Rising Stars: Meet Yifei Dai

Today we’d like to introduce you to Yifei Dai.

Yifei, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
At first, I was a little filmmaker. I started making indie films in high school and I was super passionate about creating stories and content. I went to college for film study and got my BFA. However, I felt like I didn’t get much practical experience of using equipment and gears from the program. So I studied photography for an additional year in order to be more comfortable with my skills. I’ve been shooting travel photos for four years as a hobby. After the training, I become more professional and ready to go into the field.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s mostly smooth, I would say. From the beginning, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. But later on, when I reached the outside world and saw the reality, it felt kinda different than I expected, then I started trying new stuff. Filmmaking is what I was passionate about, but in fact, I want to use this path to become a movie actor someday. I want to be a travel photographer because I love traveling and capturing moments. So for a while, I was a bit confused with what I really wanted to do. There’s a lot of back-and-forth-ing.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I say I’m a visual content creator, which combines with a videographer, photographer, and composer. I made a lot of narrative films in the past. I’ve made some comedy films, horror films and experimental films. Almost all of them was written, directed and edited by myself. I love creating my own fictional world, not only from moving pictures but also from stills. Shooting travel photography since 2018 is something I am very proud of. I taught myself how to edit pictures in a unique, epic way and many of my photographic works are very cinematic, campy and futuristic. I’ve been using Photoshop a lot lately to apply a special theme to the location I captured in my own eyes. I think that’s what I do differently than the others.

Any big plans?
I will stay in the entertainment industry for sure. For now, I would like to try different things as much as I can until I find a way of living that actually makes me comfortable and enjoyable. Right now I am having some small jobs in Hollywood to grow my network for a bit and gain some work experience. I will probably switch positions a lot, from film production to photography or from videography to acting. In the end, I want people to see me on the big screen, that I am an actor who can make films himself and make travel content.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://discoflye.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/discoflye/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBAWgQg5vb4QZfXqIcgK43w