Today we’d like to introduce you to Keanu Cordero.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Keanu. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My father was always interested in movies. He gave me his old Sony Handycam when I was around 6 or 7. Ever since then I’ve always been making something. I have about a dozen tapes filled with a bunch of short films I made when I was a kid. I also had 3 journals filled with ridiculously ambitious ideas, most of them were just knockoffs of major Hollywood films. I kept making short films, I would make them with my friends from school. We would meet up and shoot until it got dark, then I’d turn what we had shot into a movie. An unorthodox approach but I just had ideas after ideas. I stopped making shorts when I was 15 and focused on my writing, I did that until I hit the age of 17. That’s when my life changed, and I found out I was going to be a dad. When I got that news, I knew I had to make a choice on my career. I decided to pursue this dream, but I still had to make money. I managed to get a job as an after school Drama Teacher when I hit 19, and that allowed me to put more time & effort into my passion projects. In just under two years, I have made videography a stable source of income while also focusing on creating my own original shorts.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not. While I have been able to make videography a stable source of income, it’s not always like that. I’m sure most creators can relate. Sometimes you go months without work. Especially if you favor quality over quantity, it can take 1-2 months to wrap a project. Then when you start getting consistent work, it can get a little hectic when you have multiple projects stacked on top of each other, There are also a number of problems that can erupt at any given moment when you’re out shooting, and the crew expects you to have all the answers. The ironic part about these ‘problems’ is that it can be something so small, but it’ll impact the whole scene if it’s not resolved. It can get stressful at times.
Please tell us about your work.
I created CloudyBox Productions around 2015, but I didn’t officially make it a business until 2018. I manage it with my girlfriend Alexandria. We knew immediately that we wanted to focus more on story driven music videos since I felt there was a lack of storytelling in most modern music videos. We offer music videos & short films to any local artist that wants to team up and tell a story together.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
If you’re going to be a director, you need to be open minded to other people’s ideas, but you also need to trust your gut. It’ll take a lot of time to find a balance, I’m still learning.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://keanucordero.onfabrik.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keanuthedirector/
Image Credit:
April Taylor
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