Nole Balaniz Creates Brand Films
Nole Balaniz is the owner of Thunder Hawk Productions, a Wilmington-based film production company focused on cinematic “brand films.”
For Nole, the goal isn’t to create traditional commercials. It’s to tell stories.
“We’re not gonna make a commercial or infomercial. We’re gonna make a movie about your business,” he said. “Anything we create will have a compelling story and cinematic feel.”
From Film School to First Job
Nole originally went to film school in Winston-Salem. That’s where the idea of owning his own production company first started to take shape.
“I’ve known I’ve wanted to make a company like this since I can remember. I just didn’t know exactly when or how,” he said. “I read a lot of books about entrepreneurship when I was in college.”
After graduation, he took a corporate job in Georgia.
“I mostly sat at a desk, editing. I would only shoot about five percent of the time,” he said. “It was a good first job, but it really made me realize I wanted to be my own boss.”
So he made a plan.
“I lived in the cheapest place I could find. I saved all my money, and I used it to buy a camera. And I was dead broke.”
Why Wilmington
Still from The Wolf of Wilmington.
“I always knew I wanted it to take place in Wilmington,” he said. “I was halfway through writing it and thought, man, it’d be so much easier to write this if I were living in Wilmington. So that’s when I decided to make the move.”
The connection to the city had been building for years. His best friend, Jake, an actor who attended UNCW, introduced him to the area.
“I kind of just slowly fell in love with Wilmington,” Nole said. “The community here is incredible. There’s so much networking, business clubs, and everyone is very personable. It’s a tight-knit community, and businesses refer each other.”
Finding CFCC
After moving, Nole enrolled in business classes at Cape Fear Community College while working a kitchen job downtown to pay his bills. He knew that if he was serious about building a company, he needed to understand more than just cameras and editing.
When that job ended unexpectedly, it forced a decision.
“I had that job to keep the bills paid while I was getting my business started,” he said. “But honestly, after I got let go, I was kind of like, well, I might as well focus on my business.”
Around that time, Nole was taking classes with Business Instructor Ben Shaw, who encouraged him to connect with the CFCC Small Business Center.
Through the center, Nole met with Jerry Coleman.
“He really helped me with my business plan and the trajectory of my business,” Nole said.
That guidance gave structure to what had started as an idea. Instead of simply taking on video projects, Nole began intentionally positioning Thunder Hawk Productions around cinematic storytelling.
A Different Approach to Film
In a crowded digital space, Nole believes audiences are quick to scroll past traditional ads.
“When somebody pitches me a commercial, I don’t want to have some guy standing in front of the store saying, ‘Hey, buy my stuff,'” he said. “Especially in this era where we get so many ads all the time.”
Instead, he focuses on the story, visuals, and atmosphere.
“To cut through the noise and ‘AI slop,’ you need something truly special that the audience will remember and connect with.”
One year after connecting with the Small Business Center, Nole is focused on growing Thunder Hawk Productions and staying true to his vision.
“My goal is to create work that is intentional and personal,” he said. “I feel like that’s what businesses are searching for.”
Small Business Center
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