Mission Story
Behind every brand is a story you rarely hear, so here’s mine. My name is Philip Richards Jr. I’m a filmmaker and creative partner helping brands, artists, businesses, and organizations solve problems, generate leads, and connect with their audiences through impactful storytelling and striking visuals.
I honed my craft the hard way, through bookstores, online deep dives, and years of piecing together fragmented knowledge from countless sources. Then came the harder part: turning that information into real skill through repetition, real-world productions, and countless failures.
Over time, that journey led me to one realization: filmmaking is hard, but it doesn’t have to be. Filmmaking isn’t magic; it’s a science. The emotions audiences feel and the visuals they can’t forget are never left to chance. They’re engineered through a Clarity Over Convention approach, rooted in story, shaped by sound, guided by intentional lighting, meaningful movement, and purposeful framing and composition.
So my mission became crystal clear: to make filmmaking feel less like a mystery and more like a craft that can be mastered, through clarity-driven guidance and barrier-breaking resources that help filmmakers create with greater confidence, intention, and control.
Career Path
2003-2018
Ch. 1: Foundation
I spent several years as a paralegal at MCW Todman & Co. while sharpening my filmmaking craft on the side, creating work for brands, businesses, artists, and institutions. Along the way, I gained international production exposure through Season 4 of Below Deck aboard the mega yacht Valor on Bravo, shadowed a 2016 Dream Quest production connected to Norwegian Cruise Line, and gave back to the local creative community by serving as a judge for the TRC’s World Telecommunication Day Video Competition for four consecutive years. Fun fact: legal work challenged my mind but filmmaking was always what spoke to me, but i lowkey miss the legal work.
2018-2021
Ch. 2: 9-5
Following Hurricane Irma’s destruction of BVI Cable TV, which had already been acquired by CCT BVI, I was recruited at the ground level, to help CCT BVI shape 284 Media from an empty basement into a thriving broadcast hub, work that earned me the Rock Star Rookie award in my first year.Under my guidance as Supervising Producer, it took off. About three years after, I was abruptly dismissed. But that moment didn’t break me, it shaped me. It stripped away the noise and left behind a truth I carry to this day: build your own table!
2021-PRESENT
Ch. 3: Ownership/IP
Took the leap from the 9–5 grind into the entrepreneurial hustle, building the Island Filmmaker Company to elevate BVI production, develop my own barrier breaking filmmaking resources and help my younger struggling self break past filmmaking’s long standing barriers.
JOURNEY JOURNAL MEWSLETTER
A Look Beyond The Lens
People only see what’s in front of the lens. They rarely see the struggle behind it. This is where I let the unseen speak. Where I unpack the ideas, methodologies, discoveries and failures that have shaped my filmmaking journey. Here, I explore the overlap, confusion, and hidden logic woven into the craft, all in pursuit of the balance that shapes a well-rounded, empowered creative. Walk with me as I challenge what’s been handed down, reframe the way we see the craft, and carve a clearer path forward.