So I was walking down the hall yesterday and ran into junior Communication Studies major Alex Shahmiri. I casually asked how he was doing and our conversation led to my “Student Shout-Out” for today. This is big. Alex was just featured in Rolling Stone. Yes. THAT Rolling Stone. Why? Read on to find out!
In his spare time (you know, when he is not a full-time college student) Alex is a photographer and filmmaker. He recently filmed a music video for the band Young the Giant that caught the attention of the most famous music magazine in the world. Here’s the quote from Rolling Stone: “In this clip by filmmaker Alexander Shahmiri, the Californian quintet Young the Giant perform a stripped-down rendition of their song ‘Apartment.’ The video, filmed in a single shot on the edge of a hill overlooking a foggy valley, is as beautiful as the music itself.” Wow! I just wish it said “University of San Francisco Communication Studies major and filmmaker Alexander Shahmiri…” Yeah. I read it. It’s too long.
You can read the article for yourself and see the video that got praise from Rolling Stone here: http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/blogs/rolling-stone-video-blog/california-quintet-young-the-giant-perform-mellow-acoustic-version-of-apartment-20110126
Junior Communication Studies major Alex Shahmiri
Alex is an autodidact (a fancy word I rarely get to use that means “self-taught”) photographer and filmmaker. He started working for Young the Giant and caught the attention of their label, Road Runner Records, who then hired him to work on art and videos. The cover of the UK release of their album is one of Alex’s photos. In addition to all of this, Alex founded “In the Open,” a music business, and he manages http://intheopen.tv/ (we love music just like you) a music website. He also has another website, http://alexandershahmiri.com/, which is his photography business. Alex will be flying out to New York City and Portland for music festivals and video shoots in the coming months, including South by Southwest in Austin, Texas.
A funny story: Last time Alex was in New York (you know, for a music industry thing), he took a cab, and evidently in NYC taxi cabs there are TVs in the back seats. Guess what was playing on the TV in the taxi? A music video he shot!
I’m impressed. Aren’t you? Congratulations, Alex!
