Paulus Rizal is one of those lucky people whose passion is aligned with their profession. As a Commercial Videographer, Paulus has been in love with the beauty of visual art for decades and he still has the fire to keep the light on throughout his professional journey. How does he do that? Let’s hear it from him!

Tell us about your journey to becoming a Commercial Videographer, along with your challenges and achievements!

It all started in 2001 when I went to college and studied Visual Communication and Design. Since then, I fell in love with the visual arts and I began my professional journey by offering my skills to cover weddings and other events. From those experiences, I learned a lot about networking and basic video editing skills, and also I found new references for me to learn. However, the most important thing that I learned about professional videography is that it requires consistency. You have to commit yourself to the profession and to the art of videography and everything both of those entail. You can’t just try to get into professional videography or worse, just follow the trend.

That was exactly what I did after I graduated from college; I committed myself to being a professional videographer. Even with limited equipment, I always try to give my best to all of my clients, no matter their background. I believe that every project has its own value and I always try to deliver the client’s message through simple yet sufficient creativity.

My experience as a videographer hasn't always been without its challenges and the biggest one is the mindset that a visual production, in terms of the technicality and the other supporting resources, can only be done well in major cities. Slowly but surely, I tried to change that mindset by moving on from covering weddings and events to producing commercial videos for local brands.

As for my achievements, the most meaningful one is being able to share my experiences with other people, be it in formal or non-formal circumstances. I love sharing various videography tricks and other things related to videography that I learned along the way. I hope that by doing this, I can inspire others to be more interested in videography, especially those living outside the big cities. I also hope that what I do can create positive impacts on as many people as possible.

I know that I still have to learn so many things, but I still have the fire and the energy to keep learning. Simply put, I am just a videographer who’s trying to make a positive contribution to this industry.

Do you have your own unique style that you always try to implement in your work?

In most of my projects, I use documentary-style videography with a more natural approach and a little bit of candid shooting to capture the moments. I’d also like to focus on originality and logic in my shots so the final results could be as tidy and structured as possible.

One of Paulus Rizal’s works: a commercial video for a kitchen appliances company.

I think I could say that those are the unique styles that I have developed throughout the years. Having been working on many projects with different clients and different ideas, those are the style that I am comfortable with. However, as I said before, I love learning new things and it’s not impossible for me to find new shooting styles that I like more.

How do you improve your skills and styles in Commercial Videography? How do you get inspiration for your projects?

Videography is an adaptive and dynamic form of art. In my opinion, it is the final form of art as it combines all other forms of art. In order to excel in this industry, we have to consistently sharpen our sense, intuition, and discipline. We have to keep learning and make our cameras part of our daily lives.

As for the inspiration, I can get inspiration from many things. Mostly, I enjoy consuming high-quality social media content and keeping an eye on the stock footage websites. Other than that, I can also get inspiration by interacting with my fellow videographers.

What are your favorite videography gear and why are they your favorite?

Currently, the FX6 and the G Master lenses are the best combination of gears for my professional needs. Also, I use the FX30 as the B-camera during production.

Choosing the FX6 was an easy decision for me because it offers simple operability and workflow, and high accuracy. Its compatibility with other Sony products and accessories is also a plus for me.

Who was your most memorable client?

Based on my experience in Commercial Videography production, all clients are the same. Those who I worked with usually had something in their mind already. They knew what they wanted, the message they wanted to deliver, which product feature they wanted to highlight, and so on. I would then give my perspective from the creative point of view and then we would try to find the middle ground where everything is balanced so I could express my creative vision and they could deliver the message they have.

Who are your role models in the videography realm?

There are three people that I admire the most: Brandon Li, Alistair Chapman, and Philip Bloom. All three of them have their own uniqueness and specialty. Brandon Li, for example, is capable of producing beautiful and immersive travel videos. He has excellent skills not only in videography but also in storytelling.

For Alistair Chapman, I admire him because he is an expert in cinematography and camera technology. He always shares his knowledge through various workshops, seminars, and online tutorials. I find those very helpful and useful.

I also like Philip Bloom as he is a great filmmaker with unparalleled skills in storytelling, creative vision, and technical proficiency. He can produce equally good documentaries, commercials, and short films.