We were lucky to catch up with Aditya Gupta recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Aditya, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

The name of my brand is Reel it! Me and my friend Abhishek Tata came up with this name after scratching our head for days. We tried from using all the cinema words to equipments but nothing sounded right or connecting so we thought of going back to the days when movies were primarily shot on film and how all the personal cameras were super 8 or 16mm film cameras. The film was always rolled onto a reel for each roll before it was sent for processing or for playbacks, etc. Our agenda for this company is to be able to help people film their projects or make advertisements for their businesses in the easiest manner possible. So we realized our name should suggest what we do. And Reel it suggests our clients that whatever it is they are doing, they can *reel it* to advertise and grow their business.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I developed an interest of film making while making short films and documentaries with my school friends. Eventually, that interest turned into a passion which let me work to become a cinematographer. That’s where my journey begun, and after 6 years of learning from 2 film schools and working on number of films, I with my friend Abhishek created an entity called Reel it. The aim for Reel it is to let me provide my services to others and help them bring their vision to screen, while collaborating with other passionate minds in the film industry. In my humble opinion, Reel it is not only a production company but a platform for filmmakers to come together and talk about their visions and plans for any idea or script, and present it to the world. Our aim is to bring film students and industry professionals to our platform and talk about their ways of film making so people who don’t have access to film schools can still learn the craft and gain knowledge from the working peers.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The best source of clients for me has been working on spec projects or small projects as favors. Its just a way of showing people what you are capable of with limited resources. More importantly it gives you an idea if you form a connection with the client in terms of the creative vision and if it would be worth spending all the time and energy working on something bigger them. Once you have shown your abilities and passion for the field, it’s not that difficult to find clients. Word of mouth is crucial in this business. If someone can recommend you to new people then you already have an advantage of booking more clients as there is some level of trust and credibility involved. Social media is also a good way to show your work to new people which can attract them to work with you!

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

In my first semester of studying at New York Film Academy. I was meeting a lot of people and crewing up on many student productions and after one of the productions Abhishek Tata a directing student at NYFA approached me to shoot his semester 1 film which I accepted. I have working with him ever since and even shot his thesis film Venge. After graduating from school we worked on a few spec commercials and ideas which led us thinking into starting our own platform. Which is why we came with the idea of Reel it and also shot a few podcasts which are still to be released!

Contact Info:

• Website: helloreelit.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helloreelit/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1JWvXGUDBEt13A-o89cWhw

Image Credits
Lucy Poster by Pranav Mehta.