Royd Ringdahl is a UP student with a special skill set in videography. Ringdahl has directed various videos, such as “Be My Guest” and “Die in LA” by Internet Girl, and “Shapes” by local alternative artist, Timi Afilaka. PDBY interviewed him regarding the background scenes of being a video director and the projects he has been working on.
Please introduce yourself a bit. Tell us who you are, where you’re from, and what you do.
Hey there! I’m Royd Ringdahl. I’m a 22-year-old kid from Joburg, and I make music videos for a small living while studying engineering at Tuks.
Would you describe your position as a “video director,” or are there other elements to your art?
Yeah, essentially that’s the jist of it. It’s kind of a jack-of- all-trades situation that depends on the size of a project you’re involved in but it can be everything from conceptualising, scripting, filming, to post-production editing. They’re all equally important elements for me, each with their own signature.
How did your interest in videography develop?
I’ve always held a deep admiration and obsession with music and cinematography. The merger of the two always seemed natural. I would conjure elements in my mind into mini music videos. From there, I just had this inkling that making music videos would be something that would bring me a lot of joy and something I would be good at. So, when I got the first opportunity, I jumped at it and started making some videos for my artist friends with no more than an iPhone. I learnt how to edit along the way and the growth from there over the past two years has just been so exponential.
What is your dream project?
I have too many. I have some specific South African artists I want to work with that I’m sure I’ll get to within the next year or so. Beyond that I would love to get into some more storytelling, and potentially make some Independent short films.
Is there anything that you are working on now that you would like to share with the readers?
I’ve been focusing really hard on my academics recently – being at the end of my final year of study – so that’s really tied me down for the moment. Other than that I have been working on a couple of photo series. Hopefully I will be transitioning into the industry full-time from the turn of the year, so you’ll definitely be hearing from me soon.
How can people engage with you and view your content?
Swing by Instagram @roydr_. There you’ll find my website with my full portfolio of work if you’re into that kind of thing.
Image: Provided
My name is Ashleigh Pascoe and I am doing my Honours in Publishing. This is my fourth year studying at UP. I would describe myself as a bubbly extrovert with a passion for written work and writing!
