Today, we’d like to introduce you to Chris Andrade.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
When talking about my journey in my film career, it should be noted that this road has been long, treacherous, and far from easy. Film has always been a part of my life. As a kid, my parents would videotape my siblings and me, documenting our birthdays, family trips, and daily life. Throughout middle school, I would help my older brother film his high school mass communications projects.
In high school, I entered the communications path and found my voice for the first time in my life. I graduated and decided to pursue this dream of mine, which was to attend Full Sail University. This step made it real for me. Moving to Florida and going to college by myself in a whole new world opened up opportunities for me that I never knew were possible. Shortly after graduating college, I was blessed to get my foot in the door within that year to film content for a magazine company in NYC, intern at a photography studio in NYC, and shoot music videos for artists.
Once filming my first music video, I admired the fact that my two favorite things could be merged together; film and music. This changed the game for me. I was thrown into the music video world doing videos for an amazing recording studio TUBLife Studios and all of their roster of artists. One music video quickly turned into 20 filmed and edited music videos all within the year.
I noticed that I was making a name for my style of shooting, directing, and editing. Something that people in this area haven’t necessarily seen before. Once confident in my work, my brother, my best friend Daniel, and I decided to start a collective under the name SO-CALLED STUDIOS. This was when things shifted. Creating this creative collective gave my team and me an opportunity to tell the stories that we wanted to tell. It became our obsession. We started making content for local brands and artists that started to make a buzz in the city.
Four years later, SO-CALLED STUDIOS has been cemented as a brand that brings out quality work to tell stories of our community. We bring these stunning visuals to life for other brands and artists that need that visual appeal. But through it all, I know this road is far from over and there is so much to cover and to accomplish. We know that great things take time and we are betting everything on the US.
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?
Being an entrepreneur is definitely not an easy task, especially in the beginning. You have to believe in yourself even when no one else cares. The financial rollercoaster of being independent is something that many people don’t necessarily see or understand. We fund our own projects, we invest in our filmmaking community and we invest in our company, and at the end of the day, it takes a toll.
We flourished in the worst times, and we’ve been down in the gutter on the best days as a company. (read that last part again because if you are creative, it makes so much sense.) On one hand, we could be in the best opportunity of our lives but at the same time, we could be dealing with the toughest situations we’ve ever been through. It’s simply an imperfect balance. The imperfect balance has taught us to be patient and to be humble about what we do. It made us agile. The pressure of it all made us diamonds.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I specialize in Filmmaking and everything under that umbrella. I can take your idea and build a solid foundation around it that can be executed and translated into a visual language. Over the course of 8 years, I have managed to create my own style of shooting and editing that can be recognizable.
Although I am always learning and becoming a better filmmaker each day, I can say that my talent has brought me opportunities for a lifetime. I am so proud of every project I am a part of and can only thank the people who have opened the doors for me to flourish.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
As a short-term goal, I see So-Called Studios becoming a staple independent production company all along the East Coast. We will do this by educating our team and working with bigger artists and bigger budgets. This has become our motto as we only want to elevate this company.
As a long-term goal, we see So-Called Studios taking over the country. Working with artists from all different parts of the country and hopefully becoming known for our work in film festivals from around the globe. This step seems far away, but it starts right now. The steps we take now will make these opportunities happen for us.
Contact Info:
- Website: socalledstudios.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socalledx/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090566405088
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvi12KucbQI4r3Fw-vhp7Vg
Image Credits
Hassan Mahmood
