Ep. 1: What it Means to "Change the Reel" - The Story Behind the Podcast

Ever wonder why authentic representation in media matters? In this special episode, Monique and Piper share the story behind "Change the Reel" and their 20+ year journey building a video production company that's achieved what only 3% of women-owned businesses have done.

Why This Matters Now

In a world where media shapes our understanding of reality, who tells the story matters as much as the story itself. When we change who controls the narrative, we change the story itself. This episode dives into how changing the "reel" - both literally and metaphorically - can transform narratives and create space for authentic voices in media.

The Journey to Changing the Reel

Finding Our Voice

Personal experiences have profoundly shaped our approach to media production. As an out LGBTQ+ couple in business, we've seen firsthand how representation - or the lack thereof - impacts communities. This understanding led us to build a company that prioritizes authentic storytelling and representation, creating spaces where people can truly be themselves both in front of and behind the camera.

Creating Impact Through Media

Our work goes beyond simple video production. We've partnered with organizations to reach diverse communities effectively, bringing cultural understanding to Spanish-language content and ensuring that representation behind the camera influences what appears on screen. Through projects like Science House outreach and public health initiatives, we've seen how authentic storytelling can bridge gaps and create meaningful connections.

Building Safe Spaces

One of our proudest achievements has been creating environments where authentic storytelling can flourish. Our all-women production crews often surprise clients and talent alike, but the impact is undeniable. When people walk onto our sets, they frequently comment on the different energy and comfort level they experience. We understand the importance of removing barriers for diverse voices because we've experienced those barriers ourselves.

Key Insights for Business Owners

Authentic Representation

The storyteller matters as much as the story itself. Our personal experiences as women, as members of the LGBTQ+ community, and as minority business owners inform every project we take on. This perspective allows us to create content that truly reflects real communities because we understand the importance of authentic representation at every level.

Building Meaningful Partnerships

We've learned to be intentional about choosing projects that align with our values. From working with Full Frame Documentary Film Festival to helping towns document their first public art initiatives, we've seen how serving your community authentically creates lasting impact. Each project becomes more than just a job - it's an opportunity to change narratives and create meaningful change.

Looking Forward

Change the Reel isn't just a podcast name - it's our mission. By featuring business owners who look like us and sharing how they use media to drive diverse perspectives, we're helping change the narrative one story at a time. Each episode will bring you conversations with women, minorities, and LGBTQ+ business owners who are making a difference in their communities through media.

Bottom Line

True representation isn't just about who appears on screen - it's about who's behind the camera, who's making decisions, and who's telling the stories. When we change who controls the narrative, we change reality itself.

Stories and Examples Featured:

Throughout this episode, we share personal stories and professional experiences, including our work with Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, our perspective on the Two Towns of Jasper Documentary, and our involvement with Science House's outreach program. Each example illustrates how changing who tells the story changes the story itself.

Want to dive deeper into authentic storytelling and representation in media? Connect with us at Hello@velasquezmedia.com. 

#WomenInFilm #LGBTQOwned #WomenOwnedBusiness #MinorityOwned #DiversityInMedia

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Sometimes the, these old versions of what our lives like,

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were like on screen weren't exactly authentic

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and true to my lived experience.

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And so the idea that if we changed

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what real got put in there,

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we could actually change the story.

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And if we're in control of what that reel is, and

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See, that's what I was, I was like, oh,

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you get to change the real,

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Right? So

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we're gonna have conversations with people

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that look like us women, minorities

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who are in business that are looking to change

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impact, make a difference in community,

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and to really outreach to their own,

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uh, audiences and become experts and,

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and voices of authority.

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Change the Reel. A podcast with Monique Velasquez and

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Piper Kessler.

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For over 20 years, we've run a video production business

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that has achieved what only 3%

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of women entrepreneurs have done

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Exceed $250,000 in revenue.

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We wanna see business owners that look like us succeed.

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That's why we've started this podcast.

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Change the Reel. We'll drop twice a month.

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We'll release two types of episodes.

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One is with Piper and I kicking it

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and talking about using video and

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Business. And the second

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features, conversations

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with business owners using media

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to drive diverse perspectives.

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This is change. The real

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Representation starts here.

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Welcome to Change. The real

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Representation starts here.

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Why change the real,

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what are we talking about here on our podcast?

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R-E-E-L-R-E-E-L.

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The real 'cause in the past. Yeah. Who's

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Been in control of media, Right?

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So we wanted

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to do this like change the reel is is

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is like a command, right?

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Right. It is a statement. Change the reel.

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It is, it is what our mission really is. If

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There's a statement more than the command,

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I like command, do it change the reel.

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Exclamation point. Okay.

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Because in the movie parlance, right?

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In the old days, reels were put in order.

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So you'd have real one, which was the opening of the story.

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Reel two was the second part of the story.

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And maybe reel three was the end and the credits.

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And so you have the reels change in order

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to create a story in the movie theater.

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And so we were thinking reel. So change the reel.

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Sometimes the, these old versions of what our lives, like,

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were like on screen weren't exactly authentic

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and true to my lived experience.

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And so the idea that if we changed

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what real got put in there,

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we can actually change the story.

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And if we're in control of what that reel is,

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And see, that's what I was, I was like, oh,

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you get to change the reel,

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Right? So

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We're gonna have conversations with people

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that look like us women, minorities

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who are in business that are looking to change impact,

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make a difference in community,

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and to really outreach to their own,

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uh, audiences and become experts and,

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and voices of authority in different, uh,

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industries and businesses.

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Well, I liked it too, because it

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was a play on the word real.

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So what is real?

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You, you get to change the real change what's real.

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So the reality of,

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because a lot of times you have conversations with people,

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they are coming from where they are as to

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what is reality and what is real.

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And you, your reality may be very different.

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And they haven't ever had that experience.

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So they're, it gives them an aha moment of, oh,

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well I never thought about it from your perspective, right?

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Because everybody always hears, well, well,

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that's just the way you feel

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and that's the way you take it, or whatever.

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It's not real. It's not, It's not,

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it's not my reality, right?

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So if it's not my reality,

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how can it possibly be your reality?

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I had a, a photographer artist talk, talking

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about his experience as a Latino, taking photographs

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of the Latino community, uh, Jose Galvez.

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He mentioned that when he was pursuing grants,

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probably in the nineties, early two thousands,

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that he was told that his work

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was too, they didn't say too ethnic,

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but that he wasn't taking a risk

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because he was staying inside

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of his own community taking photographs.

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And a lot of it was, uh, you know, uh,

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festivals and celebrations, the Latino community, uh, RAs,

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you know, different, uh, pageantry from the church.

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So if he had gone to Wall Street and taken photographs,

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Right, would that Have been a risk?

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Right. And, you know, his, his take was too

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that he would see white photographers

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who were photographing the same things he was photographing,

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and they would be called edgy

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because they were stepping outside of their own community

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and taking photographs

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that he was already taking pictures of.

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And so changing the real for him mm-hmm.

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Uh, I think was a shift for those in control of

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funds for arts.

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So, change the reel.

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When we first met, I never,

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I guess I never really thought about the fact I was watching

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films, tv, stuff like that.

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And you get that moment, maybe when you're a kid,

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hopefully, maybe when you're older.

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For me, I think it was a little bit older.

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I think I might've been to age myself.

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May have been my twenties. I was at home.

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I saw Xena come on tv and

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before that, you know, you see a lot of other things.

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But you see Zena and you see Gabrielle.

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And all of a sudden I got super excited.

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'cause it was like, I think I, in a way, in a weird way,

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see myself on television

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Subtext. We

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had met years before that. We were together then.

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But, um, before that,

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and it was the idea of, I always liked the idea

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of maybe making a film, maybe making music for a film.

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'cause I was a musician at the time.

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It's the idea of doing it.

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And then all of a sudden when I was telling people, friends

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and stuff, well, I want to be a writer, da da da,

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they started introducing me as a writer.

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And I was like, wait a minute. I haven't

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published anything. And then I met,

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That was a way to change The reel.

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That was a way to change the reel.

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And then I met you and I said, well, someday I'd like

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to do a movie, blah, blah, blah.

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And you were like, well, let's do it.

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Let's do it. And we became friends

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through other friends.

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Once we were together. I mean, we, we have spent,

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you know, a couple lifetimes together.

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Yes. As a, as you know, as a couple.

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We've been together since the nineties. We did a lot.

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Um, you were a touring musician. Mm-hmm.

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Uh, I was in graduate school

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and starting my career in, in video production.

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And so for, for a little while,

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we did other people's things.

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Except for you, you were a musician. Yeah.

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Okay. Yes. And, and I really felt, you know,

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even though you had this experience in business

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because you worked for, uh, book

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And independent bookstore books

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Of Quell Corners, Was that our first

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Name? I think that was the

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first name. Books

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At Quil. Books at

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Quill. Corners. Corners. Nice. That

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sounds right.

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Yeah. Yes. Books at Quill Corners.

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And, and so you got to watch that business launch

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Grow from like, the very, very beginning. And

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So that was super valuable.

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And I think, you know, as a musician, you know, your ability

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to market and line up new ways of getting money in Right.

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And, and touring. So those things helped me when I decided

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that I wasn't gonna work for somebody anymore.

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And one of the things that was super helpful in that idea

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of changing my reel was the fact that I was working

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for the state, and I was watching the state not spend money

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on the new immigrant population that had grown 400%.

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And they were choosing not

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to spend the money even though there was this,

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this big need.

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And so I left with the idea that that's, that was gonna be

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where I filled in.

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And I, I, I changed the community. I helped the community.

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And so creating Velasquez digital media communications was,

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that was one of the things that, that pushed me out.

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Now, grateful to you that you allowed me to, uh,

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start a company while you were working

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and I wasn't pulling Well,

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I was still a musician. Yeah. We,

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We lived simply for a little while.

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Mm-hmm. But, you know, I think at, at some point we were,

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I was scrappy enough

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and you helped me in the backend and the admin.

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I needed you in the, in the daily.

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And so I, I somehow, uh, we talked, I talked,

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I don't know if I talked you into, you

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Were helping, you were helping us on the tech side

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of the band, and sometimes you'd be

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on the stage with us.

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And on the tech side,

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there was a lot that needed to be learned.

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And also, I have to say, when we started the band too,

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it was like, we kind of just fell into our,

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our plan was wasn't, we didn't really have a plan,

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but we, we were just playing in venues.

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But the L-G-B-T-Q community,

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uh, became our niche.

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And I remember in the beginning it was like, there were not

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that many, even at high levels.

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There were not that many musicians out.

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I mean, we were coffee house,

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but I do remember I had friends say, why are you out?

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Oh, right on stage. You're, you're gonna,

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you're gonna hurt yourself.

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You guys could actually get into more venues.

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You could get more work if you weren't out.

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And I got a whole, I mean like, Hey, let's talk to you.

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You know, we love you and,

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and maybe you should consider not being out and on

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Stage and On stage and in your lyrics.

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And I think we were just like,

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I think it may have crossed our minds

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for like a millisecond.

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And I'm, and I mean, my singing partner, Ruth,

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was just like, well, that's just not who we are.

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It we're just not gonna be that. It did hurt us.

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It also benefited us

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because it was like, well, this is who we are.

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This is authentically we're right.

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You were, I can't not be myself. You

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Were, you were serving an audience

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that was, was craving that

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We would go to places like coffee shops, wherever,

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where people were just hanging out.

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They didn't necessarily know music was gonna be there.

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And I had a few people come up and tell me

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after a show, they would be like, I saw you setting up.

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And I was like, oh, I am not gonna sit

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here and listen to music.

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Two girls with guitars.

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And then they came up to, they,

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like, one of 'em was shocked.

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I remember in St. Louis, she came up to me

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and she was just like, I just need you to know.

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I was totally shocked. We stayed.

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Our intent was we're gonna listen to one song

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and gently leave so that nobody notices.

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And she said, we stayed here all night.

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And I just need you to know that.

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And I, it was a representation.

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It was like seeing you helped

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Change the real That really gives you a,

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it gives you passion for, well, for us, for going

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to the next town to perform for not hardly making any money.

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But to hear that over and over again is

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You were serving Yeah.

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Serving the, the L-G-B-T-Q.

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I mean, there were girls just necessarily just like little

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girls coming up and being like, oh girl.

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A woman with a guitar, guitar on stage.

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I remembered the first time I saw a woman.

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They brought her into my elementary school

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and she played a cello.

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And I was absolutely mesmerized everything about it. You

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Became a role model or that sort of became, he

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Was a role model and I had questions for her

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and she was excited to talk to me.

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And so us getting together

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and being like, we could, we could be ourselves.

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We could be a couple and we could be in business together

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And really focus on impacting

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community, whatever community.

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It has been a pleasure, um, to be able

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to pick the type of projects Right.

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That we get to, to do now.

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We get called in often to do.

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Um, uh, we pitch ourselves

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and we position our ourself in having a authentic voice

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for recruiting in different services

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and different, um, programs, black

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and Latino audiences or participants.

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So we were hired, uh, to help with science house, to, to,

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to Right.

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Outreach, outreach to black

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and brown students, specifically to their parents, to,

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to have an understanding, uh, what the program was about.

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We also did the diabetes outreach, right.

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That was, uh, targeted at black and brown population.

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So we have that authentic sort of niche

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that we can get into.

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And not that other folks can't fill that,

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but we have a different, uh, relationship to the community

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and being able to find people to, to be in front

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of the camera and to be a voice that isn't just, oh,

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I ha I know somebody who knows somebody.

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It is actually somebody that we have a personal relationship

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with that can talk about their personal experience, either

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with diabetes or as a parent to

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a child interested in this program.

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We do a lot of looking at representation on camera.

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It is there.

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It's not a, an afterthought because it's who we are. Right?

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Right. So it is part of everything.

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And that, and that is if a person shows up,

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even if we're on somebody else's set,

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And it's always a shock to be on somebody else's set

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because I forget that just you

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and I being on the set makes it, you know,

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it's very woman centric.

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Right. Uh, and so when I'm on somebody else's set, if I'm

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by myself, I'm like, I look around, I'm like,

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oh wait, I'm the only woman.

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Right. I'm the only brown person. Right.

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And so it becomes an interesting dynamic to go outside of

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what, when we are working together.

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Um, and I've, I've heard on our sets talent say,

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oh my gosh, it's an all woman crew.

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Which is surprising, but not surprising us.

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'cause that's kind of our, our reel. That's our reel.

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It's not necessarily the other

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people in the industry's real.

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It gives comfort, I think, to the, the folks

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who are in front of the camera of, if it's, if it's our set,

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then they know that anybody else who's on the set,

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it's like the comfort level.

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Right. It's automatically Right.

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We, we understand that they're,

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there's some code switching that happens Right.

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When we have different audiences in front

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Of us. Right. And if, if it's our

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set, then they know that

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that barrier they can let go.

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Right. That shield that

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The shield, yes.

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They can let go. And it's like everybody here has been

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vetted basically.

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And you are in a safe space

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and you can, you can be yourself

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and you don't need to worry about, you know,

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'cause I have been on other sets in the conversation at

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lunch break that's like, oh my God, I can't believe

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that was fed on that conversation.

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You know? And it, that's unfortunate, right?

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That is why representation on camera matters.

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And, and it's not an afterthought for us. Right.

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It is something that is, you know,

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I want somebody who looks like me. Right.

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It would be, it. It's, I know how I feel showing up on set

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and being told before I showed up.

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It's, you know, Hey,

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we have chosen the people who are on set.

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This is also, you need to know what the subject matter is.

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And that, you know, when you show up, okay, here is, here's

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what the set is about.

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Here's what it's, the day's gonna be like,

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where I have been on other sets

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where I have no clue who's showing up.

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Mm-hmm. And I'm, I, I'm taken aback

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and I'm like, okay, I do have to put

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that shield up today. Yeah.

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It's a, it's an extra burden to, to to have on set.

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You know, when I walk into a room, I count the brown faces.

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Yeah. Um, which I don't know that a lot

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of other white people do.

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Right. That they don't necessarily know

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that black people, brown people do that. Yeah.

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And I mean, and I'm,

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because I do it now, it's like I walk onto set

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and I'm like, oh, okay.

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This is, this is the set today.

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This is the set today. Right.

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You know, you, you know what the level is of like shields.

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Like how, how big a shield are you wearing today?

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We understand that. You know, who is on front of the camera?

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Are they, uh, do they have an accent?

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You know, how thick is the accent?

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Well, and that goes to who we serve. Right.

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It so we, our comfort level mm-hmm.

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Of who we serve, who we are going to be comfortable with,

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and be able and feel like we can

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really, 'cause we're there for your team.

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We're, we're, we wanna feel like part of your team. Right.

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I mean, 'cause we want it to be enjoyable.

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I don't wanna go to work and be like, you

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Know, I don't like that client. That is a, I mean,

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Yeah. And I have to say, it's been

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a very long time

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since I have felt that way.

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You were hired by somebody else and it wasn't our client.

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It wasn't, but it has been a while. It has been.

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And it, that, and, and everybody was uncomfortable.

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Like everybody who was behind the scenes Right.

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Uh, was uncomfortable.

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And, and I did say that that's the last time.

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I mean, so we, we get to pick who we serve.

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We get to pick who we, who we serve, and who

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Who do we serve.

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I remember sitting down

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and you saying, well, who would you like to be?

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Who is your ultimate client? What, what would be enjoyable?

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And I remember thinking about it within two weeks,

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I had no clue we got called by another party.

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'cause this is what happens when you're in our industry.

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It's not necessarily that we are directly hired.

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We may be hired from another company. Right.

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We got hired by another company

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because we were in North Carolina,

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and they are much, they're in,

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I think Florida and California.

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Anyway, they hired us.

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And we didn't know who we were showing up to film

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or what we just knew this is,

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we asked technically, what do you need?

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What is the objective?

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And that big client told us, not the client.

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And it ended up the client two weeks earlier

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that I had been like, oh, I would love for this

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to be the situation and I'll just put the cherry on top

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and be like, and I would like it to be a woman of color.

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We went and filmed Rachel Rogers.

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Right. She was doing a book launch

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And you, we were in the middle of it.

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And every time she said something,

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I was like, ringing the bell.

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It was ringing the bell.

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It was just like, this is exactly, this is,

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oh my God, this is great.

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So serving that client, it's like when we get

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to serve someone like that,

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And one of the things about ringing the bell

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and changing the reel at that point is the fact

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that Rachel Roger's mission is about helping women

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identified L-G-B-T-Q folk business owners reach

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or create businesses that will

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sustain seven figures.

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And that is an amazing mission.

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And for us, we see value in helping women identified

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L-G-B-T-Q, people of color, that have businesses,

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that have missions that are about impact

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and creating, uh, or destroying, you know, poverty

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and, and disinformation

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and, um,

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just creating wealth in a different

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community in a different way.

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And so for us, being able to serve a client like that

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is so joyful.

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And even before that, I, I, I got pulled and then,

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and then eventually you got pulled in

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with an insurance company

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and we were like, okay, an insurance company.

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But the insurance company had, throughout their building,

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has their mission stated, and it's all about community.

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And I was, I, I don't know that I put my finger on, wow,

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I feel really comfortable around these people.

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I, you know, it, it was a nice experience.

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It's a joyful experience.

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And their reason for doing video like that, they don't,

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you don't necessarily need to do video production

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for an insurance company.

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They found value in,

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they could educate their clients so

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that maybe their clients, these accidents won't happen.

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There's awareness that that occurs.

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And everybody becomes, it's a community. Right.

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And you're there to watch over anything.

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And if you see where there might be a possibility

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of an accident

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or something happen, they realize making these videos

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and educating their clients helped their bottom line.

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Right. And they, and they were like, the messages

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and the videos didn't feel corporate

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and all focused at all.

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They never talked about the cell.

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They never talked about what they were covering,

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what their losses would be.

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What they were focused on was impacting,

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making a difference in a positives, in a positive ways

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to avoid really terrible things happening. You

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Feel like you're on a bigger mission,

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even though you're there for the day to do

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maybe a single video or a few videos.

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You get pulled in

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and you're like, yes, I agree with your mission.

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Right. And it's not just a job.

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So there are so many of, of those, uh, experiences

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because we get to pick who we work with.

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Um, it, it's not just insurance companies.

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We, we've helped towns sort of do these, uh, you know,

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change the real, um, the mural project in Morrisville.

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Right. Uh, they were the first time

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that the town had supported public art.

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And they had decided to do murals

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in public spaces outside.

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And they, they gave these muralists, uh, a canvas

504

and they wanted it documented because it was such a moment.

505

Yeah. That could have been the end of it, right.

506

Of they, they had the money to make, to give

507

to these artists to make murals,

508

but they were, Hey, you know what?

509

This is important for our town. We wanna document it.

510

We wanna have change archive, we wanna change,

511

we wanna have an archive.

512

And that was totally, that was fun. I mean, that

513

Was fun. It was joyful

514

because the murals were just incredible.

515

And they had some amazing art out, uh, in public spaces.

516

And the other thing is, I really feel like

517

that particular project too was impactful

518

because it's Prime mission, I think, at least in my mind,

519

is that they wanted to continue public funding,

520

the money for arts.

521

And, and so anytime you, they do a video

522

or whatever, it shows it, it's like, oh, you show up

523

and you're going to the ball field.

524

And now you could, if you saw the video, it's like, oh,

525

there's an awareness there of someone did fund this.

526

Someone actually, an artist actually came

527

and worked for a month on this.

528

Mm-hmm. One of the other things that, that i,

529

I enjoy too is like working for the Amonte Arts and Culture.

530

Um, it's a Latino community that recognizes

531

in seven different categories, people that contribute

532

to the Latino community, um, across North Carolina.

533

And they do this gala.

534

And I, I really enjoyed when we were helping them

535

during the pandemic because we couldn't come together

536

and we devised a creative way to

537

have this event, which is usually filled with

538

musicians music.

539

Mm-hmm. Dancing this black tie affair

540

where people get dressed up and they have long speeches

541

and get to accept awards and that sort of thing.

542

And we did a live event that had prerecorded bits

543

and then live bits of, you know, accepting

544

and, uh, presenting awards.

545

And that to me, for that community, I, I, I have

546

to say is like one of the things

547

that I just feel

548

so lucky to be able

549

To do. Yeah. They

550

give scholarships. They give

551

Scholarships. And I really

552

Do feel lucky.

553

Let me make you cry. Wow.

554

So, you know, we get to serve different communities,

555

Different things. Yeah. I mean, different things

556

mean we get

557

to be part of the community.

558

Yeah. That's why we always say it's hard sometimes, uh,

559

because we get, we get involved in a back stage

560

way of being with community.

561

I mean, you know, there's a woman here in town,

562

she lost her job and then she was going

563

through menopause and thought she was crazy.

564

And I got pulled in just 'cause I had done another project.

565

And you know, things happened where we suddenly met

566

and she felt like she knew me.

567

And I was like, oh my God, have we met before?

568

And I don't remember you, but finding out her story

569

and that she's here in town

570

and she's was trying to create community just for herself

571

and what she was going through.

572

And that being informative.

573

And now she's, there's a huge worldwide community

574

that she is part of.

575

And now this is, she lost her job, but now she has a new job

576

and it is serving the community in this way. And and

577

What were you doing for, for that?

578

Was, was it something specific that she was doing?

579

She got in, uh, interviewed for a

580

documentary called Periodical.

581

She was part of, its the, the whole thing

582

of periods and women. She

583

Was, so, she, she was brought in as an, uh,

584

As one of the experts, As an expert.

585

So, so she was, she's an influencer

586

because, you know, this was something that she did

587

and has a presence in, in online on Right.

588

In doing videos and such and sharing. And she, was it

589

A blog? I think she, she

590

does blogs.

591

She does, I think she does Zoom Community meetings.

592

Um, just information.

593

She's been included in another documentary that I cannot

594

remember the name of at the moment,

595

but very vibrant personality.

596

Great. I mean, and that was like, I, I got

597

to be exposed to this person.

598

I got to be behind the scenes.

599

I got to listen real bad Faith, the film, bad Faith.

600

I didn't know that this guy was in town.

601

Um, and I get to go listen to him.

602

And I was like, I don't know who this guy is,

603

but oh my God, I get to listen to his transformation.

604

And then later, I didn't even realize

605

what such a big documentary it was,

606

but I got to be part of it.

607

And I was just a better person for having been there.

608

Listen, listened to it, listened to it,

609

and it was, I got paid that day. So that's a bonus

610

Being involved with, um, documentaries.

611

You know, we talk about using, you know, film, uh,

612

full Frame, and we're gonna wrap this up pretty quickly,

613

but being part of Durham, North Carolina,

614

there's the big documentary film festival here, full Frame.

615

And we were lucky enough to provide live streaming services.

616

This was before the Pandemic,

617

because they wanted, um, audiences that were around town

618

or out of town that were interested in the what was, uh,

619

called the Speakeasies.

620

They were panel discussions with the documentary filmmakers,

621

uh, about different topics.

622

And we, we got to do this for a good three, four years.

623

Working with Full Frame was something

624

that was very intentional

625

because Deidre Hodge was looking for women owned,

626

minority owned production companies that could help

627

with Full Frame.

628

She really puts the idea of Change the real

629

out there because she understood as a woman in charge

630

of a very male dominated film industry event,

631

that it made a difference who she

632

gave opportunities to or opened the doors for.

633

And so I'm very grateful to her for, uh, choosing us

634

and allowing us to do those speakeasies.

635

They were amazing. You know, we, we got to hear about,

636

you know, the hashtag DOA White

637

and, um, listen to the, the, uh, amazing, uh,

638

documentary, uh, filmmakers

639

and know about how the two towns of Jasper, we,

640

they talked about how the two film crews

641

going out into a community creating a documentary about the

642

same event, which was the, the horrific death, uh, murder

643

of, uh, James Bird

644

or Bird, do you know, I think his name was Bird.

645

But you know, they sent two, a black crew

646

and a white crew to talk about the event

647

to two different communities of Jasper.

648

And so the two towns of Jasper really talks about how

649

changing the real that I think

650

that is one of those pivotal things.

651

And listening to that panel discussion

652

was an amazing way to solidify

653

and to codify the idea that, yes, we should be changing

654

how we present stories on screen.

655

We should be changing what is in front of

656

and behind the camera

657

because it makes a difference in the perspective

658

and the authenticity of the story

659

and how biased the story is.

660

We have created Velasquez Digital media.

661

We wanna put that idea of change the Real

662

into this podcast and talk to business owners

663

that look like us, how they're using media

664

and how they see what they do impacts

665

and changes their community, their immediate community,

666

and influence the broader community that they work in,

667

the systems that they work in.

668

I mean, so what we did and what we've done for corporates

669

and, and government stuff, it's like giving that to

670

other voices that may not have ever thought of it.

671

And, and now with the Covid, everybody is starting

672

to think about hybrid situations.

673

That was a hybrid situation.

674

There were people there that got to be part

675

of that conversation.

676

There were people on the other end

677

of the internet getting to take in that conversation,

678

be exposed to that conversation,

679

even though they weren't in the room.

680

We get to do that. We, we, we can do that.

681

We know how to do that.

682

We want other people to realize that tool is available.

683

They may have never thought about, oh,

684

well this is my audience,

685

but how do I, they don't necessarily think

686

of reaching that audience.

687

They think of, I need

688

to show up in person right in front of that audience.

689

And so, like, one of the things that I, um, think

690

of this business,

691

Velasquez Digital Media communications was a very,

692

I, I complicate things.

693

I make things long. But it, it's a, it's the idea

694

that we're a communication company more

695

than we're a video company.

696

It is about the messaging.

697

It is about the channel, and that's where media comes in.

698

But it's also about the communication is an internal

699

communication is an external communication is a,

700

is the communication have a specific reason for happening?

701

Is there a call to action? Is there an impact?

702

What is it that is happening with the communication?

703

So for us and for for what we do, we are more than just,

704

Hey, slinging a camera, slinging a boom.

705

We really want to help what your

706

media and your communication,

707

when you're in this realm of video

708

or live streaming looks like and impacts.

709

We are invested in what you have to say. Change the real.

710

That's who we are. Representation starts here.

711

Thank you so much for listening

712

to this episode of Change The Real.

713

If you like the episode, subscribe,

714

share it or leave a comment.

715

And remember, representation starts hereto. See you soon.