MARIA: Hey, Jordan. It's Maria from B&H! JORDAN: Hi!
JORDAN: Nice to see you!
MARIA: So, I see you just got off the ice.
So, I wanted to ask you 21 questions. Is that okay?
JORDAN: That's perfectly fine!
MARIA: Awesome! So, what were you just shooting?
JORDAN: Um, so I was just shooting the Brown siblings.
They're the team USA US junior ice dancers.
Here at Bryant Park early in the morning.
MARIA: And, that's amazing, so tell us what you do for a living?
JORDAN What I do for a living is I film figure skating.
I was a Team USA ice dancer myself,
and I got into videography, uh, after I retired.
And I just wanted to bring figure skating to the world!
MARIA: That's so cool! So you used to be a skater yourself.
Can you tell me a little bit about your career?
Um, well I competed on Team USA for five or six years.
I finished my career seventh in the country in 2012.
And in the last eight years
I started ballroom dancing professionally and videography.
MARIA: And, so what made you decide on that switch into videography?
Well, as a ballroom dancer I saw how shows like, um...
How all the ballroom shows on television
would enhance the exposure of the sport,
and I thought, "Well if someone could just get on the ice with a camera,
they could help figure skating gain that kind of popularity someday."
MARIA: So, what's your go-to camera and lens?
JORDAN: Um, right now my go-to camera is the Sony a7S III,
and my favorite lens, uh, honestly is the 24 GM.
MARIA: And what made you so interested in cinematography?
Um, well I was born in Los Angeles,
and I think I always was enamored by seeing videos and movies filmed in the city.
And I thought that I wanted to be a camera person someday.
Instead, I became a figure skater,
but I'm glad I finally combined the two.
MARIA: So cool! And, you have a pretty big following on Instagram and YouTube.
How did you get to this point?
JORDAN: Um, I just post as often as I can.
MARIA: That's, that's the secret! [laughs]
And, so what was your first camera that you used?
JORDAN: Oh, my first camera that wasn't an iPhone?
[Maria laughs] JORDAN: Uh, was a GoPro HERO6
MARIA: Wow! JORDAN: On the karma grip.
MARIA: And, what's your favorite part of your work?
My favorite part of my work is getting to travel
and meet figure skaters from around the world.
MARIA: Wow! And what's your least favorite?
JORDAN: My least favorite is convincing... [laughs]
convincing rinks to let me film there!
[both laugh]
MARIA: And, is it hard skating and shooting video at the same time?
JORDAN: Um, yes, it is really hard.
but I think I have the harder part down,
which is the figure skating.
No offense to anyone with a camera,
but they are just so easy to work with these days!
MARIA: And you make it look so easy! [laughs]
And do you shoot other styles aside from figure skating?
JORDAN: Oh yes! I mean, I love filming dance.
I started actually filming ballroom dancing,
and that's where I got a lot of the settings down
right before I brought it onto the ice.
MARIA: And, so do you have any other projects coming up that you're working on?
JORDAN: Um, yes, I'll be going to the UK for four months to film for Dancing on Ice.
It's a very popular television show, and it's for live TV,
so I get to film on the ice with a big professional television camera
for six to eight million people watching live.
MARIA: Wow, that's amazing! So you can't wipe out? [laughs]
JORDAN: No, no. If I fall, it's gonna... It's gotta be spectacular.
[Maria laughs]
MARIA: And, so, switching it up a little bit.
What are a couple tips for somebody looking
to shoot video in motion like you?
JORDAN: Um, well practice shooting handheld as much as you can.
Um, shooting with tripods, long lenses.
Every dance, every single person you film is going to require a different technique
depending on how comfortable they are
and what the kind of shapes they make are.
I obviously like to use a gimbal,
mostly because it allows me to skate at a very high speed
without worrying about, um... the micro jitters.
MARIA: So, what do you do for fun aside from cinematography?
JORDAN: Um, that's a very good question. [both laugh]
I try to take everything I do for fun and apply it to my cinematography.
So, lately I've been experimenting with live streaming,
and now I'm, I've been live streaming figure skating on the ice.
MARIA: Wow! And, uh, so what are some of the favorite moments that you've had during this job?
JORDAN: Um, my favorite moments...
I have to say shooting for live television is just an exhilarating experience
because you don't really get to choose what gets put out.
You just prepare for it, and you do it.
MARIA: Cool!
And, if you weren't a video creator or a figure skater,
what would you be?
JORDAN: I would definitely be a tech reviewer on YouTube!
[both laugh]
MARIA: Cool! And what's the best piece of advice you've ever received?
JORDAN: Um, oh! The best piece of advice I've ever received
was quality over quantity.
MARIA: And, aside from your camera, what's your favorite piece of gear?
JORDAN: Um, well I don't know if my gimbal would count
because it's kind of, like, a part of my camera.
Um...
Ah, if I had to say my favorite other piece of gear is
my skate bag, like...
I have this really nice dual duffle, split duffel bag.
And it's carried every gimbal I've ever owned,
plus my skates, and I can travel the world with it.
MARIA: Cool!
And, do you have a skater that's on your wish list
that you haven't shot yet?
JORDAN: That I haven't shot yet?
Um, there's no particular skater I want to film more.
Um, I just want to film skating.
MARIA: Cool! [both laugh]
MARIA: And, so this is a tough question...
So, if there were to be a movie about your life, who would play you?
Um...
I mean, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, for sure.
MARIA: Nice! [Jordan laughs]
MARIA: And okay! Last question, who should we interview next?
JORDAN: Um... So there's this amazing dance creator
who's based in New York, named Ājñā.
Ājñā Nāḍī.
I hope I'm getting his name right
because I've never actually pronounced it before,
but he films the most amazing hip-hop dancers
you've ever seen in New York, LA, traveling all over the world now.
MARIA: Cool! Absolutely, so we'll call them up
I'll let you get your skates off
and get back to it.
MARIA: Thank you so much for answering all my questions!
JORDAN: Thank you for being here!
MARIA: Alright!