associated with that kind of win did come fast and furious – leaving Rayka in need of a reset. “I came away from the Oscars really feeling like I needed to take a step back, and I needed to actually continue to explore my voice as a filmmaker,” she says. 

Four years on, Rayka has reemerged as a prolific documentarian with a unique eye for story and craft. We caught up with the filmmaker to learn more about how she found her voice and what keeps her creative fire lit. 

When did you know you wanted to be a filmmaker? 

Rayka: I was 15, I think. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do in film. I was like, directing sounds fun, producing sounds fun, production design sounds fun. I dabbled in a couple different things while I was going through school. But I think one of the biggest things that happened in my life that really gave me this idea and confidence that I could actually be a filmmaker, was this mentorship program, this film program when I was in high school called Film at Academy of the Arts.

I was really fortunate to have that program because you start to learn about the craft at a really young age, and all of a sudden it doesn’t feel like such a huge mountain to climb. You feel like you can see yourself in that position. I was like, “I want to do this and I don’t want to do anything else.”

You specialize specifically in short documentary. What is it about that medium?

Rayka: Honestly, I love the short format because first of all, there’s a low barrier of entry. You don’t need a huge budget or anything to go out and make a short film. The stakes are not as high. I think what that allows for the artist is more freedom for creativity. More freedom to really explore your voice, and also not be so precious. Go out and try different things. 

I think every film that I’ve made is different, or exploring something new. Maybe not so much in the themes, but in the craft is exploring something new. And I think that’s really fun and exciting, and I don’t know that you always get the opportunity to do that so readily with longer form projects. 

Your work is often issue-based, but you never sacrifice form for story. How do you balance those? 

Rayka: I think my collaborators and I are always thinking about form. How do we push the craft in some way? Especially with documentary, a lot of times what happens is it can start to feel a little formulaic, or you’re leaning more into journalistic sensibilities. So, the craft is sometimes it’s secondary. I think with us it’s like we’re always thinking about how you can put the craft and the storytelling first. 

Because the project should feel, technically, really sound. They should take you on a journey. They should be entertaining. They should be a visual feast. So, for us, it’s just filmmaking is the best way that you can infuse all of the art form, along with the humanity. So I feel like every project we do has to have both.

What has your creative life been like in the wake of your Oscar win? 

Rayka: I mean, it’s been challenging. It’s been great. It’s been filled with hard times. It’s been filled with growth. But I think it was a necessary step for me to take. You need to take a step back and you need to just shut out all the noise and you need to say, “This is who I am. What do I want? What’s important to me?” 

For me, I realized what was so important to me was that emotional connection to what it was that I was doing, whatever that may be. And so, taking a step back really allowed me to look inward, reflect, do the painful, challenging, almost therapy work of figuring out what your voice is, who you want to be, and what kind of projects you really want to put your energy into.

What keeps you going? 

Rayka: Honestly, it’s the stories. You think long and hard through the story before you decide that you’re going to go out and make it. Because it takes so much time, and energy, and effort, and emotional energy too. For me personally, even if I’m doing a job, I get really emotionally invested in the project and I don’t say yes to a job unless I feel emotionally connected to the project in some way.

You really have to be driven by the story that you’re telling, the message that you’re putting out into the world, the conversation that you’re putting out into the world. Do you feel like it’s something that you can shoulder for the time that you’re making the film? 

You received your first Staff Pick after winning an Oscar – how did it feel?

Rayka: It was a project that my partner Sam [Davis] and I did after the Oscars. After “Period. End a Sentence.” It was this small mockumentary. And it was sort of in response to the spectacle of the Oscars. We were like, “Okay, now we want to do something really small and really fun and quirky and intimate, and how do we just get creative?” And we made a fun project called (SHn(y)o͞of). And that was our first Staff Pick project.

I remember just being so elated, because even though we just came off of the Oscars, it was a project that really just came from our brains. We got so creative and fun and scrappy with. I think our budget was a few hundred dollars. So getting a Staff Pick was really great because it just felt like, you know, got that validation.

How do you use Vimeo in your day to day? 

Rayka: I use Vimeo almost every day, in some way. Whether it’s because a friend has sent me a film, or a Staff Pick that’s wonderful and I need to watch it for inspiration. Or because I’m uploading my videos, and using the review tools. 

Or if I need to find talent. I mean, I remember I had a project during the pandemic, and I really needed to find an animator who did a really specific style of animation. And I went down the Staff Picks rabbit hole in the animation category. I think I searched through 30 pages or something. And I found an amazing animator who we actually ended up hiring for the project, and I would love to work with again. I use it as a tool, a resource. It’s always in the diet.

What’s your advice for other filmmakers trying to find their voice? 

Rayka: I think it’s easier now to make a film than it has ever been. Especially for people who are just starting out. We have so many tools at our disposal, and you really just have to start making stuff and finding really what sticks and what matters to you.

It’s a process. It’s not like it happens overnight. You really have to get to work on it, and spend a good amount of time really discovering what it is that you want to say in the world. 

Get inspired

Dan Covert is a man of a thousand disciplines. A talented artist and graphic designer, co-founder of the wildly prolific production company Dress Code, and a filmmaker whose work spans short branded projects, commercials, and a recent feature film profiling the art and life of Geoff McFetridge – Dan has experience and insights in spades. But the secret to success isn’t in his artistic acumen (though that certainly helps) – it’s in his work ethic.

“Nothing’s going to make itself,” says Dan. “The quickest way to build your career is just keep making stuff. Even if it’s doing a bunch of favors for friends to make stuff, that’s how you stay active as a director.” 

It’s an ethos that has led Dan through an impressive career dotted with accolades from AFI, SXSW, and, of course, Vimeo Staff Picks. “Vimeo made our careers,” says Dan. “That sounds crazy, but it’s true. We never would’ve had an audience for any of this stuff. We just bought cameras and learned how to make things.” 

Shortly after the release of his first feature documentary, “Geoff McFetridge: Drawing a Life,” which won the Audience Award at this year’s SXSW, we had a chance to chat with Dan about his process and his creative north stars. Check out highlights from the chat above and read the full conversation below. 

You started out as a graphic designer. How did you get from there to feature filmmaker?

Dan: We started a company 16 years ago that was a graphic design company that then became a motion graphics company that then became a production company. So it’s this long evolution. And all along the way we made shorts, and a lot of them were Staff Picked on Vimeo.

We were just experimenting and learning what our voice was as a company and as directors and then I was turning 40 and was always like, “I’m going to make movies someday.” And I was like, “Maybe I’m not going to make movies unless I start.” So I just was looking for stories and this film kind of just happened. 

16 years is a long time to be making stuff in this industry. What keeps you going?

Dan: It’s just genuinely fun to do this work. Even until recently, I wasn’t like, “Oh, there’s going to be this blow up moment where my career changes and I’m at the Oscars.” I don’t think about that stuff. It’s just like, “Am I having fun in the moment? Am I enjoying the ride?” 

Because once a project it goes out in the world, you can’t control how people respond to it. It’s just like, “Did I make the best thing that I could? Am I hanging out and working with people I love and respect? Are we trying to be honest and authentic?” I’m always the lots of irons in the fire kind of guy. I have a business. I am a commercial director. I’ve been making this feature film. I have a pretty successful art practice. But it’s all about just slowly just doing these things that I enjoy and then like, “We’ll see where they go.”

But I’m not as concerned about the ‘where they go’ part because that can just eat you alive. Because ultimately in the end, who cares if you’re famous or successful? It’s like that’s not the stuff you’re going to remember when you’re 80. 

What’s your creative north star?

Dan: We constantly are refining this, but it’s really storytelling acumen. It’s craft and visual artistry. And those are kind of vague terms, but it does have a lot of meaning. It’s like, “Can you tell a story?” A lot of times people come with a half-baked concept and we, as storytellers, are kind of pulling the story out.

The idea of commercials and art, they’re somewhat contradictory forces – but not at the highest level. It’s more about emotion and how you do that with beautiful cinematography. But we each kind of have our own voice. But the stuff that really truly excites me is character and story.

How do you work with a brand without compromising your vision?

Dan: In the beginning I always thought it was like, “Oh, they’re hiring me to do what they need.” And then over time I realized, “No, they’re hiring me because they need some help and I know what I’m doing.” So it was a big shift of trying to understand what the company’s needs were and what their aesthetic was. That’s still obviously important, but then the more and more I’ve climbed as a director, I realized that they’re coming to you for your personal voice to really sort through all this stuff and be like, “What you guys need to do is this.”

Are there any brands that you’re still hoping to collaborate with?

Dan: I think that’s tricky because I don’t really care about that stuff. It’s like, “Is it a fun, interesting project?” Some of the most boring assignments that I’ve been given have turned into the best pieces. I did a film centered around a type historian at Syracuse, it’s a Staff Pick video we did. It was like this dude who was in a basement who found this font and then Pentagram turned it into the logo for Syracuse University. That guy’s amazing. I want to talk to people like that.

Everyone wants to do jobs for Nike and all these amazing brands. Sure that is fun, but I also like finding these unique stories and kind of giving them a platform. 

Can you tell us about your experience with Vimeo Staff Picks? 

Dan: Our first staff pick was for “Font Men.” The film we premiered at SXSW in 2014. I remember we had the first screening. I woke up the next day and saw that the film had been Staff Picked, media had picked it up, and that was a huge deal. I was a graphic designer who started co-directing with my business partner on films about other graphic designers.

I never learned how to be a director. So it was a huge validation as a creator to have 300,000 people within a few days see this movie that we made. And it’s like, “Oh, my God.” You know what I mean? We didn’t even make it as a short film. We made it for a client project and just slightly re-edited it, and I saw this audience.

Dress Code has been on Vimeo for a very long time. What keeps you on the platform? 

Dan: It just seems like the platform where all the creators are who see our work. A lot of this stuff on the short film side, we’re self-funding, kind of putting out these little trial balloons, and then other creatives see them. It’s always shocking. Somebody from an ad agency will call and be like, “Hey, we saw this thing. Can you do this commercial project for us?” It’s like a one to one. If we’re putting work out like that, the right people are seeing it and then kind of elevating it and giving us a platform.

Where do you get your inspiration? 

Dan: I get the most inspiration for my work through art. I actually don’t watch a ton of videos anymore. I find that it’s kind of taxing and then I want to mimic things, so I just really try to find things that are very outside of what we do or even look at feature docs for commercials or look at fine art for framing and visual techniques. 

What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten? 

Dan: There’s a quote from Steve Martin where he says, “Be so good that they can’t ignore you.” I’ve always loved that. It’s just like a lot of people want this quick fix of just to make something and then one and done. Where for me it’s more about just kind of slowly putting the time into building up a body of work and then being so good that someone will find you. 

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What do you get when you combine an AI image generator, a 98-year-old woman named Lillian, and Harry Potter? The result is ‘HAIRY POUTER,’ a short film from director Chris Carboni that layers increasingly whimsical AI-generated imagery with commentary on the classic novel from a very funny nonagenarian.

“Lillian is my grandmother,” says Chris. “She and I have always had a very close relationship and I’ve been recording her giving reviews for probably 10 years.”

When AI image generators began to take over the internet in mid-2022, Chris saw the stars align into a new project that could leverage his hours of audio and help him explore his relationship with this emerging technology. “I had a lot of conflicted feelings about [these generators] and I was looking for an opportunity to learn about them a little bit,” explains Chris. “At the same time, I was talking to my grandmother who just finished reading ‘Harry Potter,’ which I had purchased for her as a birthday gift.” 

From there, the film came together at warp speed with a nimble crew – “my grandmother and my wife and our sound designer and composer, that was the full team” – and the rest is (futuristic) history. As the capabilities of AI continue to evolve at a breakneck pace, we caught up with Chris Carboni to talk all things art and artificial intelligence.

The imagery in this video is incredible. What did you use and how did you get it to give you these results?

Chris: So we used MidJourney, back in its first version. We started with entering in Lillian’s words unedited and seeing what it would generate based on just the quotes from the interview. We really liked the art style that it had come up with through just a few rounds of regenerating images. So, I wrote down some hallmarks of the art direction based off this image that it had produced. 

I think the first image we got was Ron with his really wafting hair, and he looked amazing. I think it was sort of shoulders up, and he clearly didn’t have a shirt on. He just looked like this beach god. And then when we had a shot of Harry and Ron together, it posed them almost embracing each other and we were like, “Oh, this is wonderful.” 

We let the AI really come up with these interesting interpretations, and when we hit on one that we really liked, we guided it to follow that thread, so that it would be consistently entertaining and just easy to follow.

What was it like applying AI to this very human story?

Chris: At the time I made this film, I had a fair amount of concern [about AI]. But I certainly enjoyed working with it for this project. I think that was a good use case for the project because the use of AI was fundamental to the story. 

That’s what made it feel fun and interesting and special. It was kind of about the clumsy but charming relationship between AI and humans. It wasn’t a project where we chose to not spend a budget on an illustrator and tried to use artificial intelligence instead. It was a project where the use of artificial intelligence was foundational for the storytelling.

How do you feel about AI entering the creative space?

Chris: There’s certainly something compelling there, but it’s gotten obviously so much more complicated since now these generators are so ubiquitous. Their potential has been unleashed, and expanded into all of these different use cases. So, the topic has become a lot more complicated than I feel like it once was in terms of my own understanding and feelings about it. 

I think that anybody in a creative space is going to have to figure out what this means for their work, and adapt to recognizing that things are probably going to change. And with that change will come opportunities to do incredible new things, but also the automation of a lot of the craft we as artists love. It does make me a little sad, if I’m being honest. I worry about art being devalued and commodified further than it already is.

Would you use this technology in your work in the future?

Chris: Well, I love using AI to enhance my emails and as a sort of personal assistant capable of answering questions, explaining complex ideas, and handling rote tasks. In terms of creative work though, I don’t fully know. I certainly don’t want to use it in a way that would replace human artists on my teams. I believe that the results would not be as good. 

So much of what makes our work great comes from collaborating with other people. A project produced from start to finish using AI is reliant on prompts from one person’s brain. In some cases that might be okay, but more often than not, productions benefit from a team of specialists working together, each bringing their own unique expertise and creative insights to the table.

The most compelling use cases I see are for generating early ideas and kickstarting the creative process. Maybe for raising funding for a project and showing some initial concept work to get something off the ground. But for animation, you need so much control over the minutiae of a scene, both for creative and production-related reasons. That level of control is likely on the way, but it’s certainly not there yet.

Check out more Staff Picks

Verb Cabin shoots films and brand spots that highlight the beauty of the natural world. The California-based production company is best known for featuring people in a constant state of motion: ultramarathon runners, surfers, bikers, anglers, and an ever-expanding range of skiers and snowboarders who worship the mountains. 

Verb Cabin’s co-founder and director Mike Rogge’s latest Staff Picked film, “Finding Fury,” captures two backcountry skiers hiking the Picket Range in the North Cascades, and completing an epic ride down the side of Mount Fury. In addition to running Verb Cabin with a team of trusted collaborators, Rogge is also the editor of Mountain Gazette, a beautiful large-format print journal that has captured the soul of outdoor life since 1966. 

Video has been essential to both Verb Cabin’s growth and the revival of the Gazette. Most recently, Rogge points to Vimeo’s GIF-making feature as a key tool for building brand identity and cross-promoting products. “There’s huge value in investing in high-end storytelling and Staff Pick-quality films, says Mike. “But from my experience, product videos and creative marketing tools are just as important for the success of your brand.” 

Tell us about your production company, Verb Cabin. 

“I co-founded Verb Cabin with a friend almost ten years ago. We were in a cabin in Verbier, Switzerland, and I got a call from a filmmaker working on a project in Haiti who needed some help. Before we left, my friend and I uploaded our combined work, and we were suddenly Verb Cabin. 

The project was a film with Kehinde Wiley, who would go on to paint former President Barack Obama’s official portrait. It did quite well, it even had a residency in the Brooklyn Museum. That film was literally the first thing we uploaded to Vimeo as an original project. Then we were off to the races.” 

You also manage a magazine called the Mountain Gazette. How do these two pursuits feed into each other? 

“I grew up making movies, but I started my career in journalism, working at places like POWDER magazine and Vice Sports. I found that as my writing improved, my films were improving because I could map out what I was trying to make. 

It was almost like I was reverse engineering my work. I could write the piece I wanted to upload to Vimeo one day, but then I had to kind of go back and figure out what ingredients I needed to make that film possible. That’s kind of how these two passions combined.”

You recently released the Staff Picked “Finding Fury.” How did it all come together? 

“Sam Cohen, one of the film’s subjects, his dad and I worked together at POWDER Magazine back in the day. Sam and I had an opportunity to make a film together with his sponsor, Scott Sports, and we were all ready to go. Then the pandemic hit. Our production schedule went from like four months to 22 months.

I did not go on the trip, I directed it remotely, working with Scott Rinckenberger, who shot the film. We did extensive prep in the weeks before, just coming up with how I wanted it shot, how I wanted it to look, how I wanted interviews with Sam and Michelle to be done, contingency plans, all these things that you have to come up with as a director. 

During the shoot, they had no cell service. So I did not hear from them for eight days. One morning, I was riding my son to school on my bike and Sam called me. ‘We made it. We got it.’ I’m really proud of this one because we were all able to work together from remote locations to make it happen, so to get a Staff Pick, which is like an online Oscar, it’s really validating of all the efforts everybody put in.”

How do you choose the brands you work with?

“It really is all about finding the right clients. Not every brand understands the power of good storytelling and that’s okay. It doesn’t make them a good brand or a bad brand, but I do think saying ‘no’ to the wrong partners is a really good thing for us.

You should find a balance of brands that want to support your vision. It’s having the confidence in yourself that you know how to tell a good story, and you just have to find the right partner for it.”

How has your expertise in the video space informed your marketing strategy?

“The irony is that some of the least impressive videos I make, like short form product videos, are some of the most effective when you’re relaunching a brand. At the same time that the team was out shooting ‘Finding Fury,’ I was in my office shooting a 15-second product video about a release of Mountain Gazette hats. 

We used Vimeo’s GIF feature to promote those hats in our email blast — and it was the most successful product launch that we’ve had on our merchandise side. Our click through rate just went way up. We put those videos on our product pages, on our socials, and in email. And in that same email, we also promoted ‘Finding Fury.’“

What is it about Vimeo that’s kept you on the platform for a decade? 

“Without being a Vimeo subscriber, I’m just not sure where we’d host our films for Verb Cabin or for Mountain Gazette. Verb Cabin really became real when we created that Vimeo page. It’s a great place for us to just put our work out there. We had a client in the past that found our work on Vimeo, and we got business from that.

For me, the best thing about Vimeo is the interface. The backend is really easy to use. I’ve never had to have more than a few minute training session with anyone who’s worked for us about how to use Vimeo. It’s also just a constant place to be inspired. I really believe in the Vimeo Staff Pick. I think the democratization of the internet is a good thing, but I still miss good curation and I think the Vimeo Staff Pick team does a really great job of mixing it up.”

What’s next for Verb Cabin and Mountain Gazette?

“Our tagline at Mountain Gazette is ‘When in Doubt, Go Higher’ and, for me, that means continually upping our game. We’re trying to tell cultural stories based in the outdoors that make people feel something. I think that’s what we’re going to do forever, as long as we can, as long as we can keep the presses on, the cameras on, and the editing bay warm.

We just signed an intellectual property agreement with Stept, a studio in LA,  to bring Mountain Gazette stories from the pages of the magazine into the film world. That will be the ultimate realization for this dream I had 10 years ago in Verbier. I want to make sure that every step of the way in our growth we’re focused on making the best content, taking care of creators, and respecting the mediums we work in.”

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When it comes to telling stories with video, filmmakers CJ Powell and Andrew Rankin know that emotive storytelling isn’t limited to fictional filmmaking. The co-founders of the Denver-based creative company Street Seven Creative House are passionate about producing cinematic branded content that makes a difference. Case in point? “Find A Way,” a powerful video that helped non-profit organization NeuAbility crush their fundraising expectations.

While Street Seven mainly focuses on commercial work, “Find A Way” gave CJ and Andrew the chance to combine their shared passion for lyrical films with deeper messages. The organization is a holistic, exercise-based therapy program for individuals living with spinal cord injuries, and “Find A Way” was produced for the organization’s annual 2021 fundraiser. In 2013, CJ himself joined the NeuAbility community after an injury. He’s now a member of the NeuAbility board.

CJ and Andrew were the only crew members (and co-directors) on the “Find A Way” set, which gave their subject, Lexi Monahan, the freedom to speak intimately about NeuAbility’s impact on her life. The video stands alone as a testament to Street Seven’s commitment to brand work that’s story-driven. “Our goal is to help our clients build a unique, consistent brand identity at a foundational level,” says CJ. “But we’re also excited to tell some really cool stories in a way no one else can.”

What is your connection with NeuAbility? 

CJ: “My history with NeuAbility is about eight years old. I was actually paralyzed in 2013, while racing my dirt bike in Colorado Springs. And I found NeuAbility in the spring of 2014 through a friend. They were huge for me. When I graduated CU Denver, I started working there, as the Operations Director. Now I’m on the board there, so I’ve stayed very close. We were even office-ing out of NeuAbility when our company first got off the ground.”

How did Street Seven come to be? 

CJ: “I really got into video after my accident, just documenting Motocross and doing creative pieces in that world, which was a really cool way for me to get back into the scene after my accident. That’s where I learned my way around a camera, and what really led me to Street Seven.”

Andrew: “I grew up in production, but it was mostly radio stuff, with my papa. And when he passed away, I took over his company and led it more into the video side of things. CJ and I are really good friends and had worked together in the past on a whole bunch of stuff. This year, we decided to go full force together with it and we rebranded from a production company into a full blown creative house.”

How did this video come together? 

CJ: “I had done video for NeuAbility in the past – more just like producing and directing, not so much the whole picture –  but when their annual fundraiser came up and I was working with Andrew at Street Seven, I knew we could do the best job at it. Strive is NeuAbility’s annual gala fundraiser, and their biggest money maker from a fundraising standpoint. There’s always video there because it is such an emotional medium, and it’s one of the key points of the night.” 

Andrew: “We really believe that storytelling is the most important thing when it comes to producing anything. And connecting with people, through story, through emotion, is something we do best with video.”

How did you find the film’s subject, Lexi?

CJ: “I’ve had a personal relationship with Lexi for years now. We first met when I was working there in 2017. I’ve always known the content of her character and I think that probably helped, because when we were filming I was just talking to her.”

Andrew: “We didn’t want it to seem scripted at all. Our goal was for it to feel as genuine and real as possible and not scripted. The best way to do that is to just kind of have a normal conversation, just guided by prepared questions to get her where we wanted to go. It was also just the two of us on the crew, which I think helped it feel supportive and intimate. CJ was producing the whole thing, I handled the cinematography, and then he and I both kind of directed as we were on set.”

What impact have you seen from the film since its release? 

CJ: “I really think the greatest impact was felt that evening at the fundraiser when it premiered. This is funny, but our metric for the video was how many people started crying, and so we were counting sniffles. In the fundraising world, when you’re leading up to those appeals, the biggest thing you’re trying to do is make them feel something powerful.

And we knew that the power of the story was going to be, there was going to be sadness, but also a lot of triumph. And I think we got that real, raw emotional response. And we ended up doing the best we’ve ever done on a paddle raise, at least since I’ve been there. So there was a legitimate financial impact with the video that we produced.”

How do you choose which partners to work with in the rest of your video production?

Andrew: “It’s really about if a client either has a product that we really align with or we believe in their company and them as people. I think for us, the biggest thing is collaboration. If we work well together, if they’re open to hearing some of our ideas and stuff like that, that’s typically what pushes us into working with somebody or not.”

CJ: “I think what we want to do is create a grand brand vision and then execute on that as opposed to people coming to us and telling us what to make.  It’s more so from the brand strategy perspective and really being able to build something that feels true to the brand. When somebody trusts you to do what you’re good at, that’s where you get the best results. That was the case with NeuAbility, and it’s what we try to do with all of our clients.”

How did you choose Vimeo as the home for your work?

Andrew: “I picked Vimeo at first because I was just looking for a way to deliver final edits to clients. It’s just super easy to use and it maintains that quality. So that’s kind of what drove me to it in the beginning, and then we’ve just stuck with it because it just keeps working for our needs.” 

CJ: “I also just love how simple the video embeds look, on our website or elsewhere. It’s so easy to customize them to make it look super clean, and helps us really make the branding rad.” 

Andrew: “Our website wouldn’t look nearly as clean as we would want it to without Vimeo embeds.” 

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Jahmicah and Heather Dawes are in the business of blazing new trails. The couple, raising their family and running their business in what’s been referred to as the “cowboy capital” of America, opened Slim Pickins Outfitters, the nation’s first Black-owned outdoor outfitting shop, in 2017. Three years later came the economic devastation of 2020 — and with it, mounting debt that threatened to close their doors. Enter The Outbound — who connected brand partner HOKA and Seattle-based production company Wondercamp, to collaborate with Jahmicah and his family on a short documentary that began as a branded short, and took on a life of its own.

In the film — aptly titled “Slim Pickins — the Dawes family shares a narrative of inclusion that resonated across state and cultural lines, resulting in a GoFundMe that raised a staggering $172,000 for their struggling business. “We couldn’t believe it for the first few months,” says Jahmicah. “People cared about what we were doing?” Armed with new resources, the Dawes family has been able to build a thriving eCommerce site — all while keeping their Texas brick-and-mortar open and more popular than ever. 

Filmed over the course of 6 days amidst heightened civil unrest and a debilitating pandemic, “Slim Pickins” is a small business story that unfolds into a tale of representation, resilience, and community. Director Justin Jeffers, producer Abdul Kassamali, editor Tim Kressin, and the film’s two subjects, Jahmicah and Heather Dawes, discuss the project and its impact with Vimeo. 

Tell us about Slim Pickins’ mission.

Jahmicah: “Before the Civil Rights Act in 1964, people of color were legally not allowed to enter many state parks and national parks. How can you love something, or make it part of your culture if you aren’t allowed there? We are working to let everyone know, this land literally is your land. Not only are you allowed here, you are wanted and welcomed. We want to help people find what they enjoy in the outdoor space and encourage them to get out there and do it. Selling gear is secondary. Helping people find a passion for the outdoors is the goal.

The outdoors are diverse and diversifying more and more all the time. We are hoping to see more diversity in leadership and ownership in the industry. People of color on boards, as leaders of large brands, as owners of businesses, that’s where we are hoping to see change. And it’s currently happening, for sure.”

How did the relationship between this crew and this family develop during the telling of this story? 

Heather: “Honestly, I could talk about this forever. The crew from Wondercamp was incredible. We bonded from the second we met and never looked back. I am a more private person and it is hard sometimes to be so vulnerable and share our struggles. There is a part in the film where I am shown crying, and that was the last day that we shot with Wondercamp. 

I felt so comfortable with them by that point, and I knew that they would share our story with kindness and compassion. They made such an impact on our family and the trajectory of our lives. It was truly a life changing experience and we are so thankful for them.” 

Tim: “One unique thing about this film to me was how vulnerable and open their family was to us. That’s just so key to making a film that feels intimate. And they were just on board. I think a lot of those early phone calls and early trust-building stuff is so important. It’s hard to ask somebody to open up their lives for six days with us. But they were just 100% in.”

Justin: “Just spending time with Jahmicah, I think his Blackness is something that he’s very big on. I think it’s something that he doesn’t often get to share because of the community he’s around. As a mixed man myself, I was able to talk to him a little bit about raising mixed children and how he feels with this mixed family. And I think it helped break down any walls that they had up.” 

How did you strike a balance between organic storytelling and branded content? 

Justin: “I think one of the things that we tried to avoid was making it feel like there were obligatory product shots.  There is one moment, a shoe shot in the water, that you really could print out and just put on a poster. But we really chose that shot because it was a perfect cut at that moment.

If it added to the story and was a cool product shot, great. But at no point was the client calling or me or anybody from Wondercamp saying ‘Hey, don’t forget. We need to get that Hoka logo,’ which I think made it more natural.”

Tell us about the GoFundMe! 

Justin: “When we were doing this shoot, that was something we all knew. That it was important for them to get the shop back up because of COVID. I remember I confidently told him, ‘We’re going to do a GoFundMe, we’re going to get you the money. We’re going to save your shop.’”

Jahmicah: “We were able to have a fresh start with the money from sales and the GoFundMe. We are still figuring out things as business owners. But now it’s more about our 5-year-plan instead of focusing on trying to keep the doors open.” 

What made you want to release the Slim Pickins story on Vimeo?

Justin: “To me, Vimeo is the best place to put content like this. I think Vimeo stands on its own as far as high-quality, cinematic content. For a story like this, I think it needs those serious eyes on it. 

We also wanted the Staff Pick. [Laughs] That’s big. It’s a big deal. It meant a lot when it happened. One of my mentors, when I first got into this said, ‘Go to Vimeo, go to Staff Picks, the choose a director and go to his reel. Watch everything he’s done, then look at his DP, and watch everything they’ve done.’ It’s this rabbit hole you can get in of professional cinematographers, directors, and people who are taking it to that next level who may still be independent.”

Abdul: “Plus the compression on Vimeo is the best. I just have to add that.”

What’s the biggest thing you feel you learned from this experience?

Justin: “Jahmicah is just so authentic to himself, and I think it’s something that everybody should strive to do. We all get so caught up in identity and asking, ‘Am I supposed to do this? Is this something that represents me and what I’m about?’ And he just does it.” 

Abdul: “Just from the production side, for Wondercamp to bring in Justin and me, to recognize that this is not a story for them to tell, was huge. Jahmicah’s story is about him being a Black man. For them to bring Justin and me on to tell that shows that the more representation we have, the more authentic a story can be.

That really allowed a more genuine connection to form, and really made them more comfortable with sharing themselves. So make sure that that representation is there. And if you’re telling a story about a specific community, involve as many people in that community when it comes to telling that story.” 

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When the phone rang, filmmaker Bao Nguyen had plans to say “no,” regardless of the idea on the other end. “To be honest, I was so busy,” confesses Bao. “I didn’t think there was a way for me to fit any new project into my schedule.” Then he heard a story – and a song, by Wyclef Jean and MC Jin – that would inspire him to drop what he was doing and commit. 

“Stop the Hatred,” the aptly titled single that got Bao on board in minutes, is a result of a collaboration, launched by The Asian American Foundation, between Wyclef and Jin — two old friends and musical legends in their own right — who reconnected after two decades to pen and perform the anthem of Black-AAPI unity and solidarity, following a spike in anti-Asian hate crimes across the U.S. 

“I’ve done music videos before,” says Bao. “But when I was listening to the first verses from Jin, I got really emotional. I was thinking that our community and the movement right now needs an anthem, and this was the anthem that I wanted.”

Immediately, Bao reached out to his frequent creative partner, producer Tiffany Izzie Chang — and realized he had just under 24 hours to spin up a concept and get the production ball rolling. Luckily, Bao had no shortage of inspiration to work with for the NYC-based shoot. “I lived in New York for a long time, and I used to work in the Chinatown community,” says Bao. “I helped revitalize the community after 9/11. I was working as a community organizer, and I had really close ties there.” 

So, he set his mind on the people who call Chinatown home. “I wanted to make a portrait of the community,” explains Bao. “This music video was a chance to humanize them in their joy, their glory, their memory, their sense of community.” 

The video itself – watch it in full above – is constructed of three major threads: powerful shots of real Chinatown residents holding photos of their elders; contemporary protest shots and frustratingly similar archival footage; and intimate performance footage of Jin and Wyclef, both enveloped in a decaying ballroom.

That last motif was born out of Bao’s experience of a COVID-era Chinatown: “I had been seeing all these big ballrooms downtown in Chinatown being closed down,” explains Bao. 

“It’s such an opposite visual of what I’m used to seeing in Chinatown, where you used to see crowds of people eating dim sum, or going to wedding banquets. I think it was this perfect environment to showcase a lot of the themes of what’s been going on in the community.” 

To source the real Chinatown residents, Tiffany dipped into her contacts as a New York native. “It’s a decent number of my friends, and then their parents, and random people that they know,” she says, of the individuals featured on screen. 

“The community has felt invisible for so long,” notes Bao. “I think they felt an opportunity to be seen, even just for a split second. A lot of people really showed their gratitude during the shoot, and then after, saying it meant so much for them to come and in a way, stand up for their elders by being in the music video.”

To shoot the ballroom sequences, Tiffany worked with Bao and the production designer Patricia Cruz Jamandre to find a real dim sum place as their backdrop, shooting on low-contrast TLS Canon K35 lenses, under the recommendation of DP Caleb Heller. “Working in Chinatown, with Chinatown vendors, really gave me a sense of inspiration,” says Bao.

“The restaurant we chose to shoot the performance scenes in had three floors,” adds Tiffany. “Bless them, they just let us wreck that third floor.”

It took just ten days for Tiffany, Bao, and rest of the crew to go from concept to boots-on-the-ground shoot, and the team still needed to find a way to stay cost-efficient while keeping compliance in line. “We weren’t able to have onsite testing, but another Chinatown friend of mine is a COVID officer, so she sourced two or three testing locations, geared toward Chinatown residents, that offered free testing,” Tiffany explains. “We just asked the crew to give up an hour of their day to go in and get tested for free. That really helped save a lot on cost.” 

Once it was in the can, Bao and his team had to hustle to get it ready for the public. So the internal team turned to Vimeo for a time-efficient and budget-friendly post production option that helped them stay on track and share early cuts for media and other funding stakeholders. “We all use Vimeo for our projects,” says Eric Tu, Executive Producer on the project. “It just makes it easy to centralize our work, and it makes it simple for anyone, Vimeo user or not, to weigh in on the creative project.” 

The end result — a powerful music video from top talent that’s racked up hundreds of thousands of views in just a few weeks — is something of a marvel, with fingerprints of love and personal connection evident throughout. And while it wasn’t always a no-brainer (”to be honest, if I didn’t like the song, I wouldn’t have done it,” confesses Bao) the project stands out as a bright spot for the uber-busy creative. “If you really have passion for a project, then you’ll find a way,” concludes Bao. “And you’ll end up making work that’s really empowering.”

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How did you get into filmmaking?

Can you tell us about some of the themes you explore in your work?

What filmmaking advice would you have for people who are just starting out?

Do you have any advice for filmmakers trying to get their projects funded? 

How do you use Vimeo? 

I know that my distribution company, the one that distributed “Brotherhood,” they always use Vimeo’s unlisted links to share with festivals. It’s because of the quality. You can share such a high quality version of your work with Vimeo.

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How did you get into film? 

Tell us about “Welcome Home.” What inspired it?

What themes do you return to in your work?

Do you have any advice for aspiring filmmakers?

Why did you join Vimeo?

What Vimeo tools do you use in your work?

I use unlisted links for submitting to festivals. It’s just a really great way to send films. Plus, if you’re working on a project and you want feedback from someone else, you can also use the unlisted links. It’s a great way to share something, instead of sending huge files. It allows me to kind of keep the film hidden, but at the same time, letting the right people see the film.

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Tell us about the planning that went into capturing this film. 

Why was releasing this film on Vimeo important to you?

How do you think filmmakers can use this medium as a tool for activism?

Are you still going out there and capturing footage? 

How can we continue to share films like yours with our community?

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