Alumni Feature
CREATIVE FOCUS
G N I K A M OVIE M GIC MA STORY BY ARTHUR FOULKES
ADAM JANEIRA FOLLOWING NEW INSPIRATION FOR FILM SUCCESS
The need for commercial video and film got so sporadic during the worst days of the COVID-19 pandemic that 2014 mechanical engineering alumnus Adam Janeira thought he might have to go back to work as an engineer. Not that he minds engineering. In fact, Janeira says he still uses his engineering skills every day to solve problems. It’s just that those problems are now in the film business. Janeira owns I’m the Villain Films, an Indianapolis-based company he started after his Rose-Hulman graduation to make television commercials, corporate and commercial videos, and short films. Business was booming until COVID-19 brought nearly everything to a halt.
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“There just wasn’t anything coming in. We were just sort of surviving,” he says. Then, fortunately, around March 1 of this year, video projects resumed. “Now, it’s like drinking from a fire hose,” he says. “I think I had three days off in March. It’s a good problem to have.” In addition to getting married in October 2020, Janeira didn’t let the slowdown go to waste. He used the time to reevaluate his goals as a filmmaker and take on some new projects, including faith-based videos and films. “The fun part was, during that down time, rethinking what’s important,” he says.
