MAYA NETO (Video/film producer/director & photographer)
The Spectrum caught up with
video director and producer Maya Neto recently at his place in Windhoek West, to
get a glimpse into his mind and his life behind the camera. After a couple of calls
trying to get directions to his place we finally met up. The first thing I
noticed about this maestro is that he is very opinionated and extremely
passionate about his craft. For those of you who don’t know the genius behind
Gazza’s "Gimme Gimme" video, Sunny Boy’s "50/50" and a whole lot more other great music videos,
Maya Neto is a 28 year-old guy who originally hails from Angola. The self
taught music video director/producer is a former learner at Jacob Marengo High
and a former I.T. student at Triumphant College.
Give us a
brief background introduction on yourself.
Well I am Maya Neto, a 28 year old guy born in Angola. I have been
in Namibia for 12 years now and I am a video director/producer as well as a
photographer.
Describe
yourself personality wise. Are you an easy going person?
I am a very straight forward individual who prides himself on
tirelessly working to perfect my craft. I am not very outgoing and I find it
hard to interact with people that I do not know or haven’t met before. I get a
lot of people shouting my name in my presence or greeting me and I really don’t
know how to react to that, but I guess that it comes with the territory and
I’ll just have to accept it. I am very friendly though and i hangout with a lot
people that are in my line of work.
What would
you say are your weaknesses and strengths?
I invest a lot of money on equipment, I like getting the latest
equipment, considering the fact that technological progression is quite fast
these days. I push myself to the limit every time and I don’t believe in
handouts, I hate handouts. I believe that we should all go out there and try to
make a better life for ourselves without having to completely depend on
handouts. Concerning my weaknesses…I’d say that what you think of yourself is
what you make of yourself, your environment also affects who you are and
fortunately for me all that I have mentioned has worked to my advantage so far.
But I could say that my weakness is the fact that I am not a very social
person, so that could be a hindrance sometimes.
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| A scene from Gazza's video of "Gimme Gimme" which he filmed |
What’s the most annoying situation you have found yourself in?
It always the same situation, and that’s lack of punctuality from
my clients. Most of them are not punctual when it comes to meeting the agreed
time that we initially agreed upon. This is something that I loath and I
discourage people from doing. It’s very annoying because I like to get the job
done early so I can move on to the next project. Another thing is that people,
mostly my clients, put unrealistic expectations on me and that’s natural but
some of them expect a N$10 000 budget video to look like Lil Wayne’s N$200 000
video, or more, to look exactly the same if not better. That to me is
unrealistic, the more money and effort you put into the project the higher the
probability that your video will be of superior quality.
Do you
believe in luck?
No at all! I believe that people create their own luck as they go
out to seek what they want. These events that occur were if you hadn’t been in
that place at that time this or that wouldn’t have happened are just
coincidences and should be treated as such. If you were meant to achieve
something it’s not because of luck it’s because you were destined to achieve
it, what ever it is. I am not superstitious, I view occurrences like that as opportunities
and we should all grab them and make use of them.
What’s
your favourite chill out spot?
Tornadoes. It’s very homely and the owners there are very warm and
open. It’s a place were you go to when you’re bored and want to feel at home.
It’s not like Sky Bar in Hilton Hotel were you only go there for the service
that’s it, Tornadoes has that intimate feel to it.
Are you
romantically involved with someone?
Yes, I have a girlfriend and we are expecting very soon.n (They gave birth to a dotting healthy baby boy)
 |
| He also filmed Exit's music video for "Namibia To Zambia" |
What’s your favourite meal & drink?
I don’t have any specific favourite meal. Every meal that I cook
is a favourite. In regards to drinks, I like Coke.
Favourite
movie?
It’s a Spanish film titled ‘Pans Labyrinth’. It’s a very
interesting film, and I think it won an Academy award for best foreign film.
Any
favourite artist(s)?
Locally I have none. I enjoy African folklore music such as
Angeliko Kidjo and Salif Keita’s music.
What
interesting book have you read recently?
That’s an interesting question. I actually have audio books, I
don’t know whether that qualifies as reading but yeah I like ‘Rational
Optimistic’.
Do you
indulge yourself in sports?
Yeah, but not the popular sports here like soccer or rugby. I have
done some Brazilian martial arts known as ‘Capoeire’, most break dancers are
familiar with it.
Any
concluding words that you would like to share?
Yes,
don’t wait for handouts, get out there and hustle. Nothing comes easy so have
faith and believe in yourself, always. And don’t try to be like the next
person, be different, and be daring
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