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Khaël Touag, what are you doing for a living at the moment?
Khaël Touag: “I work as a freelance director of commercials and music videos. I'm also enrolled at LUCA School of Arts, where I study audiovisual arts. The combination of both has been extremely valuable to me. Directing commercials is an amazing opportunity to experiment with different approaches to storytelling. It allows me to learn by doing; I can focus on the 'how' of filmmaking. On the other hand, art school makes me reflect on the 'why.' Stop. Think. What do I find important as a filmmaker? Why do I spend my time telling a story? These questions are invaluable.
Of course, there are arguments against a formal education in filmmaking. It's not the only way to approach it, and it's definitely not foolproof. That's why I'm so grateful I can also work as a freelancer.”
Did you do other things before becoming a freelance director?
Khaël Touag: “I knew nothing and no one in the industry when I started. I eagerly grabbed every opportunity to gain experience. I started in production and later moved to the art department. Between jobs, I helped film students with their graduation films. That's how I got in touch with Xavier Van d'Huynslager, a young and talented DOP and a good friend. His framing is also unmatched. I continued working as a freelancer after deciding to go to film school. Doing both can get insanely busy.
It's tempting to put work above everything else, and I don't always manage to keep myself in check. But so far, I've really enjoyed it and met many interesting people. That's also what gave me my first break in directing—things just started to snowball.”
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/251547399?h=d7bd423326" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script></iframe></div><p><a href="https://vimeo.com/251547399">Atmosphere Architects - Fire is Gold</a> <a href="https://vimeo.com">by <a href="https://vimeo.com/touag">Khaël Touag on Vimeo</a>.</a></p>
Besides freelancing, you also work for Chase Creative. What's the best part about that? Khaël Touag: “Chase is a community and invests a lot in young creatives. You can sharpen your skills by volunteering: writing articles, taking photos, or making videos for the digital platform. Or you can sign up for the postgraduate Digital Storytelling program
It's a safe environment to try new things, master your talents, and strengthen your weaknesses. Chase is proud of its expertise in social media. Often, commercials are poorly adapted to the medium they're intended for. This is a new reality: the industry is still learning to accept, and Chase does it brilliantly. The projects I work on for Chase are often socially engaged. There are no creatives between the client and me, and we work with a skeleton crew. It's just a different way to get things done.”
Your life is quite busy; how do you manage to get everything done when there are only 24 hours in a day?
Khaël Touag: “The truth is, you can't always get everything done. I used to struggle to accept that, and it made me unhappy. Nowadays, I try to focus on what's happening around me, in the present. I'm learning to separate the important things from everything else. That's a challenge when you work for yourself. No one imposes a structure or routine. You have to find your own way of doing things. There will be days with no work at all, where you doubt yourself. And then suddenly, you're juggling demanding clients and tight deadlines. Dancing in that chaos is as scary as it is beautiful.”
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/232567554?h=84d745e32a" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script></iframe></div><p><a href="https://vimeo.com/232567554">WECANDANCE x Zalando-Mats Rombaut by Khaël Touag on Vimeo</a> <a href="https://vimeo.com/touag"><a href="https://vimeo.com">.</a></a></p>
What's your ultimate advice for people interested in making or directing videos?
Khaël Touag: “Don't be misled by survival bias. You only read about success stories because failures don't get the same attention. In the era of social media, this is even more the case. The algorithm that decides who appears in your feed does so based on what you like, what it thinks you like, or worse: what it wants you to like. Usually, these are popular, rising creatives or people who already have a large following. Scrolling through that, it's easy to doubt yourself. But fortunately, we're not them. Otherwise, we'd just serve more of the same.
Surround yourself with the right people. I don't care if this sounds obvious; it's just too important—especially as a filmmaker. You need a vision, but you need others around you to bring it to life. Be loyal to your crew, and they'll push you further than you could go alone. Talk. Share your ideas with them, and don't be afraid of honest feedback. A bad idea doesn't make you a bad person.”
<div style="padding:41.89% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/317244393?h=c205f63832" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script></iframe></div>
<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/317244393">Pavlove - Anything but Cupid (dir)</a> <a href="https://vimeo.com">from <a href="https://vimeo.com/touag">Khael Touag</a> on Vimeo.</a></p>
One last question: what do you wish for the future?
Khaël Touag: “Lately, I've been taking more time to discuss ideas with friends or people I know. I enjoy exploring possibilities for developing projects together. It's fascinating to see how a story grows into something you never expected. I genuinely want to put effort into bringing those ideas to life with the right people. But if nothing comes of it, that's fine too. At least I get inspired just by talking about it.”
View more work by Khael Touag gentleman
Article by [Mattiece David] (https://www.instagram.com/mattiecedavid/), header photo by Ken Sody_.
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