We caught up with the brilliant and insightful George Masin a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
George, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
Look, my purpose is very simple – do something what you really like spending your time on! I can’t imagine what it feels like when going to “not loved” work, you are constantly thinking that “I’ll be free in 8 hours”. Yes, you definitely will, but you actually will be free of 8 hours of your life as well. This thought can not get out of my mind since I realized that I only have one Life and nobody will compensate me for waisting it. Do not love what you do, but instead do what you love. I love creativity, I love videography, I love creating stories and I adore fashion (my main speciality in it). I cannot imagine anymore how I can spend my precious time on doing what does not touch me.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Hi, I’m George, I am a Fashion Videographer and Editor.
You see, Fashion is not just an industry related to clothing and make up, but this is the whole culture with its rules and interesting people in it. It adds a bit of spice into our everyday routine. And what could be more exciting than not just follow these rules, but break them and be brave enough to set your own conditions? This is what I explore in my videography by creating stories about powerful characters and mixing genres. This what exactly magic of Fashion is about – mixing genres, and Los Angeles is a perfect place to do it. The amount of Freedom to be who you are and produce your own unique content is unbelievably big in this city. I love it, it makes me feel dizzy in a good way.
I have an actor background and I believe it influences my work so much. My favorite part is directing my videos and building intimate connection between a person in front of my camera, myself and the audience. My model needs to engage with the viewer and I like looking for new ways how to make it happen. I constantly ask myself how can I sell a clothing line/a product/a service etc. in my videos in the most interesting way? What is going to be new this time? What was the best I had done previously and I can implement now in a new project and elevate it?
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
In my opinion, 3 the most impactful skills and qualities wold be: intent to work, intent to explore and intent to keep you reputation clean.
It seems to me pretty obvious, in order to be noticed by your community who you work with (the industry and other workers) you have to want to work. Sounds funny, huh? But this is a reality, there are many people who do not will to do it, but hey, is it work when you enjoy it? Yes, it still is, this is what makes you professional, not just an enthusiast. Enjoy it and still be on point of ethic, be efficient, it matters a lot.
The last, but not least, always work on your reputation. At the beginning of your journey Los Angeles or any other city might seem big and that nobody cares about you, there are millions of people, nobody is going to remember what you said or did, why would you pay as much attention to it, right? No, this is a huge mistake. As soon as you start to gain weight in the industry, your every move, a casual word said on set or project which you finished or screwed will be added to your reputation. It is all a team work and everybody likes to work with reliable, productive and word keeping people.
All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
For quite some time I’ve been thinking of myself only as of a Fashion Videographer, but life can have different plans for us and can start expanding our limits. Sometimes it takes courage to try something new and be brave to move out of the comfort zone. We meet new people and should be ready to be transformed at any moment and it seems like I wasn’t.
I met a fantastic photographer on one set who has shown me the beauty of “real people” and “real nature”. It split my career into before/after. You see, in Fashion we are very straight forward about glam and our goals to make “unrealistic picture” and trying something different like a “portraiture” for someone who is not a professional model was challenging a bit, but eventually so much fun.
I learned the lesson how to trust people around me and jump into the unknown because it is still enjoyable, it is my process, I’m becoming stronger and eventually more skilled because of it.
Contact Info:
- Website: bit.ly/GMVideography
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/georgemasin
Image Credits
“1” – Sabina Kravchenko for Be Flawless Cosmetics “2′ – Cameron Morrison and Laura Chemla for Omorose Couture “3” – HOK and Santi “4” – Hannah Stocking for Basic Magazine “5” – Yoa Mizuno for East Wave Concept “6” – Skye Drynan, Grace Nordstrom, The Quin Cat “7” – Skye Drynan, Christopher Fannon
