A few months ago we told you about a graduate of our 5-Week Filmmaking Workshop who went on to open her own business. The student, Natalie Hull, started Forget Me Not Films to create short films for families designed to “…capture your fleeting memories forever in brilliant High Definition.”

And now we’ve got another student who has taken the lessons learned at SFSDF and struck out on their own. Robert Goc, (aka Cock-the-Goc) Class 9 of the 1-Year Digital Filmmaking Program, has teamed up with a couple stylish and savvy friends back home in Buffalo, NY and launched a new production company called Downtown Digital Productions.

The trio was recently interviewed by Artvoice – Buffalo, NY’s #1 Newsweekly

We asked Robert a few questions about his new endeavor. And because Artvoice asked five questions, we’ll ask six. That’s how we roll. Go team!

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You call yourself “…a cutting-edge, “boutique” video production company.” What unique skills and insight do you and your partners bring to a clients?

We call ourselves “cutting edge” and “boutique” because of the education and technology we utilize. The Canon 5D Mark II, as I’m sure you’re well aware of, offers incredible stills as well as 1080 x 1920 full HD video. Most commercials and videos shot in this area are still being done on MiniDV. Usually no HD shoots. It’s ridiculous. There are dinosaurs in this town who have been running things for 25-30 years, editing on 10-year-old Dell’s with editing software less advanced then Windows Movie Maker. We just need that one shoot for everyone around here to understand what we’re talking about, and I’m happy to say we’re very close to getting it.

What is Downtown Digital Productions’s focus? Music videos? Corporate work?

Our focus is anything creative. We have a saying around here that we want to make “something the client has only seen in their dreams.” Our ideal client is someone that has an idea, and a passion to see it become reality. That’s where we come in. The three of us, John, Sonia and myself, are so dynamic, so different, that between us, we are able to say the right thing and ask the right questions, that pulls that idea out of the client and meld it into not only exactly what they envisioned, but usually so much more.

What were the most important things you learned at SFSDF? How have these helped launch your new company?

The most important thing I learned at SFSDF was persistence. I had so many curve balls thrown my way, so many ups and downs. Just getting a loan was rough enough, let alone living on your own, moving from apartment to apartment, job to job, pay check to pay check, shoot after shoot, film after film, it was a grind. Let’s not even get into the window incident (Ed’s note: Inside joke). Just like school or making a movie, starting your own company takes a lot of persistence. At SFSDF I learned that walls are placed in front of us, so that we may prove that we are willing to scale those walls, and in the end, battered and bruised, you come out on top and right where you need to be. It’s a beautiful thing.

For new filmmakers, what would you say is the most important key to success?

I’m sure you’d love for me to say how important film school is, and don’t get me wrong, it is. I learned more in my twelve months at SFSDF then I ever thought I could learn, technically speaking. But you gotta be able to get yourself on a set. If you’re just starting out, work for free. And don’t just show up and go through the motions, get yourself noticed. Work twice as hard as the person next to you. Take it as seriously as you can. Even if it’s a student shoot with no budget whatsoever. Smile. Enjoy life. Be the person everyone wants to be around on set. Have fun. 9 times out of 10 I walked away from those non-paying gigs with $150 or more in my pocket.

Once someone like a director, who has been toiling day and night, writing, casting, crewing, re-writing re-casting, sees how hard you’re working and how much you care about his or her vision, they usually can’t help themselves but fork over some cash. And if not, there’s still karma. The harder I worked on other people’s shoots, the harder it seemed other people worked on mine. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

Are you working on any side-projects apart from DDP? Writing a feature or a short? Maybe a documentary?

Anything I do from now on will be under the Downtown Digital brand, and yes I am working on plenty right now. I just finished my latest short, “Tile M for Murder,” a funky video based on a short story by Charlie Fish, and I am currently working on the script to a brand new webisode tv show coming soon to the Downtown Digital Productions.com’s “On Demand” page. We have so much we’re about to be dropping, so stay up and stay tuned. You never know, you may very well want to make your next short here in Buffalo. If you do, give me a call!

Tell us about the Sunglasses Required Party. What kind of crowds are you pulling in? What kind of music? Do you have a special pair of sunglasses or do you get a fresh pair for every party?

Sunglasses Required (SGR) really started out of sheer boredom with what Buffalo had to offer as far as night life. My roommates and I decided we wanted to throw the kind of party we would usually have to drive to Toronto or NYC to get. Dub step, trance, all kinds of techno. As long as the bass is kick’n, we’re usually happy. I’ve actually been rocking glasses for the last few years, as you know. I’m pretty blind without them so I’ve had to keep them on, but everyone else wears them.