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Meet Oji Miller-Fernandes of Knock Music House in Virginia Highlands

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Oji Miller-Fernandes.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Oji. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
It all started on my YouTube channel “Erbinskaterz” in 2009. I would upload a variety of videos showcasing hobbies of mine such as animation, acting, directing, music production and skateboarding. In fact, the original intent for the “Erbinskaterz” channel was to highlight my cousins and I skateboarding clips with dreams of eventually being recognized and sponsored by skate brands. In addition, we wanted to start our own company under the same name as our channel that would amass a cult following that would release a clothing line and skate decks. (I’m still interested in doing both by the way.)

Over time, my attention shifted mainly towards video production with skateboarding still being one of my go-to activities I do in my free time. I’ve had plenty technical experience being in front and behind the camera, like I mentioned before from acting, directing, writing, sound scoring, editing, cinematography just name a few.

I majored in an associates degree for Television Production at Chattahoochee Technical College in 2017, but while I was there, I would get myself involved as much as possible. I’d volunteer to work as camera operator on a t.v. show for FOX5 sports that’s filmed on our campus called “Play to Win.” Another sports-related program I did camera shading and grip work for was called “National Signing Day.” I networked with multitude of students who put me on to various projects happening in and outside of our school whether it be acting related or working behind the scenes.

My career truly kicked off in December 2015, when I relocated back to Atlanta to continue college after living awhile with my family in New York City. My music teacher Joseph Reed mentioned to me about a job lead at an up and coming party venue called Knock Music House founded by Alfredo Isaac and his wife, Simone Isaac. They were seeking a videographer/photographer that would be able to capture the moments of kid’s birthday parties and turn them into video memoir or a lip-synced music video. I instantly became attached to the concept and the decorative interior themed with a reminiscent of old-school hip-hop. I could definitely tell Knock Music House would be a 2nd home and company I’d like to grow with and help expand their media content.

Over the years, I’ve gotten a plethora of opportunities to be right in the center of action of kid’s birthday parties, sweet sixteens, quinceaneras, bar mitzvahs, adult parties, corporate parties, VIP celebrity events photographing and capturing video of special moments of the party guest’s lives. Working 100s and 100s of events has been an interesting and exciting journey for me because I never know what kind of unique character is going to be walking thru the front door. Working at this family owned business has been beneficial to me because of the one on one attention I’ve received from the owners and staff. Providing excellent feedback to help me improve as a person.

Other related endeavors the team and I have been involved with lately have been music-related projects. We’re producing our own version of the “happy birthday” song and a new line dance song called the “Knock Shuffle” infused with old-school hip-hop and disco tracks. The majority of us are musically inclined in some way from playing instruments, sound engineering, singing, dance choreography, songwriting or all of the above. So continuing my music passion is in alignment with our business’ vision of live party entertainment because we will performing our songs during parties.

As for acting, the team and I have been collaborating writing screenplays, for me to star in a few upcoming productions. Including short films and a feature-length film called “Prodigal.” (The project is already up on IMDB in its pre-production stage.) It’s all possible because we are supplied with state of the art equipment that will used on set.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’ve plenty of challenges along the way. But luckily, I have great support system from everyone including my family and close friends. There’s plenty of times where I seriously wanted to give up on life though because it felt like such a pitch black tunnel with dwindling light at the end. At the beginning of 2016, my world was unexpectedly flipped upside down when my mom passed away from literally the worst form of breast cancer and set me in deep depressive mode for about a year making it increasingly difficult to concentrate at school or work life. And just to make matters worse, my grandma passed away unexpectedly a year later. But even before the two of them passed, my family and I were their primary caregivers and believe me I’ve witnessed such a morbid side of life I’m pretty sure most people especially my age wouldn’t been able to handle the intensity of trepidation I’ve faced. Which in the future, I will also make movies that I will star as the main lead documenting my life because to me it felt like a sci-fi, horror film. I plan to make the storylines heavily based off the details of real life traumatizing, paranormal events leading up to and after my family member’s untimely deaths. Comparatively, I can relate to a few tv show character’s unusual circumstances that aren’t necessarily identical to my narrative but I can definitely relate to. Fox Mulder from X-Files, Dr. Walter Bishop from Fringe and Joyce Byers from Stranger Things. I’ll save my explanations for a future interview.

On another note, I was already going through separate issues with relationships with different people that I knew. I feel like for someone who just blossomed from adolescence into early adulthood the transition was an uneven terrain. Money at times has been a concern for me, but luckily my family taught me the importance of having backup funds and investing. There’s also been times where I didn’t have a car to get around so relied heavily on public transportation, my bike, and skateboard.

I’ve been also providing a tremendous amount emotional and financial support for my family. Since their passing, I’ve felt like I’m living on edge and been kicked into overdrive to be a mature adult. Though I may appear to have a joyful, optimistic attitude, I can still feel my soul-crushing from grief. I’ve been slowly been able to tolerate my situation a little bit more now.

Please tell us about Knock Music House.
My top priority at Knock Music House is being able to curate high-quality media content. I’ve snapped 10s of 1000s of candid photos utilizing industry standard equipment during most of our events inside and outside of our space. I am also in charge of creating advertisements/behind the scenes video content for our social media marketing on Instagram and Facebook. I’ve also done extensive photography for clients on the side and even modeling. Back in 2016, I did a modeling gig for SCAD in Atlanta (Savannah College of Art and Design) where I was printed on the front cover of their school’s magazine. Just from that shoot alone, I gained valuable connections to help point me in the right direction to find more modeling and acting gigs.

As an individual, I am unique because of my entire name’s symbolism when you put my last names first. “Oji Moyo Miller-Fernandes” directly translates to “the royal brave gift-bearing prince of health and well being of the heart.” Along with few other words I honestly don’t remember at the moment. Since I am an indigo kid (look up the definition, so we’re on the same page), I’ve told by people and read from sources in books and online that it’s prophesied that I will influence the world in a positive way and help unite people for the greater good.

I’m satisfied with my career path so far, many of my goals I’ve either accomplished or I’m working on them currently. It feels great to witness firsthand Knock Music House as brand transform over a course of three years into my opinion, one of the best party venues in Atlanta. It’s truly one of kind and highly recommend it to anyone wanting to experience being the center of attention during a “VIP rockstar celebrity” party!

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Traveling abroad to London to visit family and riding the bullet train underneath the English Channel to tour Paris on the other side. My family background is Guyanese (a country in South America next to Venezuela and Brazil) and my family is literally spread all over the world which is awesome because it gives me incentive to go explore different countries.

Pricing:

  • Photography $200
  • Demo Reel $200
  • Videography $300

Contact Info:

Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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