Cinemagraphs are quickly establishing themselves as a new alternative to traditional media like photos and videos. As the demand for cinemagraphs grows, new opportunities are arising for creatives. Just ask Sebastian and Maureen – the duo met in Leipzig while attending university. Fresh out of college with a media management degree in their pocket, the pair are pursuing their dream and have turned a hobby into a full-time business: “Malolepzie Visual Storytelling.”
 
gallereplay: Let’s talk about your earliest influences. Have you always been creative? What were your major childhood hobbies?

Maureen: As a child I always loved to spend time outdoors. I was watching birds and I learned how to use all the natural herbs growing in our garden. At the age of 12, I started to take photos. Sounds nerdy I know…but now my childhood influences my current work. Today I love shooting in nature. Nature is one of my biggest inspirations.
 
gallereplay: So let’s fast-forward a few years. When did you first come into contact with cinemagraphs?

Sebastian: I discovered one of “Ann Street Studio’s” cinemagraphs by accident (ed: production company founded by cinemagraph pioneers Kevin Burg & Jamie Beck). I was so stunned that I wrote a research paper for my university about it. Cinemagraphs were so fascinating to us, that we decided to build our own business around them.
 
gallereplay: And it’s now a full-time profession?

Sebastian: Yes! We just founded our company “Malolepzie”. This is now our main job and we are so so excited (and a little bit afraid) about that. It started with enthusiasm and turned into a vision, a vision that created a dream, and from that dream Malolepzie Visual Storytelling was born. Creating a space for inspiration and enabling high-quality and visionary Content. That’s Malolepzie.
 
gallereplay: Your cinemagraphs on gallereplay are a nice mix of travel and lifestyle pieces. How would you describe your personal “style”?

Maureen: We always try to create the illusion of a magical moment. Visual storytelling is our big thing. Our goal is to evoke emotions. Either through our own memories or the story behind them. We love natural environments and subtle movements.
 
gallereplay: What drives you as artists and as entrepreneurs?

Maureen: The learning process. We try to produce and realise lots of different cinemagraph projects. This way we meet lots of awesome people and we learn more and more about ourselves and the different techniques to produce and edit cinemagraphs. And our first trip together (to Denmark) really sparked a fire in us. We want to travel the world and capture all the little and big movements in our cinemagraphs.
 
gallereplay: What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?

Sebastian: Time is our biggest enemy. Our heads are full of ideas and inspiration. Besides all the creative work there’s a lot of organizational stuff. We’d probably need a 50-hour day to get everything done and feel satisfied!