James began his interest in filmmaking while in school, shooting skateboarding videos of his friends. He was inspired to work in the film industry after seeing production at Universal Studios and Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando, Florida. After graduating high school he enrolled in film production at Trident Technical College in Charleston, SC. While at Trident, James worked as a Script Supervisor on various projects and received additional experience during his training on the TV series Army Wives under Thom Rainey.