Chat With Jakub Chlouba on the Secret of Getting The Dream Job

Yasi: After graduating was business degree in the Czech Republic, instead of going on traditional path, Jakub followed his heart and moved to Bali since. His adventure never stops as well as his passion for filmmaking. He worked in all kinds of jobs in Barcelona and in Bali and the Sri Lanka. He continued to improving his filmmaking skills and grow his portfolio.

When the opportunity came, he landed in Switzerland working for one of the most renowned blockchain communities as a creatively before he takes off to travel in the next several months. I’m glad to have him here to share his story. From having $200 dollars in the bank account and sleeping on sofa to working in Switzerland and started his own filmmaking business.

That’s his story.

Hello, Jakub.

Jakub: It’s good to be here. Thanks. 

Yasi: Yeah, I’m sure the audience will also be fascinated about your personal stories. And I know that you graduated with a business degree from Czech Republic, but how come you are now a photographer? 

Jakub: Well, um, basically after I graduated, uh, I was in Czech Republic for about, uh, one more year and then me and my girlfriend decided to move to.

Because we didn’t like the check mentality, you know, it was, it was around six years ago and compared to now Czech Republic was a little bit less international and people were so used to travel. So we just wanted to try something different, you know, to like change up a bit. So that’s why we decided to move to Bali and there we’ve basically rented a Villa and started.

Like a rental or on Airbnb, uh, which eventually turned out into a small travel agency for Czech people. But after eight months in Bali, uh, we’ve decided to split because each of us has a little bit different goals for her. It was, uh, you know, the travel agency was more of her venture. So she continued in that and I was more kind of looking for myself.

I wanted to travel and I want to explore the world a bit more. So at that time I was in Bali and I really didn’t know what to do. Uh, I decided to move to Gilli islands, which are these small islands next to Bali. And, you know, as you can imagine, um, it was just after a breakup. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t have too much money saved as well.

So I’ve decided to work as a promoter for a boat. Company. So what I would do every day is I would walk around the beach and I would try to sell party tickets to tourists, which for some might sound like a dream job. And it was really, it was really fun for awhile. Uh, and I can still, uh, I still have really nice memories from that time.

But then after four months I started feeling a bit stuck and I had to change something. Um, and I knew that, uh, I like video and I wanted to get better at it, but I didn’t have the tools to do it to do so. So after four months in Indonesia, I decided to move to Barcelona, uh, do a summer season there, uh, because it’s a tourist city, you can get a lot of summer jobs, you know, you can work into bar.

Uh, I worked again as a promoter because I already had some experience from Gili islands. And there, I managed to save for my first camera, which was in summer 2017. And then from there, I’ve basically decided to just jump into it and put my full focus on filmmaking. 

Yasi: Well, you mentioned that you knew you wanted to make videos.

How do you know you get, you tried it out, you have this feeling of what?

Jakub: I was mostly motivated by, you know, what I’ve seen on YouTube. So travel, travel, videographers, travel influencers, but at the same time, I was always around the video industry, little bit, it’s funny, but when I used to be maybe 13 or 14, I would use, I would write a BMX.

And at that time I got my first small video camera because I wanted to make movies already at that time. But because it was maybe around 2013, 2003, you know, so it was very difficult for me to actually wearing with the technology in terms of you still have these little closets with the tape inside, and then you would have to transfer the data into a digital form, into a computer.

And this process was just really cumbersome. So I kind of left it behind, you know, I haven’t used the camera. And then I would work on a film sets, not directly with the camera department, but as a catering. So I was always around cameras, but I never really considered as a serious career. But then later on when I was in Indonesia and I was deciding what to do, uh, it just came up to my mind and I felt like I kind of want to express myself as well in some way.

And this could be a really good way to do that. So I just gave it a try and yeah, I just bought for it. 

Yasi: And when you graduated from your university, you wanted to leave Czech Republic at that time, but have you ever thought about finding, um, like proper career in another country? As I assume people graduate from university would want to do so?

Jakub: So I would say, not really, because I didn’t really have a clear idea of what I want to be doing. You know? So I’ve graduated, but as you can imagine, a lot of people, maybe not these days, I would say still these days graduate, just because it’s like a norm, you know, your friends around you graduate, your parents want you to graduate.

So. You just do it to swell, but in the end you might not even have an idea. What is it that you are really passionate about? And for me, it has always been very difficult to focus on the things that I don’t enjoy or I’m not passionate about. So leaving Czech Republic was more like, uh, like a trial, you know, to try something else and to find something different that is more fulfilling than just a job, which I would probably get sitting somewhere in the.

Yasi: Yeah, I liked that you spent time on to discover yourself and try new things. It’s very important to find your passion. So talking about passion after you saved up enough money and bought your first camera, what did you do with it? 

Jakub: So, um, Basically, I’ve spent almost all the money that I’ve made in Barcelona.

And I had two options. I could either stay in Europe and find a job, uh, either in a company, you know, in the bar or whatsoever, and then focus on filmmaking on the side. Or what I decided to do was I just bought a one way ticket to Sri Lanka because I wanted to travel Asia more. And I’ve decided that I’ll just work for free for hostiles, you know, travel agencies and so on to kind of build up my portfolio and to really have a hundred percent focused on the filmmaking rather than working in a, in a job and then doing this on this.

So that’s what I did. And it worked out yeah. After actually after a month in Sri Lanka, I got a job in the surf camp as photographer and a filmmaker. And, uh, that was really nice. How did you get that job? Um, it was through, uh, it was extended. It’s a funny story as well. So I wouldn’t be volunteering in a hostel, just in exchange for accommodation.

And like one or two meals a day. And then with the people from the hostel, we went out one day to this beach party. And when me and my friend were coming back, we saw a girl there, which she was alone. And in Sri Lanka, it’s not a, or in general, in Asian countries. It’s not a very good idea to travel alone, especially in the night, if you’re a girl.

So we asked her if she needs, uh, Uh, she said, yes. So we drove to her, we drove her to the place she stayed, which was a surf game. And on the way there, obviously we introduced each other and she was like, oh, we are actually looking for a photographer now because one is leaving in two days. So we just exchange our contacts.

And then the next day, or next few days, uh, we exchange for your emails. I came there to meet the crew and then they said, so it was like a nice coincidence.

Yasi: But at the time you were ready to become a photographer, but like before you just bought your first camera, so how did you improve your skills? 

Jakub: So, so that’s the, you know, I would say that what I did when I lived in Galea islands and in Barcelona working as a.

As a promoter, I would probably watch maybe two to three tutorials a day on YouTube. So then when I got the camera, I already knew how to use it. You know, I knew the settings inside out and I knew some sort of techniques how to make sure that the images look better. How like when to shoot, you know, what time of day, how to use basic lighting.

So already after the. Two months between I’d get the camera. And I go to serve, uh, jump into surf camp. I was able to create like a collection of images and videos that I could present to them. And what I’ve created was enough to get me a job because also, you know, it wasn’t, I would get a free accommodation.

I would get meals. I would get free surf lessons. I could make money if I would sell the services in the surf camp to the guests so I could sell them photos, but there wasn’t a salary involved. It wasn’t just on my, like on my engagement with, uh, with the customers, if I would want to make money or if I would just want to chill and surf.

Yasi: And then at that moment, did you plan for the next step or have you ever thought about how to developing a professional way? 

Jakub: Yes, so, and that time, my goal was to get better at filmmaking and make it my main career. Uh, you know, there’s a lot of different areas in filmmaking. You can be a solo filmmaker who works for small businesses.

You can get involved in productions, working on music videos, or short films. So for me at that time, the path I had in my mind was more like, uh, uh, just one man team. So I wouldn’t be free to travel. You know, I could create content for social media and solo. And, uh, that was my goal basically after the three months in Sri Lanka, I decided to go back to Bali because in Bali, I already had a bit of a network.

I knew some business owners and so on. And so I could actually grow my portfolio there, but at the same time, make some sort of living out of it. And that’s what I did. Uh, it worked out as well. And, um, then I basically did like this circle again, cause I went to Barcelona. Again, because I was there a year before I had a contact there.

So I knew that now with these services, I can provide some value. Uh, I went to Barcelona. I spent there to some. Where I met my current girlfriend and definitely a future wife as well, Laura and something’s coming. And, uh, yeah. And when I was basically in Barcelona, I got to jump off to move to Switzerland.

And funny thing is that this job offer, I got it from a friend who, uh, who I would work with the year before in Barcelona. The. So it was like, it was like this, a whole big chain that connected. 

Yasi: Yeah. Interesting. And also you’re in your international career is intertwined with the people, you know, from places, different places.

Jakub: Yeah, definitely. I mean, in the end, it’s sort of a networking, you know, and especially in the film business, it’s a lot about knowing the right people and also about being a person that people like to work with because whatever word that you get, it just comes from recommendation. 

Yasi: And since you moved to Switzerland, how did you see your filmmaking career changed or progressed?

Jakub: Okay. So it was definitely the biggest progress I’ve had, but, um, you know, when I was, when, before I moved to Switzerland, I had some sort of. This idea of what kind of videos I would like to be creating, how I would like the videos to look. But, so I had the idea in my head, but I didn’t have the skills to get there.

And so insulin’s really helped me in developing those skills on a daily basis because I would be working for a company as a in-house filmmaker. So my work would be quite repetitive. Because I’ve repeated it so much. It became like a, like a nitro thing. You know, now I don’t have to think about. The basics and I can really focus more on the creative part.

So that helped me a lot and filmmaking development. And it also kind of formed my, uh, idea where I want to go. Because as I said before, Uh, I wanted to be a one man team, you know, mostly doing social media content, but then the moment I would like to start focusing more on little bit bigger productions, where there is a team involved and everyone is focused on different things.

And I would like to focus more on cinematography. So that’s basically really just operating the camera and setting up the lighting and being responsible for. How the image looks rather than for the production and so on. 

Yasi: And from the time you had your first camera to now, how many days passed?

Jakub: It’s been three years in two days.

Yasi: Well, why you come to this? 

Jakub: Um, I don’t know. I just know that it wasn’t the 16th of September. 

Yasi: It’s such a big moment in your life. 

Jakub: Maybe, maybe, maybe it was a big moment. Yeah. 

Yasi: In the past years have watched so many of your videos and really see that you are improving. And I really like your style.

And I want to ask that for the other people who want to be videographers, what kind of advice would you give it to them? 

Jakub: So I would say that the most important is really to. Practice little bit, maybe not every day, but you know, a few times a week, even if it’s just for 30 minutes or an hour, because you really need to train your on one side, you really need to train your eye.

And on the other side, you need to train the technical aspects to become familiar with, you know, using different cameras and also. To just be so confident with the technical that you don’t have to think about it anymore, and you can focus on the creative part. So I would say that would be the advice from the creative perspective and, um, also experiment and try to collaborate because.

You know, everyone in the end, it’s a creative art and every person has a little bit different expression. So if you can kind of collaborate with others and see what they do, you always kind of take some inspiration from the work of other people. And you can especially see this, these days on YouTube, where most of the people create the same things because they Mo most of the people learn from the same YouTube.

So then all the videos look the same. Uh, and it’s important to also, you know, not just for example, learn from YouTube, but go to watch movies or, uh, watch old photographers, you know, from the 20th century. So you, because the artists changing all the time. So it’s good to get these different perspectives from different areas and different people.

That’s from the creative perspective and from the, I would say. Uh, like professional perspective in terms of, if you want to make a living code of it network, you know, if you don’t have any work just right. To reach out to your family or to the business owners that you might know, do some free work, so you can grow your portfolio.

And there’s a controversial controversy, a little bit about doing free work, but the way I see it, It’s not, it’s never a free work. You either getting content, which helps you helps your portfolio. You either getting experience, maybe if you’re doing free work on the side, or you helping a famous photographer or you are getting paid with money.

And as long as you can get one of these three things out of the work that you’re doing, then I think it’s a good idea to get. Yeah. If you cannot get anything, then maybe it’s not good idea to accept the work. 

Yasi: Yep. And then what’s your next, what’s the plan what’s next? 

Jakub: Next is… So I’ve quit my, uh, job here in Switzerland and we are going to go traveling to Mexico for the next four months with my girlfriend.

So there, I really want to focus on creative work because also the past two years, Has been a lot of corporate work and now I want to get more into, you know, cinematography a little bit more documentary style. And I would also like to use the videos to actually impact people. So to show stories of, uh, some of people that have interesting stories, you know, someone who’s helping the environment, who’s trying to, uh, make this world a better place.

So these are the things I want to focus on. And I think that Mexico is going to be a really good place for that. And afterwards, um, yeah, I would like to start working, uh, for productions and being a freelancer because I think that, especially in creative industries, you kind of need a bit more freedom in terms of, you know, some days you are creative and some days you’re just not creating.

Yasi: And it’s not good if you just try to push through all the time about this stories, like people’s stories, are you referring to documentary style? Like short stories, something like that? 

Jakub: Yeah, it would have been mostly a short documentary stories in the beginning. And then obviously if I find something that is really, really interesting, I could probably try to make a longer form documentary and try to get some funds for it.

Yasi: Why do you choose to make short documentaries about people? 

Jakub: Motivate people and inspire people through my videos, because that was one of the main reasons why I started as well. I wanted to express myself and try it. And I wanted to try show people that, you know, you can achieve whatever you set to achieve, if you are dedicated.

And you’re willing to put in the hard work and the time. And I feel like, uh, especially in developing countries, I can find a lot of stories like this, you know, with the people that, uh, dedicated themselves to something. And then eventually it would turn out something that maybe even them wouldn’t expect when they started.

So it’s all about inspiration. 

Yasi: And I also watch some of your videos on your YouTube channels, which is very inspiring to me. I mean, if I want to make a short video, I can learn a lot from the techniques. And you also share your comments on how to choose cameras to the settings. If the audience wants to follow you or learn more about you, where can they find you?

What’s your YouTube. What social media accounts. 

Jakub: So my YouTube channel is my name, Jakub Chlouba, Instagram as well. Yes. So it’s Jakub.

Yasi: Okay. I will also try to put this in the podcast description. 

Jakub: Yeah. I’ll send you a link as well. Uh, once we started traveling cost starts to upload videos, more videos, and it’s going to be a mix of filmmaking and mix of self-development because that’s also one topic that I’m passionate about.

So I think that the YouTube channel should be, should also express your personality and should really. You know, you should really post the videos that you enjoy doing. So for me, those are these two topics. 

Yasi: What would be your final message to the audience? 

Jakub: Maybe a final message would be this lately. I’ve been kind of thinking and reading some books and. before I was a little bit struggling with, you know, with this syndrome that we all struggle, like, who am I? You know, what is my thing? What is my purpose? And I’ve read this really good book called New Earth, it’s just to help me, it just transformed my thinking.

I suggest to. Stop thinking about it and just be don’t judge. And you will see that everything will evolve in the way that it should evolve. Because if we start overthinking things, uh, anxiety creeps in and it just makes our lives much worse. 

Yasi: That’s a very interesting perspective. I will also look it up and probably put a link as well.

I read the book as well. Yeah.