Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Escamilla.
Jason, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
EskimoTV started in March 2017 as a YouTube channel.
Prior to this, I enjoyed casually watching movies from time to time but would attend films maybe once a month if I had time or if I was invited. I thought movies were very engaging, but I never had an outlet to express what I thought about a movie or how a movie affected me. The ability to express my opinion about a topic is what motivates me to want to engage with that topic in general. Growing up, my family and friends weren’t film fanatics so for a big portion of my life I was very ignorant of even having elongated conversations about film or that people professionally critiqued them.
From a young age, what I did know was that I liked to figure out a way to entertainingly communicate. I was the kid who would interrupt someone explaining something and ask, “Can you let me say it?!” This desire of expression and communication would end up playing a dramatic effect not just on my movie criticism work, but also on my full-time career.
As a child, I never thought church would affect my ultimate well-being, my finances, my abilities, and future career. My parents forced me to go to church growing up and I was not very fond of the first few churches I went to (as they mostly talked Spanish and I was only talked to in English). Luckily, my parents noted how unengaged I was at these places and decided to take me to what is now the largest church in Corpus Christi, Church Unlimited (https://churchunlimited.com). Smoke, lights, a killer band, well-edited videos, and graphics all drew me in to listen and what was taught opened my heart to learn so much at this positive-filled atmosphere.
Starting in the 7th grade, I volunteered in the ginormous student ministry media team. Here is where I started to learn basics about recording, editing videos, lighting, and how to create graphics. The team had a high standard of excellence and I was astonished by a lot of the work that was being produced. “How did you make that?!” I inquired. Student Media Director at the time Joe McArthur (a big mentor of mine to this day) replied, “Adobe Photoshop” Still in middle school, I quickly ran home and started to learn how to use several of the Adobe programs, which are industry-standard graphic/video editing programs. I was awful. I had 0% art skills and had no clue what I was doing.
Throughout high school and college, I took not only computer media classes but also art theory classes to understand how to create good work. Finally, Church Unlimited offered an internship program which is the #1 program I would attribute to causing me to grow as fast as I did. I had an awesome mentor who built my novice skills from the ground up. Rejection and failure also catapulted me to learn what not to do as well. That internship turned into a full-time position that lasted a few years. To this day, the majority of my technical and art skills come from my time spent in my internship.
As college came to an end and I worked full-time as a media producer for Church Unlimited, I realized that as much I loved creating good video and graphics I did not like doing it all day long. I longed to use more verbal communication skills and get out from behind the desk. I missed being around people. This signaled me to pursue a teaching career. I am now on year 6 of teaching and I thoroughly love it.
However, I did not want to be the teacher that taught but did not create whatsoever. Throughout my time on the internet, I had seen people talk about movies and television shows online using the YouTube platform. “Hey, I like to talk!” I thought to myself. “And I know how to shoot decent video and create graphics too” I continued in my head. From the movies I had seen, I thought there was information from them I could digest and find a way to communicate to an audience not only weather I liked a movie or thought it was terrible– but also entertainingly explain WHY I thought it was good or bad- just like the people I was seeing doing it online. I kept these thoughts inside my head for a long time until I went to go watch Jordan Peele’s 2017 film, “Get Out”. In short, I loved it. And I wanted to talk about why I loved it. This was the perfect time to launch EskimoTV. Why Eskimo? It was my church youth group nickname, which was a playoff my last name “Escamilla”. My first video is not a video I’m proud of but I keep it uploaded so I can see how I’ve grown (my voice is so monotone and I arrogantly talked about spoilers!).
During the two years of EskimoTV’s existence, my platform has changed drastically. When I first started I lived in Corpus Christi which unfortunately gets no premieres. Therefore, I posted movie reviews every once in a while and simply talked about TV shows I liked at the time. In August 2017, I moved to Houston to escape the small city life and was pleasantly surprised to learn that in the Houston area, most theatrically released films will have premieres before they are released. My first big early screening was “Happy Death Day” and from that point on I have challenged myself to review 3-4+ films a month. The early screenings help considerably as it gives critics enough time to write/compose thoughts so we can have our reviews ready by the time the public is trying to decide if they should go see the latest flick. From big blockbusters to smaller indie movies I review anything others may want to know about. I used to extemporaneously speak in my video reviews. However, today, most of my reviews are scripted and I speak from a teleprompter cue that follows my voice. This has helped polish my communication in videos.
2019 has been a gigantic highlight for EskimoTV. In March, I was approved as a tomato-meter critic on Rotten Tomatoes (https://www.rottentomatoes.com) for my work related to EskimoTV. There’s about 3,000 critics on the platform and this now meant that my voice would count towards the #1 review-aggregation website for films. In April of 2019, my friend David Scott who reviewed films for a different platform decided to join forces and collaborate with EskimoTV. David produced a website for EskimoTV (EskimoTV.net) which now gives us a way to showcase both of our written and video reviews together. Shortly after, I became a Houston Film Critics Society member (https://houstonfilmcritics.com) which would allow me to be a voting member in the outstanding award show that the HFCS pulls off every year (this year it will be taking place on January 2nd at the Museum of Fine Arts). My latest milestone has been becoming a part of one of the most popular top hits radio stations in my hometown, Planet 102.3 (https://www.planet1023.com) as their weekly film critic.
I am enamored by all of the success EskimoTV has garnered and I am thankful to all of the people who invested in me throughout my life. I know I wouldn’t be able to produce a fraction of the work that I do without their investment. Reflecting on how I got to this point has made me feel quite appreciative of life and how lucky I am to be given the opportunity to get to do so much that I love to do.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There are several struggles and obstacles in the work of film criticism.
Forcing myself to go see movies I do not care to see is one but I do it because there are people who watch my channel who want to know what I think. Watching 2-3 movies a week can be exhausting and often times it can feel like a chore. It is the worst when we are bombarded with stinker after stinker. Luckily, there’s usually a well-timed gem that reminds us why we enjoy what we get to do in the midst of the movies that aren’t that great.
Another struggle is releasing a review in a timely manner. As a critic, we want our work to be seen and we have the best chances of having our work viewed if we are one of the first critics to post our thoughts. Studios set embargo dates which let critics know by what day/time we are allowed to publish our review- usually the embargo lifts a week to a few days before a particular film opens. If there are 400 reviews on the web after a movie has been released verses 20 the day the embargo lifts we naturally will have better odds of someone choosing to click our link. I try to post my reviews as soon as the embargo lifts so it can be one of the first ones on the web! However, I do not always meet this goal. Sometimes life gets busy and you have to postpone. I don’t beat myself up for not posting as early as possible but I do prioritize it when I can.
The one thing I will always work on is myself. No matter how far my platform takes me, I always internally critique my own work when I am done with it. “Did I communicate what I thought in an entertaining and insightful manner that is pleasant to listen to?” I ask myself. Sometimes I think some reviews I do are not very great. “I rambled too much. I didn’t go deep enough. I didn’t have much to say for this one. I was way too complex and confusing. My voice sounds monotone!” These are all critiques I’ve had on myself in the past. A wise mentor once said, “We should always critique so we don’t stop growing. Even on our worst day, we are still an 8 because we are good at what we do– but no matter what always think what did we do right and what can do better?” This teaching has caused me to be a creature of critique not only on film but of myself.
Please tell us about EskimoTV – what should we know?
EskimoTV is known for movie reviews and on special occasions TV series reviews.
I specialize in reviewing films and am known for being the host of the EskimoTV platform which is on YouTube and featured on EskimoTV.net, Rotten Tomatoes, and Planet 102.3.
I am most proud of all the accolades and growth mentioned in the previous page.
My unique personality and voice sets me apart from others. In addition, my consistency assures viewers that they more than likely can find my thoughts to the movie that they’ve been wanting to go see via my outlet.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
God- I find life to be enjoyable even in the midst of chaotic or stressful moments because of my relationship with God.
Joe McArthur- my mentor growing up who taught me about Jesus, life, videos, and graphics.
Bil Cornelius- taught me about Jesus and finances; I would not have my house had I not been enticed at a young age by the true value of real estate.
Danielle Galindo- My best friend who is always there to support me in several areas of my life beyond film criticism. She hears all my ramblings.
My parents- they are a solid rock of support and would do anything to propel my life forward.
David Scott (Co-Author, Website Manager of EskimoTV) – David is an encouraging friend and movie critic who has a wise, intentional, and focused voice in his writing (which I encourage to be looked at on EskimoTV.net). I could not have built the website without him. He played a huge part in getting EskimoTV outside of solely being on YouTube.
Houston Film Critics Society- all the members made me feel a part of the Houston film community quickly and I enjoy talking to them first often times about my thoughts proceeding a film. Dustin Chase and Doug Harris have taken the time to give me specific feedback on my outlet and I appreciate other professionals taking time to give me real honest feedback.
Planet 102.3; Dave Ross and Jordan give me the weekly opportunity to expand my influence all over my hometown and despite me no longer living in the area, I feel like I get to leave my mark weekly every time a film review airs!
Contact Info:
- Website: EskimoTV.net or YouTube.com/EskimoTV
- Phone: 832-428-3391
- Email: jason@eskimotv.net
- Instagram: instagram.com/eskimo_tv
- Facebook: facebook.com/eskimotv
- Twitter: twitter.com/eskimo_tv
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