Latest / The MOOD Podcast / A Look into Creative Pursuits & Triumphs with Julia Kursten, E024

Transcript

A Look into Creative Pursuits & Triumphs with Julia Kursten, E024 · The MOOD Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: On this episode of the Mood podcast, I talked with Julia Kirsten.
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Julia is a friend of a friend here in Bali and has been growing rapidly in the video creation space over the last 6-12 months.
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: She's young, ambitious and infectiously buoyant, with her own professional path and general personal demeanour.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: So it was a lot of fun to have her on, but we did touch upon some important topics For Julia.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: The importance of women in filmmaking and digital art arenas cannot be understated, and we discussed difficulties and challenges that women face when pursuing such a vocation.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: We also traversed the subjects of social media once again, the potential effects of AI, importance of community and the power and need of meaningful cause and purposes.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: So here she is, julia Kirsten.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: Who are you, what do you do and why are you here?
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: I'm Julia.
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: I'm a filmmaker from Austria originally, but I've been travelling the world like the last one and a half years, so that's been quite fun.
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: A lot has happened since then.
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: I don't know.
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: Why am I here?
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: Tell me, what do you want to talk to me?
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: What's interesting about me?
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: That's the answer I was looking for.
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: I asked that to pretty much everyone and they give their own answers like oh, actually it was me that wanted you on.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: Well, I think it's there's a few reasons I wanted you on Me.
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: My wife met you the other week and said she would be perfect for the podcast.
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: So then I started following you and obviously love all your content and anyone who's you know good at that kind of stuff videography, photography, any.
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: Actually, we're kind of trying to branch out into other artists as well not Nestle in the visual art space, but yeah, why not?
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: It's a privilege to have someone as talented as you are on the show.
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: So thank you so much for coming.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: Thanks for having me, julia.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: What's your last name?
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: Kirsten, yeah.
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: Okay, and your Instagram handle.
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: Julia, kirsten Julia.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: Kirsten.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: Okay, Tell us about and this was the other reason I wanted you on, tell us about women in this space and how much of a challenge that has been for you, if anything, when it comes to filmmaking.
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: I mean, it definitely has been a challenge.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: With filmmaking, I feel like it's even more like even harder than with photography.
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: There's a lot of like really amazingly talented people, photographers, in the street and they all do super well, but with filmmaking I feel like for some reason, it's still insanely male dominated, like at the moment in the travel industry, the nine men, there's literally two girls to do it and I don't know a hundred thousand men.
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: So it's quite mental.
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: I feel like in some parts, it might be helpful for me as well, because I feel like some brands now recognize that there, like there is a lack of women.
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: So they're like okay, maybe we should get one involved, but at the same time, I feel like most of them don't really think about it.
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: So when I am on a shoot, it's always me and the boys.
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: This, basically, is like my entire life now, which I don't mind at all, but I know that a lot of women would struggle with and wouldn't be too comfortable with, which is also why I feel like most women wouldn't really get into it.
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, I've.
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: For me, personally, I haven't really had too much of a problem with it, but I would just love to see more women in it, because they just don't have a voice in filmmaking at the moment, or at least not enough.
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: So there's two parts to this question, but first part being kind of how you how did you get into filmmaking?
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: And second part being why do you think it is the case that more women haven't taken the same path that you have?
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: So for me personally, like I started out as a photographer, which I loved, but then for some reason like very, very quickly ended up being in this bubble of filmmakers because I always had like like more male friends, I guess.
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: So that kind of happened naturally in a way, and then I started filming a little bit.
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: I like I don't know if you know, Clay a life like the wind.
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: Finn shot quite a bit with him.
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: He's really, really talented.
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: And I met him on a trip in Jordan and then he invited me out to come to Cappadocia with him on this big film project and I was just surrounded by so many, so many insanely talented filmmakers and photographers and was kind of like I feel like I do want to do video as well.
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: And that was literally like last August, so a year ago, when I decided maybe, maybe I should get into video.
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: And I think it was mainly because the people that were around me were so good at what they were doing, and what they managed to make out of something that looked so basic with your pure eye was just so cool to me.
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: So it was more the, the creativity from something that looked kind of mundane.
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and then they did like the weirdest moves and you're just like what the hell is this?
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: And then you look at what they put together in the edit and you're just like, holy smokes, that's cool.
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I do love that.
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: The majority of it, you know.
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: Whatever that is filmmaking, photography, stuff a lot of it now is the skill and the talent in the post processing.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: Right you can.
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: You can truly enhance what would I guess considered be an average shot or an average clip or video into something truly incredible, right.
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: What?
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: What about photography then?
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: So photography came first.
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: Why did you get into that?
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: What was it about photography that kind of sparked your interest?
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: I actually I'm going to like start with a hold back on so from this, because I started out doing something completely different.
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: Like literally two years ago, I was working in marketing, studying nutritional sciences.
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: I did nothing creative whatsoever.
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: I was in front of the camera quite a lot, so I was modeling in New York and Germany, but it was so insanely toxic but I was missing like something more.
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: I felt like I already achieved everything in life, basically Like my family was so happy with what it was doing.
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: I had like great income just having these tiles of being a CEO.
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: And then I was at this female empowerment startup.
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: So I was 19 back then and I was like kind of finished life, so it was.
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: It was crazy, I felt like just.
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: I was done with it, which was awesome, but at the same time I just got bored of it and then I was like, well, in the creative industry, I feel like there's so much more that's happening, and from being in front of the camera, I started like just taking a few photos myself and started to love it, because you have so much more just say in what's what's going to be the end result, whereas when you're just in front of it and then I just saw that there's so many creators out there that do such insane things like all over the world, and that the possibilities basically are endless, and I think I just needed a new challenge.
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: So I think that's how I got into it, because it's just like possibilities are never ending.
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: With photography, you can do whatever, you can change your style whenever you want to and you're not just stuck in that one job that you have.
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: I know I just felt like I was done.
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: As a freelancer does, is the flip side that you know you don't have necessarily that security and you know you kind of have to fend for yourself.
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: Essentially Do you experience that a lot?
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: Oh for sure I do feel.
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: I mean, sometimes I kind of miss the security of just knowing I have a stable income.
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: Family was always super happy because they knew like okay, she's safe, she's done, like awesome, whereas now it's obviously like way more of a thrill.
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: You don't really know how much you're going to earn each month, you don't really know what's happening if you get sick and you can't do a few jobs, but I feel like it's so worth it.
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: I'm literally living my dream.
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: I do want to love every single day, and I don't really know how that's my life and how I'm allowed to like call this my job, because it literally just feels like a dream.
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: How did your family react when you wanted to pivot into photography?
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah, they were not a fan of it at all.
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: I mean, to be fair, if I was a parent and my kid would just start something that just feel very insecure to me, I would be a little scared for my child, I guess, especially since, like for them, it's like in their head they don't really understand what I'm doing even now, because I think for them that was never like an option.
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: My family is quite traditional, like they're all doctors, my brother's in law, so they're all really successful but quite traditional people.
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: So for me to just start traveling around with my camera and being a freelancer, I think it was quite a big shock and they're all very protective of me, which is awesome.
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: But in the beginning they were like, okay, our little daughter is alone in this world.
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: So I think by now they're kind of understanding that it's actually working out very well for me.
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: But in the beginning they were definitely not a fan of it, which was sad, because I think in the beginning I kind of started to lose a little bit of the relationship with my parents because they just really wanted me to go back to where I was in life.
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: But we're getting back, so that's awesome, that's sweet.
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: I think that that gap in understanding plays a big kind of barrier to relationship, especially with parents and children, if they can't empathize because they don't really understand that industry.
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: They want stability for their kids.
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: They want their kids to be healthy, stable, happy right.
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: Exactly.
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: It doesn't kind of work that way anymore, but good for you.
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: Did you feel like that was an extra barrier that you had to kind of break down, as well as female photography, female filmmaker and constantly kind of trying to prove yourself to others?
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: For sure, especially because I come also from a modeling background.
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: Everyone always just saw me as a model and on one of my first big jobs, they wanted me to be in front of the camera so much.
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: And I was like, well, actually I'm a filmmaker and I feel like that's a lot of like, that's a struggle that a lot of female filmmakers will have because there's no other girl on set.
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: People love having girls in front of the camera because they can move their hair, play with the dress or whatever, and they love being in front of the camera.
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: But if I'm hired as a filmmaker, I want to be taken seriously as a filmmaker and not be in front of the camera like 80% of the time.
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, that's a big struggle for sure.
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: And yeah, the thing with, like, my friends and family was definitely a barrier for me too, because I'm like, I'm a very, very social person and if I like you or love you, it's like with all my heart.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: So when I started like having a little bit of like resistance from my family and my friends and we were like what the hell is she doing?
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: Obviously that kind of like hurt me and made me feel a little insecure about what I was doing, but I also knew that I kind of had to not think about it and do my thing.
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: Otherwise I think I would have never been happy back home, if I.
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: I mean, obviously they would have probably been a little happier.
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: But I like that.
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: I need to be selfish right now, and I think by now they're so happy that I actually live my dream life and they see me living life to the fullest.
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: So it was worth it.
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah, they just want you to be happy at the end of the day.
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, hopefully most parents do that's all they want.
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: They want their kids just to be happy.
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: So what does happiness mean to you?
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: For me personally, I think the biggest part since I am an empath and I love people is just having an amazing community around yourself, which, by now I do, like everyone, is insanely supportive, helps each other out, so that's one of the things that's super important to me.
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: Then, obviously, like having just stability in your life, like I don't really care about making huge amounts of money, but just knowing that you can do fun things and not have to worry and surprise your friends with something.
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: That's something that makes me feel so rich, even though I'm not, but just because I don't have to like think about it too much.
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: Different form of wealth.
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: Right, that's wealthy in an emotional sense, exactly.
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think my biggest success is just that I'm surrounded by the most passionate, talented people in the world, which is awesome.
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: Well, how do you define success?
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: I mean you talked about your family all being sound, incredibly intelligent family being doctors and lawyers.
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: That's their version of success.
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: What is your version of success?
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: It is different to happiness, right?
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: I guess so yeah.
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: Or is success just achieving happiness?
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: In a way, yeah, 100%.
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: If I'm successful, I want to be happy, I want to make sure that the people around me are happy.
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: So I think, if I reckon right now, I would definitely say I'm successful, and a part of it definitely is that I managed to also not only make myself happy but make the people around me happy.
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: So I have the time to spend time with people, which I didn't really before, even though I was successful in marketing.
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: But for me, it's so important to also think about the people around me.
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: So at the moment I feel so successful because I managed to do my own business and manage to help other people out with what they're doing.
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: Spend time with fellow creators, colleagues, friends so, yeah, I guess that's success to me.
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: It's a lot about other people.
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you seem to be not a people pleaser in any way, but just a social person who enjoys the community.
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah, what is the define that word community for you?
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: Again, it has very different connotations depending on who you ask.
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: But if you think about community, what do you think about first?
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: What is it that that means to you?
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: I think the first image that pops into my mind right now is I don't know if you've seen it, but right now that we have this quite big house with this garden, we always have like every creator from Bali around, and all of them are also best.
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: I didn't get invited.
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: Next time.
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: Next time you have to be get a spateball, though.
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: Or paintball.
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, oh, is that your place?
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: Yeah, lots of videos from the guys.
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: So yeah, with that community, it's like some of them I've known like since I started doing this.
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: Which was it?
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: You know, your girls are not even that long, but whatever Others I've, I don't know.
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: I've known for like two days, but the community is like, the feeling of community is so insanely strong that everyone just feels like if someone would have a struggle, even though I've known him for like two hours, the entire community would come and pick you up and I've never felt this as strong as in Bali.
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: Like the community we have right now is so supportive and I think that's the main thing that, for me, community is about the support that you give each other and that's so beautiful here.
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: I totally agree.
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: We've experienced that in Bali, as well Come a spateball.
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I will Any kind of game.
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: I'm in Perfect.
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: I think Bali is, it's intrinsic to this island.
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: It just has this energy about it.
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: I was talking about this with Sophie, our last guest, and she's lived here for 27 years and that's the first thing that she said about Bali was the energy, and I think that is exuded through all the expats as well as the locals and the indigenous population.
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: I don't know, it's just contagious, right.
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: And then you just add in kind of those creative people anyway who are kind of naturally quite like that in the first place, and it's just a recipe for success.
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it is mental.
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: I do really feel like whoever comes here ends up not wanting to leave and feeling like the happiest day I've ever been.
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: I've had my friend Jacob over, like the other week, who came to visit us here, and he's a filmmaker as well Most amazing jobs.
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: He's one of the most talented people ever.
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: Is that Jacob?
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: As in Jacob on Instagram.
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: No, not that.
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: One Another friend he's also, but no, a fairy films.
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: I don't know if you know him.
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: He does a lot for beautiful destinations and works very closely with Tom Jonesy, whatever.
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: But he came here and then we had super nice deep talk and like one of my last evenings here, and he literally said that he's never felt as happy in his life and I feel like a lot of people that come and visit me here feel that, where they just say that they've never felt like so close to themselves as well as like to the people around them.
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: For some reason, bali does that.
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: But, whenever I come back, first of all, it always just feels like home, like so much more than Austria could ever do, and I always feel so grounded, which is awesome.
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: So I just feel, yeah, close to myself, close to everyone else, close to nature.
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: Bali's, I don't know, has a crazy energy about it, I guess.
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, good for you.
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: It certainly comes across just that happy, smiley person.
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: It's a pleasure to have you on Talk to me about your marketing.
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: I know, you know I guess you were pretty young when you left that space, but you're obviously very good at it.
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: How has marketing helped your growth as a photographer and now filmmaker?
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: It definitely helped a lot.
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: I feel like some filmmakers start out and they're so talented but they don't put out their work, which is a shame.
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: I've met so many people.
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: I was like you're so much better than me, like why do you have no work?
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: But it's literally you need to put out what you're doing, even if you feel like you could do better.
• 16:52
  Speaker 2: Everyone could always do better.
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: Just put that stuff out.
• 16:55
  Speaker 2: And also, for me, what helped me a lot is also putting out my personality, because people don't only put me for what I can do, but also for what I, what the energy I bring to sets, because people want to be around good people and have a good vibe on set when they're filming.
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: So I think your brand is not only about what you can produce, but also how you make the people around you feel.
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: So that's something that helped me so much is just also focusing on who I am as a person and not just as an artist, and people have been loving that and just working with Julia as the artist, as well as just having the energy of Julia.
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: So I feel like if you put your work out, do that, but also show your face, because people also just want to work with you.
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: Give me some specifics.
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: How do you actually do that Like in a kind of a pitching scenario, or do you mean more like a social media type platform?
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: Give me an example.
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: It's both Like a lot of people, if they would reach out to brands, they're going to send their work and that's it For me.
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: If I would reach out to brands, the first thing I do is I want to be in a call with you.
• 18:02
  Speaker 2: I want to show you who I am before you work with me and not just express myself through my work, which I feel like is so important.
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: So always make sure that other people get to know you, not just your work.
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: Like if you have a website, put something about you that people will be able to engage with that people.
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: That will make people feel something.
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: I feel like that's so important.
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: And when it comes to social media, I feel like a lot of people have been struggling, growing or just like reaching the right clients, and I feel like your work is awesome.
• 18:35
  Speaker 2: But sometimes it is good to show your face and show you are as well, because that's been helping me grow in social media so much, and now people know me for what I can do.
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: But they're also like, oh, that's that smiley Julia girl.
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: Like she seems so fun, we should have her on set.
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, it's good to have both.
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: What would you put down to sorry?
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: What kind of reason would you put down for your success on social media?
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: Or if you consider it a success, but you've obviously.
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: I mean you're over 100k followers, you get great engagement.
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: Obviously your content's amazing.
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: A lot of the time, content is not enough right.
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: It depends how you package that.
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: Maybe you add some personal stuff in there, maybe it is the techniques of kind of tapping into the algorithm with time, as opposed captions, length, trending music, etc.
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: Give us an idea of what you think has contributed to a good growth on social media.
• 19:34
  Speaker 2: I don't think too much about my captions or hashtags.
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: I add them, but there's nothing like major, as well as like the time I post.
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: I don't care too much.
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: I think the first thing is keep it fun, because if I don't want to edit, like I'm not going to do it, because I'm not going to put out the work I could put out if I was passionate in that moment and also do your own thing.
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: I feel like a lot of people start just coping other people's work, which in the beginning, might be so great for you to learn and see what works, but after a while, like you're not going to stand out if you do exactly what everyone else is.
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: So it's so important to just find who you are and who you want to present yourself as, and just say to yourself and if you want to talk about like specific Instagram growth or whatever, for me, what I find is so important is that you create something that people would want to share or save, like.
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: That's always something that I have in mind.
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: It's like why would someone save that or send it to a friend and be like okay, like we have to go to Africa or whatever.
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: That's why my videos and I'm not saying that everyone should do it, but they're always like cinematic, but still quite fun, so I can reach my clients with it, but, at the same time, like just the normal Instagram audience will be like, oh, that looks like so much fun, I will go to Africa.
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: I want to go to Africa, but my clients will be like, oh, that's so cinematic, I want to book her.
• 20:55
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, just find a balance of things that make you you be unique and see who you want to reach on Instagram.
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: So you actually have quite a strategic approach to your posts in terms of clientele.
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: So you're actually with your posts, you're trying to get jobs, essentially.
• 21:13
  Speaker 2: I mean, yeah, it's like number one thing for me is it's just fun because I just want to do my own stuff and I want to put my own little videos out, but I 100% see it as a portfolio because I get, let's say, 70% of my jobs through social media, through my presence.
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: Okay, that's a lot, I guess so.
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: And then the rest is just like network, which was really important.
• 21:37
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, I see more as a portfolio.
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: That's why I wouldn't put anything that's just like fun iPhone snaps on it at the moment, because that might be nice for my friends to see, but that's not going to like give me work and a lot of clients and insane filmmakers follow me, so I also want to show what I can do, because I love watching that stuff, so I want to be the one that puts it out as well.
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: Yeah, interesting, very interesting.
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: Do you do any stuff on other platforms?
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: Or because I mean, I haven't kind of seen much of you, have researched much of you on the other platforms?
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: Obviously, follow on Instagram.
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: I know everything you do on there.
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: But, what would your kind of take be on the likes of Twitter, vero, youtube, what else is there?
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: Everything else, tiktok, facebook.
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: Is.
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: Facebook still a thing I mean, oh, in some parts of the world is crazy.
• 22:31
  Speaker 2: But yeah, for me I'd say it probably should be on TikTok with all the like fun travel videos I have on my phone.
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: But I'm not, I don't really care too much about the stuff.
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: That's like fun for me, even though, like marketing wise, it would be so smart to just do it because it's easy and quick.
• 22:48
  Speaker 2: So everyone else, please do it.
• 22:49
  Speaker 2: I don't.
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: Then what I really want to get into now is YouTube, because the last year I've literally just focused on client work, which was awesome.
• 22:59
  Speaker 2: It brought me to where I am now.
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: Like, literally, I was able to work with the biggest clients in the world to last year, which I'm still a kind of rep mad around it.
• 23:07
  Speaker 2: I don't know why they want to work with me and it's been absolutely beautiful.
• 23:10
  Speaker 2: But now I feel like I'm at a point where I want to create more for myself again and I want to create work that's not just like commercial work but also tell just important stories.
• 23:22
  Speaker 2: So I want to start my YouTube channel and I don't know how do you know, sam Potter?
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: Yeah, he does a lot of like that beautiful cinematic.
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Harry, Harry Pope put me on Tim.
• 23:33
  Speaker 2: Exactly.
• 23:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah, he's awesome.
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: I think I want to go into a similar direction than him, in my own style, my own way, but I want to tell stories that have an impact, put them together in a beautifully cinematic way, something that I'm passionate about and be able to just spread awareness about specific topics through what I'm doing.
• 23:52
  Speaker 2: And I think that's definitely like the goal I have at the moment is not just the commercial side, which I love, but then also having an impact, because at the moment, I don't really other than making people smile.
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I mean, I talked about this with one of our other guests I think it was Joie L actually and about giving back.
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: And you know, it seems like nearly all artists I speak to they have this yearning desire.
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: Once they kind of get to a stable platform, they kind of made an aid themselves, have some income coming through, like, right, okay, how can I impact the world in the way I want to and the courses that I want to help?
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: But before that, like, I think a lot of people don't quite realize how many people they inspire just by doing what they do.
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: Right, you're putting a work out there and, like, you're talking about social media and putting posts out there, if half of the people that see your posts thousands of people, right, every post if half of them get inspired to either do what you do or go to where you've you know you've done a film about, then wow, that's, that's wow, incredible.
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: What is that?
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: Like, not many people get that privilege.
• 25:05
  Speaker 2: It's so crazy, like sometimes I don't realize that these people actually exist and then I haven't been recognized too often, maybe like 10 times per hour.
• 25:13
  Speaker 2: But when that happens you're like.
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: Are you being recognized like in person?
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, in person and they people come to you and say that they have been like feeling inspired by your work, and I do get a lot of messages from women now who want to get into it, which is so awesome.
• 25:27
  Speaker 2: So that's already really, really cool, because there's just not enough.
• 25:31
  Speaker 2: But, yeah, I want to focus more on the environment side as well and just tell deeper stories than just about traveling filmmaking.
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: Okay, well, let's, let's talk about that.
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: What are, what are the causes and areas of, I guess, charity or philanthropic causes that are close to your heart?
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: Where is it that you want to turn your attention to?
• 25:55
  Speaker 2: I think it's a lot about people.
• 25:57
  Speaker 2: I know that's what inspires me the most.
• 26:01
  Speaker 2: I guess, like right now, when I was in Kenya, we went to this local village and before that we just stayed in this luxury suite the entire time, which is what normal people would always do.
• 26:11
  Speaker 2: They'd be, they're going to be, in the suite and then do their safari tours and then fly back home and we're like, oh, this is awesome, that was Africa.
• 26:17
  Speaker 2: And then we went to this village and it was so different and you just see all these people living and the tiny little round thing where there's just like trees around to protect them and they literally have nothing like the kids showed me the kitchen we're so excited about and the kitchen was literally just like a little bonfire.
• 26:35
  Speaker 2: They were like, oh, this is our kitchen, come look.
• 26:37
  Speaker 2: And these are the stories that I feel like should be put out so much more than, rather than just the cinematics which you see on my Instagram.
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: It's like Kenya's beautiful, like all these places in the world are beautiful, but there's so much more that people don't really see or talk about.
• 26:51
  Speaker 2: And these, like being with these kids in that village first of all, like it made me so insanely happy and grateful for what I can do in life and for the way I grew up.
• 27:02
  Speaker 2: But then also it hum, like it humbled me so much and just seeing how happy these people were even though they had nothing, it's just always so like it's big realization.
• 27:12
  Speaker 2: They're like, well, she don't need anything.
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: It's like back to the community thing.
• 27:16
  Speaker 2: So long as you have that, I feel like you can do anything you want.
• 27:20
  Speaker 2: Um, so yeah, it's stuff like that.
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: Um telling stories of people all around the world, also going more into depth about like just specific people had like crazy things that happened to them in life.
• 27:31
  Speaker 2: Um, just yeah, telling stories like that will be beautiful.
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: What is add a growth?
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: What, what is?
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: What is that Add a growth?
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: I saw that on your yeah.
• 27:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's the um female empowerment startup that I was a part of in um in Austria, which now, like it's it's mental what's been happening.
• 27:52
  Speaker 2: Um, my ex-khali Coco first of all, such an inspiring woman.
• 27:57
  Speaker 2: She's also just 24 and her eight like two um agencies.
• 28:02
  Speaker 2: Now they're blowing up.
• 28:03
  Speaker 2: It's crazy.
• 28:04
  Speaker 2: So she's she definitely was a big inspiration for me, um, and yeah, ada, growth was a few months.
• 28:10
  Speaker 2: I'm sorry but it's a few months.
• 28:11
  Speaker 2: So, um empowerment startup that we founded, um about two years ago now I think.
• 28:16
  Speaker 2: Um and now it's becoming international.
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: So many people want to invest in it and um starting to grow.
• 28:23
  Speaker 2: It's so nice.
• 28:23
  Speaker 2: It's been getting so many awards and reaching so many people.
• 28:26
  Speaker 2: Um, but, like the basic thing that it does, it's a B2B thing where um indifferent, it's so hard to explain where other businesses can buy the platform and it definitely like it's basically like a skill share.
• 28:40
  Speaker 2: So you have like a lot of courses by woman for women.
• 28:43
  Speaker 2: Okay, um, to just make you more confident or whatever, make you come across a little bit more just like you can.
• 28:51
  Speaker 2: You can do this and not like you're just like the little girl on the sidewalk, basically, NGO or you know, paid for.
• 28:58
  Speaker 2: Uh, no, it's paid for yeah.
• 28:59
  Speaker 2: Um but yeah it's.
• 29:00
  Speaker 2: I'm not a part of it anymore now, but I've just been seeing what's been happening and it's been really good Is that something that you want to put time back into, that type of female empowerment, um movement, I guess.
• 29:14
  Speaker 2: I mean, yeah, for sure.
• 29:15
  Speaker 2: Um, I am like still doing little bits and pieces here, like just by sharing what I'm doing, talking about, um, women in the industry.
• 29:24
  Speaker 2: I feel like no one has ever met me, um, and had a conversation with me without me bringing in there's no, there's no woman.
• 29:31
  Speaker 2: Um.
• 29:32
  Speaker 2: So, just keep raising awareness that way, and I'm definitely going to have, like, once my YouTube is, uh, probably started, I do want to talk about that way more.
• 29:42
  Speaker 2: Just raise awareness that way.
• 29:43
  Speaker 2: So maybe other female filmmaker stories or woman in different businesses, um so, yeah, is there anything?
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: else you want to talk about.
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: I mean, we've got a platform now If there's anything you want to talk about.
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: Or you know, I feel a lot of us, including me, are kind of ignorant to those types of I don't know ignorant.
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: Maybe that's a bit too harsh, but you know I'm open for more education on the topic.
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: Um, you know, I'm keen to hear more about what we can do in terms of society to to help those opportunities and help the awareness better.
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: Um, but also understand the struggles that women do have in certain industries.
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: I mean talk about filmmaking, Like I didn't really know that stat I haven't.
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: You know, being a man, I probably have never given it that much thought.
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: Photography, I've noticed it and certainly, like with the podcast, I think our first 10 episodes were all men.
• 30:35
  Speaker 2: I was like yeah, but I didn't.
• 30:36
  Speaker 2: I didn't know any women photographers here.
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: So there's kind of like you know men, man meets, man meets, man introduces to another man and it's kind of that.
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: I guess that's probably a big part of this Almost closed network when it comes to filmmaking but maybe you can share with us more insights into the problems and the the the ceilings that women might face.
• 30:59
  Speaker 2: There's a lot of problems, one of them that I want to touch on before I forget exactly that, like it's a male friend group, like for me now, um, I'm always out with the boys which, like, if there's like last night or whatever, um, and I'm the only one in the community that's a girl, it's like it doesn't really work, can't just like throw one of them out because they're like a different gender.
• 31:21
  Speaker 2: But I feel like that's a struggle for a lot of women in the industry, because it is so much dominated and some people would want to have another girl in there and if they don't, they just feel left out, which I don't think that anyone would do on purpose.
• 31:33
  Speaker 2: But you're just thinking of oh, that's nice, um, that's like.
• 31:37
  Speaker 2: Oh, julie, it's not a guy.
• 31:39
  Speaker 2: Fuck, like sorry.
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: Um, so that's a struggle that I've been facing as well, I'm like I want to.
• 31:46
  Speaker 2: I want to obviously give everyone the freedom to just do whatever they want, but some people don't really think about it.
• 31:50
  Speaker 2: Um.
• 31:50
  Speaker 2: So yeah, friend group is definitely one of the things.
• 31:53
  Speaker 2: So you, kind of have to.
• 31:56
  Speaker 2: You have to make sure that you socialize with guys to be a part of the community, and the community is so important for the jobs for you grow, for everything, for your learning curve, so it's so important to surround yourself with these talented people.
• 32:07
  Speaker 2: And if you're a girl who would rather want to hang out with girls but there's not an industry, it's going to be really hard for you.
• 32:13
  Speaker 2: Um.
• 32:16
  Speaker 2: So yeah, definitely, community aspect is a big thing about it.
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: On that note, when you become friends with guys, do you find that you won't?
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: Share certain things with them that you would with your girlfriends?
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: Um, by now, I don't think so, because I'm so used to it.
• 32:30
  Speaker 2: But yeah, a lot of people would definitely have that struggle, I think Because we I mean, I think it's our nature we are a little bit more sentimental, obviously, talking about the big picture or whatever.
• 32:38
  Speaker 2: We are more emotional, we share a bit more than they would.
• 32:41
  Speaker 2: Um, feel bad just generalizing that, but we're different.
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: Men and women are different.
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: In the way they think about something.
• 32:52
  Speaker 2: Yeah, right brain, left brain, yeah, basically so it is a little different and you kind of have to adjust in a way, um, which does happen naturally after a while.
• 32:58
  Speaker 2: Like by now, I feel so much more comfortable around guys.
• 33:03
  Speaker 2: Uh, which is also interesting, because now I'm like talking about I know that, no, that's too cliche I was like talking about here, but that's not really it, but for some reason I feel more comfortable with that now, which is crazy to me.
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: Um, so yeah, I do know why.
• 33:14
  Speaker 2: I feel comfortable with that.
• 33:15
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, I do know why girls would struggle.
• 33:20
  Speaker 2: Because by now I think it would be really hard for me if the industry was like a female dominated, because then I would struggle.
• 33:26
  Speaker 2: Now because I'm so used to hang out with boys.
• 33:29
  Speaker 2: Um.
• 33:29
  Speaker 2: So yeah, that's a big learning career for everyone to just be open and just don't care what the other people's gender is and just accept the fact that it is male dominated.
• 33:40
  Speaker 2: But you still have to.
• 33:41
  Speaker 2: You have to be a part of it and you have to manage to make them feel like you should be a part of it, even though you might be a girl, but you're just like okay, she's freaking talented, she's cool, so she's a part of the lads, whatever.
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: So yeah, yeah, but that's not that easy.
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: It's not that easy and it's and it's deep within our not just men, but just humans generally, and that's why you know you've seen contentious issues surrounding gender, gender transformation, race, you know all these things that should just be the same as hair color blonde hair don't, doesn't matter.
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: It doesn't fucking matter.
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: None of this should matter, right, but for some reason it does.
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: Um, but anyway, digress.
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: So you're talking about?
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: So what was the second thing you were going to say about the issue?
• 34:26
  Speaker 2: Um.
• 34:26
  Speaker 2: Traveling as a woman is different, Like I've just had a job in Saudi Arabia, for example.
• 34:33
  Speaker 2: First of all, I think a lot of like women traveling solo will just have struggles with it, because sometimes it is a little harder.
• 34:39
  Speaker 2: You will get like all these looks from guys, and when you travel alone to a job, you might be a little bit like oh, I don't know any of these guys.
• 34:46
  Speaker 2: I don't know if this is like a dangerous situation, if I'm all right, if it's all just legit.
• 34:49
  Speaker 2: Um, so these things do come to my mind and to everyone's mind.
• 34:53
  Speaker 2: I think which I don't think that guys think about that much.
• 34:56
  Speaker 2: Um, if they were going to job and it's only guys, they're like yeah, I don't mind, don't know them to look cool, Whereas I feel like women will think a little bit more about it.
• 35:04
  Speaker 2: Um, and that's definitely one thing that will hold a lot of girls back, I think, From starting out, especially when they're like quite a young age and they're like okay, I'm just going to be surrounded by like super talented guys or like people, I don't know.
• 35:16
  Speaker 2: It is scary, Um, and there's, you're going to travel to so many different countries who don't value women as much, Like in Saudi Arabia, for example, when I was on the job there.
• 35:26
  Speaker 2: Um, it's like the most basic things, no one thinks about it, but there's, for example, there's no toilets for women on the road.
• 35:32
  Speaker 2: You're going to be out shooting for 13 hours.
• 35:35
  Speaker 2: There's going to be toilets for the guys.
• 35:37
  Speaker 2: There's.
• 35:38
  Speaker 2: There's no bathroom for girls, Um, and nobody thinks about it, and then they're like guys hello help, um, and like it's, it's all these small things.
• 35:46
  Speaker 2: Then same thing, like, um, even if you go into, like a fast food thing or whatever, you need to grip a quick, like grab a food or whatever, um, all the guys will go on one side, you'll be left out, have to go the other, the other side.
• 35:58
  Speaker 2: So you have to be like when you, when you're in this industry as a woman, you have to be so like secure with yourself and feel confident To do all of this, because you will be the one left out a lot and will have to do a lot just on your own and speak up for yourself.
• 36:14
  Speaker 2: Like I know that sometimes, even just being like the one who, for me personally, I don't want to annoy anyone to be the one who really needs a bathroom right now, because the entire crew will then have to make something work in the middle of the desert because I don't have any other options Um, and even for me, I'm like it's just uncomfortable to make the entire crew have like do something extra, just because there's nothing for women there.
• 36:37
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, there is a lot of like small things that I think most people don't really think about, and traveling as a woman is not easy.
• 36:45
  Speaker 2: Sometimes when I meet a new crew, um, most of the times it will really professional, but still you're the girl in the group, so sometimes it's not really as professional as you wish it would be.
• 36:59
  Speaker 2: Um, and all that floating and whatever starts.
• 37:01
  Speaker 2: I'm like I'm here in a job.
• 37:02
  Speaker 2: Really.
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: I'm not um, yeah, um, which I mean yeah you mean with other photographers and filmmakers or you mean the local crew on the ground, like the fixes and the guides and stuff.
• 37:13
  Speaker 2: Oh both.
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 37:15
  Speaker 2: Also with with the people in the on the job.
• 37:18
  Speaker 2: Most of the time it's totally fine, um, but I mean, I get it.
• 37:21
  Speaker 2: They're also not around too many other female creators, so it's something new and fun and, um, yeah, but it is annoying.
• 37:28
  Speaker 2: After one I'm just like I'll just let me work.
• 37:30
  Speaker 2: Um, yeah.
• 37:33
  Speaker 2: So I feel like there's a lot of points we could probably talk about that so long.
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 37:37
  Speaker 2: Um, but yeah.
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: Well, it sounds like you have an amazing attitude to deal with it, and that is actually, you know.
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: Thinking about it now, it must be a huge reason why a lot of, what a lot of women don't go.
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: It's certainly in the travel space.
• 37:49
  Speaker 2: Exactly.
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: Um, and then you think about maybe in a more, more local space, whether it's in a studio or just near where someone lives, right In a team and it's, and it's If you're outnumbered, it's intimidating for anyone.
• 38:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah, like you would also feel intimidated if there was, like a crew of like nine women around you.
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: I turn around and run the other way.
• 38:10
  Speaker 2: Oh, that's my wife.
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: My wife's away.
• 38:13
  Speaker 2: Come on Um no yeah, it's a normal thing.
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: It's just 100% and I've been in those situations and it's uncomfortable, yeah, and you go with.
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: You become an introvert kind of straight away.
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: You're not as assertive as you should be as a professional.
• 38:27
  Speaker 2: Exactly, you have to just perform as well either, so you're just on set like not really saying anything, like a little shy, and then they also don't want to hire you anymore.
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: So then adding the travel aspect and all the cultural nuances that you have to deal with right, especially in places like Middle.
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: East as a woman must be incredibly difficult.
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: Um, keep, keep doing what you're doing, inspiring thousands of thousands of thousands of women out there?
• 38:49
  Speaker 2: I don't believe it.
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: Um, wonderful, um, speaking of, I guess, challenges that you face you know outside of, you know being a woman and, and I guess, minority in that space, what are the challenges?
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: Do you?
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: You constantly kind of rub up against in filmmaking industry or just just doing your craft?
• 39:12
  Speaker 2: Um, I think my biggest challenge is myself.
• 39:15
  Speaker 2: I'm so hard on myself it's horrible.
• 39:19
  Speaker 2: I don't know why.
• 39:19
  Speaker 2: I don't know why.
• 39:20
  Speaker 2: Um, it's bad because literally everyone around me is so supportive and sweet and believes in what I'm doing, and then I'm super confident around everyone else, but when it's about myself and I'm putting something together myself, I'm like I wouldn't like this, I don't like this, and everyone else who I will show it to will be like this is this is insane.
• 39:38
  Speaker 2: And I will be like no, I could do so much better.
• 39:39
  Speaker 2: Um, which, in a way, I mean it's good to always think that you could do better and want to be better.
• 39:44
  Speaker 2: Um, but I'm too hard on myself.
• 39:46
  Speaker 2: I think literally that's the biggest challenge, um, which I don't know why.
• 39:51
  Speaker 2: I do it.
• 39:51
  Speaker 2: I would because I'm so confident in every other like way where I don't care what people say or whatever, like I just do my thing.
• 39:59
  Speaker 2: But I'm really hard on myself, which I should.
• 40:03
  Speaker 2: Wait, isn't that also a good thing, Uh anyway, yeah, I guess because I keep pushing myself.
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: I tell each of myself you get the best result.
• 40:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah, but like when I like with with client work, I feel like it's not too bad.
• 40:14
  Speaker 2: But when then I want to do my own passion projects, like I said, now they want to focus way more on YouTube, um, I already know that I'm going to.
• 40:21
  Speaker 2: It's going to take me months to finish it up because I'm going to be like, no, I can change this and this.
• 40:25
  Speaker 2: Um, because I'm so hard on myself, whereas every other client would have been so happy for the already did in the week and I would be like, no, no, no, uh.
• 40:33
  Speaker 2: So yeah, I feel like everyone, including myself, should be just a little bit more chill about that and just be happy for their doing.
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: Um, let's talk about equipment for a bit.
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: I mean, uh, everyone loves to hit to hear um, you know what you shoot on, what the guest shoots on.
• 40:51
  Speaker 1: Tell us about your setup, tell us about the equipment you use, and um, editing software and your process and all of that good stuff.
• 40:58
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 40:58
  Speaker 2: Um, first of all, I feel like equipment is like it's not everything, whatever.
• 41:02
  Speaker 1: Everyone says that, but um, I personally I don't like asking this question, by the way, but I know a lot of people want to say yeah.
• 41:09
  Speaker 2: Um, I shoot with the Sony FX3, which is searching the same camera um, mainly because of its like low light um capabilities.
• 41:16
  Speaker 2: It's so good, Image is like, so clean Um, you could even shoot like Netflix documentaries on it if you wanted to, because cinema, cinema line and approved and everything Um, and you can rig it up super nicely.
• 41:27
  Speaker 2: So if you have a client who just wants to have a nice setup and you want the camera to look cooler because for some reason, clients want that um, you can rig it up like and make it huge, which is great, and then it looks like you're a bad um, because for some reason, some clients will see a little thing and they're like they're gonna film with that Um, then they see the it's funny, that isn't it?
• 41:47
  Speaker 2: It's so weird.
• 41:48
  Speaker 2: Um, but okay, fair enough.
• 41:51
  Speaker 2: Um, yeah, sony FX3 can rig up so nicely.
• 41:53
  Speaker 2: It looks beautiful.
• 41:54
  Speaker 2: Um, I want to go into shooting only with prime lenses now, because it just makes such a difference.
• 42:01
  Speaker 2: Um, I love the look of it so much.
• 42:04
  Speaker 2: It's just annoying.
• 42:05
  Speaker 2: I feel like it's different for photography than videography, because with video, if I have to switch and then change my gimbal settings and everything, it just takes so long.
• 42:12
  Speaker 2: But it's so worth it.
• 42:14
  Speaker 2: Um.
• 42:15
  Speaker 1: Tell, tell beginners out there who may not know why, why the prime lens would make such a big difference.
• 42:21
  Speaker 2: Um, so prime lenses, it's just Whether soon once.
• 42:24
  Speaker 2: Obviously it's nice and easy.
• 42:26
  Speaker 2: You can just like decide what focal length you want to shoot in at the moment, which is awesome.
• 42:30
  Speaker 2: But the image with a prime lens is so clean and crisp.
• 42:34
  Speaker 2: You probably have like an f-stop of 1 4, something which just makes like your foregrounds like stand out from the background so much.
• 42:42
  Speaker 2: You have a nice bouquet in the back.
• 42:43
  Speaker 2: It all looks so cinematic and clean.
• 42:46
  Speaker 2: You do really see a huge difference which I in the beginning didn't really think I would.
• 42:51
  Speaker 2: But if you put like these two images next to each other, you're like this just looks.
• 42:55
  Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, so yeah well, there's less glass as well that the light has to go through, so you're gonna get a nice sharper cleaner image, right?
• 43:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's beautiful.
• 43:04
  Speaker 1: Okay, so what else?
• 43:05
  Speaker 1: Prime lenses what prime lenses do you use?
• 43:09
  Speaker 2: 24, 35, 85.
• 43:12
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 43:13
  Speaker 2: So yeah, at the moment I don't have it, but I did shoot a lot of indoor stuff a couple months ago when I shot only with the 14 all the time, which was such a nice focal length like I didn't expect it.
• 43:25
  Speaker 2: But for all the interior stuff it's beautiful.
• 43:27
  Speaker 1: The effects, the effects is full frame.
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah.
• 43:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so that was insane.
• 43:32
  Speaker 2: It was really nice.
• 43:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know what else would be interesting gimbal.
• 43:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I shoot most of my stuff on gimbals now because DJI run in ours free.
• 43:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah, with the auto lock is just games and danger.
• 43:47
  Speaker 2: It's so nice other girls would have the handbags.
• 43:49
  Speaker 2: I just always have my gimbal here.
• 43:50
  Speaker 2: It looks really funny.
• 43:56
  Speaker 2: It is a little sketch because mine is a little like broken on the handle and it would be so easy for my camera Just to fall down.
• 44:01
  Speaker 2: But get a risk it for the biscuit.
• 44:04
  Speaker 1: I got a risk it for the biscuit.
• 44:07
  Speaker 2: I thought you don't have time to buy a new one.
• 44:08
  Speaker 1: So I'm like, yeah, that's our hook for the video, risk it for the biscuit.
• 44:12
  Speaker 1: I think I've ever heard that to English.
• 44:16
  Speaker 1: Skip for the biscuit.
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah, sounds like get me excited about.
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: I mean it is there.
• 44:24
  Speaker 1: I mean talking about male, female.
• 44:26
  Speaker 1: It sounds like you get excited by your equipment.
• 44:28
  Speaker 1: I know a lot of guys like they.
• 44:29
  Speaker 1: They've kind of tech geeks right.
• 44:31
  Speaker 1: They love their tech me included love cameras and equipment.
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: Just anything it's got buttons.
• 44:36
  Speaker 1: I'm in, yeah, yeah.
• 44:38
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I feel like it depends, like if I compare myself to my brother, my brother was so much more be like a tech freak.
• 44:43
  Speaker 2: That may, for me it's that you just cameras.
• 44:45
  Speaker 2: You can't really excited me about a computer other than the fact that it's fast and I'm like okay, I wanted, um, where's cameras?
• 44:51
  Speaker 2: For some reason that's just a different thing.
• 44:53
  Speaker 2: For me, a camera is just it's like a.
• 44:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I.
• 45:00
  Speaker 2: Get really excited about cameras and equipment.
• 45:01
  Speaker 2: The last couple of days We've been starting to play around with magic arms and stuff which just makes I don't know if you you probably know, but for everyone else you like attach this plastic arm to your camera and Attach maybe like a phone or whatever another object on the other side and you get like these super unique shots.
• 45:19
  Speaker 2: So every like toy accessory that can add to your camera.
• 45:24
  Speaker 1: I want to try Like you like b&h is favorite customer?
• 45:28
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a scenario photo, yeah, what about your editing what?
• 45:35
  Speaker 1: what software do you use or what software do you recommend for people to use?
• 45:39
  Speaker 2: I'm using Premiere Pro, okay, but Literally like this week started switching to DaVinci because I'm a big color grading freak and I just didn't have the time to properly do it.
• 45:50
  Speaker 2: I didn't want to do it like while I was working on a client project, whereas now I do have this week for myself now, or these five days, and I was like, okay, I need to use these five days now because I don't know when I will get that again five days.
• 46:01
  Speaker 2: Oh my god, that's crazy yeah that's a lot.
• 46:05
  Speaker 1: You need to get back out.
• 46:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I should.
• 46:07
  Speaker 2: It's mental.
• 46:09
  Speaker 2: I literally didn't have that in a while.
• 46:10
  Speaker 2: There was like.
• 46:11
  Speaker 2: The flight back to Bali was my 51st flight Since March this year.
• 46:16
  Speaker 1: Wow.
• 46:17
  Speaker 2: So that's crazy.
• 46:18
  Speaker 2: That's crazy.
• 46:19
  Speaker 1: My, my, my footprint just do it while you're young and healthy.
• 46:22
  Speaker 1: Yeah, eco-friendly.
• 46:26
  Speaker 2: It's just crazy to me.
• 46:27
  Speaker 2: I saw that I was like 51.
• 46:29
  Speaker 2: That's a lot.
• 46:29
  Speaker 2: I don't even know how many countries I did this year, but it was basically like one project straight to the next, which I would not recommend.
• 46:35
  Speaker 2: Like I got so burned out the last weeks, which is also I felt like nobody really talks about it.
• 46:40
  Speaker 2: I also didn't talk about it on my Instagram, which I probably shouldn't be more open about it.
• 46:43
  Speaker 2: But on my last jobs I tried to give all my energy on the shoot and on set and just be that happy, super passionate person.
• 46:51
  Speaker 2: But then I got into my room and I just started crying, not because I wasn't great for anything, but just because I didn't have energy left, and I feel like most people don't really talk about Burning out and just doing too much, which I know now that I did.
• 47:07
  Speaker 2: That's why it took these five days.
• 47:11
  Speaker 1: It's five days, enough to get over, but Gonna have to meet.
• 47:15
  Speaker 2: For me, I feel so much better now, like when I came back from Africa.
• 47:19
  Speaker 2: I was so cute because all my friends stayed up and welcome me was it was really cute, but I was just set there crying because I was so he just fuck off?
• 47:29
  Speaker 1: I need to get a sleep.
• 47:30
  Speaker 1: That's what you're saying, julia.
• 47:34
  Speaker 2: No, but I was just sat in the dream.
• 47:35
  Speaker 2: They were also cute.
• 47:36
  Speaker 2: I just started crying because I was so relieved that was home and I was like, okay, now, now it's good.
• 47:40
  Speaker 2: And even the next day I thought so much better.
• 47:43
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, for me I guess it was a lot about being around people who just gave me some energy back again and then being in a place that makes me feel at home and just relax.
• 47:55
  Speaker 2: But but yeah, I did get really burned out the last weeks.
• 47:58
  Speaker 2: We're just not ideal, but well it's.
• 48:02
  Speaker 1: Somebody knows to talk about it, so we might as well talk about it now as he's brought up.
• 48:06
  Speaker 1: But you know, a coupled question I was gonna actually ask as well was what?
• 48:10
  Speaker 1: What's your lowest point being in this journey of you as a photographer, now filmmaker and I presumed burnout might be part of that, or I mean, maybe you can explain to us.
• 48:22
  Speaker 1: Have you had any?
• 48:24
  Speaker 2: so like I Didn't have anything really bad.
• 48:27
  Speaker 2: To be fair, I do also have to say I guess you probably have seen that but it's literally been a year in this industry and I got to do so much.
• 48:35
  Speaker 2: So it's been absolutely incredible and I'm crazy grateful like I don't want to say that at all especially like the last months.
• 48:41
  Speaker 2: I went from project in Italy straight to a project in Saudi Arabia, to a project in Turkey and Maldives, and then to Bali within the span of three weeks.
• 48:52
  Speaker 2: So that was what does a full five countries and three weeks and I Felt like it couldn't enjoyed anymore.
• 49:01
  Speaker 2: And it wasn't all of these insane places with like the biggest, like my dream clients, with the coolest cruise ever, and I was so grateful, but I couldn't enjoy it and I think for me that was when I felt at my lowest, in a way, because I Just I just didn't it couldn't love it as much as I should have.
• 49:20
  Speaker 2: I should have been in that moment.
• 49:22
  Speaker 2: I'm like all my dreams are coming true.
• 49:23
  Speaker 2: I'm doing exactly what I love.
• 49:25
  Speaker 2: I should have been insanely grateful, but I was there being grateful but just wanting to cry, which is definitely not a point that I want to get to again.
• 49:34
  Speaker 2: I just want to be able to enjoy everything fully, give my full energy to anyone, because that's also something I like in Africa.
• 49:42
  Speaker 2: Now I noticed which was the last job I was on.
• 49:44
  Speaker 2: I Was for them, I was it seemed like I was still full energy because they didn't know me yet.
• 49:50
  Speaker 2: But for myself I was so disappointed in what I could give.
• 49:54
  Speaker 2: Um, that's so I don't know.
• 49:57
  Speaker 2: I felt like I was just not a hundred percent myself because I didn't have any energy left and I wanted to give so much more of myself but couldn't.
• 50:03
  Speaker 2: And everyone was like, oh yeah, energy is amazing.
• 50:05
  Speaker 2: I was like no, you don't know me, right?
• 50:07
  Speaker 1: now.
• 50:07
  Speaker 2: I'm not there.
• 50:08
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, that's something I just don't want to do anymore.
• 50:12
  Speaker 2: I want to be proud of who a percent of myself, as it the work I like managed to do within that like on that project, and I felt like I really I can't fully say that about like the last couple of weeks, because I Just didn't have all the energy and that I wish I would have had it compounds as well and it's insidious.
• 50:31
  Speaker 1: Like you kind of don't know, you're getting burnt out to your Fucked yeah and you go okay, something's wrong right.
• 50:37
  Speaker 1: Yeah but I feel like everyone I speak to about this, me included, you you almost have to experience a burnout to recognize oh, oh, okay, this kind of led to this and you know now, I know my limit as to where I I Can prevent myself maybe in the future not getting to that that point.
• 50:57
  Speaker 1: What advice can you give others to Not have to experience that or to avoid burnout?
• 51:04
  Speaker 2: I think the main thing is Really being able to say no, even if it's a big job, if you feel like right now you don't really feel like it.
• 51:13
  Speaker 2: I think that's the first thing.
• 51:14
  Speaker 2: When you feel like your passion starts being more of a burden, then Like no, don't do a job right now.
• 51:20
  Speaker 2: Get back to find that passion, see why you love it, spend a week or two traveling your friends, just creating for yourself whatever, to find that passion again and then go on that job because you wouldn't have performed well.
• 51:30
  Speaker 2: Even if that would have been your dream client, you would have probably not been as good as you could have been because you would have kind of hated what you were doing.
• 51:38
  Speaker 2: So taking that time off was actually so productive and people don't really think that time off and relaxing is productive, but it's so insanely important and I feel like, especially as a freelancer, you want to keep pushing yourself and do things all the time.
• 51:51
  Speaker 2: You want to be productive all the time, but being productive sometimes means doing nothing, getting back into that hate ahead space of why you're passionate about being bored, getting new ideas again.
• 52:02
  Speaker 2: It's so important being bored.
• 52:05
  Speaker 1: I think we've lost the.
• 52:07
  Speaker 1: The skill of.
• 52:08
  Speaker 1: That was almost a skill now.
• 52:10
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, we used to be bored all the time.
• 52:12
  Speaker 1: I'm a lot older than you so I was.
• 52:14
  Speaker 1: I remember times before devices, right, and before, even before, when we had dial-up internet.
• 52:18
  Speaker 1: It was just like it was a treat to go and spend 30 minutes on the internet, right, it was so kind of I can still put myself in a in a boring state of mind, but it's so difficult nowadays because of you just have everything you want a fingertips, you've got.
• 52:36
  Speaker 1: This device is talking about phones as well as many other devices.
• 52:40
  Speaker 1: Now, with AI coming, it's just like overload, overload, overlight if you want it.
• 52:45
  Speaker 1: So you have to consciously make the effort to step away from it exactly.
• 52:48
  Speaker 2: Which is hard because, as a freelancer, you always feel like everyone's doing something, I should do something.
• 52:53
  Speaker 2: There is always something you can do?
• 52:55
  Speaker 2: you can.
• 52:55
  Speaker 2: You can update your website.
• 52:56
  Speaker 2: You can reach out to someone, you can.
• 52:57
  Speaker 2: You can make a new reel, whatever be be active on your socials, I know, put another story up.
• 53:02
  Speaker 2: It doesn't end as a freelancer.
• 53:04
  Speaker 2: There's always something you can't do and I feel like on it's so important on that to do list to have Relax as a point.
• 53:10
  Speaker 2: That's quite far below Okay.
• 53:12
  Speaker 2: No, right now I'm literally I'm going out without my phone, without any device, and I'm just having a wholesome.
• 53:18
  Speaker 2: I know we'll get the beach or something be in the moment Exactly, and it's so important.
• 53:22
  Speaker 1: It's so important.
• 53:23
  Speaker 2: That's what I've been doing quite a lot like the last days I've been.
• 53:26
  Speaker 2: I've had to work quite a bit, but whenever I wasn't working, I just put my phone away.
• 53:31
  Speaker 2: No, I'm, I just want to be here right now, just see the world from eyes, and not my laptop right now.
• 53:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's been helping so much.
• 53:39
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so I think everyone has to learn that.
• 53:41
  Speaker 1: It's one reason why I love this, the podcast platform, because it gives us two hours just to talk with someone.
• 53:47
  Speaker 1: Yeah without, like how many times you go to a restaurant or with friends or something, and you know, at some point within an hour someone's on their phone, right?
• 53:54
  Speaker 1: Yeah well, even if it's just whatever.
• 53:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah, but still even though.
• 53:57
  Speaker 1: They're around, they're kind of in the environment, but yeah, it is very important and mental health generally, like if especially a freelancer and let's talk about this with a good friend.
• 54:06
  Speaker 1: Well, finn, we're talking about this yesterday.
• 54:10
  Speaker 1: You know, he has this incredible strength inside and strength of belief that Even when maybe he pitches for jobs and doesn't necessarily sometimes get what he wants, he believes that If something will come up, it always has done, he's always so he he often fights as a freelancer, you know, he's got to put food on his table, often fights with just the, the desire to just be on it all the time.
• 54:36
  Speaker 1: Right, I'll be doing something.
• 54:37
  Speaker 1: I've got to chase this, got to chase this.
• 54:39
  Speaker 1: Or I know friends are getting these jobs or one I get into that I need to do this, work harder, work harder, work harder, work harder.
• 54:44
  Speaker 1: And often it's just work smarter, not work harder, right?
• 54:48
  Speaker 2: He's so good at that.
• 54:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah, he's, yeah, it's very impressive.
• 54:51
  Speaker 2: I generally like I feel like I have to give Finn the biggest shout outs because he was one of the first people in the street that I met and I've been following his work for so long.
• 55:00
  Speaker 2: Um, now he's like one of my closest friends, but I've also been such a huge fan of his work.
• 55:03
  Speaker 2: And then we met at this party and I didn't even know how, what he looked like, I just knew his work and he came up to me and, uh, talked about, like, um, some work that I put out the last week sounds like like all of that was amazing.
• 55:15
  Speaker 2: I saved that in that fold and that's like one of my favorite images and I was like so having people around like Finn, who just believes in me from the beginning, when I didn't really believe that I could do it myself, was the best and most important thing.
• 55:30
  Speaker 2: So I feel like I owe Finn a lot, not only for being one of the sweetest humans ever, but for having that belief in so many people, not just me.
• 55:38
  Speaker 2: But he sees something.
• 55:39
  Speaker 2: He sees passion and talent and he'll tell you until make you feel like you know, like you're good at this, so that's awesome.
• 55:48
  Speaker 1: Finn's great.
• 55:49
  Speaker 1: I just wanted to rewind because we talked about equipment and you mentioned your editing software.
• 55:56
  Speaker 1: I just want to kind of just wrap that up with your cinematic look.
• 56:01
  Speaker 1: You know you talked about cinematic look a lot and that's kind of the style that you obviously very good at.
• 56:09
  Speaker 1: But you also want to kind of dive deeper into when it comes to YouTube, longer form videos, things like that.
• 56:15
  Speaker 1: Tell people how you know what cinematic actually means and how.
• 56:19
  Speaker 1: If you're a stickler for colligrating like how, give us some specific specifications like how can you make something cinematic?
• 56:27
  Speaker 2: I think that's so hard because it kind of means something a little different to everyone.
• 56:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 56:32
  Speaker 2: But for me personally, something like it doesn't even have to be the cleanest shot or anything.
• 56:37
  Speaker 2: If it has a good story or a good flow of like.
• 56:40
  Speaker 2: Flow is the most important thing and a piece to create it becomes cinematic.
• 56:44
  Speaker 2: Like you might watch a film and you're like this is absolutely awesome.
• 56:48
  Speaker 2: You look at this like just specific clips and like, actually like the clip itself is not that nice, but if the filmmaker is able to put it together in a way that it just flows so nicely, it all works together.
• 57:01
  Speaker 2: It has a good storyline from the beginning to the end.
• 57:03
  Speaker 2: That's what makes it cinematic, not just one cinematic clip.
• 57:08
  Speaker 2: That's not really how it works.
• 57:10
  Speaker 2: So it's so much more about thinking about sequences, thinking about why this clip works next to the other.
• 57:16
  Speaker 2: Because on Instagram you see a lot of people just putting clips together, which is awesome, like they're all beautiful clips, but that alone doesn't make it cinematic.
• 57:23
  Speaker 2: You have to have a flow.
• 57:25
  Speaker 2: You have to think about why, why does this, this work together?
• 57:28
  Speaker 2: Maybe it all goes like into the same direction or something A lot of people just have like a little crisscross happening all the time.
• 57:34
  Speaker 2: So this moves right and left and forward and back and you're like where should I look?
• 57:38
  Speaker 2: This is one of the main things that I try to always focus on is everything just has a flow into one direction, so your eyes keep moving with it.
• 57:45
  Speaker 2: Everything just kind of stays, I don't know.
• 57:47
  Speaker 2: It just makes it look so much nicer.
• 57:49
  Speaker 2: So I think that's one of the biggest things that I learned the last month was trying to make your videos flow instead of just having nice clips.
• 57:57
  Speaker 1: Almost piecing a story together, right, exactly In terms of that flow.
• 58:00
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Storytelling is the number one thing, the.
• 58:03
  Speaker 1: thing.
• 58:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, make people feel something and it becomes something.
• 58:07
  Speaker 1: I think it's important for us, you know, because I try and put this across as well even with photography same thing, just less complex.
• 58:14
  Speaker 1: I guess in the storytelling I think it's photography.
• 58:17
  Speaker 1: Yeah, let's not talk about that, but it's set.
• 58:21
  Speaker 1: Let's say the same principle in terms of storytelling, right?
• 58:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 58:23
  Speaker 1: It's visual arts, it's the same kind of concept, but it's so many people, especially beginners and I totally understand this I'm not judging at all because I was one of these guys but they focus so much on the aesthetics, the style, the equipment, the techniques, which is great, but you know, the most important thing is the skill to be able to storytell and the narrative.
• 58:48
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's where the true art comes in, right.
• 58:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 58:52
  Speaker 1: So I think it's really important for people to understand that.
• 58:54
  Speaker 2: It is so important.
• 58:55
  Speaker 2: I feel like it makes such a difference.
• 58:56
  Speaker 2: If you just look at a nice photo or a photo where you're like this does something at me, and if a photographer or whatever artist manages to create a piece that makes you feel something or makes you envision a story around that image, that's when you're a true artist, instead of just having a beautiful photo.
• 59:16
  Speaker 2: That's awesome already Like good on you, but being able to tell a story or evoke an emotion in a person with your art, then, chippo, good job.
• 59:28
  Speaker 1: Difficult to explain how to do.
• 59:30
  Speaker 1: It's almost like trial and error.
• 59:34
  Speaker 1: It definitely is, yeah.
• 59:37
  Speaker 2: Everyone starts out taking nice photos, but I think after a while you just develop a style.
• 59:42
  Speaker 2: Just try out different things, see what you vibe with and not try to copy someone else's style, because I feel like that way you will never really be able to get something across that feels like something or evokes an emotion.
• 59:59
  Speaker 2: I feel like it has to be something you're passionate about, and when you're passionate about an image, then you start telling a story with it slowly.
• 1:00:10
  Speaker 1: What about the aesthetics, though?
• 1:00:11
  Speaker 1: Tell us some color grading tips, maybe for that cinematic look.
• 1:00:17
  Speaker 2: So hard to say because cinematic is so different.
• 1:00:19
  Speaker 2: You can have it like If you do it like a little bit more old school, you have a little bit more green tint.
• 1:00:24
  Speaker 2: That's super cinematic.
• 1:00:25
  Speaker 2: But with grading you can't really look at all the Hollywood movies.
• 1:00:29
  Speaker 2: They all have different grading styles.
• 1:00:31
  Speaker 2: It's hard to say.
• 1:00:32
  Speaker 2: You can have a really clean look and it will be cinematic, or you can have it like super messy and dirty and the skin colors aren't even really nice, but it works with all the other colors, and then it's a little grainy and it's still cinematic.
• 1:00:44
  Speaker 2: So I think it's not that much about color grading.
• 1:00:47
  Speaker 1: But you said you're a stickler for color grading.
• 1:00:49
  Speaker 1: So again, let me rephrase the question.
• 1:00:51
  Speaker 1: I mean, obviously there's no just rule of thumb and it's very specific to whatever you're shooting.
• 1:00:58
  Speaker 1: But how do you go about thinking about color grading If you do think about it pre-production and go, you know how is this going to?
• 1:01:05
  Speaker 1: How do I want this to look to fit in with what's going on in the film?
• 1:01:10
  Speaker 1: Or do you kind of just wait to post and just go okay, now what are we doing with the colors?
• 1:01:14
  Speaker 1: What's the process?
• 1:01:16
  Speaker 2: For me personally, I think I already know what it looks like while I'm shooting it.
• 1:01:18
  Speaker 2: So if I shoot a hotel scene and it's all quite vintage, I already feel like, okay, that's going to be like more of an 80s vibe, a little bit more warm, like warm tones, all of that vibe.
• 1:01:31
  Speaker 2: If it's something I know like a super clean hotel in Jakarta, then that's not going to be the vibe to go for.
• 1:01:39
  Speaker 2: Then that's going to be very clean, a lot of whites, just bright tones.
• 1:01:42
  Speaker 2: I feel like that's something you're just going to learn and get the eye for when which kind of grade makes sense.
• 1:01:48
  Speaker 2: I think you learn a lot by just watching other videos.
• 1:01:52
  Speaker 2: For me, it's specifically music videos where I learned so much from Really.
• 1:01:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah, for some reason I feel like people get really creative with music videos and there's no specific style for it.
• 1:02:05
  Speaker 2: But commercials most of the time are quite clean, whereas music videos you have super clean stuff, you have like the messiest footage you could possibly have and it still looks absolutely dope.
• 1:02:15
  Speaker 2: So I never say dope.
• 1:02:17
  Speaker 2: Just did Exclusive.
• 1:02:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, literally.
• 1:02:23
  Speaker 2: For me, music videos might be one of my big source of inspiration at the moment.
• 1:02:28
  Speaker 1: Do you have a favorite?
• 1:02:29
  Speaker 1: No, I'm just going to change this Okay, so you've got some favorite photos as well.
• 1:02:35
  Speaker 2: Yeah, unless you've just brought like super old photos though.
• 1:02:39
  Speaker 1: Do you want to know?
• 1:02:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Like the.
• 1:02:44
  Speaker 2: What I picked out is literally because that's the one where I said that Finn reached out to me.
• 1:02:51
  Speaker 2: Oh, okay, cool yeah and also just goes back to the community aspect, I guess.
• 1:02:56
  Speaker 1: Do you have it on your phone?
• 1:02:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we can have a look at.
• 1:03:00
  Speaker 2: So it was this specific photo that Finn yeah, finn loved so much oh yeah, which yeah, I started off like doing a lot more conceptual work.
• 1:03:11
  Speaker 2: There's free photos in there.
• 1:03:13
  Speaker 2: The second one, I think, has Carl in it.
• 1:03:16
  Speaker 2: That was all the first project.
• 1:03:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I can just go for it.
• 1:03:20
  Speaker 2: There's just free in that folder.
• 1:03:21
  Speaker 1: Carl.
• 1:03:22
  Speaker 2: Chacot.
• 1:03:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Because I also wanted to say that I had, I think, one of the reasons why for me it all went so fast, Like being at the point in my business right now after just doing it for you one year.
• 1:03:34
  Speaker 2: I think it's a lot about the network and people don't put enough like emphasis on that, I guess, and just try to do it on their own, whereas for me, I started out working with the best of the best and I got to learn so much from them and they believed in me when I didn't yet.
• 1:03:51
  Speaker 2: So people like Finn and Carl and Clay were they right in the beginning, when it didn't even probably fill me and we're like, no, you're gonna get there.
• 1:03:58
  Speaker 2: We're so important for me.
• 1:04:01
  Speaker 2: That's why that specific image is like one of those that will always be very just important to me in a way.
• 1:04:07
  Speaker 1: How did?
• 1:04:08
  Speaker 2: you meet Carl then, because he was on that project in Turkey, that I got invited to.
• 1:04:11
  Speaker 2: So that was really cool.
• 1:04:14
  Speaker 2: And throughout my entire journey, I just kept focusing on networking.
• 1:04:20
  Speaker 1: Is that him as well?
• 1:04:21
  Speaker 2: That's Clay.
• 1:04:22
  Speaker 1: That's the other friend yeah so very cool shots.
• 1:04:28
  Speaker 2: Thanks.
• 1:04:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I love that one.
• 1:04:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that was, that was a vibe.
• 1:04:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Clay is also absolutely.
• 1:04:34
  Speaker 1: That man and woman look super cool as well.
• 1:04:36
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that was a really cool shoot and since then, like, my network just has expanded so much.
• 1:04:47
  Speaker 2: Like I know I know so many people in this industry, which I feel like is one of the most amazing things that you can say, and it's so valuable Not only having friends like, having friends that do the same and you can like just bounce off each other, share ideas.
• 1:05:03
  Speaker 2: They kind of had the same struggles.
• 1:05:06
  Speaker 2: They know what you're going through, like when I started out and everyone was already so good, I just started out there like, oh yeah, I remember like a couple of years ago and whatever.
• 1:05:14
  Speaker 2: It just helps so much.
• 1:05:17
  Speaker 2: So, building your network, like in a smart way and thinking about which people like will help you on your way.
• 1:05:24
  Speaker 2: That doesn't even have to mean that they're like it's crazy successful, but even if they're just someone you meet along the way, he really really believes in you.
• 1:05:30
  Speaker 2: It doesn't have to be that he has like 70,000 million followers, whatever.
• 1:05:33
  Speaker 2: It's just so important Like, choose your time and the people around you wisely and instead of just spending your time with people who want to go out and party all the time.
• 1:05:44
  Speaker 2: If that's not what you want to do, then don't be around those people and that's, I think, the main thing that everyone always like, also knows me about, like the people I have around me are the most talented, most passionate and sweetest people in this industry, probably also some of the sweetest people in the world, and I wouldn't want to have it any other way, because this way my network for me personally, for mental health is the best it could be, because everyone's insanely sweet and supportive and, at the same time, for everyone's business, it's the best network could be as well, because everyone's just helping each other out with jobs and with learning and with growth.
• 1:06:21
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, I would just say to literally everyone who starts out take care of the people around you, make sure you have the most amazing people around you that you could, and just connect with everyone who does the same and support each other.
• 1:06:35
  Speaker 2: It's so important that we'll bring you along that way.
• 1:06:38
  Speaker 1: Yeah, totally.
• 1:06:39
  Speaker 1: How do you go about meeting those people, is it?
• 1:06:41
  Speaker 1: You put yourself out there for jobs and the kind of most of them come through the jobs that you go on, I mean.
• 1:06:48
  Speaker 2: In the beginning, not really, because I started out traveling and just living off like remote editing jobs.
• 1:06:54
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 1:06:55
  Speaker 2: Mainly, and then I did a few jobs here and there, but I met most people online.
• 1:07:01
  Speaker 2: I'm not good at texting others on Instagram I'm really bad at that but somehow, luckily, other people texted me and more like really good at actually meeting people.
• 1:07:12
  Speaker 2: So I know you've had Kailan, for example, whatever and I've been following him and so he was in Bali.
• 1:07:18
  Speaker 2: So I think it's just important.
• 1:07:20
  Speaker 2: You see, there's someone you think is cool.
• 1:07:22
  Speaker 2: You're gonna just take that courage to be like hey, I'm here, do you want to meet up?
• 1:07:26
  Speaker 2: Do you want to shoot?
• 1:07:27
  Speaker 2: Can I help you do something?
• 1:07:28
  Speaker 2: Maybe as well, maybe you can help for something, and doing that is so important, especially in the beginning.
• 1:07:35
  Speaker 2: You want to get these connections.
• 1:07:37
  Speaker 2: You want to be able to learn from these people, see how they work, see what they're doing and getting into this community, because that's how you are able to grow that fast.
• 1:07:47
  Speaker 2: It's literally it's all about the people who have around you.
• 1:07:51
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I know that was one of your biggest tips right For people wanting to do what you do 100%.
• 1:07:58
  Speaker 1: What else, what are tips and pieces of?
• 1:08:01
  Speaker 1: You know, big pieces of advice you can offer.
• 1:08:06
  Speaker 2: Staying true to yourself and not like feeling pressured by other, like achievements, because I think a lot of us even though, like, the entire community is so supportive, but you still see, okay, they're working so much right now and I'm not whatever and you just keep comparing yourself, whereas instead, like, see it so differently, that person's a job right now, so you can't focus on things that I actually have time to focus on right now.
• 1:08:29
  Speaker 2: For example, I still don't have a website because I didn't ever put the time in.
• 1:08:33
  Speaker 2: So if someone else is doing a job right now, then instead of being like, oh my God, what have I done wrong?
• 1:08:39
  Speaker 2: I don't know?
• 1:08:39
  Speaker 2: Just be like hey, I can focus on a website now, that's awesome.
• 1:08:43
  Speaker 2: So just see what you can do yourself instead of focusing on what other people do, because I'm sure you have so much that you could focus on at work on, and having time is actually such a privilege.
• 1:08:55
  Speaker 2: So stop comparing yourself.
• 1:08:58
  Speaker 2: Don't try to mimic being someone else, because what will make you successful is who you are and that your work is unique.
• 1:09:08
  Speaker 2: So if you try to be like someone else or like have work that is like someone else's, you're not going to be successful with that because that person already exists, so why would they book you Like it's no?
• 1:09:19
  Speaker 1: easy for it?
• 1:09:19
  Speaker 1: Yeah, unless you undercut them.
• 1:09:22
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and then that's just not good, that's not fun, what?
• 1:09:26
  Speaker 1: else.
• 1:09:26
  Speaker 1: I know you talked about just doing it right, Just starting out, I mean a lot of people talk procrastinate, I guess, or don't have the confidence to just jump in.
• 1:09:38
  Speaker 1: What kind of advice can you offer in that area?
• 1:09:44
  Speaker 2: I think it's so important to don't overthink things.
• 1:09:47
  Speaker 2: For me, especially in the beginning, there were opportunities coming up and instead of thinking about it or thinking that it could be scary or maybe I'm not ready for it, that's a big thing.
• 1:09:56
  Speaker 2: I don't feel ready a lot of the times but, you just have to do it.
• 1:10:00
  Speaker 2: There will never be a right time.
• 1:10:01
  Speaker 2: So if you don't feel ready, that's the exact moment that you should do it, because that's when you're going to be able to grow.
• 1:10:07
  Speaker 2: If you feel ready for it, that's already too late, because then you're already there Like that's boring.
• 1:10:11
  Speaker 2: You're not going to learn from that.
• 1:10:12
  Speaker 2: So if you feel like you have a dream, you have a passion.
• 1:10:16
  Speaker 2: It doesn't have to be filmmaking.
• 1:10:17
  Speaker 2: Photography can be something completely different.
• 1:10:19
  Speaker 2: Even if it's scary, literally just do it and try it.
• 1:10:22
  Speaker 2: Because after seeing so many success stories just with the people around me, I literally feel like whatever you put your mind to, if you're passionate about it, if you put in the work and don't procrastinate, you can literally do whatever you want with your life.
• 1:10:35
  Speaker 2: And I feel like a lot of people are just scared of that.
• 1:10:38
  Speaker 2: They don't want to leave that stability and safety that their life gives them.
• 1:10:43
  Speaker 2: But if you're truly passionate about something, then honestly just do it.
• 1:10:47
  Speaker 2: It's such a waste of time if you just stay in that same spot.
• 1:10:52
  Speaker 2: You're not going to grow, You're not going to learn, You're not going to do anything.
• 1:10:54
  Speaker 2: So that's just boring.
• 1:10:56
  Speaker 1: There you go, just do it.
• 1:10:58
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you should be ambassador for Nike.
• 1:11:01
  Speaker 2: Perfect, I will be.
• 1:11:03
  Speaker 2: Hello Nike, come on Interesting.
• 1:11:06
  Speaker 1: You talked about not mimicking someone else.
• 1:11:08
  Speaker 1: I think it's very easy for people these days, with the saturation of social media, with more people than ever being photographers in that kind of visual art space.
• 1:11:20
  Speaker 1: How, I guess how do you find a unique style or a unique voice in this type of industry?
• 1:11:32
  Speaker 2: I mean, it is hard, I feel like in the beginning it is good to find inspiration from others and see what they're doing, and I guess it's a trial and error kind of situation where you're going to try different styles and you're going to see what you like and what you don't.
• 1:11:46
  Speaker 2: But as soon as you like something, even if it's something really different than what other people do, you should stick to exactly that, Because if you try to be someone else and try to mimic someone else's style, even though you're not passionate about it or good at it, you're, I don't know it's not going to do anything for you.
• 1:12:03
  Speaker 2: So try different styles in the beginning and what?
• 1:12:06
  Speaker 2: Just what you're passionate about, and when you found that thing, even if it's different than just do it and stick to it.
• 1:12:14
  Speaker 1: What about your inspirations?
• 1:12:16
  Speaker 1: Do you have one or two people that you really, really look up to in the industry that you don't want to mimic, but kind of want to emulate in some way.
• 1:12:30
  Speaker 2: So hard to say.
• 1:12:31
  Speaker 2: There's so many crazy good filmmakers.
• 1:12:35
  Speaker 2: For my own passion work I do have to say San Pato's work at the moment but there's so many good ones.
• 1:12:42
  Speaker 2: I feel like, honestly, my main inspiration are the people that have around me, because they are the most talented people in the industry and I think what motivates and inspires me so much is how passionate they still are about what they're doing.
• 1:12:55
  Speaker 2: And some of them have been on it for like a couple of years and they're still so passionate and that's what I never want to lose it's that passion.
• 1:13:03
  Speaker 2: So there's a lot of people that might be insane filmmakers, but I don't know them personally.
• 1:13:08
  Speaker 2: So I feel like they don't inspire me as much as the people around me who are so good at what they're doing but still so nice to everyone, so just grounded it, down to earth and crazy passionate.
• 1:13:17
  Speaker 2: So all my best friends are based inspirations.
• 1:13:20
  Speaker 1: So good, perfect.
• 1:13:22
  Speaker 1: We have a traditionalist podcast where our guests write a question for the next guest, kind of not knowing who's going to be on.
• 1:13:30
  Speaker 1: So the last guest we had, sophie, she wrote a question for you without knowing you or what would be on.
• 1:13:36
  Speaker 1: The question is what is your most treasured memory?
• 1:13:42
  Speaker 2: Oh, that's hard.
• 1:13:44
  Speaker 2: I think I'm going to say that business wise right now.
• 1:13:50
  Speaker 2: So, business wise.
• 1:13:53
  Speaker 2: I think my favorite moment of the last year was when I was on that job in Saudi Arabia and it was two female like one female filmmaker and one female producer and we were leading the entire project and, first of all, that doesn't happen that there's just women leading and doing like the whole cinematography, and also the fact that it was in Saudi Arabia, which is a country that's just not as developed in that direction yet.
• 1:14:22
  Speaker 2: So for me, business wise, that just felt like such an achievement and just made me so happy and proud for everyone involved in it, so that was really cool, I think that was one of the best memories this year Cool, awesome.
• 1:14:36
  Speaker 1: What does it look like in the future?
• 1:14:39
  Speaker 1: And making new memories right, what.
• 1:14:41
  Speaker 1: What does the next year, two years, look like for Julia?
• 1:14:46
  Speaker 2: Hopefully I'm just going to do a lot more passion work.
• 1:14:50
  Speaker 2: I definitely want to keep working with the amazing brands I get to work with at the moment, but I do want to just focus on doing my own stuff more and tell stories.
• 1:14:59
  Speaker 2: So I think that the most like the coolest memories for the next years will probably be me and my friends on crazy expeditions around the world and the craziest places, trying to tell unique stories and capturing that, and I really want to do that with a cool group of people involved.
• 1:15:18
  Speaker 2: My friends also be able to pay everyone, which I feel like is a really important part, because some people feel like us and say their friends, it's not that important, whereas I feel the exact opposite.
• 1:15:26
  Speaker 2: If you're my friend, I want to make sure that you're getting paid.
• 1:15:28
  Speaker 2: I don't really care about myself, but different topics.
• 1:15:32
  Speaker 2: So I feel like my goal for the next years is just crazy adventures with some of my best friends while telling incredible stories.
• 1:15:44
  Speaker 1: Do you have any specific places and stories in mind at this moment?
• 1:15:48
  Speaker 2: I want to go way more into like just different tribes around the world.
• 1:15:51
  Speaker 2: So I definitely want to do the Amazon Forest and do something over there.
• 1:15:54
  Speaker 2: I want to go to Undark Decade for a couple of months.
• 1:15:57
  Speaker 2: Also, here in Indonesia, there's so much that hasn't really been told yet.
• 1:16:03
  Speaker 2: I want to go up to Sulawesi and there's like this tribe, like these fishermen what are they called, I don't even know right now CGTs, yeah, thanks, thanks, awesome which I definitely want to capture as well.
• 1:16:16
  Speaker 2: And then go way more into restoration stuff, which I got to work on a project with this coral restoration.
• 1:16:26
  Speaker 2: Last year they did a coral restoration in Kenya and it was so beautiful to see and everyone was so passionate about it.
• 1:16:33
  Speaker 2: I wasn't there to film, I just edited it, but like just seeing what people can do if they put their mind to it and none of them were getting paid for it, but they just wanted to do something good.
• 1:16:44
  Speaker 2: That was beautiful and I want to do way more of that.
• 1:16:48
  Speaker 1: Cool, good for you.
• 1:16:49
  Speaker 1: What about futuristic challenges?
• 1:16:53
  Speaker 1: Does AI come into your thought process in terms of planning for it, or do you just not care?
• 1:16:59
  Speaker 2: I mean, in a way, I think everyone's kind of thinking about it, but I think we shouldn't be scared about it.
• 1:17:05
  Speaker 2: The way I do it right now.
• 1:17:06
  Speaker 2: I'm not into it like crazy, but I obviously like, did, experiment, finished up better a bit, and I love using chat, gpt for pictures and stuff, exactly, but it just helps so much.
• 1:17:19
  Speaker 2: So instead of just seeing it as an issue or just being scared of it, I see more of like it is a tool that can help you so much as well.
• 1:17:28
  Speaker 2: So as long as you get onto it, as soon as it starts, and start using it for your advantage, then it's so amazing to have.
• 1:17:35
  Speaker 2: If you don't do it and everyone else does, of course they're going to just be better and be quicker than you.
• 1:17:40
  Speaker 2: So I think, in a way, we kind of all just have to adapt a little bit and just see it in a positive way.
• 1:17:48
  Speaker 1: Yeah, here, here.
• 1:17:49
  Speaker 1: Let's finish with.
• 1:17:52
  Speaker 2: Why do you say that?
• 1:17:53
  Speaker 1: Huh.
• 1:17:55
  Speaker 2: What?
• 1:17:55
  Speaker 2: Why do you say?
• 1:17:57
  Speaker 1: that here here, here here in the UK, means like I agree.
• 1:18:00
  Speaker 1: Oh really, I've never heard that it's actually it's kind of a posh term so I won't make too much about it.
• 1:18:05
  Speaker 1: But, it's in parliament, politicians, if they agree with whatever the speaker is saying, they're like here, here, here here.
• 1:18:12
  Speaker 2: I've never heard that.
• 1:18:13
  Speaker 2: I thought that was more like here.
• 1:18:15
  Speaker 2: I'm interested.
• 1:18:16
  Speaker 2: We need to chat to you, find out the background between the phrase here, here that's so funny.
• 1:18:22
  Speaker 1: I agree.
• 1:18:23
  Speaker 1: Well said, this is also a kind of tradition which is kind of aligned with what I'm going to ask you to do later in terms of right question for our next guest.
• 1:18:32
  Speaker 1: It's kind of a lucky dip conversation card.
• 1:18:34
  Speaker 1: So if you pick a card, don't look at it and then I'll ask you the question and put you on the spot.
• 1:18:41
  Speaker 1: It's a bit All right.
• 1:18:45
  Speaker 1: It's a powerful like give me the card.
• 1:18:49
  Speaker 1: I'm asking the question.
• 1:18:50
  Speaker 1: Oh wow, this is from Melanie C.
• 1:18:57
  Speaker 1: It'd be a fellow fellow.
• 1:18:58
  Speaker 1: It'd be one of the spice girls wrote this question.
• 1:19:00
  Speaker 1: You know the spice girls, yeah, I'm not that young.
• 1:19:05
  Speaker 2: No, it's like Austria, did they have them?
• 1:19:07
  Speaker 1: in?
• 1:19:07
  Speaker 1: Were they in Austria?
• 1:19:08
  Speaker 1: I guess they were.
• 1:19:09
  Speaker 1: She asked would you do it all again?
• 1:19:14
  Speaker 2: Oh, 100%.
• 1:19:14
  Speaker 2: I think like the process is what makes it so fun, which is like, literally, there's so many moments in my life where I feel like I do want to go back.
• 1:19:24
  Speaker 2: I want to go back to being like not being able to film and like because you have such a crazy learning curve where everything just happens so quickly and you just get so excited about, like, just being able to create a little better or capture a shot and see, like, see more like about the composition and what looks good.
• 1:19:39
  Speaker 2: There's so many things that I would love to experience again, even if it's just that little bit of fear of being nervous and not really knowing if it's going to work out.
• 1:19:48
  Speaker 2: I think life is all about these highs and lows, and I had a lot of lows in my life, but I'm so insanely grateful for them because they teach you so many lessons, so it doesn't matter how bad or whatever the situation was, how bad or good, I would love to do it all again, literally.
• 1:20:05
  Speaker 2: I'm so grateful for every single moment.
• 1:20:08
  Speaker 1: Would?
• 1:20:08
  Speaker 1: I think you've answered this already, but would you change anything?
• 1:20:11
  Speaker 1: Or if there was anything that you would just tweak a little bit, what might it be?
• 1:20:17
  Speaker 2: I don't really think so.
• 1:20:19
  Speaker 2: Maybe the only thing is just believing in myself right from the beginning, because then I would have been able to do it even quicker, even though I do like the speed that it did.
• 1:20:29
  Speaker 1: A year is pretty good.
• 1:20:30
  Speaker 2: Yes, it's quite good, but I think that's literally the only thing.
• 1:20:34
  Speaker 2: Everything else, it was important that all of it happened, so yeah, I don't want to change.
• 1:20:40
  Speaker 1: It's been an absolute pleasure seeing retrospectively your journey, but I look forward to following your journey from now on even more so, and thank you so much for being here and chatting to us.
• 1:20:52
  Speaker 2: It's been a privilege.
• 1:20:52
  Speaker 2: It was really, really fun.
• 1:20:54
  Speaker 2: I did enjoy it a lot, thank you.