Jesse Natale
What does J North Productions services consist of?
We are a commercial and promotional video production and photography company. We do a wide variety of projects from tv commercials, corporate and product videos, real estate, and even documentary work.
We are also building a network of creatives which our clients will be able to access for things like web design, graphics and stock video and photos... something my partners and I will be launching later this year.
How long have you been doing videography/been in the industry??
I started working with video in high school ...like Hi 8 tapes and VHS which feels pretty ancient now... then I did some documentary non-profit work around the world. Got a commercial film degree and started my company in 2006.
How would you describe your style—documentary, cinematic or a mix of both?
I have some personal preferences in what style I like, but every project is different and we try to develop an appropriate style depending on the client and the product itself. So it's definitely a mix.
With increasing need for video content have you noticed a spike in business?
There has definitely been a gradual increase in demand for the type of content we produce. Most business owners know by now how important good quality video and photo content is and its just a matter of when they are ready to commit moving forward.
A lot of people are a little nervous to dive in expecting things to be expensive and time consuming but I think its important to just get started with something small to get the wheels turning. A little bit of video and photo marketing goes a long way.
Favorite job so far ?
We feel really lucky to have so many great clients. A lot of them are companies that use our services year round. A few of my favorite projects have been with local companies like Figueroa Mountain Brewing and Beckmen Vineyards. We have also been working with Adidas and P3 sports over the past few years and thats definitely exciting stuff to shoot. We are currently editing some promotional content for adidas that we shot a few weeks ago.
Least favorite job so far ?
I've had to shoot some boring stuff, but I probably shouldn't be too specific (wink)...we are finally at the point that we can pass on some jobs here and there that aren't the right fit. I'm trying to get better at detecting early on when it's the right fit or not.
My least favorite part of this work is never feeling like the product is completely done and perfect.. I always feel like theres one or two things I wish were better or different. Ive heard thats pretty common for artists to feel that way...although I don't really think of myself as an artist.
What do you most enjoy about the work you do?
I really enjoy the creative side of the work we do...not so much the business side. I love being able to create a tangible piece of work that hopefully many people will get to see. It's all about evoking emotion out of the viewer...which sometimes can be accomplished easily and other times it takes a lot of work. We want to portray the client or product we are shooting and make the viewer feel like they are right there in it... It feels good when we do it successfully. This industry is always changing from the technical side of things and we have to continually keep up and keep things fresh, so every day is a little different. Sometimes it's crazy long hours and working all weekend and sometimes it's a Tuesday morning and I can choose to just go for a surf instead of working... really can't beat that.
So you do real estate videography as well? Interesting real estate properties you have done?/ What was your favorite property?
Yes we definitely do a little bit of everything and there is a huge need for our services in the real estate world here in Santa Barbara for obvious reasons.
Its fun to bring a home to life through videos and photography...sometimes can be quite challenging, but it's nice to end up getting a great product out there when it's all done.
There are such beautiful properties in Santa Barbara so it's nice to be able to be a part of showing them off.
We have shot a few homes in Montecito and Hope Ranch that just blow your mind. I'm not sure there is one specific favorite but If I ever get super rich Im going to just take all the best parts of each house we've shot and throw it all into one epic house.