Rising Stars: Meet Andrew Warren of Greeley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Warren.

Hi Andrew, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Curiosity and fascination with a wide range of things has always been a character trait of mine. Being lucky enough to land a scholarship that was unexpected after high school, I didn’t have time to take off and figure out what I wanted to do. So I went through four majors in college, landing on my fifth to be a foley artist (sound effects), I was lucky enough that it was an audio and video track in my New Media bachelors program at IUPUI in Indianapolis. With that first video class, I found I had a natural talent for editing, composition and so many other things. The hook was set and I didn’t look back. In that final year and a half, I did several internships and excelled academically. It just felt like video production was what I was meant to do. After college, I went on to be a full time freelancer in Indianapolis, with my main “bread and butter” client being the local PBS station, WFYI. This is where I really developed my craft, working alongside some amazingly talented people and great human beings in general, that station gave me the opportunities to hone my skills in editing, producing, camera work and everything video. During that time I was blessed to be a primary camera operator on 26 Emmy award winning programs, garnered a handful of nominations and a couple of wins myself. That PBS station, the VP of production and the staff really helped me to blossom into a full understanding of the craft in studio productions and out in the field on dozens of documentaries and programs. That time opened countless doors as I was lucky enough to work on the Super Bowl Host Committee, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, the NFL Combine, the NFL network, ESPN, NBC, the Kendra Show, Dr Phil show, and the list goes on and on while working with several other production houses and uplink companies in town. In 2013 I decided to move west, but LA wasn’t the right fit for me, so I landed in Colorado. A camera op once told me that “freelancing is a young man’s game” and I was getting worn out with several 45 and 50 day stints of working everyday in order to get the bills paid and develop my craft. So when I came to Colorado I found a full time job at the University of Northern Colorado, becoming their first in-house video producer and stayed there for 10 years, produced countless videos, worked with some awesome people and was grateful at the opportunities to produce some really fun pieces. A university is kind of like a small city, so there are always things going on. After several years, I began to feel like I told most of the stories I wanted to there and was itching to get back out on my own. So in 2017 I launched my company, Starry Eyed Creative and continued working at UNC for a few years until it was time to branch back out into my own clients and projects in 2023. It’s been quite a ride so far, but if you get the bug, video production gets in your blood. Its an ever evolving field, so you constantly get to expand your skills and learn new things, becoming a mini SME (subject matter expert) in whatever story your telling. I love it!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
While it hasn’t always been the smoothest road, it has always been an adventure. Graduating college in December of 2007, right before the economy tanked in 2008, during the housing bubble wasn’t the easiest time to jump into a creative field. It seemed like many places in Indy were looking at creative jobs as the first people to cut from their rosters. So I felt lucky to have gotten my foot in the door at the PBS station. It wasn’t the highest paying gig and it was freelance, essentially full time, but the experience has paid dividends. Being a full time freelancer right out of college, there was a lot to learn, like getting the calendar filled up, networking and paying your own taxes. You learned to say yes to everything that came your way and sometimes would work for a month or month and a half straight without a day off, then every once in a while there would be an unexpected time where work just wasn’t happening in town, so you would get a surprise couple of weeks off. It could really be “feast or famine” as they say, but it’s always been an adventure and I’m grateful to have gone through those experiences as it taught me a lot about life, people and has built some resolve for me personally.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Well video production, aerials and photography are my jam! It is such a treat to be able to help craft stories that affect change in businesses, culture and people’s lives. A couple of projects that come to mind that have stuck with me for their impact are a documentary called “A Son’s Sacrifice” produced years ago and a more recent project with a non-profit in Colorado called Running River Benefits. With the first project, it was about military suicide, which that alone was a challenge, but nothing compared to the person we were profiling, Gregg Keesling. Gregg’s son had committed suicide while deployed in Iraq and after that he had been waiting on his letter of condolence from the President, but came to find that it was a long-standing tradition that those who take their own lives in combat do not get such a letter. After 2 or 3 years of working alongside Gregg, that documentary was released and he was featured on national news outlets, morning shows, etc and was able to meet with President Obama a couple of times, who changed that tradition and honored soldiers and their families who came to this type of tragic ending while in combat. National policy was affected, I felt for the better, even if I just had a small part as a camera op on a documentary, as it was really Gregg who was relentless in ringing all the bells of change to help influence that change.

The second piece I mentioned was a shorter form profile package about Running River Benefits. They are a non-profit based in Northern Colorado who helps families that have children born with medical challenges bridge the gap financially. As the founders had went through this situation themselves, they came to find that there is so many things that insurance doesn’t cover, such as gas going to and from the hospital, time taken off from work to be there for your kid and so many other things. After working on that piece for nearly a year, covering their fundraising events, interviewing the founders and others involved and folks that had been helped by the organization, I pieced the story together and showed it to the founders. They were moved to tears, had no changes requested for the piece and it felt great. When one of them showed it to one of their biggest donors the next day and told me that the donor cut a check for 10K right on the spot for the organization, which was almost their entire annual goal, that felt more than great, it was a special moment.

I really love working with non-profits and seeing the results of that work andwhen clients tell me they love a piece that I produced with them, my heart sings. It’s hard to describe.

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I would just like to thank them for taking the time to read this story of how Starry Eyed Creative came to be and for supporting local businesses. It takes a good community of people supporting each other to make any spot a special place to be and Colorado really is that to me. The people here are amazing and I’m truly grateful for all those that help make this place really a gem of a state to call home.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://starryeyedcreative.com

Image Credits
Joy Andrews
Woody Myers