Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Percival.
Andrew, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
As a kid, I always had a really deep interest in cameras, music, and art. Growing up in the Northeast, some of my first real inspiration to start creating videos stemmed from the 90s and early 2000s skate and snowboard videos. I started really picking up a camera and making full edits around the age of 12. I fell in love with the process. That passion grew into other realms of filmmaking and photography. By the time I was in high school, I knew it was what I was going to pursue as a career.
After graduating from Champlain College in Burlington, VT in 2015, I started working at The Main Idea with Joey Szela, Galin Foley and James Periera (JMP) as their first full-time employee. I was definitely blessed to have a quick transition into working in the filmmaking industry and on content that I really liked. The company’s clients grew quickly after I joined. We were creating all kinds of video content for huge brands like Nike and major ski resorts, as well as music videos for artists like Alicia Keys, Denzel Curry, and XXXtentacion. One of my favorite shoots we did was a kickstarter campaign in 2016 for a windshield-mounted car camera called the Waylens. We shot 2 of the scenes for it in the Azores islands off the coast of Portugal with a WRX rally car and a Benz convertible SLK. It was by far one of the most stunning places I’ve ever been.
Before I moved to LA in 2019, I spent 2 more years in between Vermont and New York. In that time, my work as a Director, Director of Photography (DP), and Camera Operator (Cam Op) led to me shooting an indie feature-length film called Stroke of Luck. It won the award for Best Cinematography at the Spring 2021 Los Angeles Independent Film Festival and eventually landed on Amazon Prime Video. As its Director of Photography, making the film was definitely a learning experience; but the lessons and skills it taught me about feature-length filmmaking were invaluable.
Since being in LA, I’ve continued working closely with Joey and JMP at Paperwork Studio as a Director, Producer, and DP. The majority of our work has been in the music industry. Just in the past year, we’ve worked with a ton of big-name artists like Lil Uzi Vert, Kanye West, Freddie Gibbs, Moneybagg Yo, The Game, Young Nudy, 2FeetBino, K Camp, Hotboii, Zilla Kami, Denzel Curry, Ty Fontaine, Destroy Lonely, and the list continues to grow.
As far as photography goes, I shoot a lot of fashion, music, lifestyle, cars and action sports. I just shot a campaign for Perry Co. Shoes last month that was really killer.
In the future, I plan to expand further into long-form content, starting in TV & streaming. I really want to keep pushing the envelope with visual effects (VFX) as much as I can. I love the endless creative possibilities; and it’s incredible to see the progression in digital assists and AI development in the last year (not your stolen art digital selfies, though).
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Like almost anything, the longer I’ve stuck to it, the easier it’s gotten. It’s a ton of hard work, long nights, crazy hours, and an unpredictable schedule, which brings its own set of challenges that affects life and the rest of my career.
Working in the music industry in general brings its own set of struggles with artists and personalities on top of my own as an artist. The journey has taught me to limit my expectations with certain people and situations in the industry.
The way I look at it, the road will never be completely smooth unless it was paved for you. Problems are inevitable. How you deal with them is what really pushes you past any business or career hurdle.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
People definitely know me best from my work directing, producing, and shooting music videos with Paperwork. In the last year, the projects I’ve been a part of have stacked up 10s of millions of plays.
My perspective on execution is one of the things that I feel like really sets me apart. Coming from action sports and more hands-on filmmaking, I’ve always really enjoyed bringing high-end cinematography with raw, gritty looks in my work. I have a few videos coming out in 2023 that I’m really excited about and proud of, some with VFX I’ve never seen used before. Pushing the envelope on special effects and non-linear storytelling has always been my key focus. I’m excited to only take it further.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.andrewpercival.com / paperwork.studio
- Instagram: @tru.drew
Image Credits
Joey Szela @joeyszela – Images 2,3&4 James Pereira @jmp – Images 5&6 Mike Koziel @mkoziel – Image 7
