Today we’d like to introduce you to Raghav Ravi.
Hi Raghav, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I was born in Erode, Tamilnadu, India, and immigrated to the States when I was about 4 years old. I was raised in the Indian-American diaspora of the Bay Area in NorCal for most of my life and have creative roots that are heavily tied to the art of both worlds. From a young age, I’ve known that I am a creative with a voice to share with. Tamil film, music, and culture permeated my life so much that I didn’t really explore American media until middle school. I still haven’t seen some “American classics”.
From childhood, I’ve played with a variety of art forms ranging from Fine Art, Singing, Performance, Dance, and Theater to Film/Digital Photography, Videography, and Film Production. Eventually, I earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Film at San José State University in 2016. Expressing myself through art has always been an innate part of me and I’ve always known that this would be my calling. Fortunately, I’m blessed with parents that also trusted and supported my natural inclination towards the arts.
After college, I traveled across the country with Campus Movie Fest, a national student film festival for two years, and moved to Los Angeles in 2020. For two years, I worked as a videographer and content producer at a performance marketing ad agency in Pasadena, where I helped shoot and craft engaging social media campaigns for 50+ brands and developed strong skills in logistics and coordination. Alongside this full-time work, I was also working as a freelance Cinematographer, Camera Assistant, and Grip/Electric on non-union shows, and Photographer when I had the chance, on short films and music videos. I’ve also been an active member in Rickshaw Film Foundation, as a Writer in Cycle 1’s Writer’s Room and a Producer in Cycle 3’s Producer’s Network. Rickshaw has definitely helped give me a sense of representation and community in the South Asian film space that I felt lacking before.
Eventually, I decided to fall into independent/freelance work full-time in a variety of capacities, ranging from Cinematography, Direction, Producing, and Editing, Writing, Photography, and even a little Acting. Childhood is beginning to come full circle. What I love about being a freelance artist is the freedom I have in my days and in my career. It’s definitely a challenging transition and lifestyle to adapt to, but I really love not being boxed into one job title and exploring the various multitudes that I can be.
Today, I am connected to grounded, intimate stories that draw out the essence of daily lives and relationships. I seek to and love collaborating with storytellers/humans from all walks of life. Outside of the arts, I also have a deep interest in studying spirituality and wellness and recently completed a 200HR Yoga Teacher Training with The Tree Yoga Cooperative. I look forward to deepening this practice and serving my community through it.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
A quote that helps me is “No mud, no lotus”. The journey comes in waves. At times, the waves are smooth, crystal clear, and fun. Other times, things are rocky and uncertain and stir up self-doubt. Regardless, I think it’s all a part of the process, and I’ve got to go through these struggles to become who I’m meant to be.
Most challenges stem from self-doubt, financial stability, uncertainty about the entertainment industry, and the desire to carve out a niche for myself that can not only serve the world around me but also fulfill me as an artist.
1. Self-doubt and Imposter Syndrome stems from comparison and the nature of being in a highly saturated field alongside a ton of extremely talented artists. At times, I’ve felt paralyzed and wasn’t sure of my ability to put out work that I felt proud of and wasn’t sure if I could be “as good.”
2. I know a lot of people that have never found true financial abundance in this industry. A lot of the work we do as artists begins with low pay or even unpaid work; unless you go corporate, work in an agency, or pivot into a desk job, it can be an uphill climb to foster a financially successful platform for yourself. Sometimes, these decisions are necessary to be able to find financial freedom before stepping into your own. Even once we go freelance/independent, though, it’s another mountain to find clients, find enjoyable work (instead of taking anything that comes), and learn about rates, contracts, LLCs, and self-employed taxes–these are things that I’ve had to Google and self-teach. Still learning. After moving to Los Angeles during peak pandemic, I found comfort in a secure career at an advertising agency, for which I’m indefinitely grateful. This gave me the breathing room and income to find artists and communities to begin collaborating with outside of the job.
3. While the entertainment industry is a lot of fun, we’re barely beginning to find things like sustainable lifestyles, work-life balances, and career certainty. With things like Union strikes, saturation in the job market, 12-14 hr. workdays, and inconsistent work schedules, it’s really made me question my longevity in the film industry; however, I’m learning that not all gigs are like this, and with time, the industry will change. I’m still extremely grateful for this path, and for the abundant work, I’ve been given so far.
4. When we’re making art, it can be hard to answer the question of “How am I bettering the world with the work I do?” I don’t always want to take any job that comes just to pay the bills, but sometimes it can feel like that. It’s always been important to me to do work that speaks to my soul and find the niche that I can create for everyday work. Though it’s a consistent question that’s in my head, it’s rewarding to learn that I don’t need to do just one kind of job, and I can find fulfillment through my work as long as I lead with my heart and intuition.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a storyteller in abundant capacities. Raised in the Tamil-American diaspora with roots that are heavily tied to both worlds, I’m inspired to channel my unique experiences through my work and merge my learnings in wellness and art.
I love playing outside the box and creating art through a lens of childlike wonder. Over the last several years, I’ve primarily specialized in Cinematography, Producing, and Photography, but I’m also blessed to have been a Writer, Director, Creative Director, Editor, and Actor in my work so far, and hope to continue expanding into what’s meant for me. Overall, the work I’m known for can be described as warm, soft, personal, and profound.
As a cinematographer/DP, I’ve done work in short films, music videos, short docs, and ads. It’s been an experimental and explorative process in various projects so far and has led me to collaborate with some great creatives. Through most of the projects that I’ve shot as a DP, I’ve also had the good fortune of playing a significant role as a Producer/Creative Director too; this has taught me to successfully run end-to-end crowdfunding campaigns and design visual language for films that resonate with audiences. I love natural/warm light, getting crafty, and developing a deep collaborative process with my teams. I know I’ve still got a long way to go and a lot to learn, yet as I look back, I’m extremely proud of my growth as a visual storyteller. My most recent Cinematography & Producer work that I’m proud to mention is The Fisherman Fishes a Fish, shot in collaboration with Raw Color Studios.
As a Photographer, I lean into the small-scale and intimate stories. I love taking portraits and especially allowing the natural elements of an environment wrap the subject into the moment. I take stills for individuals, couples, intimate weddings, elopements, engagements, events, and even for Behind-the-Scenes content on productions.
Currently, I’m a Producer for Anokhi, a short film about an Indian American immigrant mother that struggles in an abusive marriage until she must decide what kind of example she wants to set for her daughter. Writer/Director Rohini Jadhav, my Co-Producer Radhika Bansal, and I have been in development since October, and are looking forward to shooting in less than a month in LA. I’m extremely proud of our progress, collaboration, crowdfunding, visual language, community outreach, and casting efforts so far. With our Seed & Spark crowdfunding campaign coming to a close on May 23rd, 2024, I’m happy to say that we’ve reached our goal already and are well into pre-production. Beyond the making of the film, we’re also working with our Impact Advisor, Kayla Kaipolani to develop our social impact strategy to provide tangible resources and reach the communities that inspired this film.
As an independent artist, I do a little bit of everything. I write, shoot, direct, and produce my own stories. I love working on slice-of-life and coming-of-age stories about human connection, existentialism, philosophy, and love. “In Amma’s Hands” (2020), a 5-episode mini-doc series that I created with my mom during the pandemic, really connected with people for its intimate storytelling and “homemade” visual language and for its representation. A recent release, “Big Self & Little Self (2024)”, a reflective self-portrait, touches on the meaning of Identity, existentialism, and non-dual philosophy, and has found resonance with my viewers and really encourages me to continue experimenting with more content like this. I find comfort in visual composition & creative direction in everything I’m involved in, and I dream of channeling these skills into writing & directing a slice-of-life bilingual story one day.
I’ve recently completed a 200HR Yoga Teacher Certification with The Tree Yoga Cooperative, in which we’ve delved deep into topics such as Mindfulness, Yogic Philosophy, Non-Duality, Social Justice work in Wellness, De-Colonization of History/Yoga History, and more. My learnings in this field also support me in bringing more empathy, compassion, and authenticity to my creative work. I believe it’s extremely important to diversify our offerings to the world and ourselves, and Yoga helps create more space for me to be an artist as well.
Some links:
– Big Self & little self (https://youtu.be/guUvVE1tLZE?si=zOXAtl1F9HBmiz1z)
– In Amma’s Hands Series (https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQBA5cLqGy9P-BOj9-08P568lSIHD8tD9&si=epJImCijWZNpzpW_)
– Cinematography Reel (https://youtu.be/IDVNpCbzhzA?si=eElq7B-QF7XFvXtj)
– Anokhi Crowdfunding Campaign (https://seedandspark.com/fund/anokhishortfilm#story
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Mentors and communities are HUGE for growth! Here are a few things that have worked for me…
1. Be yourself and create work that speaks to yourself before anyone else. Your vibe will attract your tribe. Even when networking, make friends first, share your work second, and “network” third. It’s quicker and easier to collaborate with trusted and talented friends before picking through business cards/Instagram handles.
2. Apply to creative programs, organizations, grants, and competitions! There are a communities and programs for everyone, and you would be surprised by the reach that is possible. Most of my professional friends/collaborators have been people I’ve met through film communities and programs.
3. Attend local events and festivals, even if you don’t have work represented there. This will give you an opportunity to see some new projects and meet the makers behind them too! You’ll meet your future collaborators and mentors here.
4. Maintaining a social media presence can feel daunting, but sharing your work is the first way to get recognized. Filter out the noise and share your work everywhere and with everyone. You never know who will see it and what it will lead you to.
5. DM/directly message the people you look up to through IG, TikTok, LinkedIn, etc. It might seem like a long shot, but sometimes, it’ll lead to an amazing collaborative relationship and/or mentorship. I’ve even gotten work and projects with this approach.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/raghav.film
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raghavravifilm/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@raghavravi
Image Credits
Srikar Rao
Zack Spencer
Collin Tang
