Meet Richard Ramsundar | Creative Director & Lead Videographer at The World is Rich Productions LLC

We had the good fortune of connecting with Richard Ramsundar and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Richard, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I started The World is Rich Productions LLC because I noticed the lack of high quality film and videos pertaining to Caribbean culture, specifically within the Caribbean diaspora in NYC. I realized the power of narratives and noticed that we were not telling our own stories. Other people were telling our stories for us and they were not showing the true beauty and essence of our culture. Caribbean people have had a beautiful and difficult history, especially when it comes to settling in Little Guyana (Queens) and Little Caribbean (Brooklyn). I decided to create visual works of art that could be showcased to the world and make people say “Wow, this is incredible.” I knew that I could utilize my skills to create modern, evocative films for exhilarating clients. Caribbean culture has many facets but I decided to focus on three.

First, we capture the traditions of Indo-Caribbean/Southeast Asian weddings to not only make our clients relive the emotions of their special day, but to also remind the community of where we came from and to appreciate the rich traditions passed down for decades. Second, we capture the energy and bliss of Caribbean/Soca music festivals to showcase our diversity, uniqueness and creativity. This includes working with artists like Machel Montano, Kes the Band and Farmer Nappy. Lastly, we capture the social justice work of our local non-profit organizations to increase awareness of resources within the community meant to help our most vulnerable and marginalized.

Now, a few years later, we are thrilled to see the expansion of our business and have begun working with larger brands such as Saks and Nordstrom to provide dynamic videos and live streaming.

What should our readers know about your business?
The World is Rich Productions LLC creates modern, evocative films for exhilarating clients. Our attention to detail, professionalism, responsiveness and unique quality of our films set us apart. The beginnings of the business were not easy.

It was very difficult to show people in my market and community the value of videography, especially because there were very few visual artists offering anything similar to our work. I had to figure out many aspects of business, camera tech, video editing and production almost entirely on my own.

Three things helped me navigate the landscape: starting small and humble, delivering the best quality product given our resources at the time and most importantly, putting the client’s needs first. Starting small and humble meant taking on projects that were local with a simple scope. These usually were private events, birthdays, small weddings, night club events.

These did not necessarily have the largest budgets but they allowed me to network and gain invaluable experience. Delivering the best quality product given our resources at the time meant having the discipline to always give every job my undivided attention and do whatever it took to make the final product amazing.

Lastly, placing the client’s needs first means always showing up on time, always delivering when promised, always responding to their messages, and always showing you are there for them. These principles still apply today and have all contributed to the quick growth of our business. While we still face many challenges today, we have an established portfolio and network that speaks for itself.

During Covid 19, we realized the visual landscape had changed. Events were no longer happening and our business took a hit. However, we saw a unique opportunity in live streaming. Without the ability for people to physically be together, they needed to be connected virtually more than ever. We realized that people did not want to simply watch a video of what was happening. They wanted to feel the emotions that they would feel had they been there in person. They wanted an experience.

We quickly mastered the technical aspects of live streaming. We knew that we had to deliver broadcast-like quality combined with a cinematic feel. Being filmmakers originally, our live streams looked like professional movies created in real time. We utilized multiple cinema level cameras to capture live events from different angles and created immersive experiences for our clients’ audiences. We made sure we had pristine, crisp sound, since sound is 50% of the experience.

This required us to expand, hire sound technicians and production companies. It was an incredibly challenging experience and not every job was perfect. But we learned from every single mistake, combined multiple skills and improved with every live stream.

Within the span of one year, we went from live streaming DJs and weddings to live streaming for brands including Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Mercedes-Benz, Puma and many more.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I currently reside in NYC. Three things I really love are food, diversity and Caribbean culture.

I would choose places with an array of cuisines, in which no two places are the same. I would first stop by Los Tacos Numero Uno. They have amazing tacos and are right by Times Square. I would then go to places like Hai Di Lao Hot Pot in Flushing for a uniquely Chinese experience, Birria-Landia in Roosevelt and Sik Gaek for Korean.

Great bars in Manhattan include The Pony Bar, with a great selection of beers and Bar Coastal with phenomenal wings.

Another day would be devoted to Little Caribbean (Brooklyn) and Little Guyana (Queens). NYC is home to the largest Caribbean population in the USA. So for eats, it’s only right that we do a food tour and stop off at the following restaurants: Allans Bakery, Suede, Sugarcane Restaurant, Footprints Cafe, Fishermans Cove.

I would also spend an evening in Little Guyana, which is home to the largest Indo-Caribbean population in the US, and has a lively food and party scene respectively. Spots we would definitely check out include Trinciti Roti Shop for doubles and Sybil’s Bakery. In terms of a nightlife, I would go to Elevate Sky Lounge (a popular club who are also one of my clients) for a fun night filled with soca and Caribbean music.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to give a shoutout to my mentor Navindra Harbukhan of NH Productions TT. His constant guidance, unique challenges and incredible work pushed me to continue my career in videography, film and live streaming.

I would like to give a shoutout to Satish Singh of All Access AV. He has been one of our production partners who has given us unique opportunities to work with incredibly high end clients and brands. He is a real supporter of our work and believes in the value and quality that we offer.

I would like to give a shoutout to DJ JEL, for being a true friend, always offering his guidance and being one of the first supporters of The World is Rich Productions LLC.

Website: theworldisrich.com

Instagram: instagram.com/theworldisrich

Facebook: facebook.com/theworldisrich

Other: vimeo.com/theworldisrich

Image Credits
Photo 1 and 2: TrinCity Photos Photos 3 to 8: The World is Rich Productions LLC