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

Alright, Alex thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Since I was a young 7-year-old, I always knew I wanted to make movies, It was just something that brought joy to me, I was always running around with a camera and creating little videos or simply recording family events. I spent most of my teenage years learning how to edit videos on any software I could get my hands on. I would spend hours just watching FilmRiot and DIY(Do it Yourself) videos on how to make videos cinematic. Once I was in my senior year of high school I knew I wanted to pursue a career in movie making, after looking for schools, I settled for my best bet and that was The Art Institute of Austin. I went to the Art Institute in Austin for almost a year, and switched over to the Art Institute of San Antonio, simply because living in Austin was way too expensive.

During my time in the art institute, I did learn plenty of beneficial software like Photoshop, and Illustrator, as for actual video production, I learned some industry talk and industry basics but the school was really basic in education. I mostly tried to rent out as much camera equipment as possible and learned how to use plenty of cameras and video production equipment. I spent more time practicing on my own, making short films for youtube, and trying to enter film festivals on my own. I had a few successes, making a little horror short called “Make It Stop” which was selected for The San Antonio Horrific Film Festival, where we ended up winning the audience choice award.

After finishing school and receiving my Bachelor’s Degree in Digital Film and Video Production, I quickly learned that there was no real benefit from the degree. Much of what I learned was theory and got some minor filming experience, but thanks to all the practice I had been doing with camera equipment, I switched over to freelance videography. So much of what I learned about videography was self-taught, I filmed plenty of free events, music videos, short films and with trial and error, I slowly started to craft my skills in video production.

If I had the opportunity to do things a little differently, I would have saved on the college tuition and simply invested in camera equipment and would have joined and worked with local creatives for free to just learn their ways. Sometimes a higher education is not ideal for certain industries, and Videography and Film is just one of them.

The most essential skills to have as a videographer/creative/filmmaker is collaboration, teamwork, and communication. Many folks in this industry become consumed by ego, me included, but once you get your ego in control, you realize that sometimes to get the best product, working with a team is the best way to go. Collaborating with other creatives, will not only help you with exploring other outlets but push you to grow as a professional and as a person. You would be surprised by the number of doors that open the more you work with others.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

So who is Alex Serlof? I am a filmmaker and videographer from San Antonio. I am the CEO of Aztec Cinema, where I have been providing the city of San Antonio with video services of many kinds such as corporate testimonials, music videos, sweet 16, weddings, and social media promos since 2016. We also produce and create feature films. Our main goal is to start creating more feature films here in San Antonio.

We had a very successful first feature film “El Sueño Americano” with over 9 million views on YouTube. Something we plan on repeating with our other feature films.

What we want our followers to know is that we will be pushing out more films in the future, it’s slow-moving but our goals and dreams are still there. We will be making movies in San Antonio, that represent our culture, people, and city. Making movies for San Antonio is our end goal, but as we grow to that, you’ll see me running around shooting a wedding or sweet 16.

That itself is what makes Aztec Cinema so unique, not only are we pursuing making movies for our city, but providing video services too. Someone in your family will have an event video made by Aztec Cinema or will run into our movie on youtube. Aztec Cinema will be ever-lasting.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

The best way to support artists and creatives is to share their work, share their information, share their social media, and just share them. It’s the digital age and any exposure you can give them goes a long way. The more you share their work, and their social media pages, the more you grow their exposure to the world. If you want art to continue, you must share it with the world.

: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My main goal, my main desire, is to be a movie director. Times have changed, and it’s so difficult to pursue that dream, but I will do anything I can to achieve that goal. I want to direct and have the movies I make, be viewed around the world. I have accomplished parts of this goal, by having my first movie get 9 million views, but why stop there? Everything I do, I know is slowly taking me to that path. I have learned that everything has its divine timing. I will continue to grow in my craft, and one day I’ll be at The Oscars.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.alexserlof.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexserlof/?igshid=1rv4ylb238rx4
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlexSerlof
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexis-flores-011a44125/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zn3nRI3kuY&t=3s

Image Credits
Photos by Cinthya Cortez