When editing make sure the framerate of your timeline matches the framerate of what you filmed unless you’re doing slow motion. I shot something at 30 fps and dropped the footage into a 24 fps timeline. It took me days to figure out why the audio wasn’t syncing properly with the footage.
As a part of our series called “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Filmmaker”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Sensei Chop.
A pivotal part of Sensei Chop’s artistry relies on his unique ability to combine his passion for rap with film. Where others have to focus on one outlet to express themselves, he is lucky enough to blend both elements with little to no effort. As a rapper, he shines through with his wordplay and delivery and as a shooter, he’s able to bring full visions to life. Now, with both in his arsenal, Chop is looking to take the creative industry by storm.
Growing up in Atlanta, Georgia, Chop, whose real name is Chris Nichols, was exposed to the richness of the city and quickly gained the confidence to start rapping under the name Poke Chop at just 12 years old. With the same stage name, he recorded a few songs with seasoned rapper Kevin Gates but held his own under his moniker. Listeners to his music would describe his style as conversational with each track sounding as if he’s talking directly to his audience. This is evident on his single Expensive Glass, where the title acts as a reference to the lenses found in film.
Keeping in line with his love for shooting visuals, his new documentary Thirst Trap, a film that is intended to tell the stories of individuals who had experiences within the “water boy” culture found in Atlanta, just launched on Amazon Prime and other streaming platforms.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I grew up in a single parent household in the inner city of Atlanta, Georgia. I’m the youngest of my mom’s children. We didn’t have a lot of money growing up, so I would think of all types of ways to make money as a kid, from making my own comic books and selling them at school to selling balloons on the weekend. I realize being concerned with generating income since the age of eight made me grow up quicker than I would have preferred. By the time I reached middle school, my focus became creating music and storytelling. I’ve been a passionate creator ever since.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
I was originally an independent artist funding my entire career myself. Having great videos and pictures helped me to stand out among other artists, but it became increasingly difficult to book a reliable photographer/videographer with amazing work. Being frustrated by this for so long, I reached a point where I said, “I’m just going to buy my own camera and do this myself!” I went to the nearest pawn shop with $300 and bought my first entry level DSLR, and then went straight home and spent the rest of the day on YouTube watching camera tutorials. My intentions were to focus only on my music brand, but that quickly changed when people started seeing my work and wanted to hire me. I made that $300 investment back in less than 72 hours and my focus has shifted to film work ever since.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
While filming my first documentary in December 2020 my mom just went missing mysteriously. Me and my sister had no idea where she was at the time. I tried my best to stay focused on the project I was working on, but for obvious reasons my thoughts weren’t as sharp as they usually are. I guess someone else noticed my lack of focus as well and used that opportunity to steal my car when I went inside of a store. My car was recovered hours later but had been totaled. So, there I was with a missing mom, no transportation and a film to complete. Everything eventually worked itself out…I got my mom back, a new car and completed the documentary.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
While shooting my first music video I unknowingly had myself out of focus the entire time. What made it funny was my reluctance to shoot it over, so I used the scene anyway as a “dreamy” style type of shot. It worked but looking back on it, it sucked (lol). I learned how to properly utilize auto and manual focus especially when shooting myself by myself.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
I’m very excited about my documentary Thirst Trap. It’s my first film and I get to tell a story based in my home city of Atlanta that most of the world knows nothing about. Most of my filming career has been based on shooting content for brands and businesses, so to go from that to a production powerhouse telling unique stories is new and very exciting.
You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?
We all lose more than we win, but you only fail when you quit. There’s something positive in a loss and that’s called a lesson. What did you learn from that loss? How did it better you? There’s some gold there, you just got to dig for it.
We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?
Everyone has some type of story and to be able to see someone representing something they can relate to is very powerful. Diversity isn’t just about various races and social inclusion but thought individualism as well. For example, I would love to see a black man/woman from a similar background such as myself make a film like Lord of the Rings or a show like Game of Thrones because we (black people) love stuff like that but rarely make it ourselves. There are a lot of diverse faces and voices in the industry and that’s great, but I do get bored with the lack of diverse thinking.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
1. When editing make sure the framerate of your timeline matches the framerate of what you filmed unless you’re doing slow motion. I shot something at 30 fps and dropped the footage into a 24 fps timeline. It took me days to figure out why the audio wasn’t syncing properly with the footage.
2. Spend money on having a proper workstation for video editing. When I first started in this business I was editing on an old iMac and a MacBook Air. Since both machines weren’t made for video editing it would take me hours just to render a 60 second HD clip. That severely slowed up my workflow.
3. To get that cinematic look it’s best to learn composition and lighting before spending thousands of dollars on the latest camera. I’ve seen things shot on an iPhone that looked better than something that was shot on RED. The difference, the iPhone user knew what they were doing, the RED operator didn’t.
4. Archive all of your work. Hard drives are pretty delicate and they can fail. You don’t want to be in that predicament without a backup copy of your work.
5. Learn color correction and color grading or find someone who can do it. Learning how to color grade took the look of my work to a whole new level. This is one of the skills that separate the amateurs from the pros.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
I practice maintaining a balance of projects. I do to pay the bills with projects I do to feed my passion. If every project is simply to pay the bills, then everything starts to feel like “work” and creators don’t like that feeling. On the flip side, if everything is a passion project with little to no money involved, then you’ll end up in some financially stressful situations and nobody likes that feeling. Also, take some time to yourself, even if it’s just a day or two a month. Recharging our minds and bodies helps to prevent burnout as well.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I currently have a movement called ‘A Drug Dealers Dreams,’ which is basically the American dream for those who lack the knowledge and resources to achieve those dreams by legal means. I aim to provide the knowledge and resources to those individuals so their pursuit of those dreams doesn’t turn into a nightmare for them or anyone else. I understand a lot of people who turn to selling drugs do it to pursue the same life as most people who go to college to become doctors, lawyers etc. strive for. I want to help as many people as I can to not go down the path of drug dealing.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
There are so many people who have helped and mentored me along the way, but if I had to single anybody out it would be a popular party promoter and influencer in Atlanta named K. Botchey. He was the first person to hire me on a weekly basis to film his parties even though I hadn’t even been shooting for two months yet. Having that constant work gave me a lot of real time experience and helped mold me into the filmmaker I am today. No matter where life takes me, I will always be grateful for that.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“How you do anything is how you do everything.” This is the quote I say to myself anytime I feel lazy or unmotivated. It made me get up and be productive many times when I just didn’t feel like doing anything and I’m so thankful for it.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
I would most definitely want to have lunch with Andy Frisella. Listening to his podcast, The MFCEO Project, has shaped the way I do business and think about a lot of things as an entrepreneur. I’m sure it’ll happen soon though; he’ll be a peer of mine one day.
How can our readers follow you online?
Instagram: @SenseiChop
Twitter: @SenseiChop
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
Sensei Chop: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Filmmaker was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.