Getting Rejected And Finding Your Own Path | AJ Bleyer

What happens when every film school you apply to says no, and you start to believe success just isn't in the cards for you? In this episode of The Making of You, Ryan Huffman sits down with AJ Bleyer, a director, producer, and one of the youngest members ever inducted into the Directors Guild of America (DGA), to talk about building a career without a traditional roadmap and figuring things out along the way. AJ fell in love with cameras as a kid, making skate videos and recreating shots from Top Gear with his friends. After getting rejected by every film school he applied to, he took a retail job and spent his free time making videos simply because he loved doing it, leading him to quit his job at twenty three and build his own production company, Advent Films. What followed was a career built on curiosity, persistence, and a willingness to figure things out as he went. In this episode: • Getting rejected by every film school and finding another way into the industry • How making car videos for fun turned into a career directing commercials • Quitting the Apple Store at twenty three to start a production company • Why the doors that close early in your career might push you in the right direction • The balance between ambition, enjoying the journey, and recognizing how far you've come • Why being obsessive about your work doesn't have to mean being stressed about it • Learning to lead a crew when things go wrong • How producing experience affects the way you direct • Building a career across production, directing, and client relationships • Why you don't need to have your entire future figured out to get started This one's for anyone trying to build a creative career, dealing with rejection, or learning how to keep pushing themselves without losing sight of why they started in the first place. Subscribe for more conversations like this one. ============================= About The Making of You: The Making of You is hosted by Ryan Huffman, founder of Huffman Creative. Each episode explores creativity, leadership, storytelling, production, and the realities of building a creative life and business. Huffman Creative: https://huffmancreative.com Follow Ryan: Instagram:   / ryanhuffmann   LinkedIn:   / ryanhuffmann   IMDb: https://imdb.com/name/nm4260466 Explore the full The Making of You podcast playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz... Follow us on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ZjUKpa... ============================= Guest AJ Bleyer Director, Producer, and Founder of Advent Films Instagram:   / ajbleyer   LinkedIn:   / ajbleyer   Company: https://www.adventfilms.com/ ============================= Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction and how Ryan and AJ first met 1:38 AJ’s background and how he got started 2:35 Falling in love with cars and Top Gear 3:03 Who is a director and figuring out the path 4:30 Working at Apple and what that taught him 5:13 Getting into the local car community in LA 6:30 The business goal that drove everything early on 7:19 Starting to build a following and finding work 8:03 What most people wrap their head around wrong about this industry 9:44 Thinking thoughtfully about the future of your career 10:18 Why businesses go down and what to avoid 11:12 The first big commercial and what it opened up 13:13 Growing his own brand and reputation 15:40 Business habits, personal development, and staying sharp 16:11 There is no level of business he will not learn 17:42 Advice for directors coming up in the industry 18:23 Starting to hyper focus on what actually matters 21:21 The EP and director relationship explained 23:35 Getting exotic cars on set and what that unlocked 25:20 What commercials and advertising look like as a director 26:56 Does your business need a director like this 28:30 Stunts, action, and the work that defines him 29:07 A music video that became a major turning point 29:52 Learning his lane as a director and stepping on toes 30:00 Understanding the ecosystem of reps, agencies, and advertising 33:00 When things go wrong on set and how to pivot 33:29 Making lemons into lemonade: the opening shot story 34:04 The day that made him realize he had made it 01:00:33 People remember how you made them feel 01:01:01 Treating everyone with honesty no matter where they are in their career ============================= Credits & disclosures: Production: Huffman Creative Host: Ryan Huffman Guest: AJ Bleyer #TheMakingOfYou #Entrepreneurship #CreativeCareers