

Today we’d like to introduce you to JP Dadivas and Kat Filipinas.
JP and Kat, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Shooting videos has always been a passion of mine ever since my dad got our family a hi-8 Sony DV camera. I was around 12 years old and I would just go around recording anything from family parties to just everyday life. This passion would later be reinforced by film classes taken in high school and later realized in college. After gaining experience telling narratives through short films, I soon found that what I really enjoyed was capturing real-life moments that mean a lot to others. All while this was happening in my life, my friend and now wife, Kat, was also going through her own journey all the way in San Francisco. Her passion for photography was also something that was awoken in her childhood in the form of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 35mm camera when she was seven years old. She eventually followed her dreams of studying photography in college in San Fransisco, where she was well known as “Clear Effect”, shooting B-Boy (break dancing) competitions. She moved to Chicago to be closer to family and with hopes of finding more career opportunities. As our friendship grew into a romantic relationship, we put our talents together to form InDVisual FIlms. We both have full times jobs that we are dedicated to, but having InDVisual Films as a side gig completes both of our lives. As our clientele grew, we welcomed 2 of our good friends, Patrick Luce and Elvin Tacdeo to join our crew, which has added on to how much we enjoy doing what we do.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Like many people following their dreams, we too have experienced plenty of nightmare-like scenarios before we got to where we are. From poor weather to equipment malfunctions, we have the so-called battle scars of every seasoned photographer/videographer. One specific ordeal that I went through while shooting a wedding was when one of my cameras just stopped working. We were shooting a winter wedding and had been outside shooting for some time and the cold must have affected my camera. Luckily, there was a break between the ceremony and the reception where my camera finally decided to start working right before I had to shoot again. This was definitely a learning experience and I now come prepared with 2-3 cameras if anything were to happen. Kat’s experience was more client-related. In this line of work, you will meet plenty of different characters, and it keeps us on our toes. This, along with time differences in shooting locations and last-minute changes, it’s a rare moment where we can let our guard down. Yet, even with these variables, we always keep cool and have fun while we do our job.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
At InDVisual Films, we provide the service of documenting your special moments in life. From weddings to birthday parties and even showcasing our clients’ services, we have fun in making everyone look amazing. We take pride in our team of photographers and videographers who work hard, yet can have a lot of fun while we document others having fun. I believe that keeping it fun is what makes our work stand out from others. Our work is dynamic, eclectic, and shows our ability to adapt to our clients’ style and personality.
What were you like growing up?
As a child, I was always an observer of people. I was quiet and shy but loved to make people laugh as they grew to know me. Watching movies and playing video games were number 1 when I was a kid. They were my means of escape from the real world and was definitely an influence on me. I’ve also always been interested in history. Finding out why things were the way they were because of an event that happened a long time ago is just so intriguing. With those interests combined, documenting important events in peoples’ lives just makes a lot of sense to me. Kat on the other hand, was more extroverted. She was very hands-on and made sure to learn from her experiences. With his energy, she expressed herself in many different ways, like drawing, painting, pottery, dancing, singing, cooking, and of course photography. She embraced her ability to express herself through these different ways.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.indvisualfilms.com
- Email: indvisualfilms@gmail.com
- Instagram: indvisualfilms
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/indvisualfilms/
Image Credit:
InDVisual Films
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