We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Patrick “Embryo” Tapu. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Patrick “Embryo” below.

Patrick “Embryo”, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I’ve earned a living as a Director from the moment I started in 2009 and I’ve been doing this full time ever since with no side jobs. One of the obstacles for many creatives is getting paid for their work, and even more so, feeling they deserve to get paid for their work. It’s almost this sort of inferiority complex. We have been conditioned by the traditional education system to essentially work for someone else and if you work hard enough, then your rewarded with a paycheck. That programming creates a conflict when it comes to getting paid for something you actually love, because if you really love your craft you would actually do it for free. So there’s this predicament created because we are used to getting paid for doing things we don’t love, which we call a “job”. Now you can actually love your job, I’m not trying to discourage or judge anyone who has a more traditional job. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m strictly talking about creatives/artists. As an artist, your drive should be fueled by a deep insatiable passion to create with no purpose other than the act of creation. Artists are the bridge between the known and the unknown, no different than philosophers, religious scholars or even scientists. So it’s counter intuitive to our programming to get paid for something we love so much we would do it for free. So often times artists/creatives will sell themselves short, especially as they are learning and growing in their craft. For some reason this deep self belief I’ve had in myself somehow bypassed that programming, so I asked for what I needed to survive so I could continue to create. As my skills and work progressed and the value of my work went up, so did the cost of my rate. If you truly love what you do and you are actually good at it, then you have to ask for what you need to continue to be able to create and grow. You have to be good though and you have to be passionate. It has to be your obsession. There’s really no other way around it.

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 am a Director | Cinematographer based out of Los Angeles, CA and I’ve been Directing and shooting for the last 15 years. I’ve Directed a lot of music videos, some smaller commercials, a short film and a lot of other type of content as well. I started in the music industry as a music producer and fell into this craft by accident. In 2009 I helped co-produce a music video for a girl group I wrote and produced a song for and fell in love with the process. After that experience I was intrigued and wanted to give Directing a shot. I felt really confident I would be able to do a good job. Later that year I Directing my first two music videos and I haven’t stopped or looked back ever since. It’s been an on going journey. It’s had it’s ups and downs, it’s challenges, but it’s also had a lot of moments of celebration and successes. Honestly nothing is easy, you might as well do the thing you love. Most of the projects I work on I’m also the Creative Director and usually come up with the creative concept. In general I think my biggest strength is seeing the bigger picture. Having vision and pursuing it fearlessly with a rebellious spirit. I love working with other creatives and being able to translate the vision into a workable excitement. Essentially being a catalyst, a fire starter for the people around me. I think one thing that sets me apart is my deep level of self belief and confidence. I can walk on a set with a crew and cast of 50 to 100 people and I feel absolutely no pressure. I go into a zen state. Granted it wasn’t always like that. It’s definitely something I’ve developed through years of experience and personal development. As far as what the future holds I’m really excited about the next creative projects I’m working on. I feel like I’ve really graduated to a Master level in my craft. I’ve paid my dues, I’ve put in way more than 10,000 hours. This last 15 years feels like training leading up to this moment where I’m just starting to enter into what will be my prime as a creative over the next decade. I’m excited to see what I can contribute in the film making world. I really do feel like I am just starting.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect for me in being an artist/creative is when something I’ve created resonates with the audience. It obviously needs to resonate first and foremost with me, but at some point, the artist doesn’t even matter anymore. Once a project is done and it’s released into the wild it’s almost as if it’s not even mine anymore. Maybe it never was mine to begin with. So when it moves the audience, provokes them, or when it creates any type of lasting reaction, then I feel like I’ve partaken in the creation of art. There is this mysterious relationship between the artist and the art that only the creatives can really understand. In one sense we are creating it, in another sense we are witnessing it’s creation as it’s also creating us. The truth is real works of art are a mystery to even the artist. We don’t know how these things come out. We partake in their creation and engage with the unknown while we observe their manifestation into reality. It’s really a fascinating and transcendent engagement, a dance of sort between the unknown and the known. This may sound over philosophical, but it really isn’t, it’s just the fact of the matter. We really don’t know why we are moved or gravitate towards the things we create at the deepest level. It’s this choiceless romance with attempting to express the inexpressible.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The only goal I have is to create things that continue to push my own boundaries of what I thought was possible to create. It’s really a self discovery journey, not a traditional goal orientated journey. I am not pursuing money or fame, I am pursuing art. I want to wow myself. I want to scare myself. I know that if the art is real, authentic and worthy, all good things will come from that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.directedbyembryo.com
• Instagram: @DirectedByEmbryo

Image Credits

The main image was taken by Lauren Chin for @DestructConstruct (IG)