 Can I wipe my face? You probably start. Yeah, I tend to get a little, like, really warm. Yeah, okay, so I'm good to go. Let's go. My name is Jose Kwame. I'm a documentary filmmaker. I'm a voice... I'm not really sure usually which one to start with when I'm introducing myself. So I am a documentary filmmaker. I am a voice actor as well as a YouTuber. Yeah, I always forget to add that one to YouTuber. Yeah, so I'm a voice actor first because I think that's what I do the most. And then YouTuber before documentary filmmaker. Yeah, so that's who I am. Jose Kwame, voice actor, YouTuber, documentary filmmaker. Yeah, I feel like that's... Wait, which one are you asking? That's one of the hardest questions to answer. How are you? Which of the answers do you want? The very diplomatic one or... I'm fine, I'm good, I'm good. But if you're asking how I am, how I am... Well, I guess maybe the answer would be mostly in my head lately or for as long as I have known. And constantly thinking, constantly overthinking things and not really relaxing a lot. But yeah, I'm able to cope with my own internal, you know, back and forth of conflict. So I guess, yeah, I'm good, I'm good. Do I miss radio? Do I miss radio? Yeah, I guess the answer is yes, I do miss radio but at different sides of radio. But generally I do miss radio. I miss the time when I was, you know, I miss curating music or putting playlists together. I miss discovering new artists, I miss playing. Funny enough, even before I started Brunch in the City, which was what I was known for the most in my radio career, I had always liked upbeat stuff, so I liked the evening drive type of show. But funny enough, I do miss the slow music, I do miss the adherents and all the other people that I used to play. James Blunt, which my wife hates. Yeah, I do miss being on air. And in the last year before I retired, is it retired from radio? I also had a really good co-hosting session with Jessica and yeah, I do miss those moments. But besides that, you know, when we add the other bits of, you know, being on radio and having to live up to certain expectations, no, I don't miss that part, no, I don't miss that part. Will I ever go back? Hmm, people are asking this question a lot. Will I ever go back? I'm not sure if for now, for now I don't think I want to go back to radio. I am okay with exploring the freelance filmmaking and, you know, creating my own stuff at the moment. I'm very fine with that. It's just been a year and a half. So, no, I don't feel like going back to radio, no. Not yet, at least not yet. Will I ever go back? I can't say never, but not yet, yeah. Does freelance pay more? No, I wouldn't, like also this is also like depending on what you do and how you do and how many clients you have and what you're up to. I don't think, fine, I mean there are some salary jobs that have a certain amount of money depending on where you are or which position you are in in the company. And freelance also has its ups and downs. So, there could be months where you can make like three times, four times what you used to make in corporate. And there could be months where it's like completely dry. So, first of all, let me just say that freelance is not for everybody. Don't jump at it because you think somebody is doing freelance and they're doing it so well or it's going well for them. You have to know who you are. Freelance does pay because at least you know that 100% of whatever you're getting is coming to you. So, yes, in that sense it does pay, but it depends on what you're doing, how experienced you are. Yeah, your network, yeah, your network. So, I guess it does pay, yes or no. What's my plan for my freelance career? That's a bit huge. Sorry. What's my plan for my freelance career? So many things I want to do. Part of the reason why I also, you know, jump ship to do freelance. So, I don't necessarily have a written down plan, but I do know some things for sure, for example, that I want to make films. I want to make documentary films. I want to be a much better voice actor than I was or voice over artist. So, yes, I want to go into voice acting, perhaps feature in the movie. And I also want to make films, documentary films in general, yeah. So, yeah, I do want to make films. That's the plan now. Yeah, and do things as best as I could in my own creative space and having no limitations. Yeah, so, yeah. What do I enjoy most about freelance? Freelance, as the name says, free. So, I think I like the limitlessness of being able to create what you want to create. The freedom to do these things when you have to do them. And basically doing things on your own terms. I mean, as a freelancer, yes, you'll be working with clients, yes, you'll be working with four people. However, I mean, you decide what you want to do and who you want to do it with and how much you want to do it for. So, I like that side of freelance. It's nice to know that you also have a say in most of the things that you choose to, you know, put your creative energy into. That's one of the things I like about freelance or freelancing in general. Yeah, it's fun that way. It's fun that way. Especially when you get clients that allow you to have that creative freedom to just do the things that you want to do and they support it and they go with it. It's awesome. And when they pay on time too. Well, what are some of the things I hate about freelance? The uncertainties about whether or not you get a job. But I guess I can't hate that because it's not within my control. Well, it's not fully within my control. There's so much I can do in looking for jobs and doing it well. But it's uncertain if there's a drought, there's a drought. If you're not getting something, you're not getting it. I also hate the aspect of freelance where getting your money from clients sometimes can be a hassle. I don't know how to deal with that. I don't have the patience for that side of freelance at all. So I do hate that. What else do I hate? Also having to explain your skill to some clients before you do it or having to explain your skill to some clients after you've done the job and they have to pay. Then now they're asking questions about your certificates and all these things. It just trips me. So yeah, I don't like that side of freelance as well. But other than that, yeah, it's cool. Any challenges about freelance? Yeah, well, freelance, yeah, come on. I've mentioned most of them in the things I've already said. There are so many challenges in being a freelancer. One of them is the uncertainty that you get a job or not. Collaborations is one of them as well. Creative collaborations is something I found very difficult to manage or even get to happen because most freelancers are also trying to eat and survive. And I think survival is one of the things that kills creativity. Yeah, I would say that. And it's weird that you work in a place where you think maybe you're getting to what's being stifled and you leave and you want to go and do freelance. And you're also spending all your time trying to survive rather than being super creative. So it's a weird imbalance. So yeah, that's what I'm going to say. It's challenging. Everything you do is challenging. Being a corporate is challenging. Being freelance is challenging. Don't let anybody tell you that being an entrepreneur or a freelancer is a better way to go. If you enjoy your nine to five, do it. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise. Yeah, so that's what I would say. What's the best advice I ever got? I think the best advice I ever got was when I was starting radio. The director of the company I was starting with, which is Atlantis Radio at the time, gave me an advice about being like a shark in this business or in your creative endeavor, be like a shark. And the reason being a shark is one of the few animals who always keeps moving. Or is the apex predator. You know, you hunt or be hunted. Keep growing, keep moving, keep moving forward. Always keep moving. So I guess that's one of the best advice I ever got. And I even did a tattoo with it. So yeah, I have a shark on my arm. So yeah, that's one of the best advice I ever got. What advice would I give other creatives? I honestly don't think other creatives can be advised in a way because creative journeys are so individual or so subjective to you. It's so personal. Yes, that's what I'm trying to say. It's so personal that it's difficult to give advice to creative people except the regular or the core advice which most of them probably know is don't stop creating, networks and more because, well, it's what's going to improve your business and learning. Don't stop learning. Yeah, collaboration. Yes, if you can do collaborations, do collaborations. And yeah, never stop creating. I guess, I mean, there's so much you can tell a creative because most journeys are personal and different. So I guess that's what I can say. Last words. I enjoy this. I really enjoy this. So yeah, I hope we can do it again soon. Catch you again.