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Above the bridge
Above the bridge
Episode 173 SHANG ONG ( Videographer-Shang Hi Media )
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Stadium lights. A turn of the head. A breath held before the snap. We sit with the founder of Shang Hi Media to unpack how self-taught skills and a deep love for community transform youth sports into stories families keep for life. What begins as a COVID-era creative outlet becomes a craft rooted in respect—reading plays before they form, catching the quiet moments people miss, and stitching them together with music that carries the weight of a season.
We talk process without the fluff: shooting 4K at high frame rates, managing terabytes of footage, choosing songs that set emotion, and building edits that feel inevitable. He admits missing shots and shows how presence, anticipation, and luck all play a part. Access matters too; we cover earning sideline credentials, staying safe, and filming with empathy so no one becomes a punchline. You’ll hear how he avoids gear FOMO, why he sticks with Final Cut Pro, and how today’s autofocus and sensors let vision take the lead over specs.
What makes this conversation special is the why. Social media is the distribution engine, but the mission is local: highlight Hawaii’s athletes, give parents goosebumps, and help a recruit get seen. Confidence grows when a student hears “I saw your clip” in the hallway. Communities rally when a championship run is captured with dignity and heart. We dig into collaboration over competition, advice for new videographers, and the discipline required to find flow state without burning out your life outside the edit bay.
If you care about storytelling, sports, or building something from the ground up, this one delivers practical insights and honest perspective. Listen, share it with a parent or athlete who needs a lift, and if it resonates, follow the show, leave a review, and tell us the moment you’d want on film.
Meet Shanghai Media’s Founder
SPEAKER_04Okay, welcome to another edition of the Above the Bridge Podcast. I'm your host, Thaddeus Park. If this your first time to the show, whatever podcast platform you're on, please like and subscribe. And thank you for tuning in. Aloha. Okay, this week I've been super excited to have this guy on my show. I've been a fan of his videos. I know people whose videos uh he captured of their kids competing in sports. He owns Shanghai Media Shang On. What's up? Thank you for coming on my show, man.
SPEAKER_02Thank you, brother. Thanks for having me, man. Honored for sure.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I'm super stoked. And I um finally got you in front of the camera this time since you've been behind it.
SPEAKER_02It's a rare occurrence, man. Honestly, like I never hate you in front of the camera.
SPEAKER_04Right on. Well, I'm honored and stoked because I feel like your uh videos matter to a lot of a lot of people that I know personally. And let's just get into it, bruh. Like you your videos, how did you start getting into videography?
Self-Taught Path And COVID Spark
SPEAKER_02Um, well, let me see. I guess sports videography specifically. Uh, we were kind of one of my my wife's good friends, his son played for Kohuku. And before that, we were dabbling in photography. You know, I was just doing photography and what they was thinking about doing like product forward stuff, and just as a creative outlet, you know, it is always just a side hustle, and it's still a side hustle. Uh, but one is a creative outlet, and then um really was interested in the videography side because I've always kind of played around with video editing and making family videos, this and that. And then one of our friends um asked us to, you know, do some highlights for his kid because he wanted to watch, he didn't want to film, right? And he wanted to enjoy his son uh playing the sport and he wanted to capture some coverage of him, so we went down there and we filmed everything from the stands, um, started making some videos, and people just started to enjoy it, you know. And from there, people would ask, and we got blessed and made some really good connections. Um, yeah, the rest is history, I guess.
SPEAKER_04That's super cool. Did did you get any formal training or you just kind of taught yourself?
SPEAKER_02Straight YouTube, man. Straight YouTube. Um, I in fact, I so my wife bought me my very first camera like years ago. And I just never really played around with it. It wasn't like the right thing. Like I just it wasn't the right timing for me, whatever. And then during COVID, you know, again, I was looking for some creative outlet and um ended up buying my first camera. And I was like, wow, okay, this is actually what I want it to look like. You know, you buying that first piece of equipment that's pretty good. And um from there, you know, when you can kind of see what you're seeing through the camera, then you really start to kind of hone in and you kind of start to understand the settings, and then from there the storytelling. Um yeah, but you know, you learn from YouTube and friends and other people, things like that, you know.
SPEAKER_04So yeah. That's super cool. I understand. I mean, this podcast was created because of COVID as an outlet, and the um no formal training, uh, University of YouTube is uh is how a lot of people are getting their degrees and some stuff, and I would have guessed you had like you took some classes and went because your stuff is super nice. When when did you realize like, okay, I I kind of got a little bit of action in these videos to where it's like you're putting it out there. When did you know you had this skill?
SPEAKER_02Um honestly, I still feel like I'm like a small fish, you know. I try to be I I'm so impressed by everybody. Um, but you know, a lot of people inquire about our work, you know, and uh that we you know we've gotten some made some really good connections. Um I don't know, I don't know. I think I think what we try to pride ourselves on is just that we try to try to do something a little different, you know. It's not just about the catch, it's not just about the play, you know. Sometimes it's about the personality of the kid or or the fun, the personality that people don't get to see, you know, and then we also try to add a little narrative spin to some of our videos, and I think that's kind of what jumps out to a lot of people, you know, when when they see these videos with the narrative thought side to it. So, but I don't know. I think now that you know this side hustle has almost become like a full-time side hustle, um, you know, it's hard to say no and and hard to slow down. You don't want to because, you know, like you said, the kids enjoy it. We love making it for the kids, we love making it for the parents, for the community, you know, that kind of thing.
Finding A Narrative Beyond Highlights
SPEAKER_04So yeah. And I I agree. Like I watch your videos and the capturing the moments before the moment has been what really got me to to fall in love with your work. And seeing those types of shots, anybody like uh everybody will have the touchdown, everybody will have like the super cool uh score or point or action, but you capture like a a feeling of what these kids are going through before the game or with each other or after the game, like those are like you said, it becomes a story and it becomes art because not many videos that I see capture all those kind of things, and it it's pretty cool and it grabs you. And that stuff you just learned on YouTube, or like you kind of just had that in you and you want it to capture maybe maybe I mean you know through YouTube, you when you when you learn to master your the camera, right?
SPEAKER_02You know, you through YouTube you learn to master the tech the technical aspect of it, you know. And then once you get comfortable with that, everything just kind of moves out of the way. And then people throw around the word uh cinematic a lot, you know. But I really feel like what that means to me is just offering a different perspective that not everybody always gets to see, you know. And of course, getting getting the touchdown is is important, you know, you gotta get that shot, you know, and that takes a skill and a technique all in and of itself. Um and a lot of it is really luck, too. Um, but but um but that like you said, that ability to build up and show that other side, you know, just having that opportunity is is is special. And I think that's but the kids want too, you know. They of course they some of these kids will move on to college or you know, maybe even the pros. Uh, but some of them really, this is like that that one moment that's gonna possibly be a very, very important moment in their life, you know. And uh they don't want to be the only one that remembers it. And the parents are gonna remember it forever and and they want to be able to watch it over and over again and relive that moment and and escape whatever's kind of troubling them in that moment with through hopefully sports, you know. That's kind of what it means to a lot of people. So, you know.
SPEAKER_04I definitely agree, and I try to capture as much as I can of of my daughter, but I'll I'll get into that uh eventually because I got a whole ton of questions. But can't want to take this short break from talking to Shanghai Media and shout out our sponsor Defen Hawaii. They've been our sponsor since the beginning. I just want to let you know that they got some new stuff coming out right now. If you go to their website, defenhawaii.com, see what they have, go in the cart. Uh, if you use ATB pod upon checkout, you'll get 15% off your entire purchase. Defendhawaii.com. They also have a store in Wintermall called Noan, so go out there, check it out. Aloha. You capturing these films, do you have you ever felt like or has it ever happened where you miss a cool shot or you miss the important moment?
SPEAKER_02100%. Yeah, absolutely. You know, yeah. I that that used to be one of my disclosures, like to people that would hire me, you know. I I always tell them, like, well, just to let you know, I I do miss shots, you know, sometimes, you know, and and um I'm only human, and sometimes, you know, maybe a ref will block me or something like that, you know. Oh yeah, well, no shade against the refs, you know, but whatever, you know, and uh sometimes you miss a shot, and um, you know, I think there's just no way around it, you know, yeah you gotta forgive yourself for that and and hope that uh the parent or the the the athlete will forgive you for that too, you know.
Cinematic Perspective And Meaning
SPEAKER_04So yeah, I was thinking I always thought about that, like oh, if you missed because I missed some shots, and then my daughter would ask me, like, oh, did you get that play? Or it's like, yup, and then I look, I'm like, oh, I did it. And then it's super uh disappointing, but uh how hard is it for you to get the shot and also be present in what you're doing? Because it is a it's a live event, it's it you gotta kind of do both, you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_02100%, 100%, and I think that's kind of um you know, one way to avoid missing shots is you just really always have to be on, you know, you always gotta be on, even in between. Um, you know, like like I said, sometimes people are just interested in capturing the play, you know, when the play is happening for football or volleyball or any of that kind of action. But the most important parts are when you're kind of watching things happen, you know, looking for movement. I always um and and kind of moving around, you know, and putting yourselves in a position to kind of almost visually see the play happening before it even happens and say, okay, I think it's gonna come this way, or um maybe they're gonna set it and spike it this way, or this person's been real active. So um, and and again, a lot of it is luck, but you're right. I think you really gotta discipline yourself to be on and not not get distracted through conversations because you know, you're on the sideline and and you're talking to other videographers or other athletes and this and that, and and or sometimes you just are distracted by the game itself. Yeah, for sure. These athletes are incredible, and you're just like, oh, that actually happened. But sometimes you really just gotta force yourself to just uh bear down and like, you know, just have the camera available and and visually see, like even just the turn of a head uh for or a look from somebody can can turn into a shot that people are just gonna be like, whoa, that gave me like goose goosebumps and chicken, you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_00So yeah, that's kind of that's it.
SPEAKER_04I can imagine your hard drives just from one game must be loaded to go through all that those clips.
SPEAKER_02Oh my gosh, man. Yeah, no joke. We shoot 4K, 120 frames per second. So yeah, these files are large, and and um I try to keep the footage for as long as I can, but yeah, they're definitely filling up some some hard drive space.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, do you um create your videos? Do you kind of plan things out, or is most of it instinctual, where it's like on the fly and then you create that story, or you kind of have a template in your head going into it before you start?
Missing Shots And Staying Present
SPEAKER_02Um honestly, everything happens just organically, you know, unless it's like a narrative piece. You know, if it's a narrative piece, I'm really like we we plan it out and we talk about how it's gonna go, we we storyboard, but when it comes to a game, you obviously you never know what's gonna happen, you know, and uh you never know the kind of energy that you're gonna get from the athlete or the team or the crowd. And so um the way the way I've always kind of thought about it is like I'm writing when I'm when I'm shooting, okay. Well no, sorry, when I'm when I'm editing, I'm kind of writing the story. All right. And the story can only be made up from the words that I collect during the game. So during the game, when I'm filming, um, I'm just collecting as many different words as I can, a big variety, whether it be plays or it be smiles or anger, angry laughs, words, coach, speeches, whatever. I'm just trying to collect everything. And then when I come home, I put all my words out in front of me, and then I piece it all together to create the story, you know, and and a lot of it is inspired through, again, what happens that day, um, the energy that I'm feeling or or the song that we choose and and things like that, you know?
SPEAKER_04So yeah, that's yeah, it's it ain't easy. I mean your your work, it seems like it it takes a lot of work. If you were to um kind of hone in your skills, like do you is there like a community, like you said earlier, if you are shooting, there's a lot of videographers next to you. How do they react with you? Are vi are they open to share information? Are they like you're is the community and the culture kind of uplifting, or is it like ah I'm gonna just keep to myself and not share secrets, or or are they trying to open up their playbook and kind of help you as well?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, honestly, I I feel like it's so open. Um I've I've been we've been blessed in Hawaii especially to have this community that supports each other, watches each other's videos and shouts each other out and and really celebrates, you know, like they don't they don't want to bring anybody down, you know, and um and when somebody's doing good, it's only gonna make their their business do better too, you know. People are gonna want to see more of that and and um everybody has a different style, you know. So, you know, we we try not to gatekeep, and um of course some things you you kind of keep keep close to your hip, but um for the most part everybody is sharing and everybody's supporting each other, and uh, it's it's an awesome feeling to have that for sure.
SPEAKER_04Wow, that's that makes me happy. I'm a firm b believer of uh rising tide floats all boats and giving someone else shine or information is never gonna dampen your shine or take away from whatever you're doing. Like helping somebody else will always be beneficial to everybody. So I'm glad that's the kind of culture that that uh videography has because I could see people not sharing, you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_03Like I don't want your video better than mine, what you know I mean.
SPEAKER_02Right, exactly. And uh and and I mean it's cool because you know I'm I'm probably one of the oldest people on the field, you know, when I'm filming, and a lot of these videographers they're they're high schoolers, you know, and it's cool to to be able to relate to them and they can relate to to what we do on on that kind of creative level, you know. It it transcends age and it's all just purely um you know creativity, you know, and yeah, that that's what we all kind of are just stoked on, you know, just be able to watch each other's videos and see what they came up with and see what they did different, you know, and and that kind of thing, you know.
SPEAKER_04So that's cool. Have you got a chance to learn from some of these young kids, like high school kids, did they ever teach you some cool stuff?
Workflow, Storage, And 4K Slow Mo
SPEAKER_02Absolutely, absolutely, 100%, you know. I mean, and sometimes it's it's not even asking for a tip or or how they do that, you know, it's just it's just through watching them, you know, and and sometimes when you get to know their personality, you get inspired even more, you know. Uh you become friends with them and and you know how they treat other people or the athletes, and then you're just like, dude, you know what? I'm I want to be like that person more, you know. So yeah. And that just makes their video even more enjoyable, you know.
SPEAKER_04So that's super cool. How how much pressure do you feel like getting these shots when you're on the sideline? Like, is it kind of relaxed or you're pressured out to where, oh man, I gotta lock in super hard.
SPEAKER_02Uh it depends. It depends, you know. Sometimes, and again, it it's honestly not even me, you know, it's really just the athletes. Sometimes I feel bad. Like I feel like the athletes put a lot of pressure on themselves because when they have a camera on them, they feel like they gotta perform differently or like something like that, you know. And and when that happens, they get in their head. Uh, but for me, I I just really let things kind of happen organically, you know. And again, I have to forgive myself when when I do miss a shot or or something like that. I I just try to really just be like a fly on the wall. I don't want anybody even really to to, I don't want to draw a lot of attention to myself, you know. I want to just be there to make sure that when that moment happens, I'm ready, you know, and I'm I'm catching it. But as far as pressure goes, I I don't know if there's I don't I don't know if I want to call it a a pressure, you know. I I of course I want to make sure I put the best video together and I want to make sure I get that big play for for the the athlete um or the client. But um a lot we've been blessed too to be hired by some really good families, some good schools, communities that, you know, they're they're just like, you know what? Whatever you get, you get, you know, and and they understand that too. It's a fluid, it's a fluid event, you know, and and they understand that not everything's gonna get captured. Yeah, you know, not like a wedding, like a wedding, people are like, you gotta get back to it.
SPEAKER_04Oh yeah. I just got married in July, and I would have hated to be the wedding coordinator for my wife because she was like pressuring everybody out.
SPEAKER_02And that she should be, you know, that that's a moment that that's gotta be captured, you know. Whereas football, uh I mean sports in general, those moments are big, but um, you know, hopefully you'll get the next one, you know.
Shooting Organically And Storybuilding
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I think a big aspect is sharing your videos and the community responses that I've been seeing. Because I seen your videos from people I know sharing them, and I'm like, wait, that's the guy. That's the I I follow him on Instagram, and they the uh I can only speak from what I've experienced, and that was the Kailua football team who became state champs, and a lot of the family of the players, I know them personally, and I would see them sharing your videos, but that whole community was so proud of that team and what you captured for that team. How has it been in the community like to inspire these these people and get get those shots that these kids, like you said, will remember forever. Like it's been pretty cool just for each individual community and and families.
SPEAKER_02Dude, it's it's such an honor. I mean, like, like I said, it's really not even me. It's just uh the these athletes, and and that's what sports does, you know, it really can create a community and uh bring people together and make them proud of the name of their alma mater or or um um just their kid that's on the team, whatever it is, you know. And um, so just having that opportunity to to capture it is special. Um and yeah, we're we're stoked that they love it and and that they can feel some pride behind it and and just just cherish it, you know, because we cherish that opportunity.
SPEAKER_04So yeah, and it's it's cool to see. And it definitely like your videos did have a lot of depth to where it's like, oh, you watched it get chicken skin and say, wow, that that really did tell a story, you know, kind of it wasn't just a live action shots.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I mean I mean the way we look at it too is um, you know, every video that we that we do, we try to consider it as like as a as a job, job interview, you know. We want to impress every single person, every single client or every community that's gonna watch it. We want them to just be completely immersed and and just love it and and uh not even think like, whoa, that was a cool edit. You know, we want them to just be like, like, how are these humans doing these things? You know what I mean? Yeah, you know, or uh so it's a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I can imagine. And has any of these videos opened doors for some of these athletes? Any of your videos personally?
SPEAKER_02I mean, I don't want to take credit for it. Um, we we do think we we like to hope or we like to pray that sometimes the um the video can help in maybe some intangible ways. Hopefully it will help in getting eyes on the kid. That's our main thing is just you know getting this um exposure out so that maybe a coach will see it and want to dive deeper into their game and hopefully get them some recruiting. But the intangibles we hope is that um, you know, maybe it'll give the the athlete a little bit more confidence, you know. Maybe they'll walk around school and just be like, I got a little bit more swag. You know, people are like, I saw your video on Instagram that was hot, you know, this and that. And and they're just feeling good about themselves and and um, you know, hopefully that will make them perform better on the field too, you know, and and uh or or just just feel better, you know, just feel feel a little bit of confidence in themselves, and we're hoping that that's what the videos will do. Don't want to take credit for any of it, of course, you know what I mean? So yeah.
SPEAKER_04How um what kind of programs do you use to edit? I just interested because I use I use Final Cut for my um for my podcast as well as when I try to edit some stuff for my friends' dive videos or my daughter's volleyball videos. What programs do you use?
SPEAKER_02I use Final Cut Pro as well.
SPEAKER_04Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_02I was like an iMovie kid back in the day, and then um uh Final Cut Pro was always just too much, and then again dove into YouTube and wanted to figure out how to do it. And now that you I know Final Cut Pro, um, it's hard to transition out of it. You know, I know that in a professional world, in the professional world, they always say that Final Cut Pro is like more on the lower scale, but yeah, it can do everything that it can. And I love the system, it's fast, it works for me, and and I don't really work in a big team of people. So Final Cut Pro really does everything I need it to do. So I use that as my editing software for sure. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Oh, that's cool. And you kind of was self taught as well.
Community, Collaboration, No Gatekeeping
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Oh, that's super cool. All you all YouTube, man, you just search. Sometimes I'm like I'm like okay how do I do that? I'll watch a video and I'll get inspired and then okay, how do I do that? And I'll search it up, find a YouTube video that explains it. And and even if it's not with Final Cut, you can kind of understand your tools to figure out how to emulate or do something similar to what they did in DaVinci or Premiere Pro or something like that, you know? Yeah.
SPEAKER_04That's super cool. I've been noticing too, and because I use Final Cut Pro, I know the time it takes and stuff like that. And then I'll see some of these people coming out, like some of these families come out or kids come out with cool videos that were edited on Cap Cut. And I mean, I I it makes me feel some kind of way. It's like you don't know how to edit, or it's like you didn't put in the work, but their stuff looks cool. Like, how has that been with you? Like, oh, it or do you get uh accused of using final cut? I mean uh cap cut.
SPEAKER_02No, nothing. I think I think again, you know, it really just comes down to um what are people, what are their impressions of the video? You know, are people uh impressed by by what it does, whether it be through Cap Cut or Final Cut or DaVinci or iMovie even or whatever it is, you know, it's just it's everybody has a different tool to create their own uh their own vision, you know. Um so I don't ever throw shade on anybody who uses anything. Um, you know, and and whether they're starting off um or they're seasoned, you know, they've been doing it for much longer than me, whatever they're gonna start with or or learn to share what they're they're seeing, I'm all about it. You know, I'm cool with that. I like that. And um, you know, it's it's with technology today, it's crazy how much easier things are getting, you know. Like even the cameras that we use, you know, it's that you can put in the hands of a lot of people. And then there's a technical aspect, but compared to what it was maybe 10 years ago, you know, people really, really had to understand how to do folk, you know, that there was manual focus only, you know, maybe something like that. You know, autofocus is so good you can put in the hands of a beginner and they'll they'll probably get a shot in focus, you know. Um, so the way technology is, it's just gonna get easier, and there's just gonna everybody has their own creativity, everybody wants to share what they see. Um, so these tools are meant to just kind of help drive the marketplace and drive the creative world so that it'll push me, you know, and the the senior the seniors who have been doing it for 30 plus years to to change up and do something a little different.
SPEAKER_04That makes sense. Um with technology coming out, AI is becoming pretty huge in everything. Do you are you able to help have AI help you with any of this stuff?
SPEAKER_02I haven't, and it's not because I'm resistant, but I feel I still feel like I'm kind of learning. Um I still wait, sorry, I still feel like I'm learning on how to um I still feel like I'm learning on how to just use the technology that's in front of me. You know, yeah AI is is incredible. Um, you know, one of my buddies is like a pioneer in it. I I love watching what he's doing, but and I would I can totally see and I have seen it in you know the sports media world, you know, but I feel like I haven't dabbled into it just yet because I'm still just kind of you know buried into this and I'm not resistant to it. I think it's great, but I just haven't had a chance to learn it yet.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Um when you're making these videos, what is your time frame? Like, I mean it probably varies, but on the average, how long does this stuff take you, man? How much time of your day are you spending doing this?
Pressure, Presence, And Athlete Mindset
SPEAKER_02I I'm honestly slow. I'm I'm slow compared to some other people out there, you know. Like, um I don't know if you've seen like this guy named Speedsta or this guy named Shoot a Sav, but those guys and and those guys kick edits out in like the same day, you know, and I'm just so blown away by that. But I I'm usually like, you know, I'm usually I usually say about seven to ten days I can get an edit out. Um and for football, I usually try to get the edit out before their next game. Uh you know, it takes time because um sometimes finding the song can take me two days, you know, just finding the right audio, the right music that portrays the emotion that I want in the game in the in the video that uh can take a lot of time. And then of course you got to go through all the footage. I look at I watch the whole all the things that I captured all over again, uh just so I can make sure I don't miss something. And and again, it could just be the turn of a head that I'll be like, okay, that's a smooth shot and and I'll keep that, you know. So it's all part of the process.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Yeah. That's super cool. And I guess so. What else do you do other than uh your videos?
SPEAKER_02Um, so my my day job is I work in like hospitality. I work for Hilton Grand Vacations, you know, but I'm like to work from home. It's not glamorous at all, you know, but um the the video stuff has just become something that we uh we're really proud of and and we're blessed that it can help to you know subsidize and and people can enjoy it and people want to continue to hire us, and uh yeah, we're lucky that way.
SPEAKER_04Okay, I want to take a short break. Shout out our sponsor, iRep Detail Supply. They're your one-stop shop superstore for everything you need to detail your vehicle. They have a store in Temple Valley Shopping Center in Kahaloo, they also have one in Las Vegas. Their staff is amazing, they know everything you need to know about their products and how you can detail your car with them. Also go to their website, irepdetailsupply.com, promo code ATB Podapon. Check out 15% off your entire purchase order, iRep Detail Supply. Aloha. How many times have you upgraded the cameras, lenses, and all this stuff since you started?
SPEAKER_02Oh man, my wife sees this here, put me on blast, bro. It's funny. Like, I'll buy a camera and be like, hey babe, this is for you, you know. Um honestly, she she's become more involved in it too. In fact, she's at a photo shoot right now for uh this trainer that we normally work with. So it's fun that we get to kind of share that. Uh, but definitely the camera um has seen a few different iterations, you know, um, and more more money than I'd like to admit has been spent, you know. But we're always inspired. And sometimes the vision that you have um requires gear. And I'm a gear head, I can talk about gear like all day. Oh, nice. But um, you know, but when you land on the thing that you want, again, the thing the camera should be there just to be there just to kind of get out of your way and and you just to be able to create what you see and tell that story.
SPEAKER_04You know, yeah, I see some of these people that are like just family with lenses that probably can see Mars. And I I was like, how much is that? I have this little camera and uh yeah, it's it's it can get pricey.
Tools, Final Cut Pro, And CapCut
SPEAKER_02It can, it can. And I think that's one thing for a lot of like beginners. They feel like, oh man, my videos suck because I don't have this or I don't have that. But I think that's something that I would urge everybody to kind of like talk themselves out of, you know. Um and I know that I know that FOMO, you know, to think like, oh man, I need that lens on the only way I'm gonna do it is this. And and I know I just said that really, but um really I think um having the best camera you have is the the best camera is the one that you have on you, you know, whether it be your iPhone or your camera that you know that's five thousand dollars or your camera that's two hundred dollars, you know. Um the camera that you have is is gonna be the very best one that you have in your hand.
SPEAKER_04So yeah. It's pretty cool. These iPhone cameras been getting crazy. Uh like they're they're you can get some pretty cool stuff just with your phone.
SPEAKER_02Oh, 100%, yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_04With social media how it is now, it gives you a broad audience. Like your videos can be seen everywhere now, and most of these videos are geared for uh social media. How much has social media played into your um popularity or are you getting your name out there?
SPEAKER_02It's it's really our only marketplace, honestly. It's it's huge, and we're blessed that you know um some accounts will help to share our our our videos, you know, like ESPN Honolulu or uh you know, things like that. And um when you when when when you can kind of piggyback on their audience, um a lot more people get to see the videos and and hopefully they'll they'll kind of recognize like, oh, that's uh that's Shanghai Media's logo, or that's that's that looks like a Shanghai Media video, or this and that, and and they'll kind of um follow along, you know, and and we're blessed, you know, that we've we've got an incredible audience that have supported us. But 100% Instagram um is like pretty much our only marketplace. Like I don't do any YouTube even, you know, we don't do long format, everything is short, everything is um not everything is vertical, um, but we do other things too, you know. But but for the most part, as far as getting our name out there, it's all it's all social media.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_04You get excited when you're about to drop a video. I know I do, it's like, oh, here it goes, and just oh yeah, excited to see how people react to it.
SPEAKER_02Oh yeah, definitely. I I get so excited for it, and and um, you know, when it's it's I don't I try not to base the the the success of the video on how many views it gets. Yeah. Because a lot of people can fall into that too, where you know, like, oh, it only got a hundred views, that video sucked, you know, but honestly, it's not I try not to fall into that, you know. If the video like I'm proud of it, if I did something different or I got an incredible play, whether it gets a hundred views or it gets a thousand views, whatever it is, then um I'm like totally stoked on it. Um, of course, I want the client, the athlete, the parent, the the school to to be stoked on it as well.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um, so but yeah, I get really, really excited to share it with people.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, that's super cool. That's great because I know people who do videos and stuff, and they're constantly refreshing, see how many likes, and it becomes like that. Are you doing it for the likes? Are you doing it to share your art? And what you do it, what you're doing is art, and it's crazy to think how much it's available to people now to capture and also to to kind of consume the content because of social media. Hopefully, with social media, like it gets you more recognition, not just here in Hawaii, like your stuff, you could do stuff for NFL and stuff like that. It'd be it'd be kind of cool to see if is any of that kind of your goals in the future, or are you kind of more locally based?
Tech Advances And Creativity
SPEAKER_02I'm well, I mean, don't get me wrong, if NFL called and said they wanted to do something, I would probably just say, you know, for sure. But I think our On my way. Our main goal and the thing I think that has kept kept us kept us grounded and successful is just that being able to support the local community. You know, we want to support the local athletes at the youth level, you know, whether they're high school or Pop Warner, whatever it is, or um even the local trainers, you know, that train out here, they they got they their Hawaii is just crazy. You know, Hawaii is crazy when it comes to sports. And we want to make sure that um the world knows that, you know, and uh they they see these kids and they see what the trainers out here are doing and and uh the communities out here, how they support their their people. Uh so that that that's kind of big, that's the biggest thing for me, you know. Um it's hard to even move up into like the college level, you know, because yeah, uh we want these kids from their direct communities and and to show how they kind of stand by each other and and how they play, you know. So it's it's really cool to be a part of that.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, it's super cool. What would be let's see, what would be the hardest sport to shoot in your opinion?
SPEAKER_02Um probably hockey. Oh shoot. I played inline hockey and I've tried to film it before.
SPEAKER_00Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_02It's so tough because um, you know, like the puck is really small and it moves so fast. Um and you're shooting through like barriers, you know. So whether it be a netting or it'd be uh a plexiglass something and there's bars, you know, that kind of stuff can can make it really, really difficult. Um, yeah, that's probably what the hardest sport would be.
SPEAKER_04I would I wasn't expecting that. I can totally agree because I what would watch hockey and I would get so confused. I would just see everybody skating around and all of a sudden everybody's hands are up, and I'm like, what happened? They they scored. I'm like, it's well what would be your most favorite sport to shoot?
SPEAKER_02I gotta say football. Um, I gotta say football. Um, just because it's it it there's just something different, you know. It's just something different about walking onto the field with with the lights on, the atmosphere, the energy, and and um, you know, again, no shade against basketball, volleyball, baseball. We shoot it all. And and you know my daughter plays water polo. And yeah, we love filming her play water polo. It's so exciting. Um, but football, football just hits a little bit different for some reason, you know.
Turnaround Time And Music Choice
SPEAKER_04So yeah. You're right. It's the lights, even the gear, like putting on what like you're putting on armor, and the you know what I mean? It just there's a lot of opportunities for some cool looks. Like clicking on your helmet, yeah, all that stuff is is just made for uh videography.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and when they nail a good play, you know, and they get a big catch or a big run or there's a big block or something like that, and you get that on your camera, you feel just like I I just could throw my hands up and they're like, I'm done. You know, this is amazing. That was that was the shot right there, and you feel so good about it. So, you know, we're always constantly like walking on the sidelines and asking the video, did you get that shot? Did you get that? You know, we're comparing each other's shots, like, oh, yours is better, you know.
SPEAKER_00So it's exciting to kind of see that. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04And what these kids play up to you since they know you're filming?
SPEAKER_02Um, some, some, you know, some are some are more um low-key, and and I respect that. You know, I never like force anybody to do anything, but some of them, you know, like when I've like, for example, Waipahu. I don't know if you've seen any of our Waipahu stuff, but uh, we've been filming for Waipahu for the past like three years now, you know. And so um you get to know some of the athletes and and you know, you can talk to them on the sidelines, and I'll be like, hey, you know, you get a touchdown, find my camera, you know. And so yeah, they kind of run to you or or they'll look at the camera and and they're excited to to celebrate their their touchdown or whatever it was. And and and that's a cool emotion, you know. That's a great the the passion that they have uh for what they just did is is something that we really want to make sure we capture too.
SPEAKER_04That's super cool. Growing up, were you an athlete yourself? No, absolutely.
SPEAKER_02No, yeah, no, actually, um I only played inline hockey like growing up, and and and that wasn't even before my school, you know. Um, I went to watch a few football games, and again, I never really like I've always enjoyed sports, but I never like dove deep into it. And now my wife and I, it's funny, we'll we'll talk about like the high school breakdown about like, oh my gosh, how did Kahuku go? You know, how did they do them or how did they how did they be Kahuku? You know, where we're constantly analyzing uh the high school level sports, and you know, it's it's like we we ask ourselves constantly like, are we like everybody else in Hawaii or or are we different like two people talk about high school sports like we do?
SPEAKER_04So you guys are fans, you guys became fans.
SPEAKER_00Oh, we're huge fans, we're huge fans, yeah.
Day Job Balance And Sponsors
SPEAKER_04Yeah, so how it athletes that's yeah, that's super cool, and yeah, all these kids have stories and goals and dreams, and yeah, once you get connected to them, like you you're wanting to see them succeed and you're wanting to capture capture those moments. That that's super cool. Um, your daughter, you just said is playing water polo. How excited is she to get on these videos and and be part of part of what you're doing?
SPEAKER_02Uh she she you know, she's that teenager kid that's like a little too cool for school, you know what I mean? Sometimes you know, she'll be like, ah dad, you know, don't point the camera at me, blah blah blah. But but I know that her and her friends, um, you know, well, I not that I know. Um, I I hope that their their friends can look back on it later and be really excited and and happy that we we captured their games and and this and that. Um, you know, she she's new to the sport, she's new to the sport. So um anytime that she gets in there, you know, of course I want to try and get get a little bit of footage on her, but I try not to make a jest about her and spread it out throughout the team so that she doesn't feel kind of singled out or spotlight this and that, you know.
SPEAKER_00So that's how about your daughter? Does she enjoy? Does she enjoy it?
SPEAKER_04Well, yeah, she one thing about my daughter is she likes to critique her gameplay so she likes my videos just so she can kind of correct her mistakes, and then of course she'll watch her highlights a million times, and um I I try to capture like everything. I try to get a little bit of a um cinematic, but it never comes out as cool as I think it is. But um I like talking about water polo, that sport is blowing up and it's becoming a lot of colleges are kind of recruiting for it now. What grade is your daughter?
SPEAKER_02She she's a freshman now. She's a freshman. She started she started playing, she goes to Komema.
SPEAKER_04Oh, nice.
Gear Upgrades And Avoiding FOMO
SPEAKER_02So she started when she was um in the seventh grade. She started playing with seventh grade. Um made just uh amazing group of friends that they're all teammates, you know, and that's what that's what sports does too, you know. It really kind of connects people. Um, but she's been playing, and and yeah, water polo is such an exciting sport that that doesn't get enough recognition, you know, because it it's hard to play it because it requires a pool, you know. And um that kind of thing, you know. But in Hawaii, it's it's such a cool fun sport to kind of highlight, you know.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_04It's nuts. You don't see what goes on under the water. It was it's for one thing, you gotta be treading water just to keep afloat, but that takes a lot of endurance.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, no, that's true. It's it's the treading the water, but like you said, it's what happens under the water that that nobody sees, you know. There's a battle under there, you know. Oh yeah. They're they're like, it's it's legit. I mean, they're they're out there scrapping, you know. And um, they're they're bet jogging for con uh for position. And and um, you know, I mean, these these kids are strong, you know. These kids are whether they're they're male or female, you know, they're they're strong athletes that um take a lot of pride in representing their team. So it's it's cool to see, you know.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. They're uh water polo and now girls flag football has been getting huge. Like my daughter is gonna play this year for the first time ever, and she's on the varsity team for Laser Dawn. And I'm thinking like that this is getting pretty popular quick.
unknownYeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Have you been shooting some of the the flag football stuff as well?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you know, um, definitely. We want to see that grow. Um, I'm a father of daughters, you know, like myself. You know, I got two daughters. Uh, so I love to see um female sports growing and and a sport like football, like more football, the better for me. I mean, like whether tackle or be flag. Um, so we we love to support that. And again, it's like like I'm seeing some of these, a lot of these athletes that are competing in the high school flag football teams now, they've actually been playing since they were little, little kids, you know, and um they got like legit skills, you know, and and um like there's this one girl named Brady that plays for uh Moana Lua, and her and her sister are just like just like elite athletes, you know. She Brady plays tackle football, so she's a female playing tackle football with the boys, you know. She played JP in Moana Lua last year, and I think she's a freshman this year too. So um just yeah, uh we'd love to see that sport, that sport grow and and uh be a part of it and get people's names out there. And there's some really great organizations out here that are pushing it, so we're all for it. Yep.
SPEAKER_04Okay, I want to take a short break to shout out Medicinal Mushrooms Hawaii. They're one of our sponsors, they're your locally based medicinal mushroom company. And right now they have five tintures of extracted mushrooms, they have lion's mane, chaga, red raishi, turkey tail, and cordyceps. And if you go to their website, medmushroomhigh.com, it'll explain to you exactly what each and every one of these mushrooms' medicinal properties do. I take all five religiously. I take the lion's mane, chaga, and turkey tail in the morning with my coffee when I get up. I take the red raishi at night to go to sleep, and I take the cordyceps before workout as a pre-workout. Medmushroomhigh.com, if you use promo code ATBPod upon checkout, all capital letters, you'll get 45% off your first tinture of mushrooms. So give them a look. Medmushroomhigh.com. Aloha. How easy it how easy is it for you to get on these sidelines? You gotta get a press pass or whatever, or just hold your camera and walk on the field.
Social Media Reach And Impact
SPEAKER_02It it's tough. It's tough. You know, you really um it does require. Credentials to get on. Okay. Um, you know, because I mean, you know, the the athletic directors are there to protect the kids. Yeah. Um, you know, for any sport. And football is probably the hardest, you know, because um not only is it safety for the athletes and protecting their privacy and you know, things like that, but it it can be dangerous for people who are on the field who don't know what's happening, you know, who are maybe like aren't paying attention. You know, so we're again, we're lucky that we can um develop relationships and and network with people that they they see our videos and they've seen the way we hold ourselves on the field and and behave that they they trust us, you know. So we're lucky and and and a lot of kids that that's probably the biggest barrier for somebody coming in that wants to shoot football is they'll always ask, you know, how hey, how do I get access? How do I go, how can I get on the field to shoot that game too? Because shooting from the stands is fine, you know, you can get some really great shots from from the stands, but being on the field just adds a different dynamic, you know, that uh and again that cinematic essence is being able to offer something that the audience can't normally see on their own.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. So you kind of basically have to get a press pass then.
SPEAKER_02Pretty much, yeah. Credentials um be able to yeah, be able to get authorization and credentials from somebody to to get on the field to shoot.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Is there any sport that you haven't shot that you're kind of interested in doing? Um let me see here.
SPEAKER_01I mean, everything.
SPEAKER_02I'm sure I can't I can't really think of think of things because I feel like we've shot a lot of different sports, you know, uh some of the major ones.
SPEAKER_04Um, but any fight stuff?
SPEAKER_02Never never like a live event. Never like a live event. I've shot some like boxing training, uh, some jujitsu kind of stuff, you know, but never like at a live match. So I oh I've done wrestling, you know, I've done live wrestling. Uh but yeah, that that actually would actually be something really uh maybe some some MMA or boxing. Um I've never shot like tennis. I was just thinking, I've never really shot tennis, which look pretty cinematic too, and things like that, you know.
SPEAKER_04So um quick quick movements for that one.
SPEAKER_02And and usually there's there's a lot of passion, you know. They they they score slam, there's there's usually a yell or something like that. So um, but yeah, I think fight stuff actually would be really, really interesting for us.
SPEAKER_04Okay, I could probably figure that out, maybe give you some opportunities. That would be kind of cool. Did um is there any like motivation for you to shoot other stuff other than uh sports?
SPEAKER_01Uh yeah, I mean you know, we anything to really tell a story, you know?
SPEAKER_02Okay, we we have shot we have shot weddings. Um I would love to be able to shoot some kind of you know, I always talk about like a short film or something like that, you know, but again, I have no idea where to even start, you know. And um, you know, we've we've shot we shoot some some narrative things for a clothing company called Thankful. Uh so we're really blessed to to be able to do creative stuff with them. Um so you know, we I have interest in doing all that and I'm open to it if somebody were to approach me. Uh, but we we really do love working in the sports space as well. You know, that we we don't I don't ever get bored of it, you know. Yeah, morning event just feels like a whole nother and I get chicken, I get um butterflies in my stomach before every single game, you know, and yeah, driving there, and then when you're arriving to the field or the court, you know, it's I get a little nervous, you know. So that's a good feeling to have, you know.
Goals: Local Roots Vs Big Leagues
SPEAKER_04Yeah, and it's never gonna be the same. It's always gonna be different. Wedding stuff I I feel like could get repetitious. It's I for my wedding, I experienced and I didn't even know it was a thing until I got married, was the same-day edit. Like we literally watched our video of us getting married at our wedding, and I'm thinking, how does this work out? Yeah, it's wild. That's like some editing talent.
SPEAKER_02Right. I mean, that that's definitely a recipe, right? They they they probably know exactly, okay, this is we're gonna start here, show this, and this and then so they kind of have an idea of what it's gonna look like. And I think that's what's great about weddings is that you can have a recipe and it can be repetitious, I guess, about in that that regards. But when you see a wedding video that's not like every other wedding video, that's like that that kind of excites me, you know. Um see these guys doing something a little bit different. Um, you know, and again, no no shade against the guys that do uh have a recipe, you know, that that's that works, and people want that. The the the wedding couple really wants that, they want to see it on the wedding day. Um, but it's it's cool to see when when uh there's something a little bit different being done in a wedding video or things like that, you know.
SPEAKER_04That's kind of cool. If they gave you free range, and most brides won't, but if they were to give you a free range, like creative control, then and you could kind of come up with your own ideas, that would be kind of cool to see. But that one you can't mess up.
SPEAKER_02That's true, that's true. Yeah, so sometimes I think um, you know, again, it's a lot of communication through you and and the client or whatever it is. And that's what we do through through our narrative stuff too. You know, I'm constantly through our like white pahu narrative videos, you know, I'm talking to Coach, like, Coach, what do you think about this? Is this possible? Can we get into this space and film this, you know? So um, you know, you don't want to like just show up and be like, okay, we're gonna do this this time, you know. Uh there's a lot of communication, and and we try to be respectful in that regard and and uh not push the boundaries too far, but yeah, do something creative that they can be stoked on, you know.
SPEAKER_04So that's super cool. Uh free time, when you have free time, what what kind of interests you and what do you like to do on the free time?
SPEAKER_02Oh gosh. Um oh my god, it this is gonna sound so bad, but honestly, if I'm not working my day job, I'm like shooting or I'm editing, you know, or I'm with my kids. Um you know, we love to, I mean me and my family, we do love to travel. You know, we we I work for Hilton for a reason. It does provide a lot of good travel opportunities. We love to be able to see the world. Um, I love my dogs, I love playing with my dogs. I'm a simple guy, honestly. Um I love food, and you know, that's kind of that's kind of where we're at, you know.
SPEAKER_04Do you shoot a lot of your uh travel? Make travel videos and stuff like that?
Hardest And Favorite Sports To Film
SPEAKER_02It's it's so weird because we do, we shoot it. Uh, but then when we get home, we immediately are working on like, you know, our our jobs, you know. So sometimes that that passion project or the things that that you've collected has to take a backseat, you know, and then and then you don't really ever get to it sometimes, you know, which yeah, which I I think I need to do better for myself. I need to make sure I take a break and and work on those things so that I can remember those memories myself, you know, and yeah, encourage other videographers to to not burn themselves out. Cause again, like you said, it's it's a creative field that I'm constantly trying to think of a different way to express. And that can really be taxing sometimes, you know. You really gotta be able to say, okay, I need to just decompress this time and and not gonna edit anything today. You know what I mean? Something like that.
SPEAKER_04You know, do you does it ever become tedious where it's like, oh, I gotta edit this video, and like, or it's like you're you're you're more excited to do it.
SPEAKER_02Um I don't want to admit it, but sometimes, you know, sometimes you you can like yo be like, oh my gosh, I have so many ads that I gotta catch up on. But as soon as you get into a work, uh a flow state, once you get to that flow state, you can't stop. You know, you're you're addicted to that that that vision and how you're gonna show it, you know, or you're you once I if I got a crazy shot at a game or I got a crazy um thing that I really want to share, you know, you're just super excited to to kind of get working on that footage. Sometimes though, you know, you're just you really gotta like just buckle down and and put yourself in front of that computer and force yourself to get into that flow state so that you can can work, you know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_04So wow, I am so gonna have my wife listen to that part right there about flow state because I don't know if it happens to you. This is gonna be one of the biggest questions is how annoying is it to be interrupted when you're in that flow state?
SPEAKER_02Oh man, you're putting me on the spot, bro. My wife can't see this either, man. Um it's it's hard, you know, it's hard. And uh because like you said, you know, one sometimes you're working on one clip that can take an hour, you know, to finish to what you're trying to do with that one clip. Um, and yeah, so when you're locked in on in low state, you don't want to get out of it. Uh, but I do, you know, I do try to make sure that my my family, my wife, they all feel important, you know, and and I can um you know pause and listen to them. And um, you know, I don't want to be the dad just always at the computer, you know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_04Yeah. I yeah, I I agree. It's just sometimes I'll be editing a a podcast or and I'm like locked in and and oh, this is going well. I'm putting nice B and then I'll get the hey, can you help carry this out of my car? Or it's like, oh no, like not right now.
SPEAKER_02And flow state is a hard thing to kind of is a hard thing to express, you know, uh until you like people might think that it might not actually exist, you know, but honestly, flow state when it's like you can be out of flow state, and then two minutes later you're in it, but it can take you three hours to fall into that flow state, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, that's when you're in it, you really gotta make hay when the sun is shining. So yeah, uh, you know, it's good. I hope your wife does show you some some leniency and understand that you know that that when you're in it, you gotta take advantage. Uh my wife, my wife and my family definitely has, you know, like they understand that when it's when we're locked in, we we got we're locked in, you know.
SPEAKER_04So yeah. So you're team-wise, is it just you and your wife?
Athletes Playing To Camera
SPEAKER_02Pretty much, yeah. It's just me and my wife. Um she'll she'll mostly do a lot of like photo stuff right now. You know, she's okay, not quite as like interested in it as I am, but she loves supporting the athletes, you know, she loves um the idea of uh of capturing these moments for the kids too, and and her photography is like is incredible too. You know, she's she's um gone from the the person that will go to the game holding a camera and like just being like, whoa, that was crazy, you know, to now really being like, okay, how do I set up this shot? You know, and coming home and I'm and I'm like looking at her stuff and like wow, babe, this is this is awesome. Being thoroughly impressed. And and now like, you know, legit people are asking for her and not, you know, for for for me, you know what I mean? So yeah, but I have to uh rename our company name pretty soon so that it can be both of us, but yeah, it's really just her and I, and um yeah, it's cool to work together like that.
SPEAKER_04That's super cool, and then you become a fan of her work, and that that then you guys can bounce ideas off of each other too. Does your does your kids ever try to pick it up?
SPEAKER_02Definitely, yeah. Um, I've brought my kids on to to, you know, to to kind of grab, just play around with the camera, you know. Um, there's no expectation of anything. Um, you know, but one of them is an athlete and she she plays water polo and she paddles, so she's like constantly busy, you know. And then our our other one, um, you know, she's also um has her own kind of creative outlets, you know. She's a singer, she plays music, so uh, but but you know, they they're very supportive of um, you know, Shanghai Media, and and a lot of her their friends are like, like, wait, your dad is Shanghai Media. Like, my name isn't even Shang anymore. Honestly, it's like my name is Shanghai Media. They're like, hey, Shanghai Media. They call me Uncle Shanghai Media, dude. It's crazy, bro. Um, so you know they'll they'll ask them and then they're like, oh yeah, that's my dad, you know. But but they're they're stoked. They're they're stoked that that it's uh gaining the traction that it has.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, it's super cool. And I I feel like you capturing these moments will be etched in somebody's family's lives forever. They'll be showing their kids your video. That that must that must feel amazing.
SPEAKER_02Feels so good, dude. It feels so good. Like honestly, it's just uh, you know, sometimes it's just like kind of moved to tears, you know, thinking about um what that what that moment in time kind of meant for the family, you know?
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
Family, Water Polo, And Growth
SPEAKER_02Um and and again, if it does help a family get a scholarship, uh like like I said, that first kid that we filmed for, we started filming for him when he was uh a sophomore at Cuhuku. And he had only just started playing football when he was, I think, a freshman. You know, so he was very new to the sport, and he really like took to it. He's a big kid, you know, so he had a lot of um physical natural traits, but he really honed his skill and he got it, he ended up getting a scholarship to uh SMU. His name's A. Oh, nice and and SMU is not a cheap school to go to, so yeah, he got a full ride there. He's succeeding out there. Coaches out there are already uh, you know, talking about his prospects for the NFL, and and it's just like it's crazy to think about, you know, to think that you know, we were able to help in any way, anyway. If our videos did anything to help promote that, yeah, and shoot, we're we're we're so blessed to have that opportunity.
SPEAKER_04That's super cool. Um in your future, do you see yourself doing this completely full time?
SPEAKER_02I do, I do, you know, I would love for that to happen, you know. Um, like I said, I think um it's it's fun, it's fun, and um we love the the opportunity to be able to share these things with the kids, you know. So um, and again, like I'm working if I'm not working my day job, I'm I'm working Shanghai media stuff, you know. So uh I I could see that happening. Um of course in Hawaii it it's just a little bit more challenging just because things are so expensive, you know. Uh so right now it's it's not there yet, but but I can see that happening for sure.
SPEAKER_04That's crazy. What kind of advice would you give to an up-and-coming videographer if they were trying to get started and kind of start getting serious about it? What what would you tell them?
SPEAKER_02Um, I think I would first of all maybe just say um everybody that you meet, try to be a joy to work with, you know. You never know, especially in Hawaii. Um you know, you want to make sure that those bridges are are firm and they're built strong, you know, because you never know who you're gonna need to rely on, whether it be another, you know, maybe another up-and-coming videographer who um is starting off at the same time as him or her, you know. Uh, or if you meet an AD, you know, and and if you want to continue to have that access, you know, you gotta put yourselves out there and and introduce yourself and and be a professional, even if you're in high school, you know. A lot of these kids are starting that young because it's so easy with the the equipment that's available these days. Um just be just be open. Um and I don't know. I I I sometimes I I hold back from offering advice because I'm I'm still kind of sponging off other people myself, you know. Um, and and maybe that's maybe that would be the advice too, though, is just always be a sponge, you know, always be willing to learn. Um, you know, never feel like you're above a job, uh, never feel like you're above anybody else, you know, and and like I said, just just be a joy to work with uh and and work on your craft and be creative and and everything else will kind of fall into place.
SPEAKER_04Yep. And that's aloha, and that's what Hoi is about. Yeah. 100% It's becoming a kind of a theme nowadays on this show, is like the humbleness and supportive of each other, and it's it's been kind of refreshing. Um before we go, I was uh I was a nightclub promoter for a long time, and I still do some uh industry work. What have you ever shot nightclubs? Because we have videographers and they they catch certain scenes and and tell certain stories. I was wondering if you ever had a chance to do that.
SPEAKER_02I've shot a few concerts, I've shot a few concerts and a few like b-boy competition. I was involved in like this b-boy competition thing, which is like, you know, I don't want to say along the same vein, but um, you know, just being in that kind of atmosphere, the crowd feeding off the energy. Because again, it's but I've I've seen um like there's this one creator here called uh Taylor Tones. I don't know, I'm sure you might have seen his stuff too, but he I think he works heavy in in a lot of the night nightclub scenes, and it's so cool to see the creative stuff that he does. And I'm just like, wow, how does how does he approach walking into a nightclub and and figure out how he's gonna kind of tell that story, you know? Um it's it's not just about making the drinks, or it's not just about the DJ spinning something, you know, it's it's all about how do people feel being in that spot, you know. So yeah, I think um I would love that. I just don't know where I would start, you know what I mean? So yeah, yeah. But yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Um you mess with drones at all?
SPEAKER_02I do, yeah. I've shot a drone. Um I'm not like a certified pilot, so I don't really like sell any of my drone footage.
SPEAKER_05Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_02You know, but um, yeah, I've used a drone before, and and you know, it's you know, you might not want to use this in your podcast to be honest with get me in any kind of trouble, but uh yeah, I have shot with drones before, yeah.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I mess with them and oh, it's I'm more stressed out because I know how much mine costs, and like just the Mac uh Mav Mini.
SPEAKER_00Oh nice, yeah.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, they're pretty cool, but oh, I'm like so focused on not hitting a tree or like they're so much fun to fly though.
Access, Credentials, And Safety
SPEAKER_02Like actually, me and my buddy, uh, when I first started flying drones, I invited my buddy, and he had a he has a he had a Mavic Pro 3, like four or$5,000 drone. Yeah, I'll meet you at Sandy's. We went to Sandy's and we were like flying our drones, and then we were flying it. He sent his off far into the ocean, and then he was like, Okay, I'm gonna return it home. The battery's getting kind of low. We're just sitting there talking, and we just we're talking for like 15-20 minutes, and we're like, wait, the drone's not back yet. So he checked his camera. The thing was like in the water, dude. Oh like it just somehow like lost track and just crashed in the water. So yeah, that fear has always kind of like, you know, he had that pain, but luckily he had an insured and they sent him a new one. Uh but but still I couldn't understand that fear, you know. It's terrifying.
SPEAKER_04You know, they're pretty pretty cool with the insurers. I was at a camp and I was uh kind of panning out from the campsite and kind of pulling out, and I ran mine into a tree. I was too focused on how cool of a shot it was, and then hit a tree, and then it's like I'm like running over there trying to catch it and boom, hit the ground. It was okay, but it was definitely a stressful moment.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's so fun flying drones on that. Yeah, it's cool.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah. My friend had one, he had he put on goggles and he does all kind of crazy stuff with it, like cool stuff.
SPEAKER_02But yeah, I'm too changed to take mine to do that stuff, but no, I mean drone flying is like a whole another skill set, you know. It's like working a camera, but then flying a drone and then the the FPV, the goggle one. Yeah. That one is a whole nother skill set.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Well, shoot, we've been going for over an hour, and I appreciate you uh taking time out of your day and taking time away from editing and coming in front of the camera. I really wanted to hear your story and and kind of touch base with you just from the videos I've seen. I I get so excited. And like I said, that whole Kailua uh football team, their journey and the what it meant to that Waimanalo community and Kailua community, and it for you to capture it the way you did, I hope you know it meant a lot to a lot of people, and it is super cool to talk story with you, man.
SPEAKER_02Right on, man. I'm honored uh to hear that. And yeah, for Kailua, it was a long time coming, you know. They've they've been a team that has been together for for years, you know. A lot of those kids have been playing together since they were little, little kids, and and it was you could see that, you know, you could see how they they fought for each other, you know, and and and for every every team, you know, every team that we're filming for all of a sudden becomes like our favorite team, you know.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um, but but anyways, yeah, I mean thankful, thank you for having me. You know, I mean I'm weird and I'm awkward in front of a camera, so uh this is a very rare occurrence. I but I think this is something that um you know we're grateful for the opportunity to be able to tell our story and and make sure that the the world knows that we are grateful for for being able to capture these moments for the kids.
Beyond Sports: Weddings And Shorts
SPEAKER_04That's super cool. And um just putting it out there, my daughter plays volleyball for Leisure Dawn, and they're VAR she made VARS this past year, and their next two years, she has two more years left, and they could be something. They got some players, they they their coaches, one of the best in the state, and or maybe one one of the best in the country, and they they might have opportunity these next two years to To get a state, state run and see what happens. I would love for you to capture that for sure. And of course, I played football for Damien, and we have not had a state championship yet. And if you were to ever capture that, I personally would be more than more than grateful. I have filmed for Damien if you yeah, I seen some of it, but it wasn't a state championship, that's for sure.
SPEAKER_02Oh yeah, no, if it happens, uh regardless if we get hired by a client or not, we're always there to make sure we get the state championship, you know, okay for the teams, and we want to make sure that um you know they're highlighted this and that. But yeah, I mean I I would love to come film for your daughter, you know. Uh yeah, it's awesome. So, you know, throw throw a word to the coach and let them know that we might show up and if they're okay with that, and uh you know, we'd love to make sure we can create something cool for them, you know.
SPEAKER_04That would be super cool.
SPEAKER_02What is your daughter's name?
SPEAKER_04Aria, aria part, she's the libero, the little you'll know which is my daughter. She's the littlest one on every court she's on.
SPEAKER_02Hey, the liberos are like, they're always the feisty, you know, though the ones are always everywhere, you know.
SPEAKER_04So yeah, how fun was it shooting at Trans Pac? That that thing is a is is a big thing in Hawaii.
SPEAKER_02It was crazy. I mean, like my wife told me she was like, because I actually wasn't hired by too many people, so I didn't go for a lot of the time. I only went for I was reached out by an Alaskan team, like a team coming from Alaska out to me. So I fought I shot for them, and then I just shot for an individual uh who uh plays for HL. Anyways, um, but before that, my wife was like, babe, it's like it's they had like a 30-minute special on like KHON about this Trans Pack thing, and I'm like, man, this thing is huge, you know. I've been to tournaments like that, and probably I think I was at Trans Pack last year, but I don't remember it being like you know as as big as it was this year. It's crazy. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04I know I see your video, I'm like, what? I was there, I could have met you in person. Oh, one more thing I want to ask you. Was there ever a time where someone kind of got upset because they were on your video? Like, oh, I didn't want to be, and then it's out there on the internet. Like, ha has anyone ever kind of kind of felt like they they wish that didn't happen or something like that?
SPEAKER_01No, I don't think so.
SPEAKER_02I don't know, nobody's ever really like, you know, I I think for sports and for anything that we do, um, you know, we always want to make sure we put people in the best light, you know. So we don't miss people, we don't put them in there if they're looking crazy, you know, if they got like a weird expression or or even even the way I the way I um try to portray it is I try to make like for example for Kailua, you know? Yeah. Kylua played against um uh Kapah. They played against Kapah. So I don't want to make Kapaha look bad, you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. I want to make Kailua look great, you know, and so that's that's kind of where my mindset is. I'm not trying to show some kid getting lit up by somebody, you know.
SPEAKER_03Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_02That happens, you know. I do show tackles, but I don't make about this kid getting lit up. I make it about the kid getting the hit, you know, and and what kind of happens from there. So you will see people in there, and and I'm sure they're probably like not stout on, you know, being the the butt end of that. But um, I think for the most part, um when when people are watching it, they're not like damn, what's his name, you know, whatever it is. You know, the uh the the player that we're trying to highlight or the team that we're trying to highlight. So I think most people um you know they're not really upset when we when we put them into the videos. Oh, that's good.
Burnout, Flow State, And Focus
SPEAKER_04You might yeah, you might fall into that if you film fighting because somebody's getting hit and that's a good point. Sorry, don't worry about that. All right, right on then.
SPEAKER_01What is that or what? You trainer?
SPEAKER_04Oh, I used to compete. I did taekwondo kickboxing back when I was younger, and I yeah, I wish I had someone like you doing this. We we didn't, I mean, I hate to say it, but uh at my age when I was doing that, we were lucky to have a digital camera.
SPEAKER_02I think you do a lot, man. Honestly, like the parents are always like, Man, I wish you were around when I was playing.
SPEAKER_04Oh, yeah, for sure. Especially uh well, I'm glad you weren't around when I was playing football because the highlight videos would be from me getting lit up. But like I said, the these moments you're capturing will be etched in some of these kids' lives forever, and they'll be like, like I can say it, like, oh, I remember this time I did this in one of my tournaments, or I or I did this, and now these kids be like, Oh, remember that? Yup, right here I can show you. And like I said, that like if I could show my daughter things that I've did in my sporting career, I I would be so stoked. And I mean, she can show her kids what she's doing, and yeah, you're giving these kids a um a clip of life that they'll never get back that they can share forever. And and I hope you know that that's very important, bruh. It's super cool.
SPEAKER_02Thank you, man. Yeah, we're we're definitely learning and blessed to to hear that kind of feedback from yeah, from parents and athletes and things like that. So yeah. Right.
SPEAKER_04Where can people find you on Instagram or social media? And where can people find you to hire you?
SPEAKER_02Oh, okay. Um, so we're on Instagram as um at Shang underscore Hi H I underscore Media. And then uh we have a website, you know, shanghimedia.com, um, and we have like an inquiry tab in there. So if they want to submit an inquiry or they can DM me through Instagram, you know, sometimes that's easy. Um, those are probably just the easiest channels to get in touch with me.
SPEAKER_04And for us, as always, you can find us at Above the Bridge Podcast on Instagram, YouTube, our website is atbpod.com, and my personal Instagram, Thaddy Daddy Hi. Well, man, we've been going for over an hour. Um, I appreciate you coming on, and you probably gotta get back to editing. So shaka's for the cameras.
SPEAKER_00Appreciate you, brother.
SPEAKER_04Right on, we're out. Shout out to Artist Group Network. Aloha.
