Meet Victor Melchor | Filmmaker & Content Creator

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

Hi Victor, what is the most important factor behind your success?
The most important factor for me is constantly pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I’m a very introverted person, and in the world of filmmaking and content creating, it’s a necessity to not only put yourself out there in social situations, but also online, whether that be for YouTube, Instagram, or simply just messaging other people. And I am an incredibly self conscious person, so none of the above has been an easy task for me haha, thankfully, my Fianceé has been a huge supporter of my work and has helped me feel more comfortable in my own skin. A few years ago, I was stuck in my comfort zone of making videos and projects I thought other people would find cool, but as I’ve been embracing my true self and creating the work that actually interests me, I’ve found that I’m beginning to garner more support and opportunities! Everything from dropping out of college to quitting starbucks to working with different clients for video/photo has been out of my comfort zone, and at times I felt like I had to fake it till I make it haha, but as long as I’m taking steps past my comfort zone, I see myself constantly moving forward!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a filmmaker & content creator, and I have a huge passion not only for creating my own projects, but also teaching what I’ve learned along the way! I dropped out of college after my second semester because I was learning so much about filmmaking and cameras from YouTube and online articles, both of which that are free! So now with a few years of experience in the field, things are coming full circle and I’ve been making filmmaking tutorials and gear reviews of my own to help others that are beginning their filmmaking journey. I have been making videos for fun since I was like 17, but professionally I would say I’ve been doing it for about 4 years now and I’m 23.

In the beginning, I started making videos with friends and family and promoting them, and asking people to hire me to shoot weddings, music videos, graduation photos, any visual art I could try. And that first few years were kind of like an internship, mostly free gigs that I would use to try to build a show reel. And the way I initially thought my career would go is that I would reach out to potential clients with to hire me, but majority of the cold calls or emails I sent never even got a response. So in the beginning of 2021, I took a step back from reaching out to so many people to hire me and focused on building a solid body of work that I was proud of. I started with shooting 3 commercial spec ads and a mini documentary series spotlighting local artists. All of this was shot, directed, edited by myself. And as I started posting this new and improved personal work of mine, more people started to reach out to me. So a huge lesson I’ve learned over the past couple of years is to focus a lot more effort on the unpaid passion projects, and with that the clients and connections will follow.

I don’t find the act of creating my videos to be the difficult part, in all honesty that’s the most fun aspect of my job, but what is difficult is that initial first step in deciding if I want to or am capable of executing the idea.

As of right now, one body of work I am the most proud of is my YouTube channel that I’ve been working on for the past couple of years. It’s been incredibly fulfilling whenever someone comments that I helped or inspired them in any part of their creative journey. Another reason I love YouTube and the community is that whenever a company reaches out to sponsor or collaborate with my channel, they’re not trying to have me execute their vision, they’re allowing me to create the videos I want and enjoy making while simply integrating their product along with it. So my long-term goal is to continue to build a community of filmmakers/creatives and work with a few consistent sponsors to support my career.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would have to say one of my absolute favorite places to go is the Harkins Mountain Grove Theater in Redlands,CA. It’s my absolute favorite theater to go to and one of the reasons I don’t want to move closer to LA haha. And I would take them through my favorite route to get there which is Reche Canyon, its a rural area that’s often filled with caravans of wild donkeys that for some reason seem to release endorphins in my brain. After that we’d hit In n Out that’s a few miles away. After a day of catching a nice dinner and movie, we’d hit Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. On the way to Disney, we’ll stop by Porto’s Bakery for a cheap and delicious cuban breakfast, fill up and save some money by avoiding some of the harsh disney food prices. And with a Disney pass, we’ll reserve 2 days and book a cheap nearby hotel through hotwire, not always the nicest but always a great deal. After that, we’d hit paderia cafe in Irvine for some tasty Ensymadas and make a stop by H Mart for some Kimbop. Then the remaining days we could relax back home, stop by Armando’s for the best Carne Asada fries, and a spontaneous target trip for random stuff we probably don’t need.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to thank my Fianceé for being my biggest supporter and always building me up on the days/weeks/months/years(lol) where I am struggling to keep pursuing a creative career. Without her, I definitely would not be where I’m at right now, I would not have the courage to post my work online, I would not have started a YouTube channel (which I’m finding to be my favorite creative outlet), and I definitely would not have the direction and confidence that I have in myself today. I feel like I always had the potential to pursue video as a career, but I never had the unwavering belief in myself that she has for me. We often joke that she believes in me more than I believe in myself which is true haha, so huge thank you to her for not only being my foundation in my career but also being my best friend on top of that. As I’m typing this I just feel like words can’t describe how influential she’s been in my life.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victormelchor_/?hl=en

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYTMhhGrxfzfkGfDVnyZjIA

Image Credits
Grace Gioiello, Victor Beber, Alexandra Menor