Behind the lens with Sari Rae.

Recently we teamed up with a talented local filmmaker Sari, to shoot some photos and footage for our brand. We sat down with her to gain some insight into her journey and to find out more about her craft and life on the coast.

When did you first know you wanted to be a Filmmaker?

I always had the urge to capture every good & not so good moments on camera and pair them with music to make edits that I will always look back on. I have known I wanted to be a filmmaker since 2014 when I was 11 years old. It became serious in 2017 when I started working for brands. 

What subject matter do you most like to film?

I love shooting cool brand campaigns, especially brands that gel with my old school style. I love working with fun and enthusiastic people and filming in random locations depending on the client brief. 

What kind of personal style or aesthetic do you most like to use?

I would say my style is very 90s, early 2000s surf/street style. For the majority of my work I shoot on mini dv, little handheld cameras, VHS and also a Canon DSLR when the footage needs to be more professional. I love using heaps of colour in the post production process and capturing funny and weird moments behind the camera to add character to my videos.

How does growing up on the Surf Coast affect your videography?

I was always so inspired creatively living on the surf coast. I’ve always been surrounded by enthusiastic and driven people and I was definitely inspired from a young age from the surfing scene down here. I used to watch those GoPro hero ads on YouTube and I knew that’s what I wanted to do.

Are there any future concepts or subjects you would like to explore?

I would love to shoot music videos and short films eventually.  I have always had a list of hundreds of video ideas and I am slowly chipping away at them. 

What advice can you offer others starting out in Filmmaking?

Start recording on whatever you have, I started with an iPad mini and a GoPro hero 2. All the talent is in the editing, music choice and colour grading. Just start posting as frequently as you want and you will eventually get noticed. 

Where can we see more of your work?

@sariraeee on Instagram :) 

Thank you Sari and also a huge thanks to our local surfers Harry Llewellyn and Jordyn Stewart who modeled for us so well on the shoot. Check out their Instagram pages @harryllewellyn14 and @jordystew9

You all made the day really fun and we are stoked with the results. To checkout Saris imagery from the shoot, check out our product pictures and the matching clips on our Instagram @dark_sands_surf

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