Today we’d like to introduce you to George Harsanyi.
Hi George, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Well, I was a swimmer throughout my whole life. I started sport at a very young age and I basically built everything on that career. I went to a sport high school and then I came to the US to be part of the college athletic team. I had always passion for arts, but I was just so busy with the daily practices and I have never had time to open my wings in that field. Luckily, the fate gave it back to me when I got an opportunity to study at the Savannah College of Art and Design. I was fortunate enough to get in to the only art school in the world that offers swimming program. However, at the beginning, it was tricky to choose from more than 40 majors, but finally by the beginning of sophomore year, I landed in the film department. It was definitely the best choice of my life. I was always interested in photography, so it was not a question what position I would like to fill on the film crew. At the beginning, it was difficult to switch from still photo to motion picture, but I learnt so fast and crafted my cinematography skills day by day. Whenever I had free time, I just continued learning about this craft and by the end of college, I was pretty confident with my job. As for now, I am graduating in a couple of weeks and then moving up to Atlanta to start of my new career in the film industry.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The hardest part of this journey was the switch when I moved from Hungary to the United States basically alone. Leaving everything behind to start off a new life was definitely difficult and challenging, but I got enough time in the past four years to learn the language and fit in this new world. Eighteen years of swimming was also not a smooth journey. Sometimes I was up, but sometimes I was down, however, I was always dreaming about to be in a college athletic team, so I never gave up. Having a strong goal definitely helped me get there where I am today.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I work in the film industry with a concentration in cinematography. I have shot many commercials and short films over the years and I helped out on many productions back in Hungary as an assistant camera and camera technician. I am also a student member of the Society of Camera Operators where I continuously learn about camera movement and camera stabilizer technologies.
I am also a volunteer in their Social Media Committee where I design contents for their social media pages. The project I am most proud of is my most recent film, which was actually my senior thesis film in college, called Sandra’s Sunday Best. The film is about parenting from a mother’s perspective, and I shot this short narrative with 10 amazing crew member over a weekend back in March. We had many Covid safety protocols but I believe we still nailed the project. Right know we are still in post-production but we are planning to premier it at end of May before we will send it out for a festival run.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
I want my motion pictures to entertain the audience, while I also try to offer topics that intellectually educate them. Topics that teach us to be better humans and help us to find our place in this huge world. It is important for me that I use the medium with purpose as I tell compelling stories. As I move forward in my career, my goal is to build morality in to my stories and tell it to a wider audience to leave them with an unanswered question. Hopefully it will make them think about the existence of their life. As an artist, it’s really important for me to create aesthetics and meaningful works, however sometimes just one of them will be dominant. Telling a story in the most effective way matters the most, everything else is just icing on the cake.
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@georgeharsanyi.com
- Website: https://georgeharsanyi.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harsanger/
Image Credits
Anna Kate Mcginty Shant Kazandjian Briana Avalos Viktoria Greta Lengyel Andy P.
