Hey there! 👋
My name is Samuel David McCown, I am a freelance creative born (OR) and raised (WA) in the Pacific Northwest.
My name is Samuel David McCown, I am a freelance creative born (OR) and raised (WA) in the Pacific Northwest.
How I Started - Dutch Bros Coffee:
My first ever real, paying, creative job was when I was 17, and working for Dutch Bros Coffee in Lacey WA.
After a few weeks of bringing my camera around & creating content for the fun of it, I was given the position of Social Media Manager.
*Oooh my first creative job ✨
My first ever real, paying, creative job was when I was 17, and working for Dutch Bros Coffee in Lacey WA.
After a few weeks of bringing my camera around & creating content for the fun of it, I was given the position of Social Media Manager.
*Oooh my first creative job ✨
I was given a lot of trust and creative freedom, and this allowed me to really get familiar with a couple of things:
1. Media production/content creation- and start to develop my flow & creative style in a more professional capacity.
2. The giant world of digital marketing- along with social media, I dove into research about adjacent things such as general marketing psychology, digital ad buys, event marketing, and more.
3. Project/Self Management- I was given a lot of freedom, and thusly had to learn to efficiently task myself out, and manage project resources, planning, fulfillment, and optimization.
2. The giant world of digital marketing- along with social media, I dove into research about adjacent things such as general marketing psychology, digital ad buys, event marketing, and more.
3. Project/Self Management- I was given a lot of freedom, and thusly had to learn to efficiently task myself out, and manage project resources, planning, fulfillment, and optimization.
And man, I was hooked.
What I've Done - USC Events:
After getting a glimpse of into the world of creative work, particularly in a job with a lot of freedom, there was no looking back.
After getting a glimpse of into the world of creative work, particularly in a job with a lot of freedom, there was no looking back.
I soon was diving more into freelance video work and ended up on the USC Events video team, producing video for their music festivals. Alongside the event after-movies, I was grateful to be given the more cinematic, story driven projects.
These were always paired with incredibly short deadlines, and a bickering office of differing opinions from the client's side- but were nevertheless fun and valuable projects for me to get to direct, film, and edit.
*shoutout to my direct client contact, and great friend, Mikie Magnusson for helping to direct, project manage, and even act as talent in the videos- and for pulling countless all-nighters with me to complete these videos*
*shoutout to my direct client contact, and great friend, Mikie Magnusson for helping to direct, project manage, and even act as talent in the videos- and for pulling countless all-nighters with me to complete these videos*
My next step within USC was getting hired on as Marketing Director, and overseeing all marketing efforts, as well as event media coverage. I only got to work this position for about a year until 2020 Covid restrictions, and complications with the owner of the business caused USC Events close it's doors.
This was a short, but invaluable time for me as I got a look into the world of big business, large scale marketing, management of multiple different teams and processes, handling budgets that were magnitudes larger than anything I'd seen before, and more.
It furthered my understanding of not only managing myself and a small project, but managing large scale projects with many teams, people, and objectives involved.
What I've Done - Above & Beyond Group Therapy Weekender:
In 2021 when events were starting back up, I partnered with a very good friend of mine, Chancelor Perez, to create a video production agency called BRNT Multimedia.
(side note- Chancelor and I have been best friends since meeting at dutch bros in 2016. We have lived together in 3 different places, and spent countless hours together learning about business and all sorts of creative media production.)
In 2021 when events were starting back up, I partnered with a very good friend of mine, Chancelor Perez, to create a video production agency called BRNT Multimedia.
(side note- Chancelor and I have been best friends since meeting at dutch bros in 2016. We have lived together in 3 different places, and spent countless hours together learning about business and all sorts of creative media production.)
We made this collective agency as a place to house larger production projects than what we were each doing through freelance work. Our main client for this agency has been Anjuna / Above & Beyond, for their festivals at the Gorge Amphitheater.
Together as BRNT Multimedia, we provide full service video production for the festival- to include daily social edits, "raw shots" of each artist, after-movie, and various other projects such as live music videos, or guided yoga films.
In doing this, we work closely with the event production team to plan, schedule, align creative goals & deliverables, etc. and we hire and bring out a team of talented videographers to help us capture the weekend.
This type of role where we are doing all of the logistical work, team building & management, and also are in the field shooting video, provides the most challenging and exhausting projects I've ever worked on- but they're also the most satisfying and rewarding to successfully complete.
What I've Done - Amaze media group:
In 2023 I partnered with another good friend of mine, Mikie Magnusson, to help him startup a new digital marketing agency. We had a bit of an unconventional deal, where we acted as partners for the first fiscal year of the business, but I would eventually sell my ownership for him to continue the business after I helped with the startup. This is because I don't have a ton of interest in operating a marketing agency, but I do absolutely have interest in the beginning stages of business.
In 2023 I partnered with another good friend of mine, Mikie Magnusson, to help him startup a new digital marketing agency. We had a bit of an unconventional deal, where we acted as partners for the first fiscal year of the business, but I would eventually sell my ownership for him to continue the business after I helped with the startup. This is because I don't have a ton of interest in operating a marketing agency, but I do absolutely have interest in the beginning stages of business.
Together with Mikie we named the agency Amaze Media Group, designed branding, outlined services, created processes, decided on & implemented tools, as well as securing first clients and fulfilling monthly services to ensure that the system we built actually works.
To me this is a ton of fun- both the creative side of designing everything that comes with a new brand, as well as building out all sorts of processes (marketing, client onboarding, fulfillment, file organization, etc) and then ensuring that they work.
I think of this as the towns & villages stage of building a business. After this, you start to transform into a city through solid leadership, talent, and implementation of designed processes.
What I'm doing - Samuel David Visuals:
This is the business that started it all, and is the one that I've had the longest. Through Samuel David Visuals I provide all sorts of creative freelance work.
This is the business that started it all, and is the one that I've had the longest. Through Samuel David Visuals I provide all sorts of creative freelance work.
What started out as just photo & video production when I was 17 years old, has now grown into a decent sized list of creative services that I offer:
- Video Production
- Product & Brand Photography
- Brand Building & Management
- Graphic Design
- Web Design & Development
- Business Processes & Automations
- Digital Asset Organization
- Project Management
- Ai Tools & Workflows
(skills currently in the oven - VFX, 3D Compositing, 3D Product Modeling & Animation)
- Video Production
- Product & Brand Photography
- Brand Building & Management
- Graphic Design
- Web Design & Development
- Business Processes & Automations
- Digital Asset Organization
- Project Management
- Ai Tools & Workflows
(skills currently in the oven - VFX, 3D Compositing, 3D Product Modeling & Animation)
What I'm doing - VidShortly:
Aside from my freelance work, I have always wanted to create a business & brand that weren't reliant on me as a person- Like Samuel David Visuals is.
Aside from my freelance work, I have always wanted to create a business & brand that weren't reliant on me as a person- Like Samuel David Visuals is.
I ended up finally taking that on this year (2024) with a media editing agency called VidShortly.
www.vidshortly.com
What I'm doing - WorshipWorks Design:
WorshipWorks Design is another startup that I am currently building and getting off the ground.
WorshipWorks Design is another startup that I am currently building and getting off the ground.
This is a graphic design agency for Christian churches, in an attempt to use my creative gifts to further expand the kingdom of God.
www.worshipworks.framer.website/
What I'll Do - Worshipworks Apparel:
Coming soon! This will be a faith based POD apparel company, sharing branding with WorshipWorks Design.
Coming soon! This will be a faith based POD apparel company, sharing branding with WorshipWorks Design.
What I'll do - Production Black:
Coming soon! This will be a custom cut & sew apparel and gear company aimed towards creatives who work events and need black apparel.
Coming soon! This will be a custom cut & sew apparel and gear company aimed towards creatives who work events and need black apparel.