Bradley Tangonan
"For all the natural beauty and cultural richness Oahu had to offer, living on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean was very isolating for me. I was a curious and restless youth and by the time I graduated from high school I was very much ready to live somewhere new and be exposed to new people and experiences."
"My dad is a family court lawyer and before retiring my mom worked in design and sales. Both of them have strong creative streaks that rubbed off on me."
"In Hawaii, I went to a public school called Moanalua High School. Moanalua had a media program that afforded me my first and only formal education in film production. I was very lucky to be able to have access to those tools and learning materials and built a solid foundation to work from later in life."
"After leaving Hawaii I attended Stanford University in northern California. I majored in biology, of all things. I had always been fond of life sciences and when I was exposed to cellular biology at the university I really took to it. I would have loved to study film as well but Stanford only had a documentary program, so outside of science I made the most of their humanities offering."
"After working as a biochemistry researcher for a few years out of college I was desperate to reconnect with my creative side and my love of film. This was around the time digital filmmaking was becoming more accessible to the masses, so I bought a cheap digital video camera and taught myself how to use Premiere. After making a short film with friends I knew that I wanted to work in the field in some capacity. A couple of years later I came across the opportunity to produce corporate videos at a financial company. It doesn't sound glamorous, but it was really was the break I needed to transition into creating videos as a profession."
"I was very reluctant to approach my parents with the prospect of abandoning my degree in order to do a corporate video in hopes that it would allow me to make films some day. But when I did it became immediately clear that my fears were unfounded. They were both excited for the possibilities that taking this risk might present for me."
"At my corporate video job, we interviewed investors and thought leaders about the markets and various financial instruments. It sounds dry, but it was very informative. I think the one quality that contributes to success in this line of work is curiosity. You have to find a way to invest your interest in any project otherwise you won't do your best work."
"After that I was hired as a freelance videographer by a startup that makes science and art activity kits for kids. It was fun to be around that energy but it's also very difficult working with non-professional child actors. It was a great way to cut my teeth as a freelancer."
"My love of film is the reason I wanted to be a director. In particular, I became obsessed with Wong Kar-wai's body of work. I'm deeply inspired by other East Asian filmmakers as well-Edward Yang, Tsai Ming Liang, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. As far as people I look up to in the industry, I look up to Hiro Murai, A.G. Rojas, Salomon Ligthelm, as well as a number of cinematographers such as Chayse Irvin. In general, I'm fascinated with filmmakers who are able to render nuanced dramatic moments that carry deep narrative meaning and I'm inspired to do the same in my work."
"I'm currently a freelance commercial director and I'm also part of a filmmaking collective called Rathaus Films, which is based in New York. It's composed of a handful of talented producers, directors, and cinematographers. We're a closely knit group and support each other in our independent projects-mainly short films and music videos-in addition to commercial work. I feel very lucky that I get to work alongside talented filmmakers, many of whom are my friends, making work that we're all proud of."
"I've always wanted to direct a feature film. The realties of the industry have made it increasingly difficult to make a successful feature-length film, however, so it may have to remain a dream deferred for a while. In addition to video, I'm interested in interactive content, and believe that virtual and mixed reality experiences will continue to gain mainstream traction. It's a technically daunting but a creatively exciting horizon, in my mind. Whatever the medium, though, I hope I can continue to channel inspiration into creatively meaningful work that reflects my passions, values and aesthetic interests."
"Final thoughts? Hm-Have you noticed how dark and moody advertising content is nowadays (my own work included)? I think we're going to see a pendulum swing away from this very soon."