Please fill out the following information, and RRFC Admissions will contact you to discuss our program offerings:
Issue #76 – Mentor News
by L. Swift and Jeff McQ
As the owner of Ad-Venture Video Productions in Fresno, CA for nearly two decades, Film Connection mentor Ted Ruiz knows a few things about providing quality film and video services in a wide range of applications. Over the years, he’s built a highly successful business doing work an array of notable clients. In fact, when we caught up with him for the conversation and quotes below, Ted was prepping to do a TriCaster multi-camera live switch for country music icons Big & Rich. Ted also takes a keen interest in preparing his students not only to “put pretty pixels on the screen,” as he often refers to it, but also to be successful within the business of film itself.
Not surprisingly, during our recent conversation, Ted dropped some great insights and nuggets of truth that many of our apprentices could learn from. We’re excited to share some of these with you below.
ON THE MANY TYPES OF OPPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE IN THE INDUSTRY (NOT JUST MAKING MOVIES): “We do more types of video production [at Ad-Venture] than anyone in Central California…I’ve owned the business for 17 years and we are in the perfect environment where video content is king. Every business up and down the world needs video to communicate with the audience. Where 15 years ago our focus was on 30-second TV commercials or broadcasts, now we handle video production from short 45-second video modules for websites, for social media, creative and dynamic video production, live streaming events.
ON HOW HE LEARNED THE IMPORTANCE OF MENTORING, AND WHY HE MENTORS OTHERS: “In high school, I really didn’t have any direction. I did not care for school. I did not know what I was going to be doing…I was taken under the wing of some people I highly respected. They liked my work ethic, my enthusiasm, and I was working with some very, very top notch professionals that took time to help me prove my skills. I’ve always kind of tried to pay that forward through my youth activities but nowadays I do that through grooming people…To be honest, in this market, there are hundreds of potentially talented people…[but] the majority of them don’t understand the professional ethics, the business practices, the pay it forward attitude…As business owners, we need to be mentors for the next generation.”
ON WHAT HE TRIES TO INSTILL IN HIS APPRENTICES: “We take young, aspiring talent that shows an interest. We not only help them learn how to shoot, how to edit, how to do color correction, how to compose shots and put pretty pixels on the screen…but we teach them the ethics and values of how to do the business side of video production or film production… When you first engage with a client, what is that experience for the client? What is the impression you left him with throughout the process? There’s a lot of moving parts to production; throughout that process, did you deliver more than you promised at every step? Were you punctual? Did you do the best you could? Were you a good team player with those around you, and were you ethical to your customers throughout?…More important than teaching them how to put pretty pixels on the screen, I think what we do is we instill a good work ethic and morals and values in these young talents because I think that is the hardest thing to teach someone.”
Ted Ruiz and Loan Nguyen at Ad-Venture Video Productions
or call (800) 755-7597
RRFC is education upgraded for the 21st century.
Get the latest career advice, insider production tips, and more!
Please fill out the following information, and RRFC Admissions will contact you to discuss our program offerings:
Stay in the Loop: Subscribe for RRFC news & updates!
© 2025 Recording Radio Film Connection & CASA Schools. All Rights Reserved.