Today we’d like to introduce you to Aaliah Hartley.
Hi Aaliah, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hey! My name is Aaliah. I was born in Cape Town, South Africa, and raised in Miami, Florida, where my family immigrated when I was two years old. I’ve lived in Colorado for 24 years now since moving in 2000. I’ve always been a lover of film. Ever since I was little I would spend time with my family watching movies. I’d be in awe of what was on the big screen and constantly question how they actually make these films.
I have a particular memory of “making a movie” when I was a little girl in Miami in the 90’s. My sister, cousins, and I were helping our grandma’s neighbors shoot an action scene outside their house, as part of their homemade movie using a simple camcorder. I got to throw a piece of glass on the ground to make a shattering noise while our neighbor pretended to jump through a fake glass door. That fun spark of creativity stuck with me.
Eventually, movie-making became a pipe dream because I grew up undocumented in the United States. Throughout high school and beyond I had no way of fulfilling the goals or dreams I had planned for my life. So making a career being creative, or a career of any kind, was completely shut down. Living through a life of marginalization and oppression made it extremely difficult to prosper.
In 2011 when I was 25, I was finally able to get my permanent residency. I continued working in restaurants and went back to school for Veterinary Assisting. After a few years of doing that, I wanted to get back to focusing on my old goals. I wanted to visually create stories and especially uplift voices that go unheard, and narrative films and documentaries, when done well, do just that.
My first professional break was in 2014 as a camera operator and PA on a series called “Chef Driven” in Denver. In 2015, I interned at Rocky Mountain PBS in production and quickly jumped on a docu-series called “Standing in the Gap” as the Associate Producer – which my team and I won an Emmy Award for!
Working on that production solidified for me that I was meant to be in this field. I went back to school in 2016 in my thirties for Film Production Studies, a degree I created at MSU Denver, and I worked in numerous different roles at PBS over the years, most of which were not connected to production anymore.
In 2018, I decided that if I wanted to work in video and film production consistently, I’d have to do it myself. I quit my job and started Exalted Productions, a video production and photography business that was a long-standing dream at that time. The name Exalted Productions came easy as “Exalted” is the meaning of my name.
Self-employment has been a huge goal of mine over the years. I didn’t enjoy the corporate lifestyle and was unfulfilled by creating work for other people, so I combined entrepreneurship with my passion for visual storytelling. I thought the best thing I could do to help people was by telling their stories, ironically because my story was one that was always overlooked. Humans fascinate me, both in good and bad ways, but I’m ultimately amazed at what we are able to do, and I love sharing that expression on screen.
Of course, I wasn’t just working on Exalted Productions during that time. I Lyfted and Nannied every day to supplement my income while starting this business. I was also able to work as a Producer on a couple of feature-length films, one of which was with my older sister and we premiered it at the Cannes Film Festival in France in 2019!
When 2020 and COVID came around, all my freelance production work was halted. I got an offer for a full-time position at my old job, so I took it. I put Exalted Productions on the back burner during the pandemic and after losing my mom, my number one fan. I really wanted to get back to video, film, and entrepreneurship when the pandemic was starting to get in the rearview mirror. So in 2022, I went down to part-time hours to restart Exalted Productions.
Then in 2023, I officially quit my job (again) and pursued Exalted Productions on a full-time basis. All this to say, the journey is by no means a linear one for me, it’s more of a hedge maze! I’ve learned it is perfectly fine to not always be in “go” or “grow” mode. I currently have support from my awesome partner, which is a big reason I was secure enough to restart this business the second time around without taking on additional side jobs.
My family, including my twin sister and older sister, are both creatives and are in the same business as well, which is great to have people in my circle who know exactly what I’m going through. My brother is also a fantastic DJ, so the artistry runs in the family.
Exalted Productions is a Video Production and Photography business and my goal is to work with small businesses, artists, and individuals, to tell their stories visually. With the video process, I produce, direct, shoot, and edit the stories myself. I’d love to eventually hire folks to spread the love and work in collaboration as a team. I also still freelance on films (as much as I’m able to), so I can pursue my dream in a small way, of being a filmmaker.
I’m grateful I get to work at this every day and pursue something that is meaningful to me. Of course it’s not easy, in fact, it’s the hardest thing I’ve done to create my own work and wealth. I feel like I’ve always been a daring person and would much rather try and fail than not try at all. It would be great if I could blossom my video production, photography, and filmmaking career into something bigger than myself. If I continue to be consistent and keep trying, the little and big breaks will come along. And if not, I tried!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Goodness gracious no, haha. As I mentioned, I grew up undocumented in the United States and got my permanent residency when I was 25 years old. I was unable to pursue a higher education after high school, aside from community colleges that accepted me. I couldn’t legally get a job (without it being paid under the table), I couldn’t drive a car and I couldn’t travel anywhere without the fear of being deported.
This essentially put a big gap between me and my peers. I was a very resourceful person out of necessity and thankfully made a life of my own in which I could prosper, slowly but surely. Starting any career or life with a disadvantage like that is obviously debilitating and more than just a struggle. You’re essentially being told you don’t have the right to exist.
It truly defined the lens through which I look at life. I’ve been an activist since I was born, I come from a family who had to be activists growing up in Apartheid South Africa. For me, liberating people’s minds (especially through films) is like a catharsis for me. This disadvantage came with a lack of money, power, experience, etc… Though I’m a big believer in not letting these scenarios write your story forever. EVERYONE deserves the right to prosperity and freedom, and that’s something I will always fight for. On my momma.
Aside from that, making a career as a creative artist is hard enough. We live in a world where these things aren’t always respected enough to have it be someone’s full-time living. That’s exactly why I wanted to start this business, to change that narrative. I’m tired of glamorizing the grind and the hustle, we deserve to have abundance in doing what we love. Eventually, the rest of the world will catch up with me in this way of thinking 😉
Starting a business and keeping it afloat is very hard. I made sure I saved a year’s worth of living expenses before taking the plunge. But even then, if you’re not in a privileged position or have people with money backing you, it can be very difficult to keep going. I think everyone who wants to be an entrepreneur should be able to explore that if they choose to, it’s the broken systems in place that need to be removed in order for us to have a fair chance.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I own and operate Exalted Productions, a Video Production & Photography business in the Denver + area. I work with small businesses, artists, and individuals to tell their stories visually. I’m also a film freelancer and love working on film productions when I am able to.
The videos I produce for my clients are brand stories and promotional videos, and the photography I capture is mostly portraiture and special events. I expand on both of these in different ways depending on how a client wants to tell their story.
As a conscientious business owner, I ultimately want to work with people who are making a positive difference in their communities. People who are developing new ways of working, living, and creating new systems to replace old broken ones. Corporate stories are really very boring, and though that may come with good money, I’m much more interested in telling stories that need a light shined on them.
That’s a goal I am always working on. DEI has been implemented in the everyday workplace and it sometimes feels like it’s checking boxes. Ever since I was young I’ve wanted to uplift underrepresented voices, and that’s something I’ll always strive to do, especially if and when I can create my own film!
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Being true to who I am and true to my own definition of “success” is very important for me to succeed. It’s what I fall back on when I’m feeling down. I left corporate culture for a reason, it didn’t vibe with me at all to fall in line and do work that upholds shitty systems. Not to say that that was my total experience because it wasn’t, but I know so much of the average worker’s day is like this – where they feel powerless in an institutionalized system.
And if given the opportunity, they could do it so much better. We deserve to set our own standards and be compensated appropriately. I’d rather build my own table than sitting at a table where they’re pretending to listen to me but don’t do anything to change.
The other characteristics that are most important to my success are consistency and tenacity. Being self-motivated can be difficult when I don’t have a team around me or when I quite frankly don’t have enough work or money, so I have to put in the work every day even if it’s moving an inch at a time. It takes a lot to just keep going, but it’s really key!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.exaltedproductions.org
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/exalted_productions_
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaliah-hartley-205151b8/
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/@ExaltedProductions
Image Credits
Maalikah Hartley (@maalikah_photography)
Aaliah Hartley
