Meet Michael Sharon | Founder + Creative Visionary of 6162 Productions

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

Hi Michael, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I was born and raised in Centennial, Colorado, a suburb near Denver. I have two sisters; one who is 11 ½ years older and one who is 18 months younger. As a child, I was creative and loved dressing up in costumes, putting on plays with my younger sister, and making worlds come alive through my Legos and other toys.

When I was 13, we borrowed a friend’s video camera to make a video for my grandparents who lived out of state. One day, while my parents were helping my older sister move, my younger sister and I filmed a movie about spies. I shot the whole 50-minute epic on this old camcorder, rewinding the tape every time there was a flub on set. That’s when my passion for storytelling and filmmaking was born!

Over the next few years, I wrote, filmed, directed, and starred in several amateur films and even got a couple of them screened in a movie theater. My older sister, Alaina, worked in PR and marketing, so she booked some TV and print interviews for me. When I started my business, the nonprofit Alaina worked for also hired me to do several videos over the years, and we enjoyed working together. In fact, she joined my company this year.

My parents are therapists, relationship coaches, and authors who have always been very supportive and entrepreneurial, which gave me the freedom and confidence to explore this passion and eventually start my business. They taught me the importance of relationship-building and strong communication skills, which have been the backbone of building my company. They also raised us with a service-oriented mindset, which translated into creating videos primarily for nonprofits and mission-driven companies.

What should our readers know about your business?
When I decided to go to film school and toured colleges in Los Angeles, I quickly realized I didn’t want to work in Hollywood. I attended Colorado Film School and interned with some local video production companies that produced emotionally-compelling nonprofit brand and fundraising videos. I learned a lot through these experiences, gained confidence in my skills, and started building a great network of potential clients and video production professionals.

In 2013, I launched my own company, 6162 Productions. We produce mission-driven brand films that unite story with strategy for maximum impact. I named the company after my parents’ address–the home I grew up in and where I found my passion for filmmaking. 6162 is a reminder of those humble beginnings, fueling my desire to make every project just as special as the first time I hit the “record” button on the camcorder at age 13. I have continued to grow my business in Denver, and built a portfolio of clients in Seattle and other markets, adding service offerings along the way, such as livestream events during the pandemic.

As the old adage goes, it’s not about what you know, but who you know. Of course what I know is equally important to ensure that we produce high quality work, but I owe a lot of my success to relationship building. I love to connect with people and am not afraid to attend networking events, reach out to 2nd connections on LinkedIn, ask my contacts to refer people to me, or whatever it takes (within reason…). Plus, as I build my portfolio of high quality, emotionally compelling, unique videos, the work starts to speak for itself and helps attract new business.

I work as a boutique agency, employing a contractor model, which helps me keep overhead costs to a minimum and scale to meet each client’s goals and budgets. Rather than owning my own expensive video equipment and doing the filming myself, I contract with expert cinematographers and videographers, rent studio space when necessary, and hire the right animators, motion graphic artists, and editors for each project. This model has not only helped grow the business and keep costs down, but allowed me to bring together many talented people to create stellar work for hundreds of nonprofits and companies across the country!

Telling a variety of stories about the amazing work our clients do to help others keeps me inspired, excited, and motivated every day. I honestly don’t feel like this is “work” – I truly enjoy what I do and I’m sure that is an important factor to my success. Some lessons I’m learning along the way: keep it fun; laugh; surround yourself with smart, successful, and inspiring people; learn from your mistakes; and be agile and adaptable.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love exploring restaurants and the Denver food scene. I especially like Mizuna – they have really creative dishes, their technique is flawless, and they have seasonal menus to incorporate the freshest foods available. I would also recommend checking out a show at the Denver Performing Arts Complex.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to thank my older sister, Alaina, for helping me get my professional start; my parents for always being supportive and helping me in my early productions and sending me to film school; and my younger sister, Aly, for being supportive and being a good sport by acting in my early films!

I would also like to thank event planners and marketing consultants who are great collaborators on many of my projects.

Website: 6162productions.com

Instagram: instagram.com/6162productions

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/msharoncinema

Facebook: facebook.com/6162productions

Other: vimeo.com/showcase/9143102