Aja and Kaelan Selbach manage Broad Brothers Productions, a telecommunications company that primarily produces videos. The twin brothers, both sophomore film majors, said having each other on set is a huge advantage.

“We work great together, practically read each other’s minds and have the same perspectives,” Kaelan said.

For Aja, having someone constantly critiquing him is the best part about working with his twin brother.

“Whenever you are working with a partner, no matter how close you are, there is always going to be a certain amount of tip-toeing around when expressing how you feel,” Aja said. “Whereas with us, as we’ve grown up together, the constant critique is a bigger pro than it is a con because it makes our work better.”

The Brattleboro, Vermont natives currently make up the video promo team at Creative Concerts, an agency that runs venues in Syracuse. However, their video reel captures well-known artists, like The Chainsmokers, Marshmello, Mike Gordon and Jackie Greene.

Finding a client is a complicated process, the twins said. Scoring a gig usually depends on the artist’s preferences, as well as their level of comfort with being filmed. In order to reach an artist, the twins often have to work with a middle man, like their manager or promoter.

The twins view their production company as an outlet to do all the things they can’t do in school, where they primarily study narrative production.

“We live in a society that consumes video at a crazy pace, which has always been an interest of ours. Our second passion besides film is music, so the production company is also an outlet to do all the things we are interested in besides the stuff at school,” Kaelan said.

Aja and Kaelan plan to keep working on Broad Brothers Productions after they graduate from Syracuse University.

“Right now we are in a building phase and we hope to really jumpstart it once we get out of college,” Aja said.

In terms of challenges they have faced, the twins said they have struggled the most with breaking past their student status and being viewed as professionals in the industry. However, they feel confident that their company will continue to operate.

Creating different types of videos and documenting a multitude of events is one of the twins’ main goals. Current goals include producing music videos with a narrative and continuing to pursue artists to make videos for them.

“I think we have a lot of experience for our age, which sets us apart from other people,” Aja said. “A lot of people don’t figure out what they want to do with their lives until really far along, and for some reason, we’ve known what we’ve wanted to do. We’ll always have a reliable teammate.”

Published on December 7, 2016 at 12:01 am

Contact Saniya: ssmore@syr.edu