Chadwick Fortenberry is a creative leader and storyteller who’s spent over 15 years bringing brands and ideas to life through video, motion, podcasts and other content that actually connects with people. He’s led award-winning campaigns (40+ Tellys) across healthcare, tech, and entertainment, always blending creativity with strategy to tell authentic stories. Whether he’s on set directing, brainstorming the next big idea, or mentoring the next class of creators, Chadwick believes great storytelling should connect with us and move both hearts and minds. At his core, he’s passionate about using creativity to make a real impact and helping others do the same.

How many years have you been a judge?

1-3 years

What excited you about judging for the Telly Awards?

Getting to see the creativity of others and how they blend the tools available to us today to create these amazing stories.

What was your first job in the industry? What did it teach you?

My first jobs in the industry were on the other side of the camera as an actor. While I still jump back and in front of the camera now and then for projects it really helped me understand direction and people. How do I as a director help the actors bring the story to life and convey my vision in a way that makes sense. I think being on the other side and hearing how other directors directed me help me understand the things that I need to do or not do to get the best story out of actors and even interviewees that might have never been in front of a camera before.

What project are you most proud to have worked on?

I would say getting to direct LeVar Burton on a promo for the Scripps National Spelling Bee. He is someone that I grew up with watching reading rainbow and Star Trek and is someone that really didn’t need much direction from me. He was a gracious professional and I loved getting to work with him to shape that promo.

What’s the most challenging part about your job and/or the industry?

I think the most challenging but also best part about my job or the industry is the creative problem solving. We are creating stories from scratch and in the end coming out with something that was not in the world before. Video production is a team effort and everyone’s input is valid and navigating the through line to the finished piece can be challenging. If you surround yourself with a great team willing to try new things then the challenging parts feel exciting. As cheesy as it sounds, it is like a treasure hunt and discovering the gold is thrilling.

What do you look for to determine excellence in video?

First I always look for is the story cohesive and can I or would the audience it is speaking to connect to the story. Then I look at the quality of the craft and does it support the story. That doesn’t mean it has to be perfect just does it distract from the story or support it. I want a great video to bring me into its world and hold my attention.

What are your current roles and responsibilities and what do you love most about your job?

One of my favorite things is building the team to tell the story. Creative problem solving at its best. I also enjoy the ideation phase but then seeing the video emerge from a small idea and blossom into a full story. Seeing the through line of the beginning where nothing was and then having a full fledged piece at the end.

What initiatives or projects are you working on now that excite you?

Always our documentaries and bringing to light a story from a non-profit that needs to be told.

Do you have any specific practices you lean on to spark creativity?

For me to spark creativity sometimes it is to just sit and be quiet with my thoughts. Block distractions and just be in a quiet place. Then I move into writing things down into a notebook. That physical action helps me to follow the next idea and even allows me to come back to something when I am out in the world and an idea strikes. Writing with a pen or pencil connects my brain to the page and that act of physically doing something about my idea makes it real even though more development needs to happen.

What inspired you to pursue your career path?

When I was an actor I enjoyed the creativity and telling the story from that side of things. I think that sparked something inside of me to go deeper into the process and how stories are fully brought to life. The years of understanding and training on what motivated whatever character I was playing transitioned into how will this story I am creating motivate this audience to take action.

In your experience, what is a significant change you are seeing happen in the video, television, and/or film industry, and what insight can you share about how to navigate it?

Everyone is talking about AI and how AI is changing the industry. While I believe that is true and AI is here to stay I think as creators and storytellers we need to use it as a tool that helps us create better and tell better stories. Just like the advancements that we have seen in cameras and VFX over the years that have changed and shaped our industry all of these things are tools to create. You still need to be the creator that helps navigate the tools that we have available and I feel like using AI to support a story is fine as long as it does not distract from your story. Come from a place of authenticity and let’s shape how we want AI to help our creativity and not allow it to control our creativity.