From Student to Teacher to Entrepreneur | Jamiel Moss’s TFS Journey

When Jamiel Moss graduated as valedictorian of Toronto Film School’s Graphic Design & Interactive Media program in 2016, he couldn’t have predicted that just five years later he’d be back in the same classrooms – this time as an instructor.

Returning to TFS with industry experience behind him, Moss brought real-world insight to the front of the room, helping students to navigate the realities of a creative career.

Today, the Caledon-based entrepreneur leads Captiv8 Media, a video production company rooted in the same principles that shaped his time at TFS: building relationships, embracing change, and giving back.

Finding Direction

Moss’ TFS journey was one that started with uncertainty. After four years studying Marketing at the University of Guelph, he asked himself: ‘What am I going to be able to do after this? What am I going to be able to offer employers?’

It was then that he decided it might be a good idea to go back to school to learn the “visual side” of marketing as a complement to all the theory he was taught during his degree studies in Guelph. When he began looking at his options, he found the Graphic Design & Interactive Media program at TFS – and its 12-month, hands-on format appealed to him.

“I definitely gravitated more towards the creative classes – we had a Photoshop class, we had an InDesign class where we learned page layout, we had a branding class where we got to work on logos and that kind of stuff,” he said.

“There was also a capstone class, where they pulled in a real client that we got to work with. I thought that was really cool, because you got to have that experience of actually talking with clients and getting to figure out their goals and what you can do on the design front to help them accomplish those goals, which was a really great experience.”

Building Experience

Just a week after finishing his studies at TFS, Moss got his first job at a marketing agency, where he had the opportunity to learn the ropes while being “surrounded by a lot of creatives.”

“There were other designers there at all levels – junior, intermediate and senior. We also had art directors and creative directors, so that was the perfect place to start out,” he recalled.

Over the next five years, he went on to move through different agency roles, taking on progressively more responsibilities, before landing in an in-house position at a parent company for downtown restaurants.

“That was a great opportunity, because I had a lot of responsibility there. There were no other creatives there, it was just me, so it was great to have that kind of progression,” he explained, noting that that job ended after six months when COVID shutdowns eliminated the work he was doing.

“But the whole time I was working at all of these jobs, I was also freelancing and doing stuff on the side. I was dabbling with photo and video and developing that skillset – all of which helped me get my business to where it is right now.”

Returning to TFS as an Instructor

In 2021, a friend from TFS mentioned in a group chat that Graphic Design & Interactive Media Program Director Pheinixx Paul was looking for instructors, and Moss decided to reach out.

“I knew her well, because she’d taught me a couple of classes, so I reached out and let her know what I’d been up to and what I felt I’d be good at teaching,” he explained.

“I think it shows the importance of relationships, because I didn’t apply to this job. It’s because of the relationship I had with the person that helped me get the opportunity.”

For Moss, teaching at TFS after being a student just five years earlier proved to be a full-circle moment – and one with its own learning curve.

“When I first started, it took me a little bit to find my voice…I really had to start getting creative with what exercises and activities I chose related to what the lesson was,” he said. “So, it took me a bit to get there, but for me, I always liked teaching. I feel like it’s a form of giving back.”

Over his four and a half years with TFS, Moss taught Identity Design, Studio Practices, and Career Development – the latter of which was his favourite to teach.

“When students are in their last semesters, that’s the point where I felt I could really give them some insight into how they can differentiate themselves as designers and how they can get hired,” he said. “That’s why it was my favourite.”

Launching Captiv8 Media

When it came time for Moss to break out on his own and launch Captiv8 Media, he looked to his mortgage broker dad and real estate mom as examples of what self-employment could offer.

“Growing up, I just saw the flexibility and the freedom that came with that, so it was something I always had an interest in,” he explained, noting that he also recognized he needed some industry experience under his belt before going it on his own.

When he first launched Captiv8 Media in January 2021, he initially wanted it to be a “one-stop shop marketing company” that could handle almost every aspect of marketing for its clients.

But after getting hired repeatedly for photo and video jobs, he decided to make that his focus, investing in better camera equipment and refocusing his website.

Today, Moss reports that 90 per cent of his work is B2B – helping businesses connect with their audiences through video content. Projects range from internal training videos for factories to large events requiring multiple videographers and photographers. He currently works with four trusted contractors and is considering bringing someone on staff part-time or full-time.

Watch his demo reel HERE.

Lessons from TFS

Looking back now, Moss credits his time as a student at TFS with teaching him many of the practical business skills he uses daily.

One of the biggest takeaways that’s helped him both in the past as a freelancer and now as a business owner, he said, was about how to price your projects.

“I remember my instructors talking about pricing and pricing your projects and going through a base rate versus hourly…Because of that, I never did hourly pricing, because I remembered a couple of the teachers talking about base rates being the way to go.”

And that, he said, is something he never would have learned if not for all of his instructors at TFS being industry professionals: “That’s a big reason why they’re able to share those kinds of insights, those little things – because they’re out there doing the work themselves. And that’s something I tried to bring to the classroom as a working professional, as well.”

Moss’ advice for students centers on three principles:

• Relationships: “I do really think in this life, it’s all about who you know. The relationships you have with people in this industry can help create a lot of opportunities. I’ve gotten work just from referrals, and these are people who haven’t even seen my work. But they’re interested in working with me because of the person who referred me to them, because they have that level of trust.”
• Service: “There’s so many people who can do what you do – there’s so many videographers out there, so many video agencies out there. But people want to work with me, and I think that’s because of the level of care and customer service that I offer.”
• Adaptability: “Being open to change and to pivoting is important in this industry. I started out as a designer and I pivoted a little bit to photo and video, because I just found there are a few more opportunities there for me. So, you need to be open to change. Same goes with AI: Learn it, change with it, grow with it, try and figure out how it can help you with your work, your design, so you still are valuable.”

Moving Forward

As Captiv8 Media continues to gain momentum, Moss has chosen to focus his energy where it’s needed most – stepping away from the classroom to create the necessary space to keep building his business with intention.

“There’s just not enough hours in the day,” he said, noting that balancing his growing business with his teaching responsibilities eventually became unsustainable.

While his role at Toronto Film School has come to a close for now, the mindset Moss shaped within the walls of its classrooms – first as a student, and then as an instructor – continues to guide the next chapter of his career.

Follow Captiv8 Media on Instagram HERE.