San Jose State communications junior Sean Muniz has spent the past few years working as a photographer and filming music videos, growing his portfolio and honing his craft.
Muniz’s favorite shoot so far was filming the music video for rapper RJmrLA’s song “Time,” featuring hip-hop superstar Young Thug, in Los Angeles.
As camera operator on set, Muniz said he used a camera worth roughly $50,000 and that Young Thug is the most prominent artist he has worked with so far.
Muniz said he and his producer Cassius King could not stop laughing during the drive to Los Angeles, trying to relieve nervousness.
“I was like, ‘Damn, this is an experience that I will not forget,’ ” Muniz said.
On Aug. 5, the day before Muniz’s birthday, he filmed the video for “Time.”
“I thought about that video shoot as a birthday present from the gods,” Muniz said, comparing the experience to his birthday the previous year, when his car burned down on Aug. 3.
On Oct. 13, Muniz worked as camera operator again, when he shot a music video for the band Z-Tran with director Mike Monti and King at Cesar Chavez Park in Berkeley.
Muniz paced closer to his subjects then backed away in one elaborate shot while the band performed their roughly five minute ballad, filming with a RED Epic W, a more than $20,000-value 8K camera.
King’s company, Improvized Productions, produced the video, and has worked with Muniz on many of his shoots.
King, who mainly produces but also edits and directs videos, said Improvized Productions is a digital media production rental house that aims to train directors to prepare them for large scale productions by contracting them exclusively for music videos.
“We don’t want to waste time teaching someone that might not be passionate or might not want to be on a team,” King said.
Muniz’s collaborators said he is a great team player and photographer.
Damien Cooper, behind-the-scenes photographer at the Berkeley shoot, said Muniz is easy to work with, which is essential in an industry where he works long hours with
few breaks.
“You have to like the people that you’re working with,” Cooper said.
When King started working with Muniz, King noticed how Muniz puts in extra effort on set and avoids standing around and doing nothing.
“He always was asking, ‘Is there anything I can do?’ ” King said.
Although his work as a photographer and his studies at SJSU coexist, Muniz clearly prioritizes his career over college.
Often waiting until due dates to quickly finish homework assignments, Muniz said he does not consider himself a student.
“Outside of Tuesday and Thursday, I work,” Muniz said. “I am a director.”
Although school is not his top priority, Muniz said he is thankful for the chance to attend SJSU.
“Just being super grateful for the opportunities we have around us and taking full use of it as much as we can, I think is key,” Muniz said.
Instead of gaining skills through traditional education, Muniz learned photography through online courses and YouTube videos, then applied for random jobs on Craigslist and learned on the job.
“Taking a photo class, to me, is just slowing your progress down,” Muniz said, adding that he wishes classes would teach photographers how to submit their work to magazines and pitch themselves professionally.
On his first photo shoot with a model, Muniz felt nervous.
“I had no idea what I was going to do, honestly,” Muniz said. “I wanted to throw up before I even drove out to the shoot.”
Although the shoot paid $50, barely enough to cover the gas Muniz used to get to the location and back, he said the model’s feedback taught him to avoid over-editing
his photos.
“If you are not earning anything, you should be learning something,” Muniz said.
When Cassius King and Muniz met on the set of a music video for rapper Cali Ca$h, King noticed how helpful Muniz was on set and saw potential for artistic growth.
Although his friends often criticized his videos when he first started filming with a GoPro, Muniz said they took his work more seriously as he improved.
“Now you are curious,” Muniz said. “Now I’m getting paid.”
Muniz does not only take photos while on the job.
“If I am just hanging out with my friends and the light looks really good on my homie, I am for sure going to take a photo of him, because he looks hella cool right there,” Muniz said.
Along with aesthetic value, Muniz appreciates photography as a way to capture moments to look back on later.
“It is literally like moments of time you have to capture,” he said.
Despite his passion for filming music videos, Muniz said he would like to progress his career by working for clothing companies and fashion lines like The North Face, Calvin Klein, and Nautica.
“Overall, I want to work with brands that I am passionate about because I like what they are doing in the world of whatever they are making,” he said.
Muniz also said he wants to start making longform films to have more consistent work and produce a more ambitious final product.
“Imagine working on one project for four months and that’s four months out of the year you have consistent work, rather than every month you are looking to hit 15 videos or five videos at least,” Muniz said.
Muniz could easily work on large scale productions in the near future, Damien Cooper said.
“Definitely,” Cooper said. “Someone like that is someone you want on a team.”
