When did you start with Cineflair, and what do you do in your role?

Nigel is our Creative Director. He started with Cineflair back in January 2020. He was brought on to drive the creative vision from beginning to end, facilitating both people and video shoots. Nigel is the one who sits down with clients to figure out what their creative vision is. Then, he elevates and executes it. 

Part of his role is also to ensure all the elements of the project are "human" or relatable to the audience watching it. Nigel says, "the more people you interview - the more you realize we are all the same." He is also responsible for the technical execution of the project, so he needs to speak the language of all the team members. Whether it's sound, lighting, editing, or shooting, Nigel has a wealth of knowledge and flexibility to navigate all situations.

What was your career journey to get to Cineflair?

After graduating from High school, Nigel started as a musician touring across Canada and the United States. In 2006 the music industry started to shift, and that's when Nigel decided to move back to Edmonton and go to school at NAIT for Engineering Drafting and Design. Once he finished his degree, he worked in Engineering for ten years while still making music on the side. During that time, Nigel met a man named Mark Rumple, who would often bring his gear and film videos of bands, which piqued Nigel's interest in videography. Around 2008 he decided to buy his first camera and started making videos on vacation. It wasn't long before Nigel began making videos for friends. Ten years after he bought his first camera in 2018, he quit his job in engineering to work full time for another media company. There Nigel got to be a part of everything and learn more about video production.

Shortly after Nigel departed from his previous company, he came to work with us at Cineflair. Nigel has known Amro, our managing director, for over 15 years and talked about collaborating on a project. Amro was also looking for someone with experience in the industry and needed someone to take on a leadership role within the creative aspects of Cineflair.

What is your most significant piece of advice for those looking to enhance their video production content?

Nigel's first piece of advice is, "you need a team to scale (your content). You are setting yourself up to fail if you do it by yourself. They need to be your people, your community that helps you to create something good. You don't just need anyone. You need people that understand you."

Nigel's second piece of advice is "doesn't matter the budget, it is how willing the customer is." He says if you are willing to max out our creativity under your budget, we can make something unique happen. 

His last piece of advice is to "focus on what makes other people feel good when you want to enhance any messaging." The audience will feel more connected to the piece you are producing.

What do you like to do outside of work?

Lately, Nigel's life outside of work has been hanging out with his dog and his family. Especially his 3-month-old baby boy. He also still loves to play music, even if it's not the same as it once was. Nigel works on the "Hey you studio," a photography studio in Edmonton, as soon as he leaves work at Cineflair. In his little spare time, Nigel likes to research new ways to do things and take lots of photos of his family.

What is your favourite part of your job?

Nigel loves so much about his job at Cineflair, but his favourite part is the "inspiration" he gets to provide to clients and the team. He finds great joy from seeing both employees and clients happy with the final product. Nigel says, "clients get to build a box, and we get to expand inside that box." As an artist, he needs boundaries to create something incredible. He loves the fight to figure out how to do something amazing on a small budget.