All Smiles

Creative storytelling is a passion for Christian Cubacub. This junior computer engineering major from Honolulu is making his mark both back home in Hawaii and on campus through his photography and videography business, CaptureChris Media. Cubacub recently sat down with UD Magazine to reveal how his calling has shaped his college experience.

How did you discover you loved videography?
In middle school I was at a relative’s wedding, and I saw the people filming it. I thought, “I really want to do what they’re doing. That’s super cool. I want to become a wedding cinematographer.”

What do you film besides weddings?
Anything event-based is really my specialty. I also do a lot of projects for different departments. My clients have ranged from the Honors Program to the Minority Engineering Program to President Spina himself. I made an event highlight video of his inauguration weekend.

You’re also director of visual media for Flyer News?
Yes. I oversee the photos and videos on the print edition and the online version. It’s a position that didn’t exist before. Today we can’t just expect our audience to come to us for the content; we have to push the content to our audience.

Running a business while taking classes is a lot of work. Why do you do it?
Profit is not my main goal. My goal is to do what I love, but at the same time using that skill and that talent to make an impact. I want to utilize this passion for the betterment of the community.

Your advice to other students?
Be willing to work for free; that’s how I started out. Find your niche — for me it’s weddings, events and corporate work. And definitely find a mentor, someone who has a strong business background or, more importantly, does what you’re passionate about.