Today we’d like to introduce you to Jayde “Scooby” Graham.
Hi Jayde “Scooby”, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I became interested in photography and film production while in high school. My real first experience was at my school in Fort Knox, where I attended video production courses, and was introduced to simple basics like green screen, coordinating shots, and rule of thirds.
Once my family moved from Fort Knox to Germany for the second time during my later high school years, I made sure to continue video production classes. In my junior year, I was a bit more independent style. I still remember my video production teacher to this day, Rebecca Connolly. If you have seen the movie Army of Thieves, on Netflix, she played as the Old Lady Teller. It was required of us to create storyboards and write some sort of script for the videos we created. I absolutely hated doing that, so my friend Sean and I would literally wing everything we created. We didn’t fail however, and we had fun doing it, so it was all good. Once my senior year came around I had a very condensed schedule, due to the fact I had too many credits from going to school in America. So to keep me busy, my counselor Mr. Cunningham, introduced me to an opportunity where I would take my required math, English, and science course in the morning and the remaining time I would intern at the local radio and tv station. This opened my eyes to radio broadcasting where I was on air to tell the weather and any news about the school, as well as some in the field filming for commercials. So big shout out to Mr. Cunningham, Tony McKinney, and all the staff at AFN Bavaria The Eagle.
Once I moved back to America I lived in Kansas for a few years with my family, but I eventually became tired of my routine of working two jobs and going to college. So one day I decided I would save up some money and move to Killeen Texas where many of my friends from Vilseck Germany lived. Once there I bought a camera and began doing photoshoots for people and became better known in the area for filming music videos, which I really love doing. I also began filming nature just as a hobby, using drones and a DSLR.
I became a brand ambassador for Pond 5, and this made me interested in traveling to various countries and filming nature around the world, wherever I may travel. Around 2016 I moved to Austin where I expanded my talents in filming. I was fortunate to meet some really cool people and artists along the way. Including my brother Asante, shout out to Ebony aka Moxie for the introduction. Asante is the founder of PRMTD, which is essentially an artist marketing company, where they showcase independent artists in Texas and now New Jersey. I had the opportunity to film many concerts, music videos, and events for PRMTD, and still work with them to this day.
I also recently became a film producer for the city of Austin through the Austin Public studio downtown where I’m able to network with other creators and create content for public-access television.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
So far, it’s been a bit interesting. I feel the biggest setbacks I have faced are definitely time. In the beginning, money was an issue in buying gear and finding gigs and consistent clients, while also trying to travel the world to film. I work as a chemical engineering technician at Samsung in Austin, Texas and work 13-hour shifts. So finding the time and appropriate scheduling has been a challenge for me, especially when I know I need to sleep. Now that I live in Austin I feel that it has been much easier to move around and get things done, it’s a very creative city, so there are many avenues to tap into.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My work mainly consists of me filming nature and different areas around the globe. I also enjoy filming music videos, filming concerts, and special events. For the future, I look forward to trying my hand at some short films. My proudest moment was entering my first film festival via Capital City Black Film Festival in Austin, Texas. During this festival, I won a few awards for music videos I both filmed and edited. I believe that what sets me apart from other creatives is my diversity in different areas of film. For instance my music videos are more like short films that tell a story and are not just what I like to call point shoot and shake music videos.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
COVID taught me to sit down and relax honestly. My life usually is all gas no breaks, from photoshoots, traveling, and working. COVID was like, bruh, it’s ok to take a break and enjoy time to yourself.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.caerusmultimedia.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caerusmultimedia/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/Caerusmultimedia77
