Everyone can have a vision that they want to turn into reality, but this process is long and tedious. However, such a vision that falls into the right hands can become a reality, and those hands are the ones of 2014 alumni Chris Fernandez. While being a part of the first video team of the CHAT newspaper in pines charter, he graduated and became the co-founder of the Limitless Design Group back in 2016. His journey with the first CHAT video team helped Fernandez create Limitless Design.
“I got to wear a lot of hats,” Fernandez said. “ Producing, directing, and editing content taught me the fundamentals of storytelling and collaboration, and working under tight deadlines helped a lot.” He expressed that his experiences in the CHAT not only helped him as a director, but also as a person: “Those experiences made a strong foundation for me as to what I am doing now. I have been able to adapt and overcome challenges through those learning experiences.” Adapting to situations isn’t easy, especially when feeling under pressure. In close calls, Fernandez was able to adapt and solved any issues within his business since his days in the CHAT.
Adapting to problems where he has to think on the fly all happened during a huge event that was very important for the CHAT. “One experience that I remember at the CHAT was very vivid. We were covering a very important school event and it was under a tight deadline.” Fernandez says. “Our equipment failed, our camera wasn’t working, and we didn’t have any extra batteries. So we had to adapt quickly and use iPhones at that time to record and capture the story.” Facing adversity teaches Fernandez the importance of thinking quickly, while being efficient. This lesson helped him improve his whole career.
Being a director can be seen as an enjoyable, everyday job because they are always trying to find ways to be creative. However, Fernandez indicates that this is not always the case. “I have encountered those situations where I have to think on the fly,” he mentions, “Nowadays I have to balance budgets for clients while maintaining the same creative vision for their goals.” It’s not an easy job to do when juggling a client’s vision for a project and the budget for his company. Fernandez embraces these challenges and this all stemmed from the CHAT.
While he is working for Limitless Design now, Fernandez will never forget where his love for directing and being part of a team first began. “There was a big video we produced one time that we connected with the students and my class,” Fernandez describes, “”Seeing their reactions to the video, after all the hard work was done. It showed me the power of media and making a genuine product.”
This was the marking part where Fernandez knew what he wanted to do for his entire life: “”this is my passion.” Fernandez knew what it took to be at the top of his craft, he is a leader and people like himself don’t take any days off. It’s not always easy to be proactive though, but it’s the hard work that showed him great success in the future.
“You have to push yourself,” Fernandez says. “You want to be innovative and be the next big thing. Even if it takes a step out of your comfort zone. Embracing the small details is what makes a production stand out. This is why my attention to detail is so important.” He knows kids these days want to achieve major heights, however he also understands that they are afraid of stepping out of their comfort zone: “I think it is believing in your product, and believing in yourself. In life taking risks is worth it in the end. You never try, you’ll never achieve what you set out to do.”
Being in directing while working with clients isn’t easy, but Fernandez makes it look this way. His goals were reached with the experiences he took from the CHAT. His advice to people who are pursuing directing is to “Focus on building strong relationships, and be open to taking risks later on. It’s crucial to learn as much as you can in different aspects of the field you’re working in.” Fernandez got to these heights from being confident in doing what he loves: “Being authentic and passionate about what you do then you will eventually be successful.”
