Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Dekelbaum.
Alex, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
When I was in seventh grade, I was fascinated by technology and social media and spent a lot of time in my room on my computer. I taught myself iMovie, Final Cut Pro, Sony Vegas Pro, and even Adobe After Effects and would spend countless hours editing short videos. I certainly didn’t have the most exciting middle school experience, but I fell in love with crafting these edits. Eventually, I began to post these montages online.
I created a Vine account to share my work and started with around a couple of hundred followers. Many days after coming home from school, I would go straight into my room and begin the editing process which sometimes took hours. However, as I spent hundreds of hours putting my work together, my follower count began to increase.
Eventually, I reached the following count of over 40,000 people who watched my edited videos. Having social media to utilize as a creative outlet that surpassed 36 million views boosted my self-confidence and helped me get through the social awkwardness of being a middle schooler. Once I started editing and saw so much appreciation for my projects online, I learned that my love of the craft could introduce me to a new world beyond the four walls of my room.
My first experience working on actual film production was the annual Dallas 24 Hour Video race in 2016. I had never worked with a crew, and I was both extremely excited and terrified after being selected as the lead editor. Days after the festival, our film was screened and received award recognition at the Dallas Angelika Film Center. Following this, I began to work on several other short films as an editor and assistant director across Dallas. These films later earned recognition from film festivals across the country.
My work throughout high school progressed tremendously when my best friend and collaborator, Emma Evans was by my side. Throughout my senior year, I was the assistant director for a short film written and directed by Emma, which was accepted and screened at SXSW in 2019. At 17, I wrote, directed and edited the film “A Wake Up Call,” starring Emma. The film was screened and won awards at several festivals across the globe, such as winning Best Narrative Short at the Arlington International Film Festival and earning nominations for Best Direction and The Spark Award at the All American High School Film Festival. The film was also named a Semi-Finalist at the Los Angeles Cinefest, and a Finalist at the Gold Movie Awards in London.
After graduating high school, I was working as a corporate video editor for a neuroscience and marketing practice in Plano, and as an inaugural student filmmaker at Spacesuit Media in Dallas. Along with this, I continued working on projects, including a feature film shot in Dallas in August. I was selected as the 2nd Assistant Director, which ultimately solidified my love for Assistant Directing. However, just days after wrapping this film, it was time for me to move to New York City for college.
I brought my love for editing and assistant directing that I found in Dallas with me to NYU this year, as I now am a Freshman studying Film and Television Production. The program has allowed me to connect with so many incredible, talented and creative individuals from all over the world. It has allowed me to take advantage of so many new opportunities.
In just these past few months, I have continued to take on new projects outside of class in New York. In October, I was the assistant director for a short film that won the Artlist Halloween Film Contest. I have also gotten involved with assistant directing for photography productions as well. Just this past March, I was an assistant director for a Boy London photography campaign.
I believe that I got where I am today because of the incredible people I’ve surrounded myself with. Each creative individual I’ve collaborated with has shaped me into a better artist and has made me a better person today. I’m beyond lucky to have worked with so many talented, hard-working artists both at NYU and in Dallas, that inspire me to be a better artist myself.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I have had obstacles along the path to where I am now. Throughout high school, people I cared deeply about were struggling with addiction to prescription drugs. Luckily, I was able to use filmmaking as a creative outlet during this time. My film “A Wake Up Call” is a story about prescription drug abuse, and it was a very personal undertaking. I was luckily able to assemble such an incredible cast and crew for this project. Having these people by my side, believing in my vision as well as educating themselves about the danger of this epidemic was an incredible experience.
Working as an artist does always have its challenges, some of which I experienced this past August right before college. As I was working as a second assistant director for the feature film that I mentioned, I also had my daytime job working as an editor. Sometimes my schedule in August would be to work as an editor from 1-5 pm, drive to downtown Dallas, the film from 6 pm-6 am, drive back home, sleep from 7 am-12:00 pm, and the cycle would continue. This was quite the challenge and was exhausting. However, I loved every second of it.
Please tell us about your work.
I generally am known on Instagram under the username @dekelbaumfilms. It’s under Dekelbaum Films that I post anything related to my filmmaking, whether it be photography, trailers for upcoming projects, or short films I direct myself. After working in many capacities, I discovered that what I enjoy most is editing and assistant directing, as those roles translate most to what I want to accomplish in the film industry.
I’m most proud of my ability to bring energy to any production I work on. I’ve worked on projects before and been treated very poorly and as insignificant. I know how important it is to make sure everyone knows how valued they are and how important they are to both me and the production. As an assistant director, making sure everyone knows how significant they are and treating each individual respectfully is vital to running a successful set.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Growing up, I was kind of awkward. I didn’t have many social cues and didn’t have much confidence in myself at all. Initially, when entering the film world, it was tough for me to pitch ideas or share my work with anyone without breaking eye contact and bringing myself down. However, I do believe that everything changed when Emma and I became close. I began growing more intuitive and understood the world a lot differently. I completely changed and fell in love with interacting with new people, and found confidence in myself that I never knew I had. Emma believed in me and saw something in me before I could, and I’ll always be grateful for how she pushed me to be the greatest version of myself that I can be.
Over these last few years, I’ve learned to take more creative risks. As a filmmaker, having confidence is key and that’s something I struggled to harness effectively in the past. As I’ve grown as an artist, I’ve been able to market myself much more successfully and believe in my ideas. Years ago, I didn’t see much potential in myself, and if I could start over, I would take more risks, and trust my instincts.
Contact Info:
- Email: alex@dekelbaumfilms.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/dekelbaumfilms/
- Other: vimeo.com/alexdekelbaum
Image Credit:
Shelby Doroshow Productions
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