Today we’d like to introduce you to Jorge Valiente.
Jorge, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Growing up in South Central LA, I could have easily been a statistic and gotten involved in gang related juvenile delinquencies. However, my mother put me in a college bound program at my high school called the Neighborhood Academic Initiative or NAI for short which partners up with USC to guide and mentor students in South LA. It was through this program that I was placed in a summer film making class at the Robert Zemeckis School of Cinematic arts at USC. I fell in love with storytelling but I fell more in love with camera works and editing. I began making short films when I was just 15 years old, I would shoot and edit my short films and immediately I knew that I wanted to do this for a living. I graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara and earned my BA in Film & Media Studies and Latin American Studies in 2015. However, coming from a research-based institution, I had very little production experience.
Thankfully, the NAI director, Ms. Kim-Thomas Barrios gave me a scholarship to invest in my first camera which was a modest T5i Canon Rebel. It was with this camera where I learned the basics of camerawork (Aperture, ISO, Camera, Shutter Speed, Framing and Lighting) and so I began photographing senior portraits and student events on campus. I even shot short videos for friends. I was in love with the process of making films so I decided to chisel my filmmaking skills at The New York Film Academy in 2017. I earned my Masters in Fine Arts in Cinematography earlier this year in 2019 and now I am blessed to be freelancing cinematography work. I have helped shoot commercials and music videos and I could not be more happy than to do what I am doing.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The most significant struggle has been a financial struggle. I don’t have the funds to buy my own equipment. I come from a lower middle-class family and I am a first-generation Latino breaking into the Hollywood scene. I literally knew nobody in the film production business, so I had build my network of associates from the group up. Thankfully, I was blessed to meet my friend named Malcolm Bodom, who has been collecting and renting out his camera gear for years. He was my director for my thesis film and we immediately created a strong bond. If it wasn’t for him lending his camera gear to me, I would for sure be struggling a lot more.
Courageous Photography – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I began my photography business during my Undergrad. I had my camera and began shooting portraits. Then I was contacted by a couple to shoot their wedding and I quickly saw how fun and lucrative it is to shoot weddings. I am proud of the fact that I have created a small business where I love the feeling I give to my clients when they see their pictures.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success to me isn’t only about making money and making a name for yourself. Success to me is being able to leave a footprint in the world of filmmaking and have generations for years to come to remember my name and my work and how it made them feel. My long term goal is to become successful enough to start a program in South LA for students eager to learn more about filmmaking. Coming from a rough neighborhood, I know firsthand how easily teenagers could get wrapped up in world of trouble. I want to be able to motivate young adults that their stories matter and we want to hear their stories. I want the youth in my neighborhood to put down the guns and shoot cameras instead.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1436 w 37th St
Los Angeles CA 90018 - Phone: 3237170730
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @courageousphotography
Image Credit:
Malcolm Bodom
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