IN THE age of digital technology and social media, video marketing is only getting bigger [1]. As a result, the demand for videographers is growing, and people are starting to show interest in the emerging occupation [2]. The Yonsei Annals interviewed Karimiy Bunyod, a freelance videographer with over 250 private and commercial videos under his belt, to share some insights on what it takes to become a videographer.

Annals: What do you do as a freelance videographer?

Karimiy: I am responsible for everything from planning to producing videos, which includes negotiating, drafting, scriptwriting, setting up, filming, and editing videos, usually for advertisements. I receive job requests through different platforms such as Instagram, Telegram, and my website. After accepting a job I am interested in, I meet with my client for a briefing to discuss the purpose, target audience, and budget for the video. After we finalize the details, I create a storyline and figure out how I want everything to be filmed. I then call my location and actor scouts to tell them the schedules and what kind of setting and actors I will need, respectively. Once we get to filming, I have a crew of around 10-15 people, depending on the project. I work with a director, camera operators, lighting director, sound director, stylist, van driver, and a few assistants. I am usually the sole director, but if the job is too much for me to handle on my own, I collaborate with another director. Finally, I edit the final product and exchange drafts with the client until they are satisfied. So far, I have filmed product and service commercials, sports events, social media influencer and model promotions, and short films.

Annals: What inspired you to become a freelance videographer?

Karimiy​​​​​​​: A few years ago, I discovered vlogs created by a popular video content creator, Casey Neistat. I fell in love with his videomaking style, which inspired me to start making my own videos. I had no experience filming or editing, and I only had my iPhone camera and Adobe Premiere Pro on my laptop. Regardless, I filmed and edited vlogs for myself and shared them on my social media platforms. I received positive reactions, so I kept making more videos and basic skits. After some time, I got my hands on one of my relative’s video cameras, which greatly improved the quality of my videos.

   I also experimented with transitions I could include in my videos. I produced my first budgeted video out of my own pocket. To my surprise, it got noticed by a popular videographer, Abdulaziz Abdukodiriy, who is now my mentor. He told me to consider videography as a potential career path and encouraged me to become a full-time videographer after I graduated from high school. After working with him on a few projects, I decided to pursue videography full-time.

Annals: What do you need to start a career as a videographer?

Karimiy​​​​​​​: I’d recommend learning the fundamentals with the resources accessible to you. Everyone has a phone camera these days, and there are plenty of free video editing programs. Even after you get your first job offer, you don’t necessarily need to invest in your own equipment since most videographers rent out cameras, lights, props, and anything else needed for commercial projects. Renting equipment isn’t as costly as you think—you probably won’t use the same equipment for each set. For smaller projects, I sometimes use my personal camera, a Fujifilm X-T3, but when it comes to bigger productions, I rent out cameras, lights, stands, and microphones that would cost a fortune to own. Renting also lets me try out various setups and understand what works best for different projects. If you invest in personal equipment, do it purely for recreational purposes.

Annals: What is the most important thing to have in mind when interacting with clients?

Karimiy​​​​​​​: Listening and taking notes on what my clients expect from me. I always ask them for any small details they had in mind—the more specific, the better. For example, if a client wants to present their business in a flashy manner, I will consider a brighter background; however, if the client continually refers to the professionalism of the brand, I might consider a more symmetrical composition[3] and hire an actor who can do a straightforward pitch. My clients and I share many personal stories while discussing what kind of video they want, so by the end of the meeting, we are on a first-name basis, which helps with networking.

Annals: How important is networking for freelance videographers?

Karimiy​​​​​​​: Everyone in the video production industry must network. I often find crew members through recommendations from my clients, which is how I found my go-to location scout and many hardworking assistants. I also have many clients who were referred to me by another client. For example, one of the first jobs I got was through my aunt’s referral for a bookstore called Bookshelf. Then, the owner of Bookshelf referred me to a journal publication, MyDay, so I made a promotional video for them too. Giving recommendations to my co-workers and clients is also rewarding since I can help my colleagues, and they often return the favor in one way or another. Everyone is connected in this niche industry.

Annals: Are there any difficulties when it comes to collaborating with your team?

Karimiy​​​​​​​: In our industry, collaboration is crucial to work as effectively and efficiently as possible. For example, if the lighting director does not communicate properly with the camera operator, they might capture the wrong angle. If I am not the sole director, I have to work closely with my co-director to make sure we are on the same page, or else we’ll end up wasting valuable time. It is essential to be on good terms with everyone on set and communicate clearly. There are a few slackers now and then, but you should resist the urge to express your frustrations as this might ruin everyone’s mood on set, especially the actors, who have to put on big smiles for successful takes.

Annals: Is getting a degree in filmmaking necessary to become a videographer?

Karimiy​​​​​​​: I cannot speak for all freelance videographers, but from my experience, it’s not that important to have a degree in filmmaking. However, attending a film school has its perks. You can find people who will eventually become a part of your crew. More importantly, you find people who are just as passionate as you about making videos. Also, professors with many years of videography and filmmaking experience will provide much better critique and feedback to your work than you or an average viewer with an untrained eye can.

   Most videographers I know, including myself, did not receive higher education in videography. University curriculums become outdated by the time you graduate because new editing equipment is released every year, making much of what you learned obsolete. Also, many videographers I know dropped out of university because they felt that practice would be a better way for them to hone their skills. Thankfully, most clients are familiar with the videography business, so they do not look at the degree as much as the portfolio. Your best works are what people will notice when they look at your profile; anyone can get a degree, but not everyone can make a good video. Self-taught videographers can use the internet to learn the same skills taught in film schools, such as editing videos, using a DSLR camera, or writing a compelling storyline.

Annals: Who should consider becoming a videographer?

Karimiy​​​​​​​: Someone with a passion for creating stories. I have to make a new story for every client, and if a client does not like my pitch, I have to redraft it until they are satisfied. It can be demotivating when someone does not appreciate your creativity, but if you love coming up with new ideas and stories, this is the job for you. Aside from that, I would recommend videography to someone who enjoys most parts of video production: communicating with the client, planning, scriptwriting, setting up, filming, editing, and everything in between. If there are specific things you don’t enjoy, such as editing, you could consider becoming a director, or if you want to avoid filming, then you might be better suited as a scriptwriter. Naturally, you will like some aspects of the job more than others, but you should have enough skills to be confident in your ability to critique scripts, select appropriate actors, or set up lights if your crew does a subpar job. Having experience with filming is good because learning about angles, space, composition, and different panning techniques without experimenting with them by yourself is challenging. The same goes for editing: the more experience you have, the more details you can add to your video.

Annals: During the creation process, which part would you say is the most important?

Karimiy​​​​​​​: I think the most important step is scriptwriting. Once I settle on an idea for the story, I have to write out every step to make it exactly how I envisioned it. First, I consider the general details like the equipment, actors, outfits, and the type of location. Then, I come up with a few different scenarios for many scenes to choose the one that looks best when recorded. More importantly, I consider the budget, time, dimensions of the film set, and any other obstacles I might run into during filming. On-set there are too many factors out of my control, like unexpected weather or crew members arriving late, which is why I can’t afford to be coming up with new ideas on the spot or realize the camera cannot pan at a certain speed as we are filming. I spend entire days making sure I didn’t overlook anything.

Annals: Every videographer relies on a certain video taking or editing technique for their work. What would you say is yours?

Karimiy​​​​​​​: I think creative transitions became my trademark because of how interesting people find them. For short videos, an intriguing transition gets the viewer to watch the video again just to see what happened. For example, in a video for my bookshelf advertisement, I edited it to look like the child pulled out a book from a picture. Many viewers were confused at first, so they re-watched the video over and over again to find the trick in the editing, and every time they did, my client’s product was getting promoted. Many videographers stick to simple default transitions like a flash of a screen, but I like to differentiate my advertisements this way. Many of my videos are shared online precisely because of the creative transitions. That is how my projects get noticed by bigger brands and businesses.

Annals: What kind of videos are you hoping to film in the near future?

Karimiy​​​​​​​: Because I have been so busy producing commercial videos, I did not have the chance to film as many passion projects as I wanted to. Recently, instead of filming them in my free time, as I used to as a high school student, I prefer to spend some time away from anything that reminds me of work. However, I realized that these passion projects are where I improve the most as a videographer, as I have no clients to satisfy or colleagues I must work with—it’s just me, my imagination, and my camera. I can try out random ideas I had on sets and experiment with equipment or editing styles I wanted without having to worry about messing up or the deadline for a project, which definitely improves my skills. Based on my social media activity reports, these passion projects give the most publicity for my work, so they are not bad from a business perspective too. I think people perceive these non-commercial videos as more genuine because there is no looming feeling of being deceived into buying a product; there is an innocence to the storytelling. Most of all, I am proud of these non-commercial videos the most since they are not someone else’s product, but my very own.

Annals: Is there any advice you could give to aspiring freelance videographers?

Karimiy​​​​​​​: Practice, analyze, and move into an environment where you can learn from others. Practice is the best way to learn in this niche but rapidly developing industry. You’ll learn much more by producing a video than reading a textbook about videography. Exchange contacts with everyone on set because networking matters. If you spend time with other talented videographers, you are bound to learn from their filming and editing techniques.

   If you have trouble with inspiration, see what other videographers create and ‘copy’ their ideas. Writers do it, musicians do it, and so do videographers. Copying is a great way to learn the fundamental skills of filming and editing as a beginner. Just make sure not to profit from other people’s work, and refrain from depending on others’ ideas. This is a creative industry so learning how to develop original ideas and techniques is essential.

   Finally, take every opportunity you can to be a part of a bigger videography project. Get on bigger sets and productions to see what they do differently. Then, make changes to your team, equipment, or filming techniques to improve your work. I still do humble backstage jobs[4] for bigger productions from time to time to learn from the best.

[1] Medium

[2] Forbes

[3] Symmetrical composition: A technique in filming that focuses on the center by setting up a horizontally symmetrical background

[4] Backstage job: A behind-the-scenes filming of a videography production