Today we’d like to introduce you to Victor Moses Navarro.
Victor Moses, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in San Gabriel, CA for pretty much the majority of my life. I began my film making career in 2012 when I attended Pasadena City College. I took a beginning film making class and I was hooked. I had always loved cinema, even as a young boy. My father would bring home VHS tapes (yes! VHS tapes) from the library for me to enjoy. I would watch everything he would bring home. I was particularly fascinated by “Star Wars” and Ray Harryhausen films like “Clash of the Titans”, “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad” and “Jason and the Argonauts”.
In 2014 I was accepted and transferred to UCLA and began their undergrad film program. While attending classes, I would work freelance on commercials as a Grip, Electrician, and then eventually into camera, basically anything to increase my experience and just overall knowledge. As much as I loved working all those positions, my heart was really set on editing and directing. In school, I concentrated in directing but I took all the classes the post students would take at the same time. I think I was taking 25 units each quarter the entire time I was at UCLA, but I wanted to learn as much as possible. In my final year, I was essentially making my own thesis film and editing another at the same time. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep a lot.
I graduated in 2016 and entered the workforce full-time. I was still working freelance and got a job as a camera technician at a rental house in Burbank, On The Mark Camera and Lighting. In 2019 I co-founded a production company with cinematographer and best-friend Alexander L. Dunn, whom I met in film classes at P.C.C. We named our company Outer Heaven Creations.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It is not a smooth road at all. The film industry, especially in Los Angeles is very saturated and competitive. You have to stand out and create your own opportunities. Not only do you have to be a talented individual, but you have to be willing to make a lot of sacrifices. You have to be tech-savvy, you have to know how to network, and you have to be able to work with a lot of different personalities, which can present challenges on its own.
I think the biggest struggle at least from my perspective is how do you stand out amongst the millions of other filmmakers and you-tubers on the web and KEEP THEIR ATTENTION, while still being true to yourself as a filmmaker.
Please tell us about Outer Heaven Creations.
Outer Heaven Creations is a film production company. We create content for film/TV (narrative), music videos, and commercial work. The majority of our work in 2019 was music videos for artists that aren’t household names just yet. The genres range from hip-hop to metal to r&b. We also have a short film in post-production which should be released in 2020, while having 2 short films in the pre-production stages to be shot in 2020. 2020 is also going to be the year we branch out into the commercial world.
OHC (Outer Heaven Creations) prides itself in the ability to provide opportunities to women and minority filmmakers. We currently roster female and Latino cinematographers as well as Asian, African-American, and Latino directors and producers.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to start over, I would do everything exactly the same, only ten years earlier haha.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.outerheavencreations.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/outerheavencreations or @outerheavencreations
- Facebook: facebook.com/outerheavencreations
Image Credit:
Alexander L. Dunn, Silvia Lara, Laszlo Bolender, Fiorella Ochipinti
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
