Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nitzu / NiiON N/A. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Nitzu / NiiON, thanks for joining 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.
Risks are always a turning point in career and creation. For me (Niion) being a signed music artist with expertise in creative direction and music. While nitzu being a VFX/post production/producer it immediately became an idea to collaborate.
The big risk was to decide to open a production studio at the height of the pandemic. (Nitzu) Coming from festival/touring live show and projection mapping which came to complete halt in the pandemic it was uncertain where to place our skillsets. We didn’t know what to expect since work had seemingly dwindled into screens and wish we could.
We pushed to the companies who had previous content to organize and deliver while working with artists and brands looking to prepare for the day the doors will finally let everyone back into public. I (Niion) decided to dive further into music and animation since NFTs had an unexpected explosion on the industry changing the dynamic forever.
Opening a studio at first we felt wil we have enough in and on location work to keep it up and running? Little did we know people wanted a place to work, create, complete, and expand. Quickly giving us a name in LA for photography, live visuals, creative direction, and sound.
Investing in a large space, equipment, and time sharpening skills was fearful while not having outside investment. Little did we know just existing created opportunities we would never have been offered otherwise.
Long story short you have to take risks to see the possibilities that exist outside of your current reality. This is where we thrive. Knowing we will always do the work and go above and beyond to continue to create a feeling you can’t just replicate. We make art, but we specifically make art for spaces to lead aesthetics for others to follow.
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?
My background (Nitzu) is in film and post production. I was a video & film editor for many years, but after moving to Los Angeles, I studied music production. Instead of staying in sound, I started with live projection installation in the festival industry. Those performances naturally shifted my work to visual effects and animation. Which I slowly mastered independently thorough the years.
When the pandemic cancelled all live show, I had to find a new way to express my visual art. I started using projection mapping in photography, music video, and commercials. This process also happened in collaboration with NiiON.
I found it super exciting to create visual effects and I realized how natural it is for me to compose animation & CGI with live action. Possibly because of my background in video editing. Today I am a post production supervisor, building visual effects workflows starting the pre production until the final version, and creating the VFX/animation on a wide scale of industries due to the flux in 3D demands since 2020. As for my art, I got back to do projection mapping installations and I create mix media images, videos, & animations.
My background (Niion) as said above we both work with animation and film which I have been working in front of the camera since age 5 and behind the camera since 18 years old. Family business is photography as my mother is an agent/photographer. I worked in corporate and fashion for a while after college, but knew my passions were in entertainment sending me back to school to study film and entertainment business. Starting music off working with label artists as far as management until I slowly crafted and created my own sound to deliver to the world.
For me creating worlds was always my goal in creative direction, music, animation, and directing. So in a time before content and social media I strived to do this. Now years later we have all the tools to make worlds for people to experience. Which is why for me the position for multi Dimensional Artists have become more of a commodity.
Currently working with artists/brands/labels in LA, NYC, and London for music and visuals it’s been an amazing journey. Now looking towards the future I’m prepared to release independently outside of label and management musically while also creating my own brand that designs and directs aesthetics for others who would like to be a part of the worlds we create.
With the skillsets we have our goal was to be a one stop indie shop for all industry needs with a feeling of one on one connections and relationship. Keeping everything professional while feeling you can call your director, songwriter, designer, producer with how you feel not only for what you want.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
In my opinion the future is and should be together. There is a capitalist mindset where it seems some should be above others by means of competition and following. In my opinion we all like and love what inspires, moves, and supports our life.
So artists are all in it for themselves to survive at the highest and lowest levels. Realistically there is room for everyone to thrive. Instead of creating a gate it should be more of a bridge to help artists safely and confidently cross to their desired futures.
Creating more inclusion, spaces, platforms, funding, and portals for artists to have opportunity to connect with brands, corporate, and industry suppliers would be the first start. Of course we want to connect with consumers, collectors, listeners, etc… Why not connect artists with the bridge to those individuals at a higher scale. So people can have the opportunity to choose, discover, and spread their consumption. Artists need work and following while brands need artists and content. It literally answers itself.
With that said bridges have to be created in a new structure to make work and collaboration more accessible and not gate kept for artist to endure struggle. Struggle was what was, but shouldn’t be what has to be. Connecting dots cost nothing but time, place, and who.
So these are statements I hear most from the most talented unknown artists in the world. “I just don’t know how to find blank”. The solutions are all around us if the industry decides to restructure instead of ignore.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)
Driving our mission has been since the start was to expand the voice of alternative artists who previously felt they were the outcasts. Which is cliché in some cases, but the world has changed a lot in ten years. Women have more place in the world of all industries. As a African American man we have more diversity in the type of content or product we can offer.
The ideas we both have struggled to feel comfortable sharing or investing in are finally given the space to grow and be heard by the world. So to answer two questions in one. NFTs are the future of what was once also boxed in. Giving us a tool like no other to expand and reach safely directly to customer. As new as it is people will soon grow to understand the worth of having a lawyer, platform, currency, bank, and freedom. This is unheard of from the days of having to always work with a middleman to accomplish any form of sharing to your clients and/consumers.
NFTs have just shown us the preview to what is to come as far as opportunities for artists to finally be free of the creative government we have all lived under since art became its own form of worth.
It starts here with ideas and in the future it will become our world. That we offer through the seed of NFTs.
For the first time I can offer my music or creations world wide with it’s own currency to pay that goes directly into my wallet while others can grow worth with my music as they invest in me not in a large corporate owned entity.
Say hello to the future of what we shed blood, sweat, and tears for.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nixni.art
- Instagram: @ni.x.ni.studio
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nixnistudio?mibextid=ZbWKwL
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/nitzansaar
- Twitter: @NixNiStudio
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@nixnistudio659
- Other: vsco.co/michaelniion nitzansaar.art instagram.com/niionsound?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= instagram.com/nitzu_?igshid=ZDdkNTZiNTM=
Image Credits
Image was created by Ni x Ni Studio, feature NiiON & Nitzu. Second to last photo feature Emiko, last photo feature Rowa.