Q/A With The Golden Cut
Young, but not afraid, The Golden Cut duo talks about their entrepreneur journey.
We’ve had the luxury of working with The GoldenCut on several productions such as “Dream On”, “Tailor Shop”, and “War Cellar.” The talented duo sat down to speak with us about their journey.
Q: What separates GoldenCut from other production companies?
G: What we take pride in, here at The Golden Cut, is our personalities. It’s something that can never be truly duplicated and it’s what we believe allows us to connect with our clients and truly understand them. Also, the dynamic between us is so strong. As longtime friends we’ve developed a strong sense of understanding each other and know how to best work with one another.
Q: What have been some of the major hurdles that you guys have had to overcome throughout your company’s journey?
G: A lot of the hurdles we’ve had to go through have all been business management related. We started the company with a “learn as you go” approach and we are happy to have done so. However, we had to learn the hard way about how to organize information, handle finances and deal with taxes. Asides from that aspect of the business, early on it was a struggle to land our first client, due to the fact we had barely any work to showcase. Over time and with persistence, we have been able to grow our work and clientele.
Q: What inspired you guys to do what you want to do?
G: We’ve both been very imaginative and creative individuals that it was something we happened to try out and essentially stick with. We both went into college unsure of what we wanted to do and eventually we gave filmmaking a try. After that, we never looked back. It wasn’t really one thing that inspired us but the joy we felt from being able to tell stories.
Q: Who are some of the artists that you guys work with?
G: Our company specializes in making commercials, films and music videos with most of our clientele focusing on the latter. We’ve worked with so many different artists and it's truly been a pleasure. We have worked with Sara Damon, ImSoMaleek, Amish Darr, BluJae, Neb Doe, Josh Sings to name a few.
Q: What is it like to work with all sorts of artists? Any particular artists that you really enjoy working with?
G: It's an amazing experience, being able to collaborate with fellow creatives and be able to come together to make a unique piece of art. We’ve had great pleasure working with Sara Damon and ImSoMaleek. Both these artists have strong senses of vision for their projects and having them direct their videos makes our job easier.
Q: What are some of the things that people don’t realize when starting a company right out of college?
G: People may not realize the sort of financial responsibility it entails. That there is required discipline to managing a company but with dedication, over time, these things will come.
Q: Given that you guys are in the industry, what are some of the barriers that you guys see in the music industry for younger artists?
G: From what we see, a big barrier for young artists is the distribution aspect of the game. They can do all the right things and produce an amazing song but if they don't have a good plan moving forward, the song is left to a few listeners. Understanding how to market songs and how to distribute is a tough aspect of the industry and one that sometimes relies on luck.
Q: What have been some of your best moments so far during your journey?
G: We’ve had many great moments during our time here at The Golden Cut. Definitely a highlight was having our first intern over the summer. Having someone work for us for the first time was a humbling and enlightening experience. Most recently having our premiere for “Dear Parents” was a tremendous moment for us. Just having people gather to watch a movie we made was huge.
Q: What would you like to see change in the film industry for independent filmmakers?
G: One thing we hope to see change over time is just having more film projects be more diverse. Whether that be in the story or on set, we should encourage more diversity. It’s definitely trending in the right direction but we need to encourage more of it.
Q: What is the story behind Dear Parents?
G: Dear Parents is a brief moment in a young Indian woman’s life as she struggles with confronting her parents about her true passion. It's meant to highlight a real life struggle and how consequences may unfold.
Q: What were some of the difficulties in making this film?
G: There were so many difficulties erupting from this production. It literally was Murphy's rule come to life. We had issues from locations, to rentals being denied to us last minute as well as gear going missing. It was also an extreme struggle to get the film properly casted as there were barely any young brown girls looking to audition for the part. These are just to name a few but the list can go on.
Q: Why was this a story that you felt compelled to tell?
S: This was my first time writing a film that had some sort of personal connection to my own life. Now, it’s not to say it's about me but rather it's more so about people I know. It's a combination of stories I’ve heard about from friends and families. The moment I was writing it was a moment I felt impassioned to tell the story. I felt it necessary to portray this character as means for people to see themselves represented and to be able to connect with Kavya.
Q: How does this story represent Malayalam culture?
S: I tried to not to make the film too directed in Malayalee culture because I wanted to be more so a connecting factor with 1st generation kids and their “foreign” parents. I’d say the language is what draws it to the culture and maybe certain phrases and sayings but that's where I stop.
Q: For Saneesh. Do you feel as if this story is somewhat a representation of your own struggles as an artist?
S: Although I have a very supportive family, I do feel a certain connection to the story. The struggle of being an artist and having the courage to take that next step is something so difficult and something I completely relate with.
Q: Without spoiling the ending, why did you choose to go with that ending?
S: It’s tough to really get into the ending without spoiling it so I’ll just say that it felt the most real to me. It’s an ending people can watch and understand.
Q: For Saneesh, who are your biggest inspirations?
S: My biggest inspiration is my father. His mentality and ability to work hard keeps me motivated. He’s been a huge supporter of me. My older brother as well. He chose his path to being a doctor and he stuck to it until he actually achieved his dream. I want to aspire to reach his level of success.
Q: For Adam, who are your biggest inspirations?
A: My biggest inspiration is my College Professor John Palenscar, who taught America in the 1900s, Business in America, and the western world. He is the individual who taught me that humans are all equal and that “being special” is something you shouldn’t strive to be, it should be something that is shown in your actions. My D.P (director of photography) style has yet to find its “niche” however I take inspiration from D.Ps like Park Woo Jung and Bill Hope who are so vast with their filming styles that it's hard to identify if a movie is filmed by them. I like cake.
Q: How did Covid change your business strategy?
G: COVID changed a lot for us as a company. We had to adopt a new approach to filming and focusing on how we can keep our clients and ourselves safe. We knew business may be slow but it was necessary to slow down the spread. Sticking to smaller production only and emphasized social distance rules were elements we strictly enforced. We are still trying to navigate the pandemic as we go but for the most part we are trying our best.
Q: When you guys are not working, what do you guys like to do?
G: We are both big gamers and also enjoy some dungeons and dragons from time to time. Also, like anyone else, we love hanging out with our friends and playing sports with them from time to time. For Adam, he likes to invest time in various hobbies like woodworking, reading and learning languages. For Saneesh, he likes taking time to work on his podcast, workout and watch movies with his family.
Q: Have there been any moments that you guys thought of quitting? If so, how did you continue on?
G: The thought has been something that has shown its face a few times but, as you can see, it was something that would go away eventually. We managed to continue just by getting up and going to work every morning, knowing that we’d both be there clocking in. Eventually work would come and we would keep ourselves busy to a point where we fell back into doing what we love and focusing on how we can continue to grow. Ultimately, we keep each other in check.
Q: What are some lessons you guys have learned during your journey?
G: We’ve learned to be patient in all facets of running a business (and in life really). We’ve learned how to be better filmmakers and ultimately learned a little about ourselves and what we each want to achieve. The biggest lesson learned is definitely to keep on preserving and good will eventually come out of it.
DEAR PARENTS
Logline: A reserved Indian girl confronts her strict parents to let her follow her dreams of being an illustrator.
Synopsis: Kavya, a Indian college student, sits alone in her bedroom as she struggles with the idea of confronting her parents about her artistic dreams. She decides to gauge her parents on her ideas but is almost immediately shut down. The cultural gap between her parents and herself are too apparent and she realizes that there is no real way of breaking their traditional mindsets.
The next day, Kavya retreats to her local park to focus on her artwork. There she is joined by her best friend Crystal. Crystal, being slightly tone deaf, continues to urge Kavya to keep pressing her parents and that no real harm can come from it. Kavya, being blunt, exclaims how Crystal can never understand the issues she has. Her curt response leaves Crystal confused and upset. Crystal leaves a "Major Declaration" for Kavya, pleading with her one last time to just chase her dreams before walking away. Kavya reluctantly takes the form before she continues with her drawing.
The next night, Kavya, now with a filled out form, emphatically tells her parents she has made the decision to make art her college major. Her parents immediately berate her and taunt her. Utilizing the success of others and the fear of being an outcast within the Indian community, her parents yell at her forcing her to eventually run out the house. As she tries to come back in, she is left with an ultimatum by her father to abandon art. Kavya ultimately submits to her parents' wishes as she drops her art and returns into her household.
What’s your story?