Hey man thanks again for taking the time to do this interview. To start out could you introduce yourself and tell us about what you do?
Firstly, I want to express my gratitude for this opportunity to share my story and passions. My name is Bazooka Films, and I’m from Chicago but currently reside in the Bay Area. Aside from documenting graffiti, I work as an educator for children with autism. Although it may seem unrelated, my experience in both fields has allowed me to better understand human behavior and its relationship with graffiti culture. Through my 12 years of documentation, I handle all aspects of filming and editing, ensuring that my perspective is accurately portrayed to the audience. Overall, I strive to capture the essence of the moment and convey it to the viewer. Thank you again for this chance to share my journey.
What initially drew you to documenting graffiti? Do you write? If you want to keep it separate I understand.
Initially, I was focused on directing music videos and short films in San Antonio and Texas. However, one day a graffiti writer asked me to create a video featuring him. This piqued my interest in the culture, and I began studying it more. While exploring early YouTube videos, I came across ironlak videos, which captured my attention and made me fall in love with the art form. Although I don’t personally write graffiti, people often assume that I do because of the footage I capture. I take this as a compliment since it means I’m effectively conveying the environment and experiences of the writer through my videos.
Seeing your video quality progress over the years has been wild, are you all self-taught? What advice would you give to people who don’t have much experience in filmmaking to start out?
I am very grateful for the support and recognition of my work. It has taken years of practice to develop my own style, and I am glad that viewers can easily identify it as my own. The opportunities to share my videos on various websites and to participate in interviews have greatly helped me to expand my audience and reach. While much of my skill is self-taught, I also learn from other artists and creators whom I admire. My advice for those starting out in this field is to be sure that this is truly what you want to do and to understand that it requires dedication and time. Editing can be a particularly time-consuming aspect of this work, so it is important to prioritize your efforts. Lastly, I recommend finding subjects that inspire you and considering how you can use your skills to tell their stories effectively.
The list of writers you have documented is becoming insane! So many big names but also some lesser-known ones, love the balance your channel gives. How do you select who you decide to film?
I greatly appreciate the opportunity to work with individuals who embrace and embody the culture of knowledge and expertise. It has been instrumental in helping me find balance in my career and gain a deeper understanding of various aspects of it. Ultimately, the decision to collaborate is based on the writer or company’s approach, but I am becoming more selective about the projects I take on. This is not to say that I am seeking personal gain, but rather that I want to ensure that my time and efforts are respected. Filming and editing require significant work, and I do not want to feel like I am being taken advantage of.
How much content are you filming yourself and how long does that usually take to edit?
During July of this year, I estimate that I filmed nearly 300 hours of footage. I devoted around 1,000 hours to editing it because I put in extra effort when I am passionate about my work. However, I take breaks when necessary. I am highly productive and efficient, like a well-oiled machine. I share some of the footage on social media, as well as on other platforms.
You also have a great selection of music. You use quite a few different genres of music in your videos, do the artist usually choose them or is it you?
I take great pride in selecting the music for my visuals. Although I’m mainly in charge of the music selection, I also like to give the artists an opportunity to suggest their choices. I take the time to understand their choices thoroughly by studying the songs at least ten times. This helps me determine the right visuals to go with the music.
What cameras do you use? Editing software?
Currently, I use my Canon EOS R for filming and Adobe Premiere for editing.
Any crazy stories you would like to share?
Yeah I have so many crazy stories but this one’s one that I’ve always told throughout my years because they will forever reminisce of what I’ve been through just to capture this beautiful culture of life so during the winter in Chicago a couple riders were painting some trains and within the hour things were very comfortable and one of the writers happened to go down to get something from his bag and that’s when he noticed that the cops were coming so we had to start running I was not prepared for the winter in Chicago because I at the time I was living in Texas so I was in the snow and gym shoes running and because of that one of my shoes happened to fly off so while everybody else was running I had to go get my shoe put it on and then basically catch up with the with the group of riders that I was with when we got to the ledge because the train tracks for elevated we had to make the quick decision of jumping off a 20 ft elevated track luckily there was a lot of snow that time so we all jumped that basically into the snow or the pile of snow so we ended up in a empty parking lot where we had to jump over everybody use their milk crates and they made it seem so easy to jump over this fence that had a bunch of barbed wire I’m not a great jumper or climber so I was the last person in the parking lot trying to climb over first time I try to climb over I get a cramp second time I try to climb over I couldn’t go over because of the barbed wire I remember the writer telling me hurry hurry and I told him just go I’ll figure this out so I kind of had to like chant myself up to make this like climb so I did I climb over as I’m climbing over I hear a rip and it’s my pants I get down and I basically cut myself my pants are ripped apart and I was bleeding for my inner thigh I had to run across the main Street to go to the spot that we were all going to meet at we all got away but that’s a story that I can remember to this day because it’s something that truly was a beautiful memory.
What’s your plan next? Any big travel plans?
Right now I’m currently waiting for huf to drop a video that I did with them with my crewmate CENO I’m excited about that drop it was a very awesome collaboration and look forward to collaborating with them in the future so yeah that’s something to look for and as far as traveling most likely to Chicago and then I’m looking into going to Paris sometime in the summer of next year though and that will be my first European flight to film.
Thanks again for doing this interview, any shoutouts you want to give?
Thank you for having me I appreciate that you guys believe in my work and I really appreciate that I was able to share a little bit about myself thank you for this moment and yes I would like to give a shout-out to my crew AMC and AIR CREW and ST6 they’ve been a big inspiration in my life. My ma lol back in Chicago, my students, my crewmates
Ceno Heks Make Skomp Stuk. And thank you again for this opportunity. I appreciate you guys a lot.
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