WILL GATES

A veteran film director from Chicago's south side, Englewood neighborhood. Even though Gates’s upbringing was surrounded around gang violence and drug dealers, it was his exposure to the movie Belly that he discovered his love and passion for film. The realism that Belly portrayed drew Gates towards studying cinematography at Columbia College Chicago with a focus on directing. While attending college, Gates was mentored by Ron Pitts, the first African American cinematographer in Chicago. With a degree in film and mentorship experience with Mr. Pitts, Gates is now confident to expand his services into the film and entertainment industry.
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In 2003 Gates founded Chicago Version, a DVD magazine that produced, filmed, and manufactured under his film company Open World Films. Chicago Vision’s success propelled him into the center of the hip-hop world exposing his work to artists like Kanye West, The Game, Common, and even R&B singer John Legend. Gate’s DVD magazine was a success, selling well over 10,000 independent copies. This motivated him to use his capital and industry relationships to invest in quality equipment, resulting in him becoming a household name in the Chicago music scene.
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Gates has directed over 800 music videos to this day, working with Chance the Rapper, Rick Ross, Gucci Mane, Meek Mill, and many more established artists. Several of Will Gates' works have been nationally televised on BET, MTV, and 106 N PARK. Aside from his success as a video director, he has also made his transition into television by producing several episodes of Drugs INC for National Geographic. Gates has also produced for a German television show which earned him a Deutscher Fernsehpreis nomination in 2018. Most recently Gates has produced for a new series on Netflix called Dope. With years of experience and an ambition to always learn, now is the time for William Gates to make his debut on a feature-length film.
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SERVICES:
MUSIC VIDEOS, SHORT FILMS, FEATURE FILMS, COMMERCIALS, ADVERTISING, DOCUMENTARIES, CORPORATE VIDEOS, PHOTOGRAPHY.

A veteran film director from Chicago's south side, Englewood neighborhood. Even though Gates’s upbringing was surrounded around gang violence and drug dealers, it was his exposure to the movie Belly that he discovered his love and passion for film. The realism that Belly portrayed drew Gates towards studying cinematography at Columbia College Chicago with a focus on directing. While attending college, Gates was mentored by Ron Pitts, the first African American cinematographer in Chicago. With a degree in film and mentorship experience with Mr. Pitts, Gates is now confident to expand his services into the film and entertainment industry.
‍
In 2003 Gates founded Chicago Version, a DVD magazine that produced, filmed, and manufactured under his film company Open World Films. Chicago Vision’s success propelled him into the center of the hip-hop world exposing his work to artists like Kanye West, The Game, Common, and even R&B singer John Legend. Gate’s DVD magazine was a success, selling well over 10,000 independent copies. This motivated him to use his capital and industry relationships to invest in quality equipment, resulting in him becoming a household name in the Chicago music scene.
‍
Gates has directed over 800 music videos to this day, working with Chance the Rapper, Rick Ross, Gucci Mane, Meek Mill, and many more established artists. Several of Will Gates' works have been nationally televised on BET, MTV, and 106 N PARK. Aside from his success as a video director, he has also made his transition into television by producing several episodes of Drugs INC for National Geographic. Gates has also produced for a German television show which earned him a Deutscher Fernsehpreis nomination in 2018. Most recently Gates has produced for a new series on Netflix called Dope. With years of experience and an ambition to always learn, now is the time for William Gates to make his debut on a feature-length film.
‍
SERVICES:
MUSIC VIDEOS, SHORT FILMS, FEATURE FILMS, COMMERCIALS, ADVERTISING, DOCUMENTARIES, CORPORATE VIDEOS, PHOTOGRAPHY.

OPEN WORLD FILMS LLC