We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Diego Roq a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Diego thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

There’s always a risk of failure when you decide to fully commit to your own artistry. I decided to commit fully to my filmmaking with the desire to solely live off of the projects I work on and things I create. Before starting to venture down the road of my own company I worked for another visual company in a small way and I wasn’t happy. I felt like I had more to offer but I didn’t want to give away all of my creativity and energy to someone else; I wanted to be apart of my own movement. I wished to change my circumstances but always struggled with the how. Overtime, talking years, I built a reputation for shooting music videos and content with many different artists and clients. With this core base of support I then decided to launch ‘ROQ Initiative’, which originally started as an online platform for video production education and tips. As I continued shooting music videos, skits, event recaps, and short form content for brands I started to incorporate the name ‘ROQ Initiative’ more & more. This lead to ROQ Initiative going from an educational platform to a full fledged video production company and growing in ways I couldn’t imagine.

A large lesson in this journey is realizing you can’t do anything alone and asking for help when you need it. Going from simply living with parents editing in my bedroom then sharing studio spaces to having an apartment, a large private studio, and an event space to host gatherings in a prominent building, I proved to myself that simply believing in your own word and dreams could be enough.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I graduated from New Jersey City University with a Bachelors in Media Arts. The major introduced me to media and the different roles one could have in it such as being an editor, or sound designer, director, cinematographer, etc. I knew early on in college that I enjoyed films, watching and dissecting them, analyzing shots and the meaning behind things in frame, listening to the scores; it was one of the mediums of art I became obsessed with.

I was gifted a photography camera by a friend that I use to shoot with. We’d walk around and shoot whatever was interesting to us. We started to pay attention to lines, symmetry, light, it was a great daily practice. I purchased my own camera at some point because I wanted to shoot video as well. Once I really dove into the video aspect of cameras I quickly wanted to edit clips together, cut them to music, and make pretty pieces from the subjects I shot. I began shooting music videos as I found out you could get paid making one for an artist. I knew it wouldn’t pay well but I realized I wanted to make this my business. I loved the process of brainstorming ideas, putting them on paper and bringing them to life.

I learned how to provide an artist or client with a great experience. As I began to appreciate music more, I ensured each artist I worked with that their visual was in good hands. I taught myself in depth each step of production; pre-production, principal photography, and post-production. Artists would appreciate my love for movies as I would incorporate narratives and a cinematic approach to capturing their visuals. I shot music videos for over ten years. In that span of time I felt confident jumping into other forms of content such as event recaps and documentaries as my love of music and story telling kept me very adaptable.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I have a major life goal of doing things I only want to do. There will be times we do things we don’t want to because we have to but ultimately I’d like to continue seeing where my art takes me as I believe it will keep bringing good things. Life is short and I want to be able to simply do whatever things interest me.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

The strategy I implement daily is simply being kind and as authentic as you can be. As a director, my sets always carry positive energy and the vibe of a family. I’m clear with what I need and fast with execution on what must be done yet I know there should be a balance of fun and spontaneity as that also comes along with creating. This strategy of authenticity, kindness, and fun spreads like wildfire. Clients appreciate authenticity as it comes with a sense of transparency and kindness always goes a long way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://roqinitiative.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roqinitiative/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCReZJKhILPeU6i_ejImF6Tg