"Oh, He's the Camera Guy" 📸
A conversation with director Ray Tisch
A quick note: We have over fifty artists, filmmakers, and creators coming out to Short Story Long, our full-day storytelling event this Saturday!
Along with breakout groups—and instruction from an award-winning storyteller—we’ll also end the day with musical performances from Chicago’s Gayun Cannon and The Third.
Wanna pull up…or know a friend who’d be down? We still have some open spots—tickets are available here.
blog.sixty-two // At the end of 2024, we set out on a mission: Catch up with twenty-five creator friends, asking them about the various ideas and trends on their dashboards as they charted the road of creativity ahead.
We learned a lot over the course of this series, “Twenty-Five Calls For 2025.” For one, twenty-five conversations is…a lot of conversations!
For another, never judge a book by its cover. Some of the more analytical folks we chatted with made extremely poignant observations on how creators are reshaping culture, while other, more artistic-leaning filmmakers shared unique insights into their scrappy business strategy.
Our mission with this project was not only to offer a realistic lens into the brains of our favorite creators, but also to leave you feeling inspired—encouraging you to pick up the phone and catch up with a friend, too. If even just one reader did so, we can rest easy knowing that this undertaking was a success.
We’re excited to unveil our next series soon enough, starting next Thursday. But before I get ahead of myself, scroll down for our last conversation, which saw Moy chat with the Pride of Edison, New Jersey: Ray Tisch.
— NGL
P.S. Last blog, we wrote on the magic of moments in keeping the creative spark alive—plus the art of editing (writing). You can read it here.
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Raymond “Ray” Tisch is a director and freelance videographer based in Edison, New Jersey. His mission: To amplify people’s voices, one story at a time. He also has the biggest smile you’ll ever see.
The following conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Moy Zhong: Hey Ray! How have you been?
Ray Tisch: I mean, I’m doing really well. Right now I'm in the Philippines. I've been feeling really grateful and very humbled to be here.
Especially just seeing different lifestyles, whether it’s where my parents grew up or how [some of the cities] are more of a New York-style, modern space. It’s very eye-opening.
I guess this trip is very monumental to the way I perceive myself as a Filipino American, and how I want to advocate and further pursue stories within that diaspora.
MZ: Awesome. Have you been before?
RT: I haven't. This is my first time here.
MZ: Any first impressions? Has it met, exceeded, or differed from your expectations?
RT: I think one of the first major thoughts I have is that it's hard to say goodbye.
I’m saying goodbye to family members after being with them (for the first time) these past few days. We’ve been kind of coexisting, spending time in their space and being very happy with them. Then saying goodbye, not knowing when I'll see them next…it feels very melancholy, but I’m also very grateful.
Like, oh, I never know when I'll see you, but the times that I've been with you (especially during the trip) have been very eye-opening and very, very sweet.
MZ: I have two questions for you that we've been asking a bunch of people. First one: What was your biggest creative win of 2024?
RT: My biggest win of 2024 was completing my senior thesis, The Filipino Goodbye. It’s this coming-of-age, Filipino American short film. And I consider it one of my greatest creative wins, because from the storytelling to the production to post-production, this has been one of the biggest projects I’ve ever worked on.
Working with more than, like, thirty to forty crew members—being on set, all these long days of filming—and making sure the story and characters shine through. Especially with some of the film’s heavier themes, making sure it’s authentic and all the stories feel right.
So yeah, it's been one of my greatest wins because I also graduated college with a piece to be proud of this past May, and I'm still working with some of my team.
MZ: What are you working on now?
RT: Oh, yes. I'm working on a new project, but I’m currently also in the middle of a festival run for The Filipino Goodbye.
MZ: What’s that been like?
RT: We’re submitting to different Asian and Filipino American short film festivals—in New York, California, Texas, Seattle, and Chicago. Seeing how those audiences and those communities perceive it.
And then outside the film festival umbrella, we're also doing a small college tour, starting with my own school. We’ve reached out to some of the organizations within New Jersey, and we’ve been able to get three schools to say yes. Given the amount of time and energy me and my team spent on this project, it's been very fulfilling to hear audience members say, I kind of see myself within the story.
MZ: Since you've been in the Philippines now for the first time, have you come up with, like, your next stories you want to tell about the Filipino American experience? Or is there any other inspiration you're bringing back with you?
RT: I definitely want to explore the experience of what it means to be home—or even ask what is home?
Twenty-three years of being Filipino in the states, and then seeing how it intersects with being Filipino here…there’s definitely some cultural connections. This is more of the modern part of Manila, and I was hearing a couple and younger adults—whether it's college students or millennials—walking around and speaking English. If I don’t turn around, it feels almost like I’m hearing a lot of my friends from back in the States talking.
I'm planning to meet up with some of my online creator friends here, especially within the Manila community. So hopefully I learn some things, and hopefully there's, like, a similar global brain that connects us. You know—similar slang and memes out here.
MZ: Gotcha. Last question for ya—what are some learnings that you’re bringing into this year?
RT: I think one of the lessons I’ve learned is this idea to just keep going.
I've been feeling very stuck—especially overthinking scripts. It's just been an obstacle within my journey. The hope with this trip is that I’ll leave feeling like I can overcome that obstacle.
MZ: It feels like you’re inspired to do this for a very long time. Would you say so?
RT: Yeah, I believe so. Man, storytelling and filmmaking have been very vital within the way I see myself. And, you know, the way I see the world. I want to continue to bring out ideas and explore them through film.
When the world ends…you know, I have a camera with me at all times. I’ll always be that guy—like, oh, he's the camera guy.
You can follow along with Ray’s journey here.
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