Manifesto for Video Storytelling – when your story becomes mine
Hello,
You probably ended up here because someone told you: "Talk to Andy, he's the right person to make a video or article about your story."
Or maybe you received random this link. But I think that nothing is really random.
Surely you have one too story to tell.
What follows is not a CV. It's not. offer. It's not even a presentation page.
It is a manifest. Oh open conversation, without masks, about how I see it stories, work, people and collaboration.
If I will reasonable with what you are reading here, most likely we will work together. If not, we are okay and so on. I just want sincere projects next to which I can build something really authentic.
And, so that it is not just a monologue "Me, Myself & I", in the end you will find TESTIMONIALS, videos and real projects from cool people who were on the other side of camera and screens, of the keyboard, in their stories and in everything it meant our collaboration.
Because a good story is never told alone.
Before we get to know each other better, you should know about me that...
I'm not filming. anyway. I don't edit. anyway. I don't write. anyway. I tell stories. Lived. Felt.
I don't sell standard packages and I don't offer fixed prices.
But you find genuine involvement, passion for the story and a personal way of seeing the world. Every project I get involved in becomes a part of me, and the final result is not just a video, it is a coherent narrative, completecomplicated, with red thread and real emotions.
I work only on project in which I believe, people that I resonate with and that have a real message. There is a need to I understand your story., to her sense, to me connector to her. Only then can I begin shooting or edit. Each project is unique.
I can work with both the videos and texts written by me, as well as with your materials. The important thing is to have the freedom to build something. sincere and deep. I promise to respect your view, to take into account your feedback, but I need free hand to give all I can.
How do we do it?
Every story has a shape that makes it visibility. Sometimes I'm filming from scratch.. Other times I receive raw frames., drone images, voice recordings, archive sequences, photographs, texts, ideas, fragments of MOMENTS. Them Assembly, them PRODUCTION, them I am watching, them s your favoritet, and I'm looking for the thread royour narrative who can tie.
Besides what already exists, if the story needs, ADDITION what is missing: TEXTS, images additional, SEQUENCE of stock, voice narrative, music, sound ambient, titration, visual effects, animations, corrections of color, all those technical details who can give life and meaning. Let me put them on. head to head, if I feel them suitable.
I am not working. on fixed rates. Everyone decides how much they want to INVESTING in the his story and in my time. Sometimes it takes a few hours. Other times, of a few days. The important thing is that, at the end, let's both look at result and let us know that we said the story as deserve. Because, once told, it is no longer only yours or mine. It's ours.
Why collaborate?
Because I do not accept any project.. I only choose those COOPERATION where I can make a contribution real and in which I believe that I can transmit further your story.
Because I am deeply involved.. You will realize from the first discussions that I am not a simple executor, because each project becomes personal. I live it, I feel it, I transpose it in my vision.
Because I have a strong background.: journalism, editing, directing, photography, videography, architecture, fishing, history, cultural content and digital marketing. They all find their way, in one way or another, into the way they say visual stories.
Because it doesn't matter how much small or short it is a design. If it has sincerity and a real message, I will treat him as seriously as I big one. Sometimes the most powerful stories fit in a few seconds.
Who am I?
My name is Andy Arif.
I am journalist halieutic at the base, videographer, publisher, editor coordinator at Architecture Magazine, but above all they are, they say, storyteller. Over 20 years I say tell in any form: articles in print and blogs, photographs, films, documentaries, exhibitions, editorial projects or online content.
I collaborated with people, artist, architects, contractors, Agency, BRANDS, cultural organizations, NGO sources, PLAYERS, and each story he asked me for another one approach. But purpose was always the same: to convey authenticity A TIME.
Sometimes it's about memory. Other times, of vision. Or a dream that you want to show THE WORLD, or by a emotion which is worth preserving or passed on.
format he's making do with what he has the story need, short video, trailer, interview, documentary, presentation, film-essay, montage or visual diary.
Enough about me…
Tell me who you are. and what do you want to convey. If I I connect with your story., I promise I will carry it on exactly as deserve. Let's see if there is a story to tell. And if it is, we will say it together.
Before we begin, it's good to know that what I wrote is not a manifesto with red button and psychologically calibrated testimonials. I don't sell emergencies., nor packaged benefits. If you want a simple process, a quick offer and three package options, probably I am not what you are looking for..
But if you want to feel that you are doing a thing that matters, with someone who will put you the right questions and it will be there until the end, then yes, we will work well together.
Because we, the people, are libraries. We, the people, collect and pass on stories.
And maybe... you'll gain a friend too
Your story, ours, it doesn't stop at one video. If you want, we can go further. You CAN make a article, a post, a visual for social media, a blog text or a simple promotion plan of what we created together.
There is no too small stories. If for you MATTERS, for me worth saying.
I am not best. But I do what I like. And I can show you too how to tell your story, next time, even single. How and with what to you film, how to edit, how to do it pass on. All what I learned in over 20 years of storytelling technical and emotional it's yours too. From side of the house.
Good stories I don't necessarily come from expensive equipment or impeccable filming, more of eyes that see and souls who listen.
For better or for worse, you can find me here too
If you have successfully passed all the "no"s from the beginning, most likely, you are my kind of person.
And so that we can be HONEST until the end, nothing is quite like that dramatic as it seems in the first paragraphs. In fact, I am a guy pretty okay. I have sense of humor as developed as the empathetic side and I am vicious, especially when it comes to good people.
So, if you have something to say, Come on. Let's talk. we relax and let's see what comes out. A movie. A project. A post. A good laugh. A friendship. An idea for next time. Not necessarily. to know everything from the beginning. Just to feel that it's worth it.
And yes, it will. You like the journey we've taken together.
Fishing and stuff
Blog: https://andyarif.ro
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@andyarif
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andy.arif.5
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andy_arif
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-arif-029589149
Architecture Magazine
Website: https://arhitectura-1906.ro
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@revistaarhitectura1906
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RevistaArhitectura
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revista_arhitectura
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/revista-arhitectura
With friendship,
Andy Arif
+40722237707
Testimonials & video examples
Below you will find a series of videos and TESTIMONIALS from people with which I worked. They are not directed.. I am not embellish. I am real, sincere and I say more than I could through wORDS.
You may have noticed that I introduced myself in BLACK & WHITE and slight hints of gray. It was intentional. I wanted to see me as they are, simple, direct. color It's only coming now, from other people's stories.
Cătălin D. Constantin – anthropologist and book publisher
As I write this, I'm about to leave for Greece for an exhibition that I've been working on for a few weeks at a time. A few years, actually — the weeks were just for preparing prints and logistics.
I have been traveling through the Balkans since 2017, following in the footsteps of two photographer brothers, Manakia, who are originally Aromanian. In the early 20th century, they took photographs, portraits and panoramas of Aromanian settlements in hard-to-reach places on the isolated peaks of the Pindus Mountains. The very first film ever made in the Balkans — and, in fact, in the entire Ottoman Empire — belongs to them.
The mission I took on, out of pleasure, during several trips, was to identify the villages from their photographs, preserved at the Romanian Peasant Museum, and to recreate the same images today, with the same framing. How much have the deep Balkans changed in a century?
The exhibition trailer was designed by Andy Arif. He did a wonderful job! With great intuition, talent, perfect subtlety in the message conveyed through the images and admirable technical skill. He made a three-minute trailer that is a perfect visual summary of my project about photos and things.
I say "with a lot of intuition" because I didn't need to explain much to him, nor do I think I could have, I was far too tired when we met to tell the story. And it's not easy at all to tell a story in images, in three minutes, about a project that spans years. Beyond the documentary side, my project pursues stories, and the trailer conveys exactly that.
I have to admit: my footage from the location wasn't technically great at all. What magic Andy did, I don't know! But the result looks like a trailer worthy of the BBC or National Geographic.
I have only one problem: the trailer is better than my exhibition, which is about to open in the Balkans. At one point, Andy told me that his last name, Arif, is a Turkish name. With this film, he also somehow came back home to the Balkans.
Exhibition info: Beyond Yesterday
Monica Croitoru – art historian
In 2024, I worked with Andy Arif on "The Story of the House at Jean Louis Calderon Street No. 48", a short film presenting the headquarters of the Romanian Architects' Union.
The calm, patience and skill of the person behind the camera set the right atmosphere for me to unfold this story, which would reach those interested. I enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate, all the more so since it was completed through a skillful montage, richly illustrated and with an engaging soundtrack, which elegantly and appropriately "portrayed" the framework of a community of architects and people passionate about architecture.
Because, what would be the story of a building without people? And by making this film, I was able to contribute and become a small part of it. Thank you!
Ramona Mihaela Damian – real estate consultant, partner Moved to Spain
We came to Andy through a recommendation. We had a bag of raw footage, drone footage of our area of Spain where we live and work. And we wanted a video presentation for both the Elche area, which we love and promote to investors, and for our services.
We kind of knew what we wanted, but we weren't sure how we were going to get there. Andy "navigated" us through the process: he listened to what we had to say, to understand where we were and where we wanted to go, he took all the raw material and then... he did his magic.
As a business, we now have a presentation material that we are not satisfied with, we are downright proud because Andy captured the essence of everything we had to convey.
Info: Moved to Spain
Silvian Valcu – actor Odeon theater
Any passion or profession finds its source in our inner worlds.
Every time I have the opportunity to talk to Andy about a project or when I watch a material he made, I feel that we are connected by that search for beauty.
Whether he's showing me a patch of water, from which he's about to bring an aquatic monster to light, or describing to me in images the emotion expressed by an architectural project, the way he presents them is deeply artistic.
Andy is a curator of the beautiful life, a life that is not within everyone's reach. A life that speculates beauty in its most hidden corners.
This curiosity for the depths, which is expressed by Andy through his passion for fishing and the way he puts on the page such a subtle art as architecture, shows how beautiful and subtle his inner world is.
Ioana Alexe – editor-in-chief of Arhitectura magazine
I have the chance to work with Andy every day in the editorial office of Arhitectura magazine, so I'm in the ideal situation of someone who teams up with their best friend.
And we do a lot of things at the magazine: we make friends with the people we collaborate with, we are constantly looking for interesting people and their stories, and when we find them, Andy's enthusiasm is contagious. He manages to bring out the best in everyone and knows how to look at an idea from multiple angles.
Together we made magazines, films, exhibitions and events that, if they had a surprising, subtle and memorable element, that was certainly Andy's contribution.
Then there's this feeling, which you have no way of knowing unless you've found someone you resonate with perfectly, of the team. We debate a lot, passionately, stubbornly, we contradict each other and sometimes even get angry, but we never move on without both agreeing that we've found the ideal solution.
Because he is incredibly empathetic, I don't have to explain too much about my fears, what I like, or where I hesitate. Andy listens carefully, engaged, and his response contains not only an opinion or solution, but also a large dose of encouragement and validation. Therapy!
Then there is his good and warm humor, which will never upset you, but which will get you out of fixed ideas, anxiety or any inappropriate state. Yes, people are libraries, as he says, but above all he is an archive of experiences, of emotions, which he puts as the main ingredient in everything he does, from a friendly discussion to a large project.
Info: Architecture Magazine
Gabriel Voicu and Bianca Stuparu – Fishing Away Ireland
For us, Andy was not just a visitor to Ireland. He was a man who knew how to see beyond the landscape and the fish. We were on the water with him, and beyond the exchange of casts, he felt a rare connection, of fisherman to fisherman, of man to man.
We watched his films and always felt the emotion with which they are told. An emotion that you can't act out, you just experience.
Andy has the gift of turning a day of fishing into a story that touches you. He doesn't just shoot frames. He captures feelings, moods, fragments of something much deeper.
With Andy I shared a boat, a hot coffee at 6 in the morning and many silences that say more than a thousand words. It was a sincere and authentic experience. What surprised me the most was how he manages to transform an ordinary day on the water into a touching story. He doesn't hunt for frames. He waits for moments. And he feels them, catches them, tells them.
As a fisherman, as a person, I felt him close, and that doesn't happen often. His films talk about what's truly important in fishing: the peace, the connection, the experience.
Thank you for being with us and for taking forward what really matters.
Article: Fishing diary in Ireland
Jeremias Luna – captain JLC Fishing mexico City
I spend a lot of time at sea, but the smiles and emotions captured in Andy's video made me feel even more involved in what I do. As a captain, it motivates me to give my best so that every client goes home with a memory as beautiful as the one you saw in the video.
Thank you, Andy!Article: Fishing diary in Mexico
Peter Sztahovits – professional sports fisherman and Daiwa consultant
I was lucky enough to meet Andy in person. It's been almost 15 years since we first met. From the very beginning, he was direct and friendly with me, even though I was just a foreigner with a passion for fishing.
Since then, we have had the opportunity to fish together several times, we have experienced unforgettable fishing moments on the Garam River, close to my home, experiences that Andy captured with great skill in his short films.
When I go fishing with friends, I tend to pay attention to how others handle their spinning equipment. Andy immediately stood out for his quickness in adapting to new, unfamiliar waters and the way he chooses the right techniques.
In his films from his travels around the world, the naturalness with which he interacts with other fishermen, regardless of where they come from, is clearly visible.
His presentations, about catches from seas, lakes or rapid rivers, are always interesting and charming, seen through the eyes of a passionate and sincere fisherman.
Personally, I like the films where he talks directly to the camera and explains the techniques and approaches for each species of fish the most. I am convinced that he will continue to make such materials, to the joy of us, all fishermen!
Article: Peter Sztahovits' style
Radu Boloca – Arrow International marketing manager
I've been collaborating with Andy for over two decades. In addition to the hundreds of articles he's written in magazines, websites, or his personal blog, I also recommend his videos on his YouTube channel. A channel where you feel good watching the footage. No hidden advertising, no "pushing" products, or aggressively promoting a particular brand.
Info: Arrow International
Maurizio “Miuras” Carini – creator Miuras Mouse
Andy knows exactly where to go and what needs to be done to make his idea come to life. Whether it's an article, a video or a narrated clip, each element has a well-defined role, nothing is left to chance. Working with him was like meeting an old friend again after a long time. Natural, pleasant and full of energy.
Article: Miuras Mouse
Razvan Stoian – collector of legends
I know Andy from college, we were classmates and we have remained friends ever since, even though we rarely see each other!
Many years ago, I knew about his passion for fishing and when I heard that he became a journalist for the magazine "Aventuri la pescuit" I thought: here's a man who turned his passion into a job and it means he's happy because he does what he loves every day - I even said, more jokingly, more seriously: "When I grow up, I want to be like Arif" 🙂
Andy and other people like him inspired me to develop a project born from my passion for football – it's called "Football Legends – Romanian football legends" and brings together under this name probably the largest collection in the world of old items from the history of Romanian football - over 2500 items discovered and brought from all continents!
Even better was something else, like one day Andy called me and said: "Hey bro, have you heard of a guy named Grun, who says he played football!?"
It was about the Belgian football legend from the 80s-90s, George Grun, who played in the final world and European championship tournaments for his country's national team, and in those years he was also one of the important players of the powerful Anderlecht Brussels team, the team that faced Steaua in the semi-final in the spring of '86, before winning the European Champions Cup!!!
Obviously we had fun on the subject, but we also decided together not to miss the opportunity that Andy was going to have, namely "a fishing trip with the great Grun" and thus an exceptional video and interview were born.
Article: Fishing with Georges Grun
