Today we’d like to introduce you to Ajai True.
Ajai, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’ve always been that different girl. As a kid, instead of picking up a barbie like most young girls, I literally picked up a basketball and never turned back. After college ball, I wanted to start a clothing brand. However, once my merchandise was done, it was difficult to find a photographer. That’s when I went on offer up and bought my first camera. That changed everything for me and I immediately started shooting and editing my own pictures. Once I started posting pictures of my brand and saying I took the pictures my friends started to reach out and even started asking how much I charged. I then started taking paying gigs. Instead of naming my production company after myself, I decided to keep the same name as my clothing line, “stay true tribe”. I wanted My brand to represent the people I work with; a tribe of creatives staying true to them. After a couple of months of freelancing, I realized that pictures didn’t fulfill my creative Passions. I then filmed my first music video and haven’t turned back since.
Has it been a smooth road?
In my opinion, nothing good in life will be easy or smooth, especially being a woman in any man dominate industry. When I first started shooting videos last year, nobody really trusted my vision because I have obviously never done one before. On top of me trying to get into something, I’ve never tried before, all of my camera equipment was stolen from me. Every video that I shot was from rented equipment until I saved up enough money to buy my own again. Because my equipment was rented, I didn’t have the privilege to practice on my free time. A lot of studying and capitalizing on the little time that I did use the camera was very important. Every time that I shoot a video, I learn and improve.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I consider myself a creative/Director. I film and edit music videos. There aren’t many female music video directors so that for sure sets me apart from most. Nothing makes me more proud than seeing my vision come to life visually. Sometimes it’s surreal seeing my final project edits. I didn’t know how to use a camera and now I know every feature on my camera. Progression is a great feeling and I’m extremely proud of my progress with film.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I definitely see the film industry being more open to more female directors. Nowadays, woman are marching to the beat of there own drums and bossing up. Issa Rae, Ava DuVernay, and Lena Waithe are a few names of some phenomenal woman directors who have set the bar to the next level. They have created and directed some of the most relevant movies and shows of today’s time. A creative has no gender and now is the time for all of us woman to push limits and do ANYTHING we want.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @ajaitrue
Image Credit:
@darlenedigital @brainztem @yanotyan
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