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Matias De Rada
@matiasderada
Filmmaker based in Colombia
Introducing Matias De Rada
When Matias De Rada suffered an injury during his senior year of high school, he found on YouTube a video created by Devin Supertramp. He loved the way Devin told visual stories, and this sparked his curiosity for the craft. Ever since and while he recovered, he looked at each day as a potential opportunity to knock on the door of his biggest dream, to work for Beautiful Destinations.
He not only accomplished the goal, the first short film he ever created, called “El Mago”, ended up being shortlisted at the Young Directors Awards in France too! Another tipping point for Matias was a super bowl commercial he directed for Jamaica Tourism in 2019: “Looking back, I can say that this was my first significant role as a director. I had a crew of over 100 people, while I am typically involved in small groups of 3-4 people. It was a lot to handle, but the satisfaction of watching the result was beyond rewarding.”
Freelancing is not always easy. For Matias, the biggest challenge was to overcome his fears. Luckily, he found a way: “I realized that no decision is crucial. It is possible not to overthink things and take every challenge as an opportunity to learn.” Speaking about opportunities, Matias shared with us four basic steps to close deals with brands. In this interview, he explains why research, presentation, proof of concept, and adding value are crucial steps to successfully land gigs and have clients coming for more.
In the interview, he also introduces some video hacks, as well as some tips to take care of your mental health: “Meditation, exercise, and healthy eating habits.”
2021 has been a busy and productive year for him. Today, he hopes to utilize all the knowledge and experience he gathered over the past years to help educate in Latin America. “I hope that with better knowledge, more people can live from content creation. Hopefully, this will help promote the beauty of South and Central America to the rest of the world.
Interview
Welcome Matias! Not too long ago you reached 100k on your Instagram and you have been inspiring your community with wonderful content mainly created in Latin America. What about the very start of this journey? Can you tell a little bit about yourself and how photography became the main area of your ambitious (professional) goals?
Yes! Photography became an interest for me at the age of 18. I suffered an injury during my senior year of high school, and I wasn’t able to practice sports for three months. As a result, I decided to focus on developing other interests, and then I found a guy named Devin Supertramp on Youtube. I loved how he told stories through video, and it led me down the youtube rabbit hole of learning everything about photography and video.
In one of your Instagram captions, you wrote: “As a freelancer, you have a lot to handle and you tend to live in uncertainty.” You also mentioned: “I’d be lying if I said I sometimes don’t feel lost and wonder if all of this will be worth it.” How did you deal with this in the very beginning when you gave up your office job and became a freelancer? And what helps you today to overcome these moments of uncertainty, doubts, and perhaps fear?
So when I left my job at Beautiful Destinations, one of the biggest platforms nowadays for travel inspiration, I have to admit that I felt scared.
The only way I knew how to deal with it was by not looking for an easy way out. I ended up going for 45 days to a summer camp I used to work at to gain some money and invest in my freelance business. Living in New York did not facilitate saving money, so I had to start from scratch. I knew I needed to invest in myself fully in the process of becoming a freelancer.
"I decided to move. I left my home in Los Angeles and went to this summer camp in Massachusetts."
During the camp, I only focused on four main things: eating healthy, exercising, and building relationships in the freelance world via zoom calls and emails. It was by far the most productive I’ve ever been.
Nowadays, what helps me overcome fear is knowing that there is always an answer to any challenge I may encounter. I started my freelance career kind of panicking. Now everything is different. I realized that no decision is ‘crucial’. It is possible not to overthink things and take every challenge as an opportunity to learn.
"I try to remember that no matter how small an opportunity may seem, I have to give it all because you never know who is watching!"
Which were the most significant tipping points or projects along your journey that boosted your self-confidence, trust and professional growth that allowed you to get where you are now?
I remember three projects, in particular, that gave me confidence.
The first project was a short film – the first one I ever did – which ended up shortlisted at the Young Directors Awards in France. The film is available on the YouTube channel of Beautiful Destinations and is called “El Mago.” This film ended up receiving a ton of great feedback, and I had followed my gut simply when it came to telling the story. Ultimately, this film allowed me to meet more people who happened to enjoy the way I approach storytelling.
"The second project was a super bowl commercial I directed for Jamaica Tourism in 2019."
Looking back, I can say that this was my first significant role as a director. I had a crew of over 100 people, while I am typically involved in small groups of 3-4 people. It was a lot to handle, but the satisfaction of watching the result was beyond rewarding. Because of this project, I realized I could take on bigger jobs in the future.
Finally, the last project was a passion project where I traveled with a couple of friends and documented the beauty of my own country, Bolivia. One video, in particular, ended up blowing up and going viral. This video solidified my theory that Latin America has the potential to become a powerhouse in the travel space and instilled confidence in my mission to promote Latin America to the rest of the world with high-quality content.
You have created wonderful videos or photos for brands, destinations, tourism boards, and hotels. Over time, how and what did you learn about the most effective strategies to connect with brands and land gigs? Could you mention four specific strategies/lessons you learned and still apply when searching for assignments/negotiating/closing deals?
When it comes to closing deals with brands, the following are four basic steps I follow:
Research, presentation, proof of concept, and adding value.
Research: I investigate what a company has done in the past and more recently. I try to understand what the company intends on marketing, and I do this across multiple platforms.
Present who you are as a person and professional: Maintaining a professional presence on Instagram is important, but I recommend showing your true self as well. When I connect with a brand on Instagram, I know they will look at my feed. In this regard, I want my feed to be 70% professional work and 30% myself. I approach this through motivational and dance videos hoping to show my personality to my potential clients.
"Some of my clients have told me that getting to know my personality was helpful, and they could connect with my content differently. It creates a human touch, and I believe this strategy works. At least it has worked for me so far."
Prepare a proof of concept: I have never approached a client if I didn’t have material (photos, videos) that I could use as examples. For me, it is crucial to show right away, through my portfolio, that I have created the type of content they need. I think this helps build trust from the beginning. They know you can deliver based on your past experiences.
Add value to their mission: When I speak with clients, I first want to accomplish their objectives. Afterward, I dive deeper and touch on the true purpose of the project. This process turns into a ton of questions that allow me to get an idea of what else I can bring to the table to over-deliver, and it helps me maintain clients all the time.
With your work, you focus a lot on film as well. Even though it is visual creation using camera equipment, it’s totally different from photography. Could you share with us four “video hacks” that were a huge discovery for you, making the process more efficient, enhancing the quality, or leveraging creativity?
Yes, of course. I am a big fan of focusing on the story first and then breaking down scenes.
In the past, I used to shoot for the sake of shooting. Then I edited the video relying too much on the music to make it more interesting.
Nowadays, I focus on the story first, what I am trying to get across and try to tell it in almost 15 seconds. But I do it in a way that entices you to keep watching.
You can think of it as a trailer. You show some highlights in 15 seconds and catch the attention of the viewer.
"I also focus on scenes. It allows me to think of transitions beforehand, and that's important. To know in which order the different scenes will go does make a difference."
You turned away from social media for one month to see what you could achieve without this big distraction in your life. In a motivational video you created about this period, you mentioned: “I feel a lot of people fall into this trap of looking for this routine where we are focusing all of our energy on one thing, forgetting key elements of our life that make us human function at our highest capacity: meditation, exercise, and healthy eating habits.” How did this period change your focus, your feeling of accomplishment/fulfillment? And how are meditation, exercise, and healthy eating habits part of your daily life and overall well-being right now?
These four elements have hands down been very important to me for my overall mental health.
I have to say that I am new to meditation, so I am still finding out what works for me, and therefore, I am not able to be as consistent.
With a heavy travel schedule, working out becomes challenging as well. Nevertheless, when I am home for an extended time, I can incorporate these activities. Overall, I feel these activities enhance my creativity and help me do more when I’m photographing because I can get more unique shots the more I develop my athletic abilities.
"If no one has tried stepping away from social media, I highly encourage it. It was where I found answers about myself I never thought I would possibly realize."
You are from Bolivia and have traveled to many Latin American countries already. What did you learn about the diversity among all those countries on the same continent? And what did you learn about yourself, having grown up in Bolivia, experiencing other Latin cultures?
I learned that one word that perfectly describes Latinos is community. No matter where I went, I felt welcomed.
Another thing I love about Latinos is that they are so appreciative of other people visiting and promoting their country. I love exploring each country and have made it a goal to create at least one video in each country in Latin America.
“Travel goes hand in hand with creativity in my opinion”, you wrote in one of your captions. What has been one of the most exciting and creative projects you were able to realize so far? What made that project so special for you?
The most important project so far has been my trip to Venezuela. A country that is not visited as much and that many people categorize as not a safe destination.
I was able to do my project thanks to Corona (The beer brand), which is called “La playa en el Cielo” (The beach in the sky). This experience allowed me to form my personal opinion and see reality, and I was pleasantly surprised about the beauty of that country.
"This whole campaign ended up reaching millions of people. To see a Latin American country get so much recognition was incredibly fulfilling."
To cite you again, you said: “The mere act of believing in yourself is a fundamental step in manifesting your dreams into reality”. What would you say has been a dream that you managed to realize by overcoming challenges and teaching yourself to believe in your own potential and capacities? How did you go about it, and what is your dream for the (near) future?
I think one of my biggest dreams was to work for Beautiful Destinations. I remember simply putting all of my time and energy into working on my craft to be prepared to provide value if I ever had the chance to work with them.
I also stopped putting importance on finding the perfect way of getting to work with them. I looked at each day as an opportunity to “knock on the door” of opportunity. By doing so, I eliminated so much self-doubt. I began to enjoy the process so much that I would say I attracted and manifested it afterward.
My current dream, however, is to help inspire the Latin creative community.
"I want to utilize all the knowledge and experience I have gathered over these past years and help educate Latinos in Latin America."
I hope that with better knowledge, more people can live from content creation in their respective countries. Hopefully, this will be seen worldwide and will help promote the beauty of South and Central America to the rest of the world.
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