By Zach Stenger
Purple Films is a local film company formed in 2011 and is managed by Dan Gillespie and Jimmy Gall, former Cuyahoga Community College Students. Both Gillespie and Gall started filming bac in high school because they did not want to write a paper or a book and decided to create a short film for the assignment. They passed the assignment.
After high school, they parted way but reunited at Tri-C in pursuit of a film degree. Gillespie was very eager to begin his education at Tri-C because of “The Cage”, where the college keeps all of their equipment.
“They had my dream camera at that time”, Gillespie said. The equipment was a huge bonus, but it was the classes that you would enroll in that brought the equipment into the student’s life. Everything at Tri-C was highly hands on right from the start”
“I don’t know any other way to learn than to do just do it,” said Gall. Which, is exactly what Tri-C did.
Tri-C brought real-world opportunities to work outside the classroom. The school even hired them to do a short series on Hollywood directors. Tri-C helped shaped them into who they are today, and they still use techniques they learned from simple editing classes at the college.
“There were some amazing professors in the industry that were teaching us,” said Gall. “Our one Professor, Miriam Bennet, who kind of was like our sensei,” Gall continued. Gall and Gillespie both raved about Bennet but she was not the only one–everyone at Tri-C was there to help encourage, including fellow students and all of the talent surrounding them.
Today, the school hires them, they still hold great relationships with professors, and they also help judge student work at Tri-C events. The two provided advice they could give to film students, or any student attending Tri-C. Gall made it clear that you should not be afraid, take any chance you can; Gillespie while agreeing completely with Gall added, “go for it!”
He also said be ready to adapt, to change, because this will help. Both of them empathized the importance of not waiting for the right moment because you never know when that moment will come. So, this brings us right back to taking every chance you can get. It is a constant learning process for film or any subject of that matter, everything is creative and everyone has a chance.
Purple Films has been around for several years now and they enjoy working with people who follow their dreams. Gall explained that it helps them follow their dreams and he finds all of it very inspirational.
When the two were asked upon what their next steps were, they had plenty of ideas of what they want to do. All was summed up in tow words spoken by Gillespie,
“Purple Worldwide,” followed by a small chuckle of himself and his partner Gall. The two business partners are best friends following their dreams together, and enjoying every minute of it.
