Meet Robert A. Brodie | Filmmaker/Creative Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Robert A. Brodie and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Robert A., what do you attribute your success to?

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, either way, you are right.”

– Henry Ford.

I’ve been told, “until you have a why factor, you won’t be successful.” I’ve had success in many areas of my life, but what is success? Success, for me, is to be able to provide my family with everything they deserve and want. I’m not saying success equals materialistic things or that success will make you happy because it won’t if you don’t have the right mindset.

So how do you find success?

We all have 24 hours in a day; there are only 60 minutes in an hour, so why does time fly by so fast? It’s because we waste our lives away watching television when we could be working on something great. Success is achievable by prioritizing our daily activities to achieve success in whatever goal(s) we set out for ourselves. Achieving success lies within persistence and not giving up when the going gets tough. There is no success without failure, which can be seen as obstacles.

If we take a journey from point A to point B, every once in awhile there will be detours; they’re inevitable because there are several paths that can lead us to our destination. Of course, we can choose the wrong path but that doesn’t mean we’ll end up at a dead-end like some people may think; on the contrary, those detours have led me down a successful path I would have never found if I had chosen the easy way by taking the first open road I came across. And although specific paths may seem away not to be success ones but detours, they may lead us to success, just not the success we’re hoping for.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
It was an interesting story on how I got involved with working in the film industry. We had to do an internship upon graduation from North Carolina Central University. Instead of doing a binder with a stack of paper that rivals the Bible, I decided to do a documentary. As I look back on it, the documentary was terrible, and won’t see the light of day again. However, it was enough that the faculty in my major took notice. If I’m not mistaken, it’s still on display. Please don’t go looking for it. Pivoting back to the LSAT, I was studying for the LSAT and got a call from the owner where I did my internship and wanted me to come back and do another video. Well, you know how this goes; it becomes a snowball effect. I’m filming for all the coaches and became the videographer at their business the next thing I know. I found happiness in filming and making content. So I stopped studying for the LSAT and focused more on doing videos. I did videos for whoever would let me. Finally, I decided if I wanted to get better, I needed to go to school. So I started looking for film schools. It turns out one of the best film schools in the country was in my backyard, the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA). I applied and got put on the waiting list. I was determined to get into the school, so I asked if I moved up the waitlist every day. It got to the point where I and the admissions were on a first-name basis, and we would talk about our days. After calling and asking questions on how to move up, I finally got the letter saying I was accepted. I use those fours years to learn and hone my skills.
I realized that I was behind my classmates because I had just found out that my passion was film. UNCSA allowed me to make mistakes. That’s a powerful thing. I found myself in the producing program. I’m grateful for my mentor Lauren Vilchik. She was like a second mother to me while there. I can’t forget about Bob Gosse, Joanne Moore, and Darren Miller, who were instrumental in my development. After graduation, I moved to Los Angeles for a few years. In my time there, I work for Sony, Warner Bros., Super Deluxe, and Prettybird, to name a few.

I moved back to the east coast to be closer to family. I moved to Atlanta, where every movie in the world seems to be filming at. I worked with Swirl Films for a few projects. Moving back to the east coast was a blessing. I got to be assistant to a living legend Alan Ball, who is known mainly for writing “American Beauty”. Also, I was assistant to Jenny Bicks. She is known for mostly “Sex in the City,” but I loved her writing in Rio 2.

This journey has been easy, and there is a lot I left out. Coming from a small town with three stoplights, I’m living a dream. I never thought that I would get a chance to work in Hollywood with some of their biggest names. I believe that reality can be whatever you want. I’m living proof.

A man’s gift makes room for him,
And brings him before great men.
– Proverbs 18:16

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Megan Alston

Website: www.northendinc.com

Instagram: @robertabrodie

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-brodie-715333110/

Twitter: @_robertabrodie

Image Credits