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I would rather break myself than wait and watch the world break me

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awe

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Thank you for answering these questions so honestly and being so open <3

How do you keep your work sustainable? Like how do you manage burnout? And how do you allow yourself breaks? This has been a difficult question for me to ask myself as an artist and I would really appreciate your advice as a filmmaker I look up to. Thank you!!

Of course, there were quite a few directors and cinematographers that were really open with me when I was younger I think it's important to pass on the info.

I think really recently I've been learning how to take breaks. I used to just be someone who just worked nonstop all the time and never really thought about breaks until it was too late and I burned out badly. Especially on Sundays now I make it a point not to work. I think especially if you're freelance, adding some sort of structure to your day so you have "work hours" is helpful. Most people can tell you that freelance really has no hours and you can work until midnight or past that every night if you don't put some guide-rails on it. I (try to) work starting at 8-9 every morning, have a lunch "break", and probably end my work day around 6-7pm. At that point usually my brain is too fried to do anything else meaningful anyways so maybe i'll draw, listen to music, go on a walk, go get some food, watch a movie, catch up with a friend, etc.

That's just what's been working for me ~

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Hey Ayo, I was recently told that if I don’t go to college for filmmaking I wouldn’t have the financial security to truly peruse my career. However, I believe that if take this path of consistency and curiosity for the love of my craft within my field I can achieve this security they’d urge me to have.

I was wondering how was it like surviving in the filmmaking space financially in the beginning and what is one thing you wish you knew starting out?

I went to university for film and I think it's a waste of time & money. A degree in film doesn't guarantee you anything - it's all about your skill and portfolio. Truth is there's no promise of security with or without a degree, you just need to be determined enough to see it through.

If I could go back in time I would tell myself to get some sort of stable part time/full time job that I could work to pay for my base expenses. Having that, you can spend a lot more time on each project. I really do think to break out of the "survival" freelance stage of work you need to break through with one or two really strong pieces of work. I think that's easier to do when you have a small bit of financial stability.

I just moved to LA with a few thousand saved and just worked and struggled and figured it out. Wouldn't recommend what I did, it was slightly reckless but I think that if you make your mind up that you're not going to quit you'll get where you want eventually. Much love ~

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hey! deeply love your work. it’s really cool to watch someone with such a unique and distinctive voice/style

i wanted to ask what your journey of finding your voice was like? and what are some tips that you’d give to another filmmaker trying to find his voice. thank you <3

Thank you ~

I think it was a natural process over the past few years of emulating director's visual styles that I liked and seeing if it resonated with me. I've done videos that are more colorful, had intense editing, I've done black and white videos, I've done videos with vfx/sfx. I also think watching music videos and films over the years and then finding what I continually return to has been important.

I would just say to try things and follow what excites you in the moment. Every once in a while you'll find something that really strikes a chord with you - hold onto it and keep going. It's still an ongoing journey for me and I think the look of what I do will evolve naturally over time.

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do you find the environment on set more stressful/chaotic when working on larger projects? or are you at a point where ur pretty comfortable in your role no matter how big or small the project is?

I think being on set is always stressful to a degree. Something I'm always working on is finding ways to operate that give more freedom and make the set feel like an open space to express. I really do think the director sets the tone, so if I walk in extremely worried and in a bad mood - it'll rub off on everyone else. I try and usually get there much earlier than needed, feel like it takes some of the edge of shoot day off ~

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u fye. i cant wait to see what you do next. ill be watching <3

Very much looking forward to this next year

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can u share what budget were for some of ur stuff? and what having more $ has done to either level up or expand ideas.

Dm me saying you're from tumblr I got you ~

Budget just gives you access to more/bigger crew. Especially being able to work with a good cinematographer and producer. I would say those are the most important partnerships for a director. The truth is, there's never enough money. I've seen a project with 1k and there wasn't enough, and I've seen projects with 100k and there wasn't enough. It's all about what you do with it, and as a director, conceptualizing an idea that can be well executed within the limits of your resources.

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1. love your collabs with joy_divizn. how or what do you use to create that vintage effect like in his recent black and white short film?

2. last question how can i get in a position to work with big movie companies?

love ur films, thanks man

1 - Thanks, that's his thing so I can't really give that info out

2 - In terms of working with a production company my advice would be to get together with your friends and go all in on a video project. Show that around and see what work you can get based off of making that. You'll naturally start getting bigger and bigger budgets and productions as your work improves over the years. Some people figure it out really quickly but it's taken me a few years. Be persistent and determined but still patient ~

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How do you find your place in the creative world is it too late to even try to make it to your level or beyond

Make things you believe in, try and connect with people whose work inspires you.

Everyone's journey is different

It's never too late - make your mind up about it and don't quit. You only lose when you quit

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I’ve recently became close with a very talented artist with virtually no audience. It frustrates me that such creative music is going unnoticed. He wants to stay true to himself and not force promotion. But I fear that it’s only way to break through the masses of low quality music. Do you agree that to some extent it’s not about the music/visuals quality and you are at the mercy of these algorithms ?

This is a question me and my friends talk about constantly.

Context is important. There's a lot of great music or video work that is created and or released in a bubble. I could make the best music video in the world but without the right context or momentum it could sit on YouTube with no views for years - or forever.

I think great quality work has been forgotten or pushed to the wayside Maybe because artists who care are tied down by what they feel is having integrity. It's unfortunate the way the system is set up now, but if you're not willing to understand and adapt to what the current landscape is, you can't really complain about not having results.

When I say "you" I don't mean You but just anyone in this situation. The thing I told myself last year that helped me an immeasurable amount was this - If you're not where you want to be, you're not doing everything right. So for me it just made me deconstruct my approach and start looking at people that maybe before I would've written off and try and understand what they were doing that I wasn't.

I think that's the main thing - always seeking understanding - be curious. Pick things apart. Don't be upset that people like something you think is bad - ask why they do, and don't stop at the surface answer.

Ok one other piece - I think scenes matter - especially in music. There are physical scenes and there are online scenes. Almost every artist I can think of comes up through/with a scene or wave of music. Those are organic and non "content-y" ways to push forward. Sorry if none of this is directly addressing what you're asking it's a complex thing.

If tiktok gets banned next month things will change a lot and I think for the better but who knows.

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are there any forms of media (film, mvs, video games, etc.) that you still reference or consider apart of ur personal aesthetic??

also i love ur willingness to answer questions in depth; really cool of u

I look at lots of paintings every day - mostly old Christian/Catholic works.

2010's music videos are probably my favorite aesthetically, but I think the late 90s had some of the best videos overall.

Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Skyrim, Halo, started playing RuneScape again. I think as simple as it sounds I've really just been trying to find what I connect with and just let that naturally bleed through what I'm doing - I'm a chronic overthinker so trying to do that a tiny bit less.

And no problem I'm feeling pretty chatty today so ask away ~

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as editor to editor / what software u use for editing and why / how your work process goes / what , who motivate you / where or how did you studied this craft //// ur works is amazing btw , really into new sah mv

Adobe Premiere Pro

I grew up using Windows Movie Maker, then Sony Vegas for a few years. I switched when I was around 17 just because I had seen on YouTube that it was "more professional" or something. Have used it ever since and think it's pretty standard.

So process with a music video is I'll take one day to sync all the performance takes (for the Sah video there was something like 28) and do a selects timeline for b-roll. So I'll look through literally all of the footage picking out any useable moment I see and getting familiar with it. Next day I'll do a cut of only the performance takes, trying to find a rhythm introducing the setups and picking the strongest performance moments. Then I'll add b-roll on top of the performance sequence and start actually finding the edit of the video. (I honestly think this is what a lot of my friends do also)

From there I'll go through tons of versions of the edit. Me and Trey (who directed the Sah video) did 3 calls for a few hours each where we just pushed and pushed the edit a lot, trying different things until he was happy with every moment.

Um in terms of study I learned almost everything I know from YouTube videos and just trial and error in terms of the technical skill. The feel/taste for things is just something that develops over time as you watch a ton of stuff and start paying attention to edits. I've always edited growing up, it was just something I did because it was part of making videos - but I didn't become an editor for work until this year.

A director I look up was the one who suggested that I do it - I'm very glad that he did.

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I feel bounded and limited to opportunities in the filmmaking medium due to my location. I currently have important eyes on my work at the moment, however I’m out of reach to connect and work with these people and I’d like to change that. Not to say you know the exact answer, but what is an ideal approach going forth into new territory as an independent filmmaker?

Love your Work

Thanks!

I've strangely been thinking about this sort of thing a lot recently.

Where you live is honestly really important. The internet is great but there's so much you get from just a single in person conversation with someone that you can never get via dm. There's so many opportunities I've had from living in New York (a few years ago) and now living in LA. You could be a brilliant artist but people cant connect with you past an online presence because maybe you're in a small town or something. I think (speaking for myself) it's hard to trust people just based on an online presence versus having dinner or a real conversation and getting to know them in person.

I also think you learn a lot just from being in and around the scene/business you're interested in. I'm from a smaller town in Texas and there was no film industry where I grew up. Would strongly recommend moving to a city where the film industry is central if you can. Much Love ~