Meet Carlos Foster | Creative Manager

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

Hi Carlos, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
I feel like the perfect work-life balance is constantly evolving with whatever stage your life is in. When I was starting my career in video production, I just wanted to be on the road, filming wherever they’d send me. So, back then, the balance was more heavily weighted towards just doing the work, and I while I did see and experience much, I also missed out on a lot back home. As we grew our business, I started to find more of a middle-ground between working on productions and enjoying my free time with family and friends. Now, being married with a toddler, I do what I can to lean the balance more towards my family time, with less time spent at the office, or on shoots. Even before the pandemic and lockdown, I was already working more from home, taking more breaks, and finding ways to delegate what we could. This being the film and video production industry, there will always be times where the projects demand a certain amount of your attention. It’s important to check yourself though, and make sure you do tip that balance back to your priorities, because when you’re in the middle of the work, it’s so easy to forget that you have other people depending on you being present–my wife is a great partner in pulling me out of my tunnel vision!

What should our readers know about your business?
Blue Barn Creative is a video production agency, it came together from our desire to elevate the overall quality of smaller-scale productions happening in San Diego. When our company formed, there was a great divide between the few large studios in town and a handful of smaller boutique outfits, as well as the solo videographers who mainly shot weddings. Our dedication to high-quality visuals and story craft helped us stand out early on. Now, there is so much access to high-quality equipment, and so much more general knowledge available about how to craft competent stories, that the bar has been set higher and the market is more saturated. However, the fact that there are so many more people doing this professional–at a high level–is what personally excites me. I like knowing that the video production industry is being taken more seriously, and that more and more people are interested in doing it well.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to my business partners: Vic Alavi and Stephen Alberts. Both have contributed greatly to my development as a creative professional and a business owner. We’ve been at it for about 10 years now, and I’ve definitely grown in confidence as a person, which I know would not have happened had we not taken this leap together.

Website: www.bluebarncreative.com
Instagram: @carlos.foster
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/carlos-foster-085b7856