We had the good fortune of connecting with Joseph Horta and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joseph, what is the most important factor behind your success?
The most important factor behind my success? I don’t know, I’ll have to tell you when I’m successful. Right now I’m still trying to grow and branch out, meet more people in the DFW area. Thats an important part of growing your brand and being successful, so right now I’m just having fun making connections.

Every job I’ve worked has been different in so many ways and it brings in so many different people. I’m constantly meeting cool people to the point of where I love seeing familiar faces on random jobs. It’s fun, it’s like hey we remember each other from that thing, you laugh a little, have a bonding moment and then work maybe eat some crafty. Good times all around!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My thought process for starting my own business and to start freelancing was kinda like the five stages of grief. Beginning with denial of course and eventually leading to just accepting it. But honestly, for me it was really slow at first trying to get your start and get jobs and when I did get jobs I was so nervous, wanting to impress, be noticed and also invisible.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend came to visit Texas, I’d be taking them to some fun outdoor places where I coincidentally filmed at for work. DFW locations like Bishop Arts, OakCliff, Deep Ellum, Discovery Gardens. These places I weren’t too familiar with, but since working a lot in the DFW area they’ve become some of my favorite spots. Love to spend my time vintage shopping, eating good food, just enjoying the outside. Working in the art department especially has opened the door to getting to know so many great vintage/thrift stores. Best part of the job is shopping for work, I will gladly spend their money on cool stuff for the shoot.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d love to give recognition to to my friends from ZebraTail Studios, Zack Singleton and Frederick Ewelike, those guys have great ambition and willpower that I truly believe everyone will know those names. Very happy to be apart of that team. I also would want to give recognition to some freelance filmmakers out in DFW that I’ve been lucky enough to continue to work with. Ben Wiggins, Pedro Rocha, Ariel Ortiz, Cristina Arevalo, and Michelle Bond. Those are just a few names who have given me opportunities when I was first starting out and am just really grateful for. A lot of great people to work with when filming in DFW, hope you can be one of them.

Instagram: @joey_horta

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutDFW is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.