This is a great read and is just the tip of the iceberg of things to come for Sam and everyone! Be sure to check out Sam Gursky’s hand-picked videos below including a three-part documentary on The Bamboozle!
An abstract Abstract: This bio/feature on Samuel Gursky was left 99.5% unedited because he participated so genuinely, fully and passionately. I’m glad to share, encourage, and contribute to something one does enthusiastically and honestly, and who will put himself out there to a stranger. I’ve been staying up to date on Sam’s videos because he has built a platform among friends with good faith and been granted opportunities via good honest character. He is devoted, does what he says, and thanks everyone along the way. I was glad to hear from him when I asked to do the feature and tell me his story any way he’d like or to get right to the good stuff…this was his response:
My story (unedited, written at 1am)
I was born on October 9th of 1991 on Long Island. I spent the first 17 years of my life in Woodbury, NY before moving to Brooklyn, NY. From the age of 12, I found myself drawn to music and film making. My Mother has always been my biggest advocate, from dropping me off at the Downtown, to picking me up from the skate park, to not yelling at me (too much) for playing music loud music while editing my jackass-esque home movies that I made with my friends (it was the early-mid 00s!) late into the night. I had a teacher who I took a class with almost every quarter at Syosset High School, named Mr. Favilla, who encouraged me to explore my interest in film making, specifically editing, going on to show me Sony Vegas and eventually Final Cut Pro in high school (the program I now use every day for work). I developed a deep love for editing and went on to attend The School of Visual Arts though my family fought me on it every step of the way (with the exception of my mother). I am currently still at SVA in my Junior year in my spring semester.
Last January (of 2011) I applied to an assistant editing job on Craigslist, the response changed my life. Dylan Steinberg was the name of the editor, we cut 59 episodes of a cooking show called “Gorgeously Green” for eHow.com, over the course of a few days. It was a great crash course/introduction into the world of freelancing. Dylan now owns a production company called Dream Machine Creative (and a sweet RED Scarlet which I got to play with today) an we’ve continued to work together. I’ve gone on to shoot and/or edit for him ever since, on projects for Atlantic Records, Arizona Iced Tea, NASA, RachelRay.com, eHow.com, Fueled By Ramen Records and many, many other companies, all of which have been amazing learning experiences. I feel so incredibly lucky to have gotten the opportunity to work on many of these projects. Through him I’ve shot and/or edited on pieces for friends of his and on my own for Vogue Magazine, Men’s Fitness Magazines, XXL Magazine and more…
Side step. I have been producing two music documentaries recently. One which I started in the January of 2011 called “Brooklyn Rocksteady” about the history of ska in NYC and the current uprising of new bands creating a new flavor of this traditional music. It has received an overwhelming amount of support from people inside and outside of the community and will hopefully be completed soon, which I couldn’t be anymore thrilled for. Last April all of my gear was stolen (thankfully I had insurance) and it took so much for me to really “get back on the horse” and keep producing it. Besides that, I have also been lucky enough to have been asked to create a behind the scenes documentary series for The Bamboozle Festival 2012, working with the brains behind it all, the one and only John D. It has been an amazing experience and I can’t even believe that I am doing it, or that it is called “The Gursky Project”, it feels like a dream! I met Christian McKnight (a talent buyer for The Bamboozle) through Jake Zimmerman, who I have run a promotional company with since 2009 called East Coast Collective. Jake is an amazingly talented promoter, check out what he’s been doing while I’ve been doing my thing lately and get stoked on the fact that he booked H2O at the smallest venue on LI for 2 shows, which are both going to be extremely exciting.
Shows and touring have always been a huge part of my life, touring with Tomahawk Chop, Royal City Riot, The Forthrights and most recently The Slackers (another experience I feel extremely lucky to have, not only because they’re an extremely nice group of dudes, but also because it’s the fucking Slackers!) I am excited to see more of the world and just enjoy my early 20s. I feel so lucky to have gotten the opportunities that I have and I never even for a moment forget that, life is a beautiful gift, we’re all lucky to have it.
I feel so lucky to have the most amazing, supportive, beautiful girlfriend in the world, Nicole Onorato. She’s just super real and isn’t afraid to tell me when something sucks, girl is perfect. Also! I recently directed a music video for Broadcaster they are some of my best friends in the world and I am head over heels in love with their band, keep your eyes peeled for that because we had a lot of fun and they are hilarious people who did a bunch of goofy stuff that you’ll get to enjoy (hopefully). I guess that was a rant?
Find Sam’s work at SamuelGursky.com, interact on Facebook and view hand-selected shooting/directing/editing work by Samuel Gursky below.
The Bamboozle 2012 (three-part documentary)
Ingrid Michaelson (Army of 3) covers “We Found Love”, an original by Rihanna
Broadcaster – Tightrope Walker (Official Music Video)
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