Conversations with Wayne Gassmann

Today we’d like to introduce you to Wayne Gassmann.

Hi Wayne, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
A humble beginning, born and raised in Broken Arrow, OK, homeschooled K-12, eventually finding my way to a trade school in Tulsa where I honed my skills for my eventual career.

My parents instead of toys invested in tools that my siblings and I liked to play with or use. This primary tool was the family video camera when I was 14. My brothers and I were immediately smitten with it. We would run off into the night of our quiet neighborhood in Broken arrow and shoot small films and make-believe “chasing wild animals” usually our family cat, not quite realizing we were training for our careers.

I was 14 years old when my folks bought that camera and I am now 35 with my 1st child on the way, intending to give them the same opportunities my parents did. We were raised that if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life and I can say this is the reality for me.

From the trade school, I competed in several state and national competitions for film work and placed high enough to never accrue debt from going to trade school for four years. Getting out of trade school in 2007-2008 thought I was on top of the world working for a large post-editing house in Tulsa. The housing bubble burst in 2008 which sent many jobs into free fall. As a recent grad, I was drifting from random job to random job for two years. Doing everything I could to keep my skills even working for small live internet bad shows for a couple of years.

It was hard for a time but got through it and landed in a news job in Tulsa for around three years before getting an opportunity to move to Kansas City, MO for a sister news station and this is where I currently reside. After working in the news on crime and dangerous disasters in the midwest, I moved into running my own business which was really what I had wanted to do all those years ago as a kid. This is what I do today running Gassmann Media a full-service video production company located in Kansas City, MO and traveling the USA for various projects and shoots.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has never been “smooth” but there have been good times. I believe the road less traveled, the more challenging road is what truly got me to where I am. I had the option to roll over and let things crush me or fight and get to where I wanted to go. I have always been a fighter and think on my feet quickly to get myself out of a bad situation.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a Freelance cinematographer in Kansa City, MO. I would say I specialize in really run and gun productions. Things will a low budget but you want it to look like a movie. I’m talented in building camera rigs that are fast to move from one platform to the next to decrease downtime on the sets I’m running.

I also do drone cinematography as well as Stedicam/ Gimbal Camera work. I do a handful of audio in town to keep me busy and working with other professionals and I still feel I have much to learn about all aspects of film and commercial work.

What does success mean to you?
Success is finding your inner peace and doing something you feel truly matters to you. It might not matter to anyone else but if it matters to you and you can make a living at it, you found it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.gassmann-media.com
• Instagram: @gassmedia
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GassMedia
• Youtube: Wayne Gassmann

Image Credits
Lucas Cohen