The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

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CSUN student sets his sights on a career in documentary filmmaking

CSUN student, Mike Alfuso, filming Zak Mayal for a Honey Skateboard's video. Photo Credit: Thomas Mancuso / Staff Writer
CTVA major Mike Alfuso grew up with a musically inclined middle class family in an elite Tustin community, but his parents taught him that modesty goes a long way.

“I grew up in Tustin, California, where money was everything,” said Michael Alfuso, “but it meant nothing to my family.”

Alfuso works for CSUN as a videographer shooting short trailers and informational videos. His most exciting and exposing job is as a freelance videographer for various longboard skateboard companies, such as Abec11, The Arbor Collective, and Honey Skateboards.

Most recently he has been working on a documentary type series of short clips for The Arbor Collective.

“Ideally, I would like to make full length documentaries,” says Alfuso “but for right now I’m looking to diversify into Surfing or Snowboarding.  I have always wanted to do Mountain bike videos.”

At 5-years-old Alfuso was playing with video cameras.  “At that time the camera was one of the VHS ones and it was almost as big as I was,” he said.

Later, at age 16, he was turned on to mountain bike films.  The film that sparked his initial interest and still inspires him today was “ROAM.”

ROAM, produced in 2006 by The Collective, was a novelty for its time because it was shot on 16mm film, not digital.

“In a time when digital is taking over, this movie is a major inspiration for me, it’s one of the reasons why I still prefer film over any other medium,” says Alfuso.

Alfuso is currently working on a series of short videos for the Arbor Collective.

“I like this new work.  It’s closer to the kind of stuff I want to make” said Alfuso.

Max Meyers, the team manager at Arbor said working with Alfuso was an inspiring and “rad” experience.

“I would like to stay freelance while I’m still in college,” Alfuso said.  “I don’t want to quell any chances I have coming out with a Bachelor’s. Like I said before, I want to start diversifying as soon as possible and I think a contract with a company would hinder any of those opportunities. Skateboarding is just a stepping stone for me.  I have much bigger plans for my future.”

Chris Chapput, owner and founder of Abec11, said Alfuso was and continues to be one of the best videographers in the business. Chapput is one of the most successful wheel designers and manufactures in the market.

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