Josh Snoad

Director of Photography
Bachelor of Communication Studies in Digital Media

He loves being able to hone his craft behind the camera, says digital media alumnus Josh Snoad who is now freelancing as a director of photography and filming for production companies abroad.

“I’m involved in the full pipeline of commercial work, and have worked alongside mainly bigger corporate clients in New Zealand, including BMW, Spark, Flybuys, BNZ and AMI Insurance to film and edit TV commercials and social media content. I’ve enjoyed meeting world-class professionals in the field and diving into the technical side of production. I’m also proud of shooting some bangers.”

While he is still in the early stages of his career, he has already had a number of proud achievements.

“My time spent at ColensoBBDO in Ponsonby was an amazing opportunity. We won agency of the year and got to work with some awesome clients. My favourite shoots have been with BMW to film the launch of the M4 while drifting around the track, and shooting for THoR (The Heart of Racing) during COVID; travelling around New Zealand to film race days and edit for broadcast.

“My latest achievement has been travelling to rural Baray in Cambodia to film a documentary of students at the school where I’m helping to build a kindergarten for the local children. I’m currently also training to be a teacher in Hong Kong to teach film and digital media.”

Memories of AUT
For Josh, the very first step towards the career he has today was enrolling in AUT’s Bachelor of Communication Studies and he still has many happy memories of his time at AUT.

“AUT’s communications degree offered an extensive and broad variety of topics in the industries I was interested in. Working alongside some of the top minds in the space really helped me grow my craft, and I loved spending time in the TV and screen production rooms, as well as the many beers and good yarns shared at Vesbar.”

There were two staff who made a particularly strong impression on him.

“Both AD Narayan and Justin Matthews were fantastic teachers and they both went out of their way to provide great experiences, whether it was in class doing motion graphics or out in the field playing with drones. AD blessed me with my first taste of commercial work outside of uni and helped get my career off the ground. I absolutely loved my time with this bunch.”

Advice for other students
Josh, who graduated from AUT in 2018, has some great advice for other students.

“My advice would be to go in with an open mind.”

It's amazing how much you’ll evolve in just a few short years, he adds.

“AUT seriously helped me find my passion and guided me towards a career pathway that will take me around the world.”