We recently connected with Corey Saldana and have shared our conversation below.
Corey, thrilled to have you on the platform as I think our readers can really benefit from your insights and experiences. In particular, we’d love to hear about how you think about burnout, avoiding or overcoming burnout, etc.
What a topic burnout is because it’s definitely one of the worst things any creative can go through. I suffered through a creative burnout somewhere around 2021 while we were still going through the pandemic. I’ve always been on the go and working on photography and videography since 2015, never have I ever really taken time off to just relax and get away from doing creative work. I knew about burnout but never would’ve expected I’d suffer from it. The biggest symptom for me was the fact I just didn’t want to shoot photos or videos anymore and this was a rare case because I am always ready to go out and shoot some content. That’s where I figured, I think I need to just take some time away from creating content. I took about 4 months off from doing anything creative to just relax and and wait for my creativity to build up again. I soon started feeling the urge to want to go out and shoot some content. There’s definitely a lot more to my situation but gonna keep it short and simple…If you are feeling burned out, take time off! We all need it especially for our mental and physical health. Wait for the urge to want to create content again and at the point, you know for sure you’re good to go!
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Growing up as a child, I always had my dad’s old school camcorder in my hand and filming anything and everything I could in which today we now call it vlogging. I’d film my family outings, stop motion videos with cars, and myself singing and dancing as a child. Eventually, growing up, their camera was no longer a thing for me, and I totally forgot about it. Fast forward to finishing high school in 2006, I eventually picked up my first DSLR camera which was also able to film 720p videos. From that point, I pretty much taught myself how to shoot videos and use editing software since there wasn’t much on YouTube during that time.
During this time, I would shoot short films featuring myself while using Adobe After Effects to add some flavor to my shorts. Music has always been in my blood, and eventually, I wanted to use that love for music to make visuals, so I reached out to local artists in my city and hometown of Seattle to offer music video services. I knew I wanted to take Filmmaking and Videography seriously, so eventually, in 2013, I enrolled at The Art Institute Of Seattle in Digital Filmmaking. During my time going to film school, I was shooting various music videos with artists in the Seattle area and also had my try and photography. Photography was something I did not intend to get into, but since I already had a camera in my hand, I figured, why not?
After using family and friends, I decided to start offering free photoshoots to people in Seattle and probably had shot with nearly 150+ people doing so. This got my name around the city of Seattle and eventually built a good list of clienteles with even more people inquiring about my services. In 2015 I decided The Art Institute was not for me and found out about The Los Angeles Film School based here in LA in the heart of Hollywood. My four years there, I still was grinding it out, shooting music videos and photography, and started networking with people in the Los Angeles area as I was planning my move here. In 2019, I finally graduated from Film School and made my move out here to LA as I landed my first Videography job in the industry. My now five years being here in LA, I’ve networked with so many talented artists that have also pushed me in my craft of Filmmaking and Photography, and so excited to see what’s next for me in the future.
One thing I think that separates me from many others is I am a man that creates within various niches and content. Just to name some of them, I’m a Videographer/Photographer, Podcast Host, Gamer/Streamer and YouTuber.
One thing I’m definitely proud of are the people that believe and have trust in my work. Without those people, I feel like I would not be where I’m at right now with my artistry in Filmmaking and Photography. It’s been a long road with trial and errors, but I feel we are all still students and I’m always learning something new that I can add to my arsenal of knowledge.
I think it’s also great for other artists to share how they’ve become successful, which is why me and John started our Podcast called “The Artistry Drop,” where we bring on various upcoming artists that share their stories and how they got to where they are. So far, we’ve had many amazing guests, such as Andreao “Fanatic” Heard, who has produced for many of the amazing artists we know today, from Michael Jackson to The Notorious B.I.G. and many more. We’ve also had American Idol contestants William Casanova & Dennis Lorenzo, Music Video Director Matt Alonzo, who’s directed music videos for Lil’ Wayne, Chris Brown, The Game & Justin Bieber. Me and John are definitely both very appreciative for these amazing artists to come on our Podcast and drop some knowledge for the upcoming generation of artists, but also at the same time, it inspires both me and John because we hear about all the trials and tribulations people go through but still end up pushing through to gain success.
Aside from all the artistry stuff, I am also a Gamer/Streamer on platforms such as YouTube, Twitch, Kick, and Facebook Gaming and also a YouTuber. During the time of Covid in 2020, I was trying to find things to do and to still create content even though we were locked inside for a whole year. That’s where I came upon streaming. Gaming and Streaming have become a really fun things that I would love to try and take full-time aside from the Videography/Photography side of things. It definitely hasn’t been an easy task and building an audience isn’t easy, but the way to be successful at streaming is consistency.
Now, the last thing is being a YouTuber in which I have been YouTubing since about 2009. During this time, there was really no tutorials or anything to tell you how to be a YouTuber. The main piece of content I was creating was short videos of me cloning myself as well as showing me producing music. After a long period, I decided to pursue the video side of things and learn more about videography. Adobe Premiere and After Effects tutorials were slowly popping up on YouTube and those helped me practice my craft. Since then, I’ve done various tutorials on Videography/Photography and vlogs, and with me jumpstarting my YouTube channel again this year after a 5-year hiatus, it will revolve around Videography/Photography, Vlogs, Unboxings, Tech Reviews, and Gaming.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
This is actually a pretty easy question for me to answer. The three qualities that I have that has helped me in my journey is setting goals, believing and keeping positive through everything I do. One thing about me is I don’t like being around any negative energy. For me negativity just bring down ones energy and that’s just not for me. I’ve always had a positive mindset and I can definitely say that with me setting my goals, keeping positive and working hard towards them and believing that one day I will be successful has made me the man I am today. If you have a dream, just believe in yourself and keep working because one day and I promise you, it will take you somewhere.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
One thing I think was the most impactful thing my parents had ever done for me was allowing me to follow the path that I wanted to, which has led me to doing multiple things now today. I have grown up with a lot of friends and specially seeing parents wanting their children to follow a specific path. I’m grateful for allow my parents to allow me to do me and find what I wanted to do in life. Now I can say I am in some way successful and within multiple niches from videography and photography to having a podcast and being a host to being a YouTuber and streamer. These are all things I don’t think I would have been involved in if my parents didn’t let me choose my path. So big shoutout to mom and dad!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.coreysaldanavideography.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/corey.saldana/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/coreysaldana
Image Credits
Christian Faith Fernandez
William Casanova
Twellly
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
