Today we’d like to introduce you to David Zhu.
Hi David, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I am delighted and honored to have the opportunity to be interviewed by VoyageLA, and I am truly grateful to VoyageLA for providing such a valuable platform for ordinary individuals like me who have come to LA from elsewhere to share their stories. My name is David Zhu, and I currently work in the film and television industry. In my spare time, I, along with a few friends, have launched an online education platform called Harsh Blue, providing skill training services for students aspiring to enter the entertainment industry. After living in LA for seven years, I have now relocated to Vancouver, Canada.
I arrived in Los Angeles in 2016 and pursued my Master’s degree in Architecture at UCLA. While the academic life was intense and demanding, it provided a relatively protective environment for me to gradually understand American society. Here, I overcame language barriers, made friends, and broadened my horizons. After completing my master’s degree, I worked as an architectural designer in Los Angeles for two and a half years. Thanks to the cutting-edge education I received at UCLA, I continuously explored more possibilities for my career during this period.
The vibrant atmosphere of LA’s technology and entertainment industries allowed me to discover alternative career paths. In 2020, determined to pursue a career in the entertainment industry, I enrolled at Gnomon, a visual effects school located in Hollywood. During the years 2020-2022, the world was engulfed in the whirlwind of Covid-19, and the entertainment industry faced a comprehensive shutdown. However, these challenges did not deter my aspirations to join the film and television industry.
Upon entering the entertainment industry, facing economic uncertainties and visa challenges for foreign individuals, I, along with a few friends, decided to venture into our own business. This endeavor led to the creation of our current online BootCamp.
Los Angeles is the city where I have lived the longest, apart from my hometown. Every time I return to LA, I feel an immense sense of familiarity and love. I am eagerly looking forward to returning to this city that has played a significant role in shaping my life as soon as possible.
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?
The time I spent living in other countries was definitely not easy, and I would even say that leaving the United States was a result of the complex and outdated work visa system. For Chinese individuals living in the United States region, obtaining permanent residency is far from guaranteed, even with outstanding academic backgrounds and work experience, due to the large number of applicants. Securing a local job to maintain legal residency is crucial, but in recent years, factors such as war, disease, and economic instability have continuously impacted everyone’s career stability.
The strict immigration policies in the United States require visa holders to find a new job within 60 days of losing employment, or they face mandatory deportation. While understandable in the context of protecting job opportunities for U.S. citizens, these policies have, to a large extent, shattered the dreams of many hardworking new immigrants. Throughout my seven years of living in the United States, I have constantly grappled with the challenges of maintaining a legal visa. Even my American colleagues were shocked by the strict immigration policies in the U.S. and the pressures faced by foreign individuals.
From my current perspective, the difficulty and uncertainty of maintaining legal residency, rather than the efforts put into pursuing degrees and jobs, are the most exhausting and overwhelming aspects of my experience in the United States.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about Harsh Blue?
Harsh Blue stands as an online education institution co-founded by a collaborative team of CG artists with a mission to expedite students’ entry into the dynamic field of entertainment. For us, the co-founders, this venture signifies the commencement of our diverse roles and entrepreneurial endeavors. Our training services adhere to the highest professional standards, delivering industry-relevant content that empowers our students to amass the requisite professional knowledge and skills, facilitating a swift transition onto new career trajectories within a compact timeframe and reasonable costs.
The inception of Harsh Blue was inspired by my earlier discussion, where I sought an efficient and short-term industry transition without the necessity of obtaining study visas. At that time, such services were non-existent, leading me to invest two years and a substantial amount of resources in a full-time school to complete the required courses. Our pride lies in the flexibility and professionalism we offer. Flexibility is inherent in our brief program duration, allowing students to seamlessly integrate education without upheaving their existing careers or life plans. Professionalism is ingrained in our faculty, drawn directly from the entertainment industry’s ranks, actively engaged in cutting-edge production work, thereby imparting the latest technologies and knowledge to expedite students’ acclimatization to real industry production.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
From my personal perspective, interdisciplinary collaboration across industries may well be the focal point of my thoughts over the next 5-10 years. I believe that individuals with rich industry experience and passion have the capability and drive to venture beyond their current singular artistic roles, exploring endeavors in business and technology. This exploration could involve establishing closer and more diverse connections with the external world.
Art cannot solely rely on passive waiting for discovery and dissemination by the audience. Actively engaging in the process of evoking or showcasing art is also an excellent strategy. This proactive approach to dissemination heavily relies on interdisciplinary collaboration across industries and social-level communication, aspects that artists often tend to overlook or consciously avoid.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.harshblue.art/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@HarshBlue68
- Other: https://www.artstation.com/harshblue
Image Credits
Brendan Fang
Baitong Li
Jiacheng Dong
Tianxing Zou
Edmund Li
