Meet David Pratt

Today we’d like to introduce you to David Pratt.

Hi David, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Since high school, I always knew I wanted to be in front of and behind the camera. Everybody that knows me knew I would always act silly or act out scenes from movies and always be on level 100. While always having a camcorder in my hand through college capturing everything moving, then even after college, an opportunity to be in a feature film fell in my lap. It was the Movie “We Are Marshall”. While on set in Atlanta GA, I was able to see the BTS first hand and it was out of this world. My love for film grew to another level that year, but the following year I saw some rough times with the job I had. Long story short, I ended up homeless for a year (the economy tanked) and had to figure out life the hard way and I did just that. I ended up moving back to NC, getting multiple jobs to make ends meet, but then landed a job as a UPS driver by the grace of God and I was back on my feet.

In the back of my head, I always remember what it felt like for someone to control my destiny, which is why I ended up homeless. I started my production company a couple of years before landing my UPS gig, so the money I made driving helped a lot with buying equipment. I figured I’d give it eight years or so to see how it goes and I could continue to grow my company slowly while working, but that changed as well. I’d book clients and give the company well enough notice so I could have off. I’ll never forget….I booked a $3,500 gig, got the deposit, got the ok to take off because it was a month in advance, the week before the shoot I brought it back up and guess what happened… “sorry David, we need you here to run your route”. Right then I knew, I wasn’t in control of my destiny again.

From that point on, I hustled non stop with driving for UPS, getting overtime, and each week I’d buy equipment and set myself up to walk away from the company and go full time with my own company. I did just that! Once I had a couple of cameras, a light kit, mics, and accessories, I put in my two weeks notice and I’ve been pushing ever since. Now I’ve grown my company to where I hire people when need be, I got married and she’s in the same field as me so now we’re growing the company together, as well as starting other companies. There’s nothing like making your own schedule. By far the best decision I ever made.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Ended up homeless because the city of Atlanta lost all of their contracts for the engineering firm I was working for so there was literally no work, no one was hiring, it was BAD!!! Fast forward to having my company, some of the obstacles were trying to find clients that would actually pay and not just want video’s for $150. It was sad for a very long time. I just stuck to my guns, continued to put out high-quality content, and the paying people came.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My company is called 9 Studio Productions and it’s a photography/Video production company. We specialize in Commercial/Corporate work, Architectural and commercial real estate, and Film. We’re known for bringing our client’s craziest visions to reality. It’s what drives us the most. It’s not about just making a buck, we actually want our clients to LOVE their creation and grow their companies and brands from it. What’s sets us apart is that we have a film mindset, so we integrate that with our customer’s ideas. Each project is like a mini movie.

What does success mean to you?
I define success by being able to take care of my family, continuing to be stress/drama-free and to be able to create my own schedule so I can spend time with my family.

Contact Info:

• Email: 9studioproductions@gmail.com
• Website: www.9studioproductions.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/9studioproductions
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/9studioproductions
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/9_Studios
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/c/9studioproductions