We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shant Zadouri. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shant below.
Shant, appreciate you joining us today. One of the toughest things about progressing in your creative career is that there are almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?
Being a film major, I began thinking about doing my first independent short film in 2020. As I was in the beginning stage of working on my film, the Covid pandemic shut everything down. After some time, I began once again doing pre-production on my short film and I now was put in a position to do virtual casting. I originally was planning on getting assistance from someone with whom I had worked with before on a few projects, however, plans changed and I was on my own. I initially was intimidated of the idea of virtual casting, it was something that I had never done before and had no experience in, but I quickly figured out that if I don’t know how to do something, I needed to learn to do it on my own. I slowly got acquainted with some virtual audition websites and began setting up my project. When the time came to do virtual auditions, I put it off for three days because of all the anxiety. I eventually did virtual auditions and got acquainted with so many great actors and actresses and it was something that allowed me to escape my comfort zone and learn something new. In the moment, it felt scary, but I learned. I even got complimented by someone that I had virtual audition with who told me that they were impressed with how I was able maneuver my way through the website and set everything up. It was a feel good moment for me, definitely a great experience that I look back at so fondly.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Since I can remember, I was always fascinated by film and movies, especially the behind the scenes of how a film was created and what it took to achieve the look and sound of all the films we watch and enjoy. It was in my teenage years where my artistic juice began flowing. I got a camcorder as a present and every single day I would film something and throw it into the editing program it came with. My passion continued through school as I attended and graduated from CSUN in 2019 with a degree in Cinema & TV Arts. My passion continues today as currently I am wrapping up my second short film entitled, “Amber” a short drama about the character arc of a young woman. I am most proud of my first short film that I created in 2022 entitled, “The Hit” It was an eye opening experience that taught me so much and allowed me to create a passion project. What sets me apart from everyone else is any piece of content that I create it is with the intention of making the audience feel something. Doesn’t matter if it is happiness, sadness, anger, contemplation, etc. I always want to leave the audience thinking after the credits have rolled, my dream is to participate in projects and create content that makes the audience tap into an emotion that makes them think about whatever the message is that I am trying to convey.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
For me the most rewarding aspect of being an artist or film-maker is when I get feedback from others about the films or content I have created and someone tells me that they had a good laugh or that some part of the content stuck with them. But another rewarding aspect, is all the terrific experiences and people that you get to meet and work with. When you create content with others, it’s a great way to network and meet new people and expand your content creating family and be a part of something that everyone can be proud of.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
It wasn’t so much a lesson as much it was just a habit, but I quickly had to learn to leave my comfort zone. I initially had been meaning to start my independent film career much sooner, but I always felt like I was not ready or I was incapable of creating a film. Most times it was my comfort zone that was holding me back. But, I realized that the fear and anxiety that I was feeling can quickly be overcome with just pushing myself and allowing myself to feel that fear and get passed it and thrive to somewhere better.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/TheShantSays
- Instagram: itsshantze
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shant-z/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ItsShantze
