Today we’d like to introduce you to Cody Deer.
Hi Cody, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in a tiny place called Edgefield, South Carolina. When I was a kid, my parents brought this giant JVC camera home, and I couldn’t take my hands off it. My friends and I would run around making short films on the weekends, but I could not edit the footage. One lady filmed and edited nearly every wedding in the town, so I started working for her when I was 15 to learn how to use editing software. I was hooked and started learning as much as possible about filmmaking and photography. I read blogs or articles about making movies if I wasn’t in school or working.
Fast-forward three years. I decided to move to Charleston and attend the Art Institute. I met a graphic designer whose parents had just started a candle company there. He needed a few videos to promote them, and I rushed to say yes. I would rent equipment from the school to make the ads. I was sharing a three-bedroom apartment with five guys and making just enough to pay rent, but I was getting paid to make commercials! After a few months, another candle brand noticed some of the ads I was making and called me in for a meeting. They wanted me to travel around the country to their factories and make a short documentary on the company’s founding family. I would travel for weeks, and the Art Institute told me I would no longer be enrolled if I left school for that long. I had to decide between finishing school or taking a chance at starting my career with this one big job. I was ready to go all in. I called my parents and told them I was dropping out of college and that I would be homeless in Charleston before I failed and moved back to Edgefield. I took the deposit from the job, bought what equipment I could, and spent the next several weeks traveling and editing the documentary. It was a success. People connected with that company took notice, and I started getting more clients. Little did I know this was a stepping stone to something much bigger.
The budgets and crews for commercials I was creating got bigger. However, I remember getting home from shoots frustrated that I was still creatively limited by the equipment I owned, the available props on set, and the shooting locations. Nothing was ever exactly how I pictured it when the work was finished. When COVID happened, it became even more complex. I could only shoot products alone in my house. That was a real breaking point for me. I had no idea how long we would be in lockdown and knew I’d start running out of ideas. I was worried everything I had built was at risk of falling apart.
I saw online that video productions were at a standstill everywhere, but digital 3D artists were booming. I decided to spend my time during the COVID shutdown learning 3D. I would send product images to clients to see if they would notice they were 3D renders. After a while, the images were photorealistic, and they couldn’t tell the difference from real-life photography. I could finally make images and videos pictured in my head. If I didn’t like the shape of a prop, I could remodel it in 3D. It didn’t cost me thousands of dollars if I needed more lights in the scene. I could make them in a few clicks of a mouse. This was a whole new medium and the next step of my creative journey. I went from having only local clients to having clients all over the country. I’ve been able to help so many more clients share their products in exciting new ways that aren’t possible with tools in the physical world. I don’t know what comes next, but I’m happier than ever.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a 3D artist specializing in creating image and video content for my customer’s products. Rather than project-based pricing, I keep things simple and offer 3D services for a flat monthly fee. You can make as many design requests as possible, and I’ll complete them individually. Turnaround time for most requests is 48 hours.
What matters most to you?
My family matters most. I need my wife’s encouragement and my kids to know how I could have the drive to be successful in this business. There was a time early on in my career when I wanted to throw in the towel and find something else to do with my life, but my wife told me, “No.” I’ll never be able to repay her for pushing me to keep going when I needed it most.
Pricing:
- flat rate of $5000/m for images and animation
Contact Info:
- Website: codydeerimagery.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/codydeerimagery/
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/codydeer
- Twitter: Cody_Deer
Image Credits
Cody Deer Imagery
