Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to David Anthony Baez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
David Anthony, 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?
Finding your purpose is something that almost comes naturally but, is guided by the spark that drives you. As creatives we all have that inner urge to tell stories, to impact others and put a part of ourselves in our work. For me, my journey to finding my purpose is one that began in high school at the Academy for Careers in TV and Film. As a freshman, I had no idea what I was doing, I never picked up a camera nor touched any form of editing software and it showed. I felt discouraged but what inspired me was the way my classmates would admire each others work. The work we were creating as freshman was no where near a blockbuster movie but, watching and experience the power of telling stories visually had on an audience and realizing I had the ability to do it myself really drove me to keep at it. I would go on youtube and learn as much as I could outside of class and put it to practice in my classwork. I then took what I learned at the end of freshman year and decided to take a stab at my first film contest in 2014. Attending the “Con Edison Get Out the Vote Film Contest” was a very important moment in my journey because it was the first time showing my work to people outside of my class. When my film premiered on screen I remember looking around the room and watching the impact my film had on the audience and telling myself that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. At the end, I was awarded the first place prize and have kept that spark with me ever since.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a Puerto Rican and Dominican filmmaker based in New York. I currently have been working professionally as a video editor specializing in music video and commercial work. I have worked with brands such as Nike, Snipes, HBO, Hanes, Michelob Ultra as well as various music artist like Gunna, Coi Leray, Destroy Lonely, A Boogie, Quavo and Roddy Ricch. One of my favorite things about what I do is being able to collaborate with insanely talented creatives in the industry in front and behind the camera. I truly believe editing is at the heart of what filmmaking is. Each decision I make as the editor drastically impacts the end product of the film which is a responsibility I take very seriously. The unspoken dialogue or meaning that sequencing two shots together has on a viewer fascinates me and is how we as filmmakers tell stories. I like to call my style of editing as “kinetic editing” because I put a lot of focus on flow and keeping the audience engaged. Through this journey of editing, I am learning how to tell better stories which is translating to my work as a director. I intend to come out with more directing work in the future and am excited to share those pieces with the rest of the world.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Three aspects that were the most impactful on my journey have to be self discipline, self care and being open to collaboration. Any goal you want to achieve takes a lot of self discipline to complete. For me, deciding to choose learning, practicing, setting up shortcuts, and forcing myself to become more organized over scrolling on Tik Tok or playing video games are the decisions that led me to where I am at today. Of course I still did those things but, its about constantly checking in on yourself and making sure you are using the 24 hours in the day wisely. I have deleted and re-downloaded Tik Tok way to many times just to get myself back on track. While being disciplined is important it is also crucial to prioritize your self care. As creatives we constantly are pouring out of our own cup and sometimes can blame ourselves for when we have nothing left to give. This is why we have to make sure to set aside time for ourselves to ensure we can function at our best. I learned this lesson the hard way by pulling way to many all nighters, not taking breaks and putting my work before my health. Work life balance was definitely something that was difficult to get used to at first but what helped me was making sure I had a schedule, morning/night routines, prioritizing sleep as well as exercise. It’s all about preserving that spark inside you. Lastly, being open to collaboration and finding creatives that are going to support you just as much as you support them will set you up for success. Becoming close friends and collaborators with the boys at Strange Nature is what propelled me into what I do now. Before I began working so closely with Strange Nature, I was a lone wolf, doing everything myself and I felt the limits this put on my work. So to put myself out there I began offering BTS videos for different productions as a way to get on set and meet other creatives. This is what ultimately led me to doing the work I do now and I am really glad I was able to step out my comfort zone and meet some really great friends in the process.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
It can’t hurt pushing to be more well rounded, but it depends on yourself and where you are at on your journey. If you are a filmmaker but, you know you want to be a DP then I think you should only be a DP and be learning things to help you in that area. On the other hand, a director should have a good understanding of all departments not necessarily be an expert in them but understand how they work. If you are early in your journey and maybe not sure exactly where you want to go then, I definitely think improving where you aren’t as strong can be very beneficial. This was the case for me when I was just starting off shooting music videos by myself for various artist around New York. As I finished more and more projects, I felt my work was lacking and I realized a big part of it was my editing. So I decided to learn more about editing by studying other filmmakers work, looking up tutorials on youtube and eventually switching from Premiere Pro over to Davinci Resolve. I quickly grew a love for editing and still enjoy learning more and more today. Being more well rounded will only make you better at what you really want to do and you may just find something else you enjoy through the process.
Contact Info:
- Website: dabaez.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/dabaez
- Other: Vimeo: vimeo.com/dabaez
