The 15th Pacific Games in July last year, 2015, impacted the lives of many people in different ways.
For Jerry Albaniel, it gave him the break for his lifetime profession, if that’s how one can put it.
Just like everyone else who wanted to capture that historic national event, the Central Province lad made it his personal commitment to document every event.
Little did he know that the short videos he uploaded on his Instagram account would attract his first client to shoot a music video.
“I started making videos during the Pacific games, those were my first. Started with the opening ceremony, games all throughout and then the closing ceremony, that’s where I kicked off,” Jerry tells Loop PNG.
“So I posted most of my short videos on Instagram and it was through all those short videos where TraVy saw my work and asked me to help.”
On August 8, 2016, JA video productions released its first video - the ‘Makomai’ video clip.
Makomai, sung in Solomon Islands language, means dance with me, featuring DJ TraVy, Dezine and Taina Gee.
According to DJ TraVy, the song talks about dancing styles, mostly traditional and the concept is captured in the music and the video.
“Makomai is basically a mixture of traditional instruments and modern sound. We tried to get the feel of traditional instruments in makomai music, also the video features traditional dances so basically it’s about tribal dancing,” TraVy explains. “The video was shot in Keapara village.”
The video, uploaded on JA video productions official Facebook page and YouTube account, very quickly became a hit across the Pacific region.
Jerry said Fiji has the most views, followed by PNG, Samoa and Vanuatu.
To date, the video on Facebook has been shared more than 200 times.
Including Makomai, Jerry has shot three music video clips so far.
“The first one is Makomai, second is with AlterNatives, “It’s Real”, and the third one was “Celebration” – featuring Jessie Joe and DJ TraVy,” Jerry says.
“Most of my music shoots will be with DJ TraVy so whatever music he produces, I’ll link with them.
“But after releasing the Makomai clip, I got a few requests to shoot but because I’m busy, I’ll probably do that later,” he further added.
Jerry, who just turned 21 last month, is now planning to go to a film school.
Initially, he was undertaking science foundation at the University of Papua New Guinea with plans to study computer science but withdrew, after realising it was not really his interest.
“So I’m planning to go to film school in Australia but I’m busy shooting stuff all through this year, I might start fresh next year,” he revealed to Loop PNG.
While awaiting registrations for next year, Jerry will continue putting the skills he learnt online into his productions.
“I never thought of doing this growing up, it just happened.
“So I spend most times editing, watching online videos and getting ideas and then try to replicate them.
“So far, I use basic Nikon to shoot and for most editing, I use my iPhone. I try to make it different from other music video clips in PNG, put a little young taste into it,” he said.
Work, he says, is very different for him now, with a lot of pressure, especially in editing, because he has to get it out on a certain date.
“I was doing this for myself, not for anybody but through this, I put my name on the market.”
But in the meantime, he is focused on trying to make his name in the next few months.
(L-R) Dj TraVy and young Jerry Albaniel.