Justin Kaminuma: a selection of short films from the suburbs of youth
Justin Kaminuma is an 18 y/o filmmaker based in Atlanta who, aside from working with artists and bands, has been uploading personal short films to YouTube for the past 4 years. He hesitantly describes them as “hybrid music videos/short films”, thinking of his YouTube channel as an unfolding collage-like coming of age story. This is a short selection of his films that feels more like a short introduction to his mind (with a few questions and answers, too).
follow me on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elniight leaving these suburbs for college in a week so this is a little mood piece i made w my favorite Kevin Abstract song vimeo: https://vimeo.com/284275684 supported by feiyu tech https://feiyu-tech.com http://www.feiyu-tech.com/a2000/specs.html https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Lyp3nGiQOVYjnDGJf4LfQ https://twitter.com/FeiyuTech my instagram: http://www.instagram.com/elniight my twitter: http://www.twitter.com/elniight June 29th - Kevin Abstract https://youtu.be/4X09fnKYypY https://www.twitter.com/kevinabstract https://www.instagram.com/kevinabstract Panasonic GH4 with a Lumix 20mm f1.7 lens night with two eyes
it's really nice View on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/309660047 "the comfort of the mundane. The relief of falling into the norm, coupled with the unrelenting fear that your life will never be anything more. The satisfaction of a day's hard work undercut by the terrifying realisation that another day has passed and yet you're still no closer to where your 5 year-old-self dreamt of.
How long have you been making short films?
I think I really started to try my hand at filmmaking around May of 2015 where I made a GoPro montage for my friends' ski trip. After that, I spent all my Christmas money on a camera and tried my own hand at shooting anything and everything I could.
What do you think is the core feeling/idea/emotion you try to capture when you sit down and start editing?
Although sometimes it depends on what exactly I want to make, I find myself gravitating toward nostalgia and melancholy in what I make. I'm not exactly sure why I do but there's always been something about capturing this perfect harmony between happy and sad emotions, where you don't know whether to smile or cry, that's really special to me. Like that bittersweet moment at the end of a coming of age movie where the characters you just spent an hour with go their separate ways, the music starts coming in and then the screen turns black - that's the kind of feeling I love.
filmed in new york city, a portrait of the quiet moments of lonely beauty, solitude, clarity, sadness or everything in between.
What do you look for in the moments you film? What catches your eye and makes you pull out a video camera?
I feel like my best shots happen when I'm drawn to something I look at and feel for. If I see someone in front of me that I empathize with, whether it's in their body language or the way they're walking, I'll try to find a way to convey the feeling I get as best I can through my camera. And it doesn't necessarily have to be a person - sometimes a napkin floating on the ground or a runaway shopping cart in a parking lot can do so much more at saying something than a person ever can.
What do you hope people feel when they watch one of your videos?
My end goal is for someone to go "wow, I've never felt this way watching a video before". The day I hear that is the day I'm ready to die.
How do you think you translate your life experiences/thoughts/growth through film?
I've always liked to see my videos sort of as my own journal, so I try to make my videos as true to myself as possible. Honesty is one thing people always see right through in any creative work so I always think about when portraying myself and my experiences to other people.
beach house - myth panasonic gh4 a visual collage of the small things in things in quiet suburban teen youth. sunsets, running, fields, parking garages, and endless aimless driving. Beach House: https://twitter.com/BeaccchHoussse https://t.co/pImTPSecWg https://www.instagram.com/beaccchhoussse My social media: https://www.instagram.com/elniight https://www.twitter.com/elniight night with two eyes
A SHORT FILM. Motorcycle helmets, the end of the world, and second chances. And a man who's biggest regret is not making enough mistakes.
these days
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