Meet Ian Ferrer of Mercury Red Studios in Littleton

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ian Ferrer.

Ian, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I had never really considered myself to be the “creative” type. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to pursue a career in medicine. In high school, I got my EMT and began working on an ambulance after my second year in college. Shortly after, I began working in an emergency room. After all of the experiences I had during my time in the emergency room, it had somewhat made me jaded and really made me question if this was the career I wanted to pursue. However, I was ignorant of my own happiness and continued because at the end of the day, all that mattered to me at that time, was making my parents proud. I was taking all of the classes necessary for medical school. I even took the MCAT (not a fun test to take by the way). The seeds of my passion for making videos and films, funny enough, actually started in an environmental studies class. For one project, we were tasked to make a video. I had some experience in Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro, but it was rudimentary at best. So, as I was working on the video, I had found myself spending a significant amount of time editing and creating animations. Even when I wasn’t even working on the video, the only thing I was thinking about was what I could create in these programs. I was obsessed. Countless hours would go by and I wouldn’t even notice it. At the time, and to be honest with you, I truly did not understand what passion felt like. I was at the point where passion and obligation were practically synonymous with one another. I felt obligated to pursue medicine because it was my parents wanted me to, and consequentially, I had always done what my parents told me to do, additionally, I wanted to make my parents proud of their son. At the end of the day, my obligation overcame my desire for passion, however, the story did not end there.

Fast forward to me post-graduation. I was accepted to go to medical school. My parents were extremely excited that their son was going to become a doctor. I had mixed emotions about the ordeal. Did I really want to spend the rest of my life not knowing what other careers were like? The summer before I was supposed to start, that passion to create and edit films and videos started to rear its head back into my life. For one reason or another, I had decided I wanted to give screenwriting ago, just to give me a hobby in my free time.

I had begun writing a short film. That same feeling I had creating that video back in my environmental science class came back. I then got the bright idea of, “Why not make this script into an actual short film?” I started to get cast and crew together. I was putting in the most amount of effort than I ever had before into producing and directing this script. The experience of putting a movie together was daunting. This was something I had never done before, and at the time, I did not realize how much work actually goes into making a movie. However, my previous definition of “work” was closely tied with “obligation”, but making this movie turned “obligation” into “passion.” I could not tell you the number of hours I had spent putting it together. I was writing, producing and directing the entire thing. With all of my blood, sweat, and tears, I managed to create a short film (I probably won’t be releasing it, but the entire experience was well worth it). Creating this movie was the final straw that broke the camels back. However, this decision had really bad timing. It was the day after my white coat ceremony that this decision came about and I didn’t know how to explain this to the president of the school and most importantly, to my parents. Surprisingly, both the president and my parents were understanding of the situation. They both told me that I should pursue something that I am passionate about and if the medicine isn’t it, then it wasn’t meant to be. Their understanding reassured me that creating videos and film was the career I wanted to pursue.

The sudden career change wasn’t exactly easy, to begin with. When I first started, and I’m sure most artists can relate to this is that, paid work is hard to come by. This was especially true considering I didn’t have a portfolio to show to potential clients. I had begun to create a bunch of videos for free. While they weren’t my best work, it was a learning experience. I had learned the basics of lighting, camera operations, audio recording, the whole nine yards. I had learned more in those few months than I had ever learned before. I still have a longs way to go in terms of considering myself a professional, my hunger to learn and create has never before been greater.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The term “starving artist” has never been more relatable to me. It didn’t take me long to realize that you can’t really get paid to pursue one’s passion for filmmaking and videography without a portfolio. I had to do a lot of free work and there were a lot of times that money was difficult to come by. There were times that I did go to bed hungry (which seems a bit extreme, I know), or I didn’t go out with my friends, but to me, it was worth it. Even then, however, I had a question if this was the right decision. I had given up a promising career in medicine, with great pay and a luxurious life. These doubts melted away after I had dinner with a close friend of mine. He had told me, “You have to understand that even though it’s something you’re passionate about, there’s always going to be highs and lows no matter what you do. It’s your willingness to continue to pursue your passion after those struggles that determine whether or not you should continue to do so.” He was right, not everything in life is going to be butterflies and rainbows, but this was something that I was willing to sacrifice a lot for.

Please tell us about Mercury Red Studios.
Mercury Red Studios is a film and video production company based in Littleton, Colorado. We specialize in the production of promotional, music, interview and wedding videos. Currently, we’ve done our most work at a wedding, however, we are hoping to produce more promotional and music videos. Ultimately, our goal is to produce short and feature films. Since there is a lack of filmmaking in Colorado, and even though it has some gorgeous scenery and massive talent pool, we feel that Colorado has a lot of potential into becoming the next hub for filmmaking. What I am most proud of my company is that we work with a lot of aspiring filmmakers and film school graduates to give them paid jobs and be able to hone what they’ve learned. I think what sets us apart is that, since we work with a lot of film school graduates, it gives us a fresh perspective on the evolution of media and what new generations want and expect to see in videos and film.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I could start over, I would want my past self to be more realistic about changing careers in such a small time frame. There probably wouldn’t have been times that I went to bed hungry or had to struggle so much had I been a lot smarter in the beginnings of pursuing my passion. I probably would have kept a more stable paying job instead of quitting and expecting to get paid jobs right out of the gate. Other than that, I still love what I do and I wouldn’t have changed anything else.

Contact Info:

• Address: 2450 Rockbridge Dr, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129
• Website: mercuryredstudio.com
• Phone: 720-212-5236
• Email: mercuryredstudios@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mercuryredstudios/

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