An Interview with Gaven Ayala, Filmmaker, Photographer, and Entrepreneur
Bainbridge Island, Las Vegas, Florida, Los Angeles, and the British Virgin Islands; who would have thought filming railing installations would be such a great career opportunity and involve so much travel? Almost a decade ago, Gaven Ayala, a young photographer and filmmaker, began working for AGS on occasional projects. The company's owners loved his work so much that one project led to another, and now, AGS has a whole collection of films and photographs taken by Gaven.
Over the years, a lot has changed in the industry and for Gaven personally. He now owns a successful digital media company, creating compelling YouTube channels for action sports. With over 1.3 million subscribers, his dirt bike channel is the biggest and most influential in the world.
The Interview | A Conversation About Gaven's Work and Some of Our Favorite AGS Projects
Gaven, thank you for talking to me today. How did you first become acquainted with AGS and start shooting photos and videos for the railing company?
I was a childhood friend of Ryan, one of the owner's sons. We grew up together and had known each other for a long time. That's how I got involved. I started filming with AGS early in my career, ten years ago, maybe.
Tell me about the first video you made for AGS on location, filming a cable railing in the British Virgin Islands.
AGS wanted someone who knows what they’re doing to go out there and capture the beauty of the railing installation. The house that we were shooting was on a clifftop. It had infinity pools and overlooked the water. It was a beautiful location, perfect for showing off the product.
British Virgin Islands | An Extensive Cable Railing Installation for a Caribbean Vacation Resort
The video is very engaging. When you begin a project like that, what's your creative process?
When I shoot, I shoot with purpose. I always make sure that I’m filming everything so I can edit it a certain way later. Some people get lost in shooting and don’t really think about editing — you need to think about both. It’s just a smarter way to work. The British Virgin Islands project was a while ago. Now, I have a whole team of employees, editors, and filmmakers to help, but then, it was just me.
I’d say I’ve developed a few signature moves and some ideas I use as templates. I do a lot of things the same in almost every project, but I utilize them in different ways. I like to take really tight, slow-motion, emotional shots of either faces or objects and B-roll. I’ve shared these techniques with my employees to handle our current projects. They’ve become a part of our creative process.
What about the practicalities of shooting photos in a busy resort with so many people?
The resort was still under construction. There were some people there, but it was the busyness of other workers that we had to deal with rather than guests.
I often film situations with crowds of people, action sports venues, or convention centers. You just need to make sure you're respectful and don't shove the camera in anyone's face. I am careful to make it obvious that I'm not recording at certain times. People can see I'm not randomly filming or singling anyone out. Sometimes, people walk in front of the cameras. They always apologize, but I like that because you can use it to transition to the next scene.
Florida | A Cable Railing Installation for The New American Home
Custom-Made, Prefabricated Railing Systems by AGS Stainless from AGS Stainless Inc. on Vimeo.
The video you shot of The New American Home in Florida highlights the cable railing beautifully. How do you bring the subject matter to life?
My company runs some of the biggest action sports YouTube channels in the world. We do a lot of racing videos. They’re big projects. I apply what I learned from that industry to other jobs. I use those same techniques to make sure I get the shots I want — I’ll do the same shots that I’d do on someone’s face or a vehicle on products like railings.
That’s one of my strong suits, making an inanimate object look exciting. It’s not just the shots, though. It also comes down to the editing and music. All the elements combine to work together to create emotions and set the mood.
Do you start with a storyboard?
I ask the client what they are looking for. I envision it and gather the content. Towards the end, I look at everything and make sure I have everything I need. A lot of planning is involved, but most of that happens later.
I like to do a lot of stuff in my head. It's a creative thing. One of my talents is to show up and spontaneously put together ideas and create some cool stuff. I'm good at that. Good at creating something out of nothing.
Most of the stuff I film is already happening whether I'm filming it or not — racing and things like that. In a way, I'm there to document it.
Bainbridge Island | Why AGS? A Factory Tour
You filmed Sales and Marketing Director Kevin Harris explaining some techniques AGS uses to manufacture railing systems. What's it like to interview and film people?
I'm working on a project right now, doing multiple interviews. Most people start off being nervous about being on camera. We have to consider the client because they often worry about how they will look. I can talk them through that. Get them comfortable. I feel like that's a skill I have. We get multiple takes, so we always have 2 or 3 shots to choose from. We take the best from each of those and use our overlaying footage. Usually, you can't even tell that we did that.
Los Angeles | A Cascadia Balcony Rod Railing Installation
AGS asked you to photograph a balcony railing on a family home in LA. Neighboring properties limited access to a good vantage spot, and the house sits at the top of a hillside. How did you overcome that?
I had to use a drone for that; They’re pretty convenient these days. You can get drones with amazing cameras on them, and they can fit in your pocket — almost. The biggest thing is making sure you have enough material. So, I always try to overdo it just a little so the client has options and to make sure I don’t miss anything.
The logistics of everything was the hardest part — driving to LA and finding parking. The actual flying was pretty mellow and easy. The neighbors were watching and waving. Some people could get mad, for sure. But, I am careful to make it apparent that I'm doing a job and not randomly filming people's homes. The owner was very nice and easy to work with. It was great!
What are the advantages of drone photography, and are there any disadvantages?
You don't have to hire a camera guy to hang out of a helicopter to get aerial shots, and you can get a lot of great clips in just 20 minutes with a small professional drone. I try to supply my contract employees with one so they can get the location shots and B-roll we like to use.
There are a lot of people doing drone photography and many different ways to do it. Now, there are different licenses you may need to obtain — different legalities make it an ever-changing environment.
Where do you see the art of photography and video going in the future with artificial intelligence?
The future, it’s hard to say, but for now, it’s pretty good for film and photography. You need an eye for it. I’m not sure AI can replicate that. I consider what we do an art form. It’s a canvas, and you have to paint it.
We utilize AI in some of our work, not in our videos but in our thumbnail YouTube creation photos. Right now, we use Photoshop to make corrections and expand images. It’s very useful. I don’t know if AI will ever have that human touch that film and photography need.
Video is in such high demand these days, especially for YouTube, because it’s the most promising platform for our clients and brings the best returns for everyone involved.
I didn’t get into it because I thought it was a good time to get into it. I got into it because I loved it. Then, by chance, it was a good time to be doing it — there’s job security in it, for sure.
Thank you, Gaven. It's been great talking to you!
To learn more about Gaven's work, visit his website www.ayalamedia.com