3 Cameras and 3 Stories
Active Spotlights featuring Jonathan Chang, Matt Fang, and Ronald Liu
Last quarter, we decided to climb a roof and chat with Jonathan, Ronald, and Matt about their pursuits of film and photography!
- What’s up, guys! Real quick, please introduce yourself and what you are doing on campus related to photo and video!
Matt: I’m a 3rd year Cognitive Science major. Right now I am working for Campus Events Commission as a Media Specialist, and I also work for UCLA Media Team as a Video Lead. On the side, I freelance by taking photos and videos for other organizations and I also create content for my own YouTube page!
Ronald: I’m a 2nd year Cognitive Science major. I’m currently in FPS (Film and Photography Society). This quarter we made a film for the UCLA Campus Movie Fest. We didn’t win anything, BUT it was really fun and I learned a ton as the first assistant videographer! Outside of that, I’m really invested in making my own content and creating a portfolio to find some internships for the summer.
Jonathan: I’m a 3rd year Statistics major and Film minor. I’m also in Campus Events Commission as part of the Media Production team where I shoot video and photo for concerts and speaker events that happen around campus. Besides that, I also do some freelance work with student organizations.
2. What got you interested and started in photography/videography?
Matt: I started back when I graduated high school, and during that summer, I found myself doing nothing productive with my life. So I begged my mom for a GoPro and I just wanted to use that as a reason to travel and explore as much as I could and collect a whole bunch of footage. At first, I was happy with all the memories I was able to store away. But I realized I wanted to share my summer adventures with other people in a more cohesive manner, so I decided to teach myself how to edit. And ever since then, I just kept going with it.
Ronald: I always wanted to get into making movies when I was a little kid. I remember when I was in 2nd grade, I would have my friends record me with my Nokia Slide phone and make YouTube videos. It was funny, it was like the OG era of online content creation! After that, I never really pursued video as much until around the time I started my freshman year at UCLA. I quickly realized as I was studying electrical engineering that I really didn’t see myself wanting to pursue an engineering job, so I began to seriously focus on developing my videography and photography skills.
Jonathan: I got into filmmaking as a kid, but it wasn’t until the summer after my freshman year of college that I took content creation seriously. I started watching all these amazing content creators like Ollie Ritchie and Sam Kolder on YouTube, and those creators really inspired me to get outside and live my life. I also realized I wanted to create things that inspired other people, and video just seemed like the way I wanted to execute that idea. So that summer, I got a GoPro, watched a whole bunch of tutorials on Youtube, and just kept exploring and filming.
3. What’s the best or most meaningful project that you have worked on?
Matt: The project that I was the most satisfied with was the most recent Fall Rush recruitment video for Sigma Eta Pi. It was the most satisfying because I structured the video concept to be executed through the help of an entire team rather than just a video made exclusively by myself. I also challenged myself the most with this project: I included a whole bunch of sound design, voiceovers, and integrated vintage effects, all things I hadn’t really tried before. And I think it was this concept of being able to tell a cohesive story with the help and support of other people which made this project super satisfying!
Ronald: For me, it would be the most recent video I made for my YouTube channel during the beginning of fall quarter. At the start of fall quarter, I stepped away from engineering and decided to explore the path of video and graphic design. The video that I made was really influenced out of a creative impulse I had one evening, and I wanted to see if this was something that I really wanted to do, to record content and produce videos by myself. Not surprisingly, I ended up spending over 6 hours recording and another 6 hours editing the video, basically pulling an all-nighter. It’s kind of crazy, I just got lost in my work and I just wanted to keep working on it until I finished!
Jonathan: One of my favorite projects was a video I worked on when I was traveling during my study abroad this summer. I believe when you are exposed to new places and cultures, you tend to learn a ton about your surroundings and about yourself. I took advantage of that time to push my photography and videography to a new level, and I just kept experimenting and tweaking my style. After the trip ended, I gained a lot of confidence in my ability, both technically and artistically, to be able to take on any project in the future!
4. What about video/photo inspires you to continue creating?
Matt: As cliché as it sounds, I use photography and videography as a way to express my view of the world and to tell my life story. I believe everyone finds their own way to tell their story, and I simply found mine through using a camera. It’s really that simple. I just want to continue creating content that effectively communicates messages to inspire others to pursue what they want to pursue in this lifetime.
Ronald: I’m attracted to disciplines with a lot of variation. In film, no matter how similar the process is to create a video, there will always be something new to experiment with. Whether it be a new filming technique or a post-production effect, filmmaking and photography will always have something new for me to try when creating content.
Jonathan: It’s a platform where I feel I have a voice. I want to inspire people with my photography and videography while also being able to show off my artistic vision.
5. Alright, last question. What is one piece of advice you would impart on people who are new to photo and video?
“Just go out there and do it. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes because there really isn’t a right or wrong answer in content creation. Be a student of the game and keep learning how to apply new techniques to both your shots and your editing!”
Thanks for reading! If you want to learn more about our other actives, check us out on our website: uclasep.com.
Also be sure to follow: Jonathan @thejonathanchang (photo: @jonathanchxng) , Ronald @ronaldxliu , and Matt @mattyfang (photo: @mxttfxng) on Insta!
Also on YouTube:
Matt’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/c/mattfangcreates
Ronald’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9kIoF555Jpq-vEtnc1c3GA
Jonathan’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo9Ww0PqvvotkXzn1bT1ZCQ
