A Look into Creative Pursuits & Triumphs with Julia Kursten, E024

So it was a lot of fun to have her on , but we did touch upon some important topics For Julia . 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 .

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 . So here she is , julia Kirsten . Who are you , what do you do and why are you here ?

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 . 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 ? It's a privilege to have someone as talented as you are on the show .

So thank you so much for coming .

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 . So it's quite mental .

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 . 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 . So when I am on a shoot , it's always me and the boys .

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 . So , yeah , I've .

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 .

I like I don't know if you know , Clay a life like the wind . Finn shot quite a bit with him . He's really , really talented .

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 .

And that was literally like last August , so a year ago , when I decided maybe , maybe I should get into video . 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 .

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 . I felt like I already achieved everything in life , basically Like my family was so happy with what it was doing . I had like great income just having these tiles of being a CEO .

And then I was at this female empowerment startup . So I was 19 back then and I was like kind of finished life , so it was . It was crazy , I felt like just .

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 .

So I think that's how I got into it , because it's just like possibilities are never ending . 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 . I know I just felt like I was done .

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 . I'm literally living my dream .

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 .

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 .

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 . 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 .

But in the beginning they were like , okay , our little daughter is alone in this world . So I think by now they're kind of understanding that it's actually working out very well for me .

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 . But we're getting back , so that's awesome , that's sweet .

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 . 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 .

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 . So , yeah , that's a big struggle for sure .

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 . 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 ?

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 . Otherwise I think I would have never been happy back home , if I . I mean , obviously they would have probably been a little happier . But I like that .

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 .

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 . 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 .

So I have the time to spend time with people , which I didn't really before , even though I was successful in marketing . But for me , it's so important to also think about the people around me . 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 .

Spend time with fellow creators , colleagues , friends so , yeah , I guess that's success to me .

What is it that that means to you ?

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 .

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 .

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 . I don't know , it's just contagious , right .

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 .

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 .

For some reason , bali does that . 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 . So I just feel , yeah , close to myself , close to everyone else , close to nature . Bali's , I don't know , has a crazy energy about it , I guess .

Everyone could always do better . Just put that stuff out . 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 .

So I think your brand is not only about what you can produce , but also how you make the people around you feel . 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 . 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 .

So always make sure that other people get to know you , not just your work . Like if you have a website , put something about you that people will be able to engage with that people . That will make people feel something . I feel like that's so important .

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 . 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 .

But they're also like , oh , that's that smiley Julia girl . Like she seems so fun , we should have her on set . So , yeah , it's good to have both .

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 . Give us an idea of what you think has contributed to a good growth on social media .

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 .

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 .

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 . That's always something that I have in mind .

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 .

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 .

I want to go to Africa , but my clients will be like , oh , that's so cinematic , I want to book her . So , yeah , just find a balance of things that make you you be unique and see who you want to reach on Instagram .

And then the rest is just like network , which was really important . So , yeah , I see more as a portfolio .

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 .

Everything else , tiktok , facebook .

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 . It brought me to where I am now . 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 .

I don't know why they want to work with me and it's been absolutely beautiful . 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 . So I want to start my YouTube channel and I don't know how do you know , sam Potter ?

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 .

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 ? Right . 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 .

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 .

What is that ? Like , not many people get that privilege .

But , yeah , I want to focus more on the environment side as well and just tell deeper stories than just about traveling filmmaking .

most . 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 . 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 .

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 .

They were like , oh , this is our kitchen , come look . 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 . 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 .

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 . 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 .

They're like , well , she don't need anything . It's like back to the community thing . So long as you have that , I feel like you can do anything you want . Um , so yeah , it's stuff like that . 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 .

Um , just yeah , telling stories like that will be beautiful .

So she's she definitely was a big inspiration for me , um , and yeah , ada , growth was a few months . I'm sorry but it's a few months . So , um empowerment startup that we founded , um about two years ago now I think . Um and now it's becoming international . So many people want to invest in it and um starting to grow . It's so nice .

It's been getting so many awards and reaching so many people . 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 . So you have like a lot of courses by woman for women .

Okay , um , to just make you more confident or whatever , make you come across a little bit more just like you can . You can do this and not like you're just like the little girl on the sidewalk , basically , NGO or you know , paid for . Uh , no , it's paid for yeah . Um but yeah it's .

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 . I mean , yeah , for sure .

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 . 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 . Um .

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 . Just raise awareness that way . So maybe other female filmmaker stories or woman in different businesses , um so , yeah , is there anything ?

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 . Um , but also understand the struggles that women do have in certain industries . I mean talk about filmmaking , Like I didn't really know that stat I haven't .

You know , being a man , I probably have never given it that much thought . Photography , I've noticed it and certainly , like with the podcast , I think our first 10 episodes were all men .

out because they're like a different gender . 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 .

But you're just thinking of oh , that's nice , um , that's like . Oh , julie , it's not a guy . Fuck , like sorry .

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 .

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 . Um . So yeah , definitely , community aspect is a big thing about it .

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 .

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 . But you still have to .

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 .

It doesn't fucking matter . None of this should matter , right , but for some reason it does . Um , but anyway , digress . So you're talking about ? So what was the second thing you were going to say about the issue ?

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 . I don't know if this is like a dangerous situation , if I'm all right , if it's all just legit . Um , so these things do come to my mind and to everyone's mind .

I think which I don't think that guys think about that much . 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 .

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 .

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 . 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 .

You're going to be out shooting for 13 hours . There's going to be toilets for the guys . There's . 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 .

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 .

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 .

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 . 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 .

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 . Um , and all that floating and whatever starts . I'm like I'm here in a job . Really .

it is annoying . After one I'm just like I'll just let me work . Um , yeah . So I feel like there's a lot of points we could probably talk about that so long .

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 .

And I will be like no , I could do so much better . Um , which , in a way , I mean it's good to always think that you could do better and want to be better . Um , but I'm too hard on myself . I think literally that's the biggest challenge , um , which I don't know why . I do it .

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 . But I'm really hard on myself , which I should . Wait , isn't that also a good thing , Uh anyway , yeah , I guess because I keep pushing myself .

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 . 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 .

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 ? It's so weird . Um , but okay , fair enough . Um , yeah , sony FX3 can rig up so nicely . It looks beautiful . Um , I want to go into shooting only with prime lenses now , because it just makes such a difference . Um , I love the look of it so much . It's just annoying .

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 . But it's so worth it . Um .

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 . You have a nice bouquet in the back . It all looks so cinematic and clean . You do really see a huge difference which I in the beginning didn't really think I would .

But if you put like these two images next to each other , you're like this just looks .

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 . But get a risk it for the biscuit .

They love their tech me included love cameras and equipment . Just anything it's got buttons . I'm in , yeah , yeah .

For me , a camera is just it's like a .

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 .

So every like toy accessory that can add to your camera .

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 . Oh my god , that's crazy yeah that's a lot .

I also didn't talk about it on my Instagram , which I probably shouldn't be more open about it . 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 .

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 . That's why it took these five days .

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 . But but yeah , I did get really burned out the last weeks . We're just not ideal , but well it's .

Have you had any ?

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 . So that was what does a full five countries and three weeks and I Felt like it couldn't enjoyed anymore .

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 . I should have been in that moment .

I'm like all my dreams are coming true . I'm doing exactly what I love . 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 . 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 .

Now I noticed which was the last job I was on . I Was for them , I was it seemed like I was still full energy because they didn't know me yet . But for myself I was so disappointed in what I could give . Um , that's so I don't know .

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 . And everyone was like , oh yeah , energy is amazing . I was like no , you don't know me , right ?

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 .

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 .

What advice can you give others to Not have to experience that or to avoid burnout ?

thing . When you feel like your passion starts being more of a burden , then Like no , don't do a job right now . 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 .

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 .

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 .

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 . It's so important being bored .

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 . This device is talking about phones as well as many other devices .

Now , with AI coming , it's just like overload , overload , overlight if you want it . So you have to consciously make the effort to step away from it exactly .

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 . That's quite far below Okay . No , right now I'm literally I'm going out without my phone , without any device , and I'm just having a wholesome . I know we'll get the beach or something be in the moment Exactly , and it's so important .

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 . Right , I'll be doing something . I've got to chase this , got to chase this . 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 . And often it's just work smarter , not work harder , right ?

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 .

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 .

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 . But he sees something . 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 .

But you also want to kind of dive deeper into when it comes to YouTube , longer form videos , things like that . Tell people how you know what cinematic actually means and how .

If you're a stickler for colligrating like how , give us some specific specifications like how can you make something cinematic ?

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 . It has a good storyline from the beginning to the end . That's what makes it cinematic , not just one cinematic clip .

That's not really how it works . So it's so much more about thinking about sequences , thinking about why this clip works next to the other . 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 . You have to have a flow .

You have to think about why , why does this , this work together ? 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 . So this moves right and left and forward and back and you're like where should I look ?

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 . Everything just kind of stays , I don't know . It just makes it look so much nicer .

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 .

the narrative . Yeah , that's where the true art comes in , right .

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 .

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 .

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 .

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 . So I think it's not that much about color grading .

How do I want this to look to fit in with what's going on in the film ? Or do you kind of just wait to post and just go okay , now what are we doing with the colors ? What's the process ?

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 . Then that's going to be very clean , a lot of whites , just bright tones . I feel like that's something you're just going to learn and get the eye for when which kind of grade makes sense . I think you learn a lot by just watching other videos .

For me , it's specifically music videos where I learned so much from Really . Yeah , for some reason I feel like people get really creative with music videos and there's no specific style for it .

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 . So I never say dope . Just did Exclusive . Yeah , literally . For me , music videos might be one of my big source of inspiration at the moment .

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 .

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 . We're so important for me . That's why that specific image is like one of those that will always be very just important to me in a way .

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 . They kind of had the same struggles .

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 . It just helps so much . So , building your network , like in a smart way and thinking about which people like will help you on your way .

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 . It doesn't have to be that he has like 70,000 million followers , whatever .

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 .

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 .

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 . It's so important that we'll bring you along that way .

I mean .

So I think it's just important . You see , there's someone you think is cool . You're gonna just take that courage to be like hey , I'm here , do you want to meet up ? Do you want to shoot ? Can I help you do something ? Maybe as well , maybe you can help for something , and doing that is so important , especially in the beginning .

You want to get these connections . 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 . It's literally it's all about the people who have around you .

, so you can't focus on things that I actually have time to focus on right now . For example , I still don't have a website because I didn't ever put the time in . So if someone else is doing a job right now , then instead of being like , oh my God , what have I done wrong ? I don't know ?

Just be like hey , I can focus on a website now , that's awesome . 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 . So stop comparing yourself .

Don't try to mimic being someone else , because what will make you successful is who you are and that your work is unique . 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 ?

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 . If you feel ready for it , that's already too late , because then you're already there Like that's boring . You're not going to learn from that . So if you feel like you have a dream , you have a passion .

It doesn't have to be filmmaking . Photography can be something completely different . Even if it's scary , literally just do it and try it .

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 . And I feel like a lot of people are just scared of that .

They don't want to leave that stability and safety that their life gives them . But if you're truly passionate about something , then honestly just do it . It's such a waste of time if you just stay in that same spot . You're not going to grow , You're not going to learn , You're not going to do anything . So that's just boring .

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 .

So try different styles in the beginning and what ? 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 .

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 .

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 . So there's a lot of people that might be insane filmmakers , but I don't know them personally .

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 . So all my best friends are based inspirations .

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 . 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 .

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 .

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 . If you're my friend , I want to make sure that you're getting paid . I don't really care about myself , but different topics .

So I feel like my goal for the next years is just crazy adventures with some of my best friends while telling incredible stories .

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 . And then go way more into restoration stuff , which I got to work on a project with this coral restoration .

Last year they did a coral restoration in Kenya and it was so beautiful to see and everyone was so passionate about it . 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 .

That was beautiful and I want to do way more of that .

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 . 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 .

If you don't do it and everyone else does , of course they're going to just be better and be quicker than you . 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 .

It's a powerful like give me the card . I'm asking the question . Oh wow , this is from Melanie C . It'd be a fellow fellow . It'd be one of the spice girls wrote this question . You know the spice girls , yeah , I'm not that young .

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 .

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 .

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 . I'm so grateful for every single moment .