The question then became how. The simplest answer I received was just do stuff, anything and everything. In the beginning that seemed somewhat annoying since I didn't know where to begin so I opted towards the most reliable choice, just start making movies.
I began with a Flip camera which I used for my short film The Crayola Contract. When I was in California I picked up the clips for Can't Be Friends with the same meager, yet efficient equipment.
If those were the kickstart, I'd say the ignition stemmed from my trip to the Cannes Film Festival. The trip conveyed what could be the future product of my work. If I pursued this idea with a passion I could be walking the red carpet in the same manner as the people I was privilege to work with. In contrast, I could be one of the multitude of scalpers there picking at the bones of others accomplishments, embellishing the products of my work with no substantial roots.
Definitely don't want that. When I got back to the states I picked up a new camera, the Canon 550D, and started grinding out any kind of project I could get my hands on. This would lead to me branching out beyond just filmwork to photography, modeling, commercials, & small videos. I still have so much more to achieve and even more to learn, but I believe the benefits are visible now. One of the most recent ones (and the main reason for this article) was to showcase the most recent benefit from my work and the website.
Before school ended one of my teachers noticed the work I'd been doing and recommended me Educational Technology Department of my college. This referral led me to my current job, video manager and photographer for the College of Arts and Sciences Educational Technology Department at The University of Alabama.
I haven't had the chance to do a high amount of video work for the department, but I've been out taking pictures on a constant basis and I love it. You can check out my work for the department at our Flickr account HERE. I'll most likely set up a constant link on the site at some point since I consider the work I do for etech and my website to be separate, but I'm pretty sure I'll share some of my work here at some point as well.
Merry Belated Christmas,
You are so talented Xay, I check out the Flickr album. Really beautiful images! It is so refreshing to see someone who is so passionate about what he is doing (you write EXTREMELY well by the way). Your greatness really shows through your passion and your passion is evident in your work, that is why your teacher took notice and mark my words, your teacher isn't going to be the only one to notice. So continue what you are doing, keep being proud of your current job position. It is amazing that you are doing what you love for a job! You are going to go as far as you allow yourself to go and by the look and sound of things that will be very, very far!
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Thank you for the uplift. It def. means a lot coming from an individual whose already established in their own right.
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