The Man Without a Home - Video Man Peter Trudolubov
We were just behind the scenes with Peter Trudolubov, whose last name means "one who loves to work" in Russian.
Trudolubov spent most of his life in Russia, and now describes himself as a man without a home.
"I was born and grew up in Moscow before moving not too long ago in 2013 to Latvia," shared Trudolubov. "From there I moved further north to Estonia. Just because my family lives in Latvia and Germany right now, I don't feel like I have a home. The closest thing I have to a home is in Tallinn, Estonia because after Moscow this is the place I spent most of my time. However, I can't say I feel completely at home there since the only things keeping me there right now is my job and school."
Trudolubov's studies and work go hand in hand as he is currently employed by Vita Pictura Productions who handles all the video and photography for the Cash Game Festival.
"I am currently studying media, and a big part of it is practical film and television production," shared Trudolubov. "The school encourages us to spend as much time as we can on working on actual production. Since I have this job at Vita Pictura Productions four months after I enrolled, I have most of the practice at my current company."
While it is evident that Trudolubov enjoys his work, he admits he doesn't really have much to compare it with as he is just getting his start in the industry.
"It is hard for me to judge since I haven't worked for other companies," said Trudolubov. "I have worked a bit for television and print media. From what I understand, I can tell that the latitude of the ranges of the fields we work in is rather big."
He also explained that how his job might differ from that at other companies. Lately, Trudolubov has had the opportunity to travel to place he may have not otherwise visited.
"There is normally a high-end company that works in big-budget commercials and don't work on anything that is lower than a certain amount," Trudolubov stated. "As with Vita Pictura, we take on many different projects. Sometimes I find myself doing something ridiculous for a ridiculous amount of money. Other times I get to spend a week in places all over the globe including London, Malta, and Bulgaria. This year in particular, we have been traveling quite a lot."
Vita Pictura Productions handles many music gigs. Trudolubov elaborates sharing that, "Mostly we work in the music industry. This means music festivals, music videos, and events."
Music festivals and poker events are two different beasts for Trudolubov as he explains in the former it is easy to capture emotion, where it can be challenging in the latter.
"The music events Vita Pictura covers all have to do with some kind of celebration that turn out to be very emotional things," Trudolubov explains. "Someone is always cheering, crying, or otherwise visibly displaying emotion. Whereas with poker, the point for players is to maintain their 'poker face' and display the least amount of emotions as possible."
"However, the organizers of the Cash Game Festival want me to capture emotion and sometimes it can be really tricky to catch," Trudolubov continues. "Basically it is my job to capture everything that is visibly interesting. A video or film is an extremely powerful medium. It also has to be efficient so you can put as much as you can in one picture and one frame. With poker and the Cash Game Festival, it is interesting. However, after the earlier stops in London and Malta and now in Bulgaria, I find myself thinking I have to come up with something new. Sometimes I feel every shot I could have taken, has already been taken. I then feel I have to come up with something more interesting."
Covering some of the side events of the felt have proven to be much less challenging for Trudolubov to capture the right moment. However, he recognizes that the televised table is where his job becomes the most important and explains his approach.
"I feel most comfortable at the events outside the Cash Game Festival such as the yacht trips and pool parties, however, I feel the televised table is the most important place," Trubolobov shared. "In the time I have spent with Vita Pictura Productions, I have figured out how to do it efficiently. With the TV table, a lot of it is just standing there and waiting with the camera for the right moment to capture the emotion. It requires both patience and knowing where to look."
To add to Trudolubov's challenges, he has never played a hand of poker outside with a few friends. He does understand the game, but prior to the Cash Game Festival he never visited a casino to compete on the felts.
"Before the Cash Game Festival, I knew very little about poker," admitted Trubolobov. "I played it once or twice with friends, but it is obviously different at a big festival. Now, after my third Cash Game Festival, I know exactly where to look and point my camera at so I get exactly what I need."
Trudolubov's interest in poker has grown since covering the Cash Game Festival, and one day he may decide to test his skills on a live poker table in a casino.
"Now that I see how experienced players play, I want to give poker a shot," Trudolubov shared. "I don't have a huge bankroll to put on the table, so if I give it a shot, I will start small."