World Traveler: Harrison Hughes

As a freelance filmmaker and photographer, Harrison Hughes travels the world. Through the company he started, Black Mountain Photo + Cinema, this University of Mobile graduate has shot promos and commercials in Italy, Greece, Germany, Iceland, Cuba, Russia, the Caribbean and all across the United States for different brands.

“We have shot at famous studios in Nashville as well as concerts at Red Rocks amphitheater in Denver, Colorado,” he says. “Black Mountain has worked with Tim Tebow, The Harlem Globetrotters, Beth Moore, Toby Keith, the Tennessee Titans, K-Love Radio, Casting Crowns, Tenth Avenue North, The Guinness World Records, FedEx, National Geographic, Lifeway, politicians, authors, dozens of churches, as well as Nashville bands and artists.“

Harrison took his first steps on this remarkable journey as a student at the University of Mobile where he was a member of RamCorps, a traveling brass and percussion ensemble in the Alabama School of the Arts.

“We played over 150 shows and worship services each year, which consisted of traveling across the Southeast. RamCorps instilled in me the value of hard work and taught me how to travel well. Creating videos for them gave me the experience I needed to land a production job in Nashville after I graduated. My closest friends and some of my fondest memories came from traveling and performing with RamCorps,” he says.

Q. Tell us about your typical workday.

A. I recently took on the position of film director for a large corporate company called Heyday. Heyday owns several brands, and I create marketing material and promo videos for many of those brands. With Heyday, some days consist of shooting outdoor lifestyle stills for a drinkware company, Ironflask, while other days are spent in Los Angeles studios filming videos for Eva Longoria’s cookware company. 

My main focus is a flyfishing brand, Moonshine Rod Co. Creating content for them usually consists of flying to gorgeous and often remote places to produce content, like a hype video in Maui. With Moonshine Rods, I have been able to capture content in Iceland, Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, Florida, North Carolina and Wyoming. 

When I’m not traveling, I’m home editing. My first short film was accepted in an international film festival, as well as a nationwide flyfishing film festival. Story-driven content is something I look forward to doing more of in the future, and another one is coming soon with a future film from our recent trip to Maui!

Q. What are your greatest accomplishments?

A. My greatest accomplishment is marrying Haley in 2015. We worked FUGE Camps together where she was the director and I was the video producer. She worked as an event coordinator at Lifeway for several years before taking on the wedding side of Black Mountain full time and absolutely loving it! We had our daughter, Charlie Knox, and she has changed our world in all of the best possible ways. We are excited to put a camera in her hand one day!

Q. How did your time at UM prepare you? 

A. At many other college campuses, I feel like you are just part of a massive herd. My wife went to a large state school and talks about being in biology class with 500 people and never having a single conversation with the professor. At the University of Mobile, I felt known and appreciated. My friends became family.  Even years after graduation, we still talk every day and try to all meet up every year. The professors called out my strengths, and I was even able to create videos as my final for several courses. 

Q. What advice would you give to prospective UM students?

A. The best advice I could give students is to PLUG IN. Get involved in everything you can. I met the best people on the planet because I went to Ram Rush, participated in campus life activities, and joined several music groups. Get all your work and studying done, but do not miss out on the social aspect of college. Those were some of the best times of my life.