We were lucky to catch up with Anuj Desai recently and have shared our conversation below.
Anuj , appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I was first exposed to the wonderful world of photography through my dad’s Yashica camera. He allowed me to use the camera extensively to click pictures at every given opportunity, thus establishing my passion for photography. Subsequently, I tried my hand at videography. I made a short video showcasing my collection of cricket cards and posting it on YouTube at the age of 11. My parents, who liked my videos, saw potential in me and encouraged me to further my abilities in the field. Soon enough, I learnt to edit videos on Filmora and Premiere Pro, immersing myself in videography and editing. An internship as a videographer and editor at Things2do, a hyperlocal travel and lifestyle content portal, finally paved the way for a career in cinematography.
Anuj , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I was first exposed to the wonderful world of photography through my dad’s Yashica camera. He allowed me to use the camera extensively to click pictures at every given opportunity, thus establishing my passion for photography. Subsequently, I tried my hand at videography. I made a short video showcasing my collection of cricket cards and posting it on YouTube at the age of 11. My parents, who liked my videos, saw potential in me and encouraged me to further my abilities in the field. Soon enough, I learnt to edit videos on Filmora and Premiere Pro, immersing myself in videography and editing. An internship as a videographer and editor at Things2do, a hyperlocal travel and lifestyle content portal, finally paved the way for a career in cinematography. To further enhance my skills , I pursued my course from renowned film school in California , New York film academy.
One of my biggest achievement in my life was “No smoking papa” campaign. It’s an initiative I took when I was 13 years old. I made a music video which had an impactful story and touched the heart of youngsters .
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
As a cinematographer I have many goals , but one of them is to receive an award , get recognized for my creative work and dedicate the award to my family who supported my dream and passion for cinematography. Such goals in life makes me to work hard every single day . Another goal is to establish my own production house , where I create films , collaborate with young talents and motivate them to pursue their goals.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
In my opinion , what I think the society can do is to encourage the artists/creatives/upcoming generations to follow their passion and support them in all possible ways . This will help the them to express their inner talent and also help them to reach their desire goals . There’s a quote I follow that says , ‘Do what you love , love what you do’ .
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