Looking through the Lens with Shameem Ismail
The interview is up on my Podcast ‘TeekoTalks’ and the transcript of the whole session can be found at the end of this article.
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Last Tuesday I interviewed Shameem Ismail, an up-and-coming filmmaker-videographer-photographer, who is also currently doing his Masters in Math and Economics. He is also an old friend of mine, having served as the Head Prefect while I was in school.
Shameem shared with us his humble beginnings in this crazy journey and the massive development he has undergone in the last five years, from shooting his first video on an iPhone 5S with zero knowledge of filmmaking and video editing, to winning a Best Director Award last year.
Almost an hour long, the interview proved to be eye-opening on many levels, and his easygoing demeanor and pleasant charisma only added to the experience.
Transcript of the interview
Joining me on this episode is a very good friend of mine who is currently reading for his masters in Mathematics and Education in the university of Colombo. Having completed his bachelor’s in Mathematics and Economics in the University of London, UK, obtaining second class upper division honors and winning a world price. Currently he is also a visiting lecturer for Mathematics and statistics at Royal Institute of Colombo and a Maths teacher for Olevels in Royal Institute International School, his alma mater (And mine too) of which he was the Head Perfect for the years 2015 and 16 (I think I was in grade nine or ten around that time). So this is none other than Tuan Shameem Ismail. Welcome to the show Shameem!
Shameem: Hey man!
Luqmaan: So all these accolades aside, this is not what you’re here for. Shameem is also a filmmaker and photographer. Part time.
Shameem: Yeah, yeah.
Luqmaan: So he has directed a film for Sonali Dharmawardhana at Swim Life Colombo, 2019 organised by the Colombo Fashion Week. And he’s also the co-founder of Aura Weddings Photography along with the Isa Asif which is based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Aside from that his works include collaborations with big names such as Bakes by Bella and Chocoholics.lk. He’s also shot a music video for Shehara and also, congratulations Shameem! I mean I think this is way overdue but he also won the Best Director award last year at the…
Shameem: It was Life Short Film. It’s basically a competition. It’s hard to put into a sentence. It’s called a Life Short film.
Luqmaan: Yeah. Okay. But he won the Best Director award at that short film competition. So congratulations Shameem for that.
Shameem: Thanks man!
Luqmaan: Yeah, so he has graciously agreed to join us today to share with us his journey in photography and videography, which is his passion. So, again, thank you so much for joining us on such short notice. You ready? Shall we go?
Shameem: Yeah
Luqmaan: Okay, let’s talk.
So, the intro I gave might interest potential employers because it’s basically stuff from your series. But attentive audience I’d like if you could like introduce ourselves five lines, just introduce ourselves.
Shameem: All right. So I’m Shameem. And, so I’m basically, in terms of employment, Yes, I’m a lecturer, true. But in terms of passion and all of that, I’m more or less a filmmaker, photographer, filmmaker first though, photographer next. And basically, as in most of the people who know me, or follow me on Instagram know, that I do the whole photography thing, because like, the whole portfolio is based on that , but no one really knows I lecture and all of that. But the people who I teach know that I lecture but don’t know that I take pictures So it’s like, two different worlds. But yeah, that’s basically about it. I hope it’s going to be interesting so yeah, lets go through this.
Luqmaan: Even I didn’t know you were lecturing until I saw some of your stories. I think it was something like, they’re thanking you or something So I was like, oh, he lectures, because I was thinking like, you’re full time filmmaking, and I was like, oh my God, no, he’s only part time filming maybe. But yeah, so, first things first, like, how did you get into this? Like, when you were in school, I don’t really remember you walking around with the camera, that was Afzal’s job.
So, how did you get into photography and videography? What interested you? What was your first exposure? Maybe people who influenced you your inspiration?
Shameem: So it started right after school towards the end of school almost, that was right after Alevels right? So you know that gap where you are waiting for the results to come and doing nothing. So what I did was, I was watching YouTube videos over and over again and then, it was, it wasn’t a sudden interest. It was more or less always there, but it was just that I didn’t really have the equipment or I wasn’t that interested in getting into it. But, so I had some time to kill. And I tried, filming the day when we left school, you know the part where they kind of signed shirts and all of that.
So I filmed that in schools right after we left and then I put like a sick background.
Luqmaan:On Your Phone?
Shameem: Exactly! On my phone. I mean at the time it was pretty okay because you know slow motion videos were the thing back then. So I had this iPhone 5S and I filmed on that and I put like a sick background music and made it all slow-mo. Like everything was slow-mo. Nothing was fast and then slow. So it was it was good and then I uploaded it and everything just started from that point. That was my first video. And then I kept making small videos like that, nothing client based per se. It was all just for my satisfaction. Just videoing everything and anything I see basically and just putting songs behind it, right?
But anyway one thing led to another and, we’re here now I guess!
Luqmaan: yeah, that’s quite a long journey. But like from videoing on your 5S and putting just slow motion on everything and where you are now. Guys, you have to check out his, Instagram page @Shameemememe. There’s some really cool works over there and I was really impressed with all those. And to imagine that it all started off with an entirely slow motion video on a 5S. That’s, that’s a lot of development.
On a relatable note, I’m at that same stage of my life now, right after my results. I mean after my ALevels waiting for my results and then waiting for university. So I guess we just started different things at the same time, so on that note, why photography? Like why? You could have started anything else like me. Like I just started this. But you got into video making, those Youtube videos whatever you watched, were those your inspiration. Was there a specific person who mentored you, got you through?
Shameem: So there’s the everyday filmmakers who teach you stuff. I think one of the main people, Peter McKinnon, so he more or less, teaches you the stuff you need to know if you’re starting out right? But, yeah, on a more casual note he wasn’t really the one who inspired me. The one who actually inspired me first, this guy called…
it was like a very basic YouTube channel, right? No subscribers at all (P.S : At that time). Not even a massive YT channel, but, and this guy, he filmed more or less, the whole daily vlog scene. See, he did that. This guy called Justin Escalona I think. So he filmed, more or less every single day of his life and then he puts it out, right And it’s just that, it’s not, it’s not bad videos, it’s very good content. But what I realized is, from stuff like that, people don’t really get the, appreciation, like the attention they need in terms of the effort they put into their content. But when you grind enough, right? If you do the same thing well for a long time, I think slow progress, I think it’s still better than no progress right? At least if one person gets to know what you do and, if you are at least able to get someone else to get into, something that they love to do. I think that should more or less, be, I think anyone’s, goal. Right?
Luqmaan: True true
Shameem: So, that’s probably how it all began.
Luqmaan: That’s honestly imagine that guy ,Justin. So, imagine like you said if he had a lower following, a low amount of subscribers, but still managed to inspire you to get in and you probably managed to inspire somebody else to get in. People you don’t even know exist, and they just look at your page, look at the videos and they get in, and I guess that’s like you said, that’s just the best part of it all.
Shameem: Yeah, because, I don’t know, this more or less in Sri Lanka, I feel like, the whole creative part is frowned upon. Like if you are a photographer, if you’re a full time photographer, you’re not doing too well, or you’re just an event photographer, things like that. So to eliminate all of that and, at least if someone could do something to eliminate that factor, it would be like the best thing in the world for the upcoming people.
So that’s probably…
Luqmaan: Yeah. The social status and stigma and all that stuff surrounding, certain professions, most creative professions I would agree, like you said, not just videography or filmmaking or photography, a lot of creative professions, people don’t expect you to do that on a full time basis They’re like, okay, you can do it as a side hustle but why aren’t you doing something like working in a government job or private firm as a full time job. So that’s what they expect.Like you said, it’s probably for the best to change those norms. Okay so like following on from there, let’s assume that in the audience, there are kids or there’s people who want to follow in your footsteps, become videographers, filmmakers, photographers what would be like to tell them?
Shameem: Yeah, I mean, if you’re someone who is kind of afraid to get into it full time, like I am. Or like, you can’t if you’re someone your family entirely depends on. It’s not that I’m saying not to do it full time, it’s just that make the right decision. But at the same time, don’t let go of anything that you want to continue as a side hustle just because your main hustle is taking too much of your time so do it on the side whenever you have time and at the same time, if you start off today, in two or three years, you’re going to get good at it, right? It’s not that you’re going to stay in the same place, unless you don’t learn anything new, right?
So, I mean, to this day, I keep learning new things in terms of filmmaking and photography, it’s not that I know everything. I don’t. I don’t really know everything. So, if you’re starting off, start off now, right? Because a year from today, maybe two years from today, you will more or less, get better at it and people will recognize you if your work is good, right? It’s not that you need someone else’s, confirmation to kind of approve the fact that, okay, I’m getting good at this, but you’ll see results, right? So when that happens, you will more or less come to a stance where you feel like, “Okay I’m actually doing something”. That’s at least what happened in my side.
And the other thing that people… I mean I know this is something that’s said everywhere. This whole “equipment doesn’t matter” scene. Yeah, so it works both ways right? You don’t have to have good equipment. If you start, it’s not that you have to spend 200,000 , 300,000 on the camera body, right? And another separate 150,000 and 200,000 on a lens. And then you have to buy a tripod and buy other things: It will all add up to so much, right? But that’s not the case, right? It’s more or less settling for something that you have at the moment, and at least trying to get there right. I mean, I wouldn’t have thought I’d have the equipment I have today, to be honest, because it’s expensive, right? I didn’t think I would have been able to afford what I have, but it was not that I went and invested everything all together, you know?
I just bought one piece at a time so …
Luqmaan: Gradually….
Shameem: Yeah, exactly! So it’s not that you need all of these things to start off. Starting off might be very slow, you know? But I think as you go on and you can more or less invest in yourself rather to give like a better product at the end. You can’t really stay at the same place either, right? So the upgrading has to come out from you and you can’t really blame it on the companies who make it .
Luqmaan: Yeah that’s true. On your first point, we’re not really doing it for the confirmation from the others or validation, but the appreciation, I think it makes a huge difference and it’s like a great motivator, you do stuff and then people appreciate your work and that’s “ people actually value what I’m putting out there so might as well do more” .
It’s one of the great motivators out there. So like you said, when you get to that level, I guess that’s probably worth it. And when it comes to the equipment, like you said it’s all about the upgrades. So you started off with just with the phone you had, and that’s how everybody is, they’re starting off with what they have and, I think it’s kind of proportionate. I remember watching some video, where this guy was talking about something similar, I don’t remember who the Youtuber was, but it’s kind of proportionate. If you are earning off of your hobby, if you’re earning off of this venture, then you can probably afford to invest in it, but if you’re not… it’s proportional to how much you earn and how much to invest and then just keeps going on from there.
So like you, said, it’s about upgrading and investing in yourself and more importantly, deciding, prioritizing and choosing, what’s best because you have to look at all the sides of the spectrum, right?
Shameem: Yeah
Luqmaan: So that was some great advice, hope if there’s anybody out there listening to this, probably going to be really useful. Just internalize it and listen to it well.
Shameem: I’m just praying no one quits their job, you know?
Luqmaan: And then holds you responsible for this?
(cue laughter)
Luqmaan: Yeah true. So what part of this do you like? In the whole process, from starting off maybe getting a client, or when doing something for ourself? From getting the idea for the project to when you see the final product on the screen, what part of the whole process do you like? Of course, I’m pretty sure you love the whole process, but if you were to choose a favorite ?
Shameem: Yeah, I think the most favourite one is the result, or the outcome that you see on your screen basically.
Because the it’s like this right? You don’t really know… At least in videography, you put down your shot-list, you more less plan before you start shooting. So there you brainstorm and get the ideas together. But once you do it, that is when you really know, okay, can we pull this off? And will we really get the results we want, but sometimes it’s at the moment where everything changes right? Not everything goes according to plan. So sometimes scripts change and, shots change and so on and so forth. But when you do things on the spot and things differently with, maybe one or two brains or one or two ideas put together, I think it gets pretty interesting to be honest. But even with the whole process right now, I don’t really have a separate person doing everything. I do have a few friends who help me out sometimes when I get stuck with a lot of work, but at the same time I don’t really give videos for someone else to do the scripting, or shooting, or editing, for example. It used to be a case where I did everything from the start till the end and I like to keep it that way, but there are cases where that can’t be the case, right?
Luqmaan: Yeah, exactly
Shameem: Because then it becomes too much work. In the past I have worked with so many great people, friends to family, to everyone right? So it doesn’t really matter. Also if it’s someone else’s first time doing it, it’s really up to you to decide to give it to that person or not, you know?
But if you feel like he or she would do a great job, just try it out. It’s not that you can’t doubt everyone else’s skill or expect everyone’s skills to be up to your standards or anything like that because they could be even better than you, right? I mean hypothetically speaking. But it could be the case right?
So that’s that.
And another thing is, if you get someone to help you out and you’re getting paid for it … So let’s get into the finance of it a bit. If you’re getting paid for it and you’re getting someone else to help you, don’t wait without paying them, that’s the worst, to be honest. If you’re getting help, make sure that the help is appreciated.
Luqmaan: True
Shameem: So just give a percentage, give at least 10–15 or even 20% if you’re generous enough to the person who is helping you out. So that’s I think something that all artists or creators should do.
Luqmaan: For sure we need to keep that in mind, because it’s just courtesy, you just need to appreciate people as you expect to be appreciated and if you don’t do that, you can’t expect them to be around the next time you need them.
Shameem: Yeah exactly
Luqmaan: So yeah, and like you said, I think when it comes to the final project, seeing it on your screen, that must be the best feeling. When you’re starting off it’s kind of blind and you’re starting off , like you said, with a shot list and then it changes, the script changes depending on the shots and depending on situations and all of that, and then you have something in mind when you start off but then you have something on your screen when you end up and then, it’s probably, most times something better than what you have in your mind!
And then I guess that feeling is just really good!
Shameem: Because even the Life Short Film, that I won the Best Director for… even in that the whole story when we wrote it, it was completely different, and when I edited it, it was a whole different story. I guess it was because I didn’t have enough experience and, I don’t think I still do to be honest, I’m still in the learning process of it, in terms of filmmaking at least. So the thing is, you write something and then you put it and you record it, you do all the editing, all of that, you watch the film, you watch a completely different film from what you wrote. I think learning from things like that is what makes your next product better I feel.
Luqmaan: Let’s just get a little personal, what would you say…. Wait, before that… I just want to clarify, how long have you been doing this? Five years? Four?
Shameem: Yeah, it’s close to five now.
Luqmaan: Five long years and you’ve come a long way with it. So, folks keep in mind it took him four years to win the Best Director award at a short Film competition. You’re not going to win it on your fourth day! So, you need to be consistent and not lose hope. And so that’s where I’m getting in to right now. Shameem, what would you say was your biggest setback or failure? And what do you think you learned from it, in this last four or five years. Biggest low of the period?
Shameem: The biggest low. Good question.
Luqmaan: I know that sounds weird
Shameem: I don’t fail. Just kidding lol.
Luqmaan: That’s the spirit LOL
Shameem: There’s so much, it would have been a great opportunity that I got that I would have lost because of the communication at the beginning of the stuff. There’s only so much you can do to make it as professional as it is with a client who comes along because I mean at a certain point, the unprofessionalism comes from their end, so you don’t really know what to do.
And in terms of losing gigs too you know, not getting a gig that pays well. But then again, you do a gig that you think might benefit you financially, but the gig in itself might be terrible, because the experience you have is not going to be great in terms of all the work that you’re going to get, or at least in my case that was what I realized because …I mean to to be honest, I’ve never really shared this with anyone…
Luqmaan: Only if you’re comfortable go ahead…
Shameem: Because this has to be out. I’ve done gigs that to this day haven’t been paid for, and I was promised to be. So things like that, I mean I wouldn’t consider that failure, but I would consider that failure in terms of my end.
Luqmaan: Yah for sure.
Shameem: Because That shouldn’t be the case for any creater out there, or anyone because if you put in 100–110% of the effort that we’re willing to give another person, and if they just want to take your content and run away with it. I don’t know…
Luqmaan: And I think it’s worse when you have somebody else in on the project with you and then you have to give it to them as well and then you’re not getting paid…
Shameem: And everyone else also. I mean everyone is also in the mess with you more or less, right? So you’re not getting paid, the buggers with you are not getting paid. So many things, Right? So, just to avoid that like, so that that’s at least in terms of my case, I guess that’s the biggest weakness I have… the discussion about the finance or at least stating and holding my ground in terms of telling them, okay, I need the cash by this time or at least an advance because videos right? Because it’s a virtual thing people don’t respect it as much as it was a tangible thing.
Luqmaan: True, true, true.
Shameem: So they think that, okay, I’ll just put it after you’re done with the video and stuff like that. But, if I was doing this full time, how would someone survive, right? If you’re not getting paid or things like that. So this is something that full time creator is going through, right? So that it discourages you from, getting into it. Well, then that’s at least one of the main reasons, out there. but yeah, I guess that’s the answer to that question…
Luqmaan: I mean, it’s definitely, I wouldn’t say failure, but it’s definitely a setback. It’s a big discouragement.
You feel down for some time. And because, like you said, you expect to give the best to the client you put all you have out there, 100–150%. And then, they just don’t value your work. That’s just almost heartbreaking on many levels. And, folks, if you’re out there, if you have to pay Shameem, please make sure to pay him as soon as possible. Because that’s a very shitty thing to do.
Shameem: I keep getting messages from my bank account LOL
Luqmaan: Especially creatives out there.
Because, honestly on a personal level Shameem, if I were to share this, until I started off this Youtube gig a few months back, I had no idea that video editing was so hard. I’d see these videos on Instagram or Youtube and I’ll be downplaying it. Oh, it’s not worth, look at the content. There’s nothing worth in it. And once I started with this, I just realized how long it takes even for a two minute clip, it, takes hours sometimes, depending on how much you put it. And that’s the best part when it comes to videography and stuff like that, like sometimes the editing is so good that you don’t even realize it’s been edited and so you don’t have a value of the work that goes into it. That’s the thing that people out there, they think it’s easy, but then they need to see the process to understand, “Oh my God it’s this much of work, this much of effort that goes in”, and I guess people just don’t know that and that’s why they don’t value it, so.
Yeah. Mhm That’s one thing I really wanted to get out. So since you’re doing this along with your lecturing career, you’re doing videography as a side with your lecturing career, where do you see yourself in the near future. Do you think you’re going to lean more into the lecturing side and keep this as a side hustle, which is obviously going to keep developing? Or do you see yourself getting full time into this? Do you have any specific goals in mind when it comes to filmmaking? Any specific targets you’re working towards, or you’re just working on it for the development and just going where it takes you?
Shameem: At the moment it’s leaning towards the latter part of what you said.
But in terms of my whole educational background it’s leaning more towards the career path that I’m on right now, which is lecturing and all of that, but I don’t know, and I really want to get into filmmaking full time, but currently with the situation and everything like that, I don’t think it’s the best option or the most viable option.
But, I think in a few years time, if something goes right then, maybe… The other thing is this right, I don’t call myself a filmmaker because, I make videos and stuff like that, right? At least try to get into competitions and stuff like that because, that’s more fun compared to just, making random stuff and uploading it on social media and kind of, you know, getting that. But either way, people have different opinions and it’s very subjective, but, at least in terms of filmmaking, I don’t know, I enjoy getting into competitions and, seeing where the whole film goes and what other people think about them because that is where you get the best constructive criticism, at least in my thoughts and in my perspective.
Because even with the whole Life Short Film thing, right? It was to be honest, the film was bad, right? If you watched it, from start to end, I’ll give you $1,000 if you understood the whole film.
Luqmaan: Was it the KAASI film?
Shameem: Exactly.
Luqmaan: Because I haven’t watched it but I’m definitely going to watch it after this
Shameem: Because, I think you’ll get a bit of it, but you might not understand the whole thing because the reason, they mentioned the reason as to why I won. So the thing is, we shot this during lockdown and we shot in four different locations and, we bought it together to more or less, looked like it was one location. So Yeah and hence why the whole directing part, got into play and I won that. At least I think that was why, because he mentioned it right?
So in that case I think getting into it full time and going back to the question, so going into it full time, it’s something that I really badly want to do, but I mean even at this point even after four years or five years of doing it, I’m still scared to get into full time just because I don’t know if it’s like I said I don’t know if it’s a thing with our country, in terms of because not everyone has the budget for it and not everyone is willing to you know spend that much on a video, right?
I mean if I asked you would you spend six digits on the video? Just for growth…
Luqmaan: Like just for the sake of entertainment.
Shameem: Yeah. Because if you think about it like that, some of them value videos more, so the people who really know about it are willing to make the investment because like the thing is this right? There are companies, and I worked with one as well. So they really do a good job, right? I mean it’s worth the money you pay and it’s because you need to see the effort that goes into it because the client never really sees the effort that goes into it. It’s just the final product and the drafts that come before it, right? But if the person who’s filming it, the person who is editing it, really knows about what went into that, maybe the six digit budget that the other guys end up paying Right?
So, the thing at least with content is that it’s reusable, right? So you can put it out this year, maybe leave it out for a few months and then put it out again. If you know how to use it then obviously you’ll know the value. But that’s why I, to this day, am scared to get into it full time, because, I wouldn’t say it’s because of financial issues, but it’s at least because of how the system works.
Luqmaan: It’s a factor. Yeah.
Shameem: In our country at least. Right. Because I mean that …
Luqmaan: For sure, all of that factors in finance, like I said, society all of those factors, finance and society, all of those factors come into play, right?
And, if there are any producers out there that are willing to put, six digit figures on Shameem’s table, hit him up. :D
Yeah, he’ll do a good job. He’ll do a great job for sure. But yeah, people need to be willing right, producers… They need to come forward to put value on work. And I think it’s, it’s just my opinion with, apps like Tiktok and, Snapchat and, maybe to some extent YouTube out here, that re making this more commonplace now. You know, video editing and short films. Like everybody is out there making short films. Like everybody is just like, okay got a camera and filming short films. And I guess it just puts the value on the work that professionals do down because on a personal level I know people just, that just picked up a camera and started doing event photo shoots, like second day, and that was a big events. So I’m like, okay, then where do the professionals go?
So, yeah, like you said, that’s definitely a big major role that comes in, no finance and all that stuff.
So I think we’ve discussed a lot of things that are, in and around the field of photography, videography, filmmaking. We’ve probably answered a lot of questions that have been on the mind of the audience are listening to this if you’re interested in this field, and, you know, to wrap things up. as a closing note Shameem, do you have any questions? If you were in my shoes, are there any questions you would have asked yourself? Or do you have any questions for me?
Shameem: Not a question per se, but the thing is this, like at least in my case right. what happened was this. So, you know how Sri Lankan’s or like at least our families want you to become, you know, the engineer or a doctor, stuff like that.
So, at least in my case, you know, I started off wanting to become, wanting to become a doctor you know, that’s how everyone starts off their life. That’s a Sri Lankan, you know, wake up and then you have to be a doctor.
Luqmaan: I feel attacked. Yeah, kidding.
Laughter
Shameem: So I wanted to become a doctor during, at, at around you know, grade 9,10 where you really like bio more than any other subjects in the world and then toward A levels I leaned towards liking math a bit more. and eventually that’s when, so during Alevels I wanted to become an engineer ,right? now the roles are changing bro. Yeah, in uni what I did was Math and Econ. That was also again because I didn’t have the finance, that’s one of the reasons, to get into engineering and you know, do the like one year here and two years abroad that scene.
Right? Because I mean to be honest with you, it was it was too expensive, right? Like I couldn’t afford it. One viable option was this Math and Econ. So I’ve done Math but Econ was new so I haven’t done it, to like save my life. I haven’t done Econ at all. So I started my degree and then with that it was leaning more towards becoming a data scientist, a data analyst, right? So I did an internship on that and I mean I didn’t really like it too much. Reason being it was very repetitive. I guess I don’t have to explain this to people who are already doing a 9–5 because it’s not my thing, I can’t.
Yeah at least with this whole lecturing thing I get to like talk to students and stuff like that and yeah so that’s at least like an interesting but about 9–5, No no I can’t. But yeah and then so you see right now it has gone all the way from a doctor to a data analyst, like so completely different and now right after graduation and stuff like that, got into teaching and lecturing. So this lecturing thing was also more a opportunity ,I didn’t really go looking for it, it presented itself and I was like okay might as well give it a try, so it was okay, not bad in terms of the people you get to meet and all of that, so it’s at least gone down an okay path, in terms of how it is going on at least.
But I mean because I think studying to become a doctor would have taken twice as long and I wouldn’t have been able to do anything, to be honest if I went down that path. So I’m glad whatever happened happened, you know?
So I don’t think it’s a question for you, but it’s more or less like advice, me telling you, do something that you like, right? Even your degree, because if you can, getting into what we call the whole creative side, doing something that you kind of have to do, not something that you want to do, you know? But something one of these people told me recently was “What if you had put all your energy into that thing that you want to do instead of that the thing that you have to do?”
So you’re splitting your energy half and half. But yeah, so that that really hit, you know? But because in maybe in two years, if you were doing say if you’re putting half your energy into lecturing or and I was putting half my energy into filmmaking, it will take time for both of them to get to a certain point. But I mean, I have to take my own advice on this, I guess, because if I put all my energy into filmmaking I would have been somewhere to be honest because, you’re investing in yourself, right? It’s not that you’re investing in someone else.
So, another thing is that when you work for someone, you’re technically growing but you’re growing at a slower pace, you’re helping someone else to grow. But if you’re doing your own thing, you’re growing on your own, and it will grow at a higher pace because you’re putting the same effort to have someone else grow, into yourself, right?
So, yeah, so that’s that’s that, you know, I think because the best time to start out, at least I feel, is when you have a free time, like this gap here that you said you were on, right? Amazing time to do whatever you can and see where you get from today to maybe one year from now, right? So see how it goes. And if it works, then might as well keep on doing it, right?
Luqmaan: Yeah. Like, like you said, if you did put 100% of your effort into your filmmaking and stuff, you would probably be somewhere else. But at the same time, what you mentioned at the beginning, it all comes down to your situation and your stability, because finance plays a huge role. And then like you said the family, whether you’re the only one in the family that, the breadwinner, and it all comes down to that, you know, the hopes that they have on you and there’s a lot of things, it’s not black and white and it’s not… you really can’t even generalize, you know, it’s completely up to that individual to understand the emotions, study the surrounding, study the situation and decide, like you said, whether how long it will take to get to a position where they can sustain themselves in their creative field if they want to go there, or would they have to keep a career to support them in their creative. Because I’m just assuming that your career path that you’ve chosen has also helped sustain your creative side when things were not so smooth on that side, Right?
Shameem: True, because, I mean, during the pandemic, obviously you don’t really get the gigs that you got when it wasn’t there, Right? I mean, not everyone is, you know, shooting with their mask on, shooting meaning, filming, but that’s the thing, Right? So, I think if I didn’t really, have the full time job, which is, teaching and all of that, I wouldn’t have been able to survive the lockdown, Right? So, which, which would have been difficult because, it was a hard time if I only took into consideration, the gigs I have been getting
Luqmaan: Some advice that is completely, maybe only somewhat relevant here that one of my neighbors gave me once, like, after my ALevels, he was like, so if you’re trying to get into medicine, that’s great.
But then always have expertise or something in another field, like try to have two different fields. If you’re doing something try to have some sort of knowledge or some sort of involvement in a field that’s like completely outside the field that you are mainly on, so that, you have a plan B or you have something that you can turn back to if you’re Plan A it totally fails, because he was into digital marketing and stuff and then it didn’t work out right. But then since he had managerial involvement previously, he could get into that when things didn’t go smoothly So if you are getting into two fields, it’s good to have them a little apart, not entirely related as per se, yeah.
Shameem: Yeah
Luqmaan: So that is a wrap and just putting this out there, Shameem is out here making films while doing his masters. So what’s your excuse?
How long do you have? You’re starting off or you’re about to finish your masters?
Shameem: I started off a few months ago. It’s been like close to 6 months. I have about 1.5 years to go actually. It’s a two year thing, but yeah, it’s something that I have to do not something that I want to do, if I’m being completely honest. But yeah, yeah, I guess, I guess we all have to make sacrifices at the end of the day.
Luqmaan : Okay. Shameem did you do Bio for your Olevels?
Shameem: Yeah.
Luqmaan: Okay. So this is something else, that has to be said. So Shameem did bio for his Olevels, Maths for Alevels and economics for his bachelor’s. And, so don’t worry if you chose wrong subjects for your Olevels or Alevels, we all can jump from one boat to the other until you find the boat that finally fits us.
So there’s no worries. And it’s never too late to learn or change or, it’s about trying things out and becoming comfortable with what you want. Like he said, it’s a journey, you know, like from a doctor to an engineer, to a data analyst to a lecturer. So it’s a journey and it’s about enjoying the journey, I guess.
And that is a wrap. You can find Shameem online at, as I mentioned before on Instagram @shameemememe or on his other profile @shotbyshami. He also has his wedding photography page @aura.weddings. And are you on facebook?
Shameem: Yeah, Yeah. You can plug that in as well ! Like everything.
Luqmaan: So what’s your facebook page?
Shameem: Same, same, same Shameem Ismail.
Luqmaan: You can check him out there as well. He has some crazy works out there. So, yeah, definitely give him a check And, Youtube too, so subscribe to his Youtube channel, like his page, follow do all this stuff, because we’re all here to support each other and support our creative so way to go Shameem.
Thank you for joining us, honestly, on such short notice because, you want to know how short the notice was? I contacted him yesterday and today we are doing the interview. And at this early hours before your work, thank you so much for joining in, but it’s been an amazing interview. Honestly, I enjoyed this.
Shameem: Sure sure. No problem.
Luqmaan: And maybe we’ll do something in the near future as well.
Folks, if you’re listening to this podcast on your Apple podcasts or any other podcasting app, it would be really helpful if you could drop your reviews or ratings. It will really help get the show featured on the app. And if you have any feedback be sure to hit me up on my Instagram or Twitter. It doesn’t matter. I’ll put the handles down in the description Also, you can send voice notes if you’re listening to this on the anchor app, so that would be great as well. I might feature that in my future episodes.
