Today we’d like to introduce you to Meher Kourouyan.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I first opened my eyes on the island of Cyprus to parents who were passionate and devoted educators for future generations. My family migrated to the United States when I was five years old, to a two-bedroom apartment in Hollywood, on Van Ness just south of Melrose where the Armenian community was growing fast at the time, and my father accepted a position as the Principal of a new private Armenian school and my mother a teacher.
As an introverted kid, who would grow tired of the limitations of toys, I found refuge in my imagination. Being in such close proximity to Paramount Studios, my mischief and curiosity led me to sneak onto the Paramount lot. Pre-9/11 and the loose security protocols make my trespassing easy and exciting. Fascinated by TV shows and movies, the Paramount lot embodied the possibilities of bringing one’s imagination to life. As I unapologetically roamed through the lot, I would feel inspired by how people’s creativeness came to life and it showcased that this was in fact a conceivable path to follow, not knowing that years later I would get to work on that very same lot. No more sneaking was required!
My love affair with photography manifested itself when my father, trying desperately to involve an introverted kid into the world around him, would hand me our Kodak snap-shot camera. This was an ingenious way for me to be present all the while using the camera’s lens as my shield. Concurrently, I was inspired by my 5th grade teacher, Ms. Windel, towards creative writing and storytelling. Photography, creative writing and my love of movies, coupled with a ferocious imagination paved the way to who I am today.
Being raised in the Armenian community and as a child of educators, the immigrant mentality encouraged the necessity of pursuing a high education towards becoming a doctor, lawyer, engineer or businessman, the arts were always just something to be done for fun and not to be pursued as a career. After attempting to find a path to medical school at Los Angeles Valley College, my elective classes in photography and film captivated my attention and further fueled the fire within towards a career in film-making. Even though I’m quite a science nerd, just ask my wife.
While at LA Valley College, I teamed up with two other aspiring filmmakers to shoot three shorts on 16mm film. Broke, as many college students are, we chipped in to purchase what was absolutely required to shoot our films, used lighting equipment and a used 16mm Bolex camera. The experience of working on those three short films was a crash course in movie making. With a non-existent budget, we needed to rely on our own resourcefulness and preparedness, and these projects taught us valuable lessons that I still use to this day.
After LA Valley College, I studied film, psychology and philosophy at Cal State University of Northridge. Studying psychology and philosophy in addition to film was a strategic scheme on my end to be able to take a deeper dive into the study of people’s minds and the intricacies of how they think and why people do what they do.
Finally, after CSUN, I got my first industry job on the Paramount Lot, the very same lot where I used to sneak onto as a kid. I was in the TV Research department, handling the Nielsen Ratings for the shows created on the lot. My responsibilities were to gather all the ratings as they came in, in the morning, prep them and physically deliver them to the various studio big wigs on the lot. Having access to the department’s golf cart, I would drive around the Paramount Studios lot all day long. I would see various productions all over, meet studio heads and spot some of my favorite actors walking around all the time, sometimes I would even offer to give them a lift on the golf cart. This was every tourists dream.
One of the stops en route was Entertainment Tonight and its Executive producer, Linda Bell Blue. After a few months working in the TV research department, I took the initiative and walked into her office, asked her for a job and was hired on the spot. I was just a lowly production assistant, but I was in. Not long after I started at ET, there were rumors that ET was going to create a younger version of their show for MTV. Once again, I found myself in Linda’s office and I told her that I wanted to be a part of it. She immediately called in the producer who was set to run that show and told him that I would be his assistant. Soon after, I began writing spec scripts for the new show, ETonMTV. I hustled, I worked long hours and eventually, they sponsored me to be part of the Directors Guild of America as an Associate Director. This is when I learned to really tell a story in a short format. Segments on Entertainment Tonight would last from 45 seconds to 3 minutes, brevity and clarity became a priority.
While working at ET, my photography hobby was developing and I was beginning to make some extra cash shooting headshots and portfolios for aspiring actors. During this time, I found that the relationship between the photographer and the subject became quite intriguing, meeting people from all walks of life, learning their stories and telling those stories with the use of light and composition. As the old adage goes, a picture tells a thousand words, and this rung true in my experience if you do it properly. It was at this point that my side hustle transformed into my own full-time business.
The digital era of photography and film-making was booming, shooting video instead of film became a lot more accepted and affordable, so there I was again, attempting to build on my foundation. Technology has definitely advanced this industry, things that were so difficult or costly were now becoming accessible to a lot more people. But this is also a double-edged sword. Sure, the industry has become oversaturated, but it’s also opened many doors and opportunities. Ultimately, the bedrock is the same, it all starts at the conception of your vision, your ideas, the written word. My journey began as a solo endeavor, but it is the collaborations that helped bring it to life. I have been lucky enough to work with many talented people during my career and I am eager to continue to grow my circle and work with more imaginative artists. When a group of motivated, creative and intelligent people comes together, they can create just about anything.
Nature has also been a big influence in my life. The beauty of our planet and the opportunity to share that beauty has been an important aspect of my career. It’s all about perspectives, your point of view. One of my greatest joys is capturing the stunning landscapes around us. As I first ventured into landscape photography, I often wished that I wasn’t hindered by the limitations of my own body and legs. I would constantly think to myself, “I wish I could take this picture from 30 feet above me”, or go into dangerous spaces. Now, as technology has advanced, the tools at our disposal have led to an evolution of creativity. I became a certified drone pilot and used this tool to better tell a story. We now have the ability to capture a bird’s eye view of the world which simply wasn’t available to us even a few years ago. As my craft has evolved, I’ve had the pleasure of working as an aerial cinematography on many projects for LA Metro and Nike that give us perspectives that were either unheard of before or reserved for multi-million dollar productions.
I like to work on stories that are personal. I’m influenced by everything around me. I’m always searching for what makes my subjects stand out, whether it is capturing a rock band as they’re creating their art, or a families with their own unique stories to tell, or a corporation working hard to improve the lives of others, the Milky Way dancing across the sky or even with real estate or architectural work, what sets one building apart from another? What is the experience one has when entering a space? It’s all about the relationships with your subjects. My work also affords me the opportunity to travel. I recall an opportunity to capture a model in Milan, Italy. She didn’t speak English and I don’t speak Italian, so we had a huge language barrier to overcome as we created and executed a concept which brought out her essence as a person.
I approach all my projects with the same underlying principles, I ask myself what sets this subject apart from every other subject? I try to isolate their unique qualities and work on magnifying that special essence. Plan and prepare for everything. Do your research, and come up with an interesting way to share the story. And if you’re lucky, sometimes life throws in some surprises that really help. This is my passion. Once, I found myself in Idaho, where I had planned on capturing the Milky Way. I researched the location, when and where the Milky Way would rise and positioned myself accordingly. On our way there, nature had a surprise in store for me. A freak lightning storm caused a fire in the forest below in the exact direction I planned on shooting. I was afraid that the smoke from the fire would obscure the visibility of the stars, but instead, it illuminated the clouds at an altitude lower than where I was positioned. I was able to clearly capture the Milky Way, and the glow from the fire on the low laying clouds Revealed itself as a “sunset”, which gave me one of my most unique photos of the cosmos, the Milky Way dancing across the sky above this “sunset”. This was a case of being in the right place at the right time, and sometimes we get this small gift from God that we may never have the opportunity to encounter this happenstance again.
Our lives are a collection of experiences, and I’ve been blessed with many special ones in my personal and professional life. I always try to give my clients these positive experiences so that the projects I work on with them will be as memorable to them as they are to me. Each project gives me the opportunity to encounter new people, hear their life history, and share their experiences.
Regardless of whether I’m working on a big budget production or doing a favor pro-bono, I’m always working on my reputation and putting my best foot forward. Whether I’m helping a friend or working for a big client, the job is very important to me because it’s important to them. If you’re not going to put this energy in, then why bother?
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I don’t believe that any road to success is easy and this career is no exception. As artists, we grow and evolve constantly, and as I look back on my work, I almost always wish I shot a scene with a different camera angle or a different lens. But we use the tools at our disposal at that time.
We’re constantly trying to raise funds for a project or convince a client to hire you or go in a certain direction, and that’s not easy. Rejection is a big part of this career.
In the beginning of my career, I did a lot of favors for people, did shoots for them for free and I learned that you can’t expect these favors to be repaid, or you will break your heart. You have to use these favors as a way to experiment with your own craft and grow, this is how you gain value for the favors you give. The sad truth is that people only value your work as much as they’ve paid for it, so if they didn’t pay you, they don’t value you either.
Ultimately, as an artist, my main struggle is an internal one. My neuroticism is a constant battle, the dreamer who can do anything vs the fraud who is going to be revealed at the first sign of a mistake. I’m confident in my abilities, and yet I’m always second-guessing my choices, wondering if I’m doing the best possible job, wondering if I’m messing up the story I’m attempting to tell for my clients. I feel this stems from the fact that I care about what I’m doing. I do often wish I could re-shoot a scene and make it even better, but this is how we learn from our experiences and improve along the way. And with all this, it is our love and drives for storytelling that pushes us along.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Reel Light Pictures is a full-service photo and video production company. We shoot promotional videos and photos for all walks of life. Whether it is doing aerial cinematography for LA Metro or photoshoots for Madia Lab Science, Loreal, Korres, or even personalized family portrait sessions.
We’ve done documentary videos, How-to videos, promotions for corporations, full YouTube productions for shows, fundraising videos for educational foundations, or real estate videos where we showcase the experience and lifestyle of living in a home rather than just the home itself.
We try to give each of our clients their own special experience. We tell their stories in an interesting way and hopefully give them a positive memory to hold onto. That’s probably what we’re known for more than anything else.
We’re very proud of the reputation we’ve built for ourselves. Known to be hardworking and friendly, and delivering on our set out goals.
What are your plans for the future?
Our plans for the future builds on our foundation, continuing to constantly evolve into growing to be bigger and better. We learn from our past and those whom we collaborate with. Each client and creative partner brings something new to the table and we add that to our repertoire.
When I was younger, a financially successful family friend of my parents, once told me that he’d trade in all his wealth to be able to go back to his youth and pursue his dreams. He advised that I find something in life that I’d be willing to do for free, then try to make a living doing it. Those words always stayed with me. That’s what I’ve done and that’s what I will continue to do.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.ReelLightPictures.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/reellightpictures
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9TZh20HlufcEZFQWSPu4XQ
Image Credits:
Meher Kourouyan
