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Hold your own & be your own person- Bobby Junior on Filmmaking and Content Creation
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Hold your own and be your own person- Bobby Junior on Filmmaking and Content Creation
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Bobby: A sleeping giant.
You know how they say when life comes at you, it comes at you fast? I think I have attached this phrase to Bobby. He understands how fickle and short life is. Bobby Junior is a filmmaker and content creator, particularly for the YouTube Channel, East Meets West.
Wait, let me start over. Bobby Junior is an insanely talented, highly gifted and artistic filmmaker and content creator. There. Better.
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We got to have a chat with him about his work and the strides he has made in the film industry.
What would you do differently if you were joining content creation now?
Bobby: I've never actually thought of that.
He says he'll probably be more organized because he’s been in the game for 4years and he understands it better.
That’s Bobby. Modest, but in a refreshing way (make sense?). He won a Kalasha Award in 2018 under Best Documentary by a Student.
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He came fourth place in Africa (Bruh!) during the 2018 Lorenzo Natali Media Awards and 20th place globally.
If Bobby says he’ll make his work more organized, we can only imagine that he’d start an empire and score big. He attributes his growth and majority of his success to his members at East Meets West.
Which people have had the most influence on your growth till date?
“People that I work with play a huge influence particularly East meets West as well as other influencers I've met who’ve played an important role. I feel like this helps you understand things you didn't know and ways on how to make your content better.”
East Meets West
East Meets West
Pulse Live Kenya
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Let’s get down to specifics.
“Sasha and Ibra (he's usually behind the scenes) are my go-to content creators for research when brainstorming for a new episode. We normally sit down and throw ideas together to see which fits. Since we shoot on Saturdays, we take Monday- Friday to see what other content creators are doing and then come up with something that will suit us and our style. You have to do a lot of research before creating and that helps with growth.”
For someone who’s won 7 film awards since, failed executions can be a pain, no?
“Well, that happens a lot because luckily when you're on set you can ‘feel’ it. Kuna video zenye hukataa kuwork kabisa so you just toss it out. It’s basically just about accepting that it has failed and finding another way to go about it.”
Would you say that’s your ideal partnership? Someone who you feel? Someone who gets what you’re about?
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“Of course ju lazima akuwe na psyche. Mtu we can gel. Someone who’s real...si mtu wa ku-catch feelings. I like working with someone who’s a free spirit. Hold your own and be your own person. Also, it has to be something our audience still likes.”
I like that your audience is really a priority. Do you give it all or do you draw a line between being available to your audience and choosing to cut some things off?
“It's pretty much up to you and your mental state. At times we end up sharing pieces of our lives and the audience feel like they know you and they feel possessive about you and your life. You really have to have a strong mental state for you to understand that at the end of the day you acknowledge that you chose to put your life out there but it's not supposed to interfere with your day to day life. Like vitu zako close jiwekee.”
“The love from our audience keeps us going, though. When starting out, I was in a depressed place. So when someone says that a particular episode helps them get out of a funk, it keeps me going. Coz I’ve been there and to know I made someone happy, that kind of response really helps.”
Hold your own and be your own person- Bobby Junior on Filmmaking and Content Creation
Bobby Junior
Pulse Live Kenya
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Is there something you’ve faced behind the scenes that we didn't know about?
“Our external lives. I remember one time doing a show and I got a call that my grandma had died. The show couldn't go on, y’know. So there are some things we don't get to show people.”
P.S: Remember the first part? ‘Sleeping Giant’ meant he used to sleep. A lot. In class. It sounded profound though, no? Like Burna Boy? African Giant?
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