Paul Kampf Studios

I’m so happy to release this music video for the song “Lo Que Vive Una Mujer” from Roselyn Sanchez’s directorial debut - Diario, Mujer & Café movie.

The film will be out in theaters very soon, but here is a snippet of the wonderful world that Roselyn created.

More on this special project soon!!

https://www.facebook.com/100000531280446/posts/9993748393986104/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Roselyn Sánchez, Aquiles & Génesis Dávila - Lo Que Vive Una Mujer (Vídeo Oficial) "Lo que vive una mujer" Canción parte de la banda sonora de la película dirigida, escrita y producida por...

Invisible Doors

If you track any actor’s career backwards, every step seems like logical events that lead to success. But for that actor on the path, there were likely no signposts and no doors visible in the distance.

This isn’t an industry of executing ‘best laid plans’ – it is a vocation that requires moving confidently forward while being open to the opportunities that suddenly appear out of nowhere.

So, if you think you’re doing nothing to build your career, fuel your forward momentum with an obsessive commitment to your craft…and don’t be surprised when you start seeing invisible doors right in front of you.

As a filmmaker do I NEED to come to Los Angeles?

It’s always an advantage to live in a city where many people you meet are a part of the industry that you’re looking to enter. However, Los Angeles is an expensive and difficult city to traverse.

For filmmakers, I would strongly recommend that you start making projects (low and no budget) wherever you are currently. You should make projects in a part of the world that is the most comfortable to grow your craft and find your voice.

Not only will that save you money and stress, it will allow you to make the move with evidence of your talents. Most importantly, you are transitioning yourself into an environment where what you’ve done and what you desire to create will get more attention.

GETTING YOUR BREAK

I would not claim that there is meritocracy in the entertainment industry. But it seems that I hear someone express their frustration about not getting their ‘big break’ at least once a week.

Whether that is the right audition, the right production company reading your script, or having the right encounter at a bar, it can feel like one’s ‘big break’ is just about meeting the right person and your career will launch.

But career breaks don’t come in one fantastical moment. They are built on years of honing what you love to do until the right opportunity presents itself for a short, seemingly casual encounter. With thousands of hours of work behind you, that break is just your undeniable talent being noticed by the right person and the right time. If not today, then more hours and more work are the only ingredients necessary to make your ‘big break’ inevitable.

When an actor in a class, on set or over a beer complains about not knowing what to do to change the trajectory of their career, the answer usually lies in looking back on the daily action they’ve taken prior to that complaint.

ACTION is the only word that matters in Hollywood. One single hour a day deeply engrossed in your craft and thirty minutes focused on industry education is as little as it really takes. But it’s not for a few days or a few weeks. It’s everyday. It’s on days when you have nothing to do and on days when you have no time to breathe. Prioritize. DO. Take the ACTIONS you have committed to, no matter the obstacles that arise and watch how much ‘LUCK’ seems to find you.

Training in a vacuum loses its value quickly. On set work without technique leads to bad habits built out of insecurity in one’s craft. It has long been my passion to combine training and production and open opportunities to artists when none seem available. But as a teacher and an active filmmaker, I see more and more doors opening as the industry rapidly tries to keep up with the demand for content.

Please visit my refocused site to see how training and production CAN work together.

www.PaulKampfStudios.com

CATALYST STUDIOS INTERNSHIP

Catalyst Studios is a fully diversified independent film studio based in Los Angeles with active productions on two continents. The company is committed to equal pay, fair business practices with a commitment to disruptive methods of film production.

Catalyst Studios is a joint venture endeavor between Positive Catalyst, LLC, which has a history and focus on paradigm shifting investment in the entertainment industry, and Beacon Pictures, one of the most successful and respected independently financed film and television companies in the entertainment business. For the last 25 years, Beacon has made some of the best loved movies of the era. Beacon has 48 films; including Bring it On, Air Force One, The Hurricane, Spy Games and Family Man, as well as 208 TV hours; including the international hit Castle and Agent X. Beacon has an impeccable reputation and is highly respected by industry peers of production expertise and a track record of success.

Currently, we have six feature films in pre-production for the late summer/fall in Eastern Europe and Colombia.

We are seeking interns looking for hands-on experience in all aspects of independent production. Please see the link below for all the Internship details.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xyUpYz5bGvQRQafm1RZnj8dCv01P9paz/view?usp=sharing

How can a filmmaker hone their ability to select camera setups and shots, without hundreds of hours on set?

The more a director sits in the editing room, the more they understand about screenwriting, shot selection and storytelling. The choices made at the end, from all that was available from the shoot, is the best teacher/preparation for the shoot.

Here is a simple, but effective technique that I use when teaching that I apply to my own work on an ongoing basis: Pick up a script of a film that has already been made, but you’ve not yet seen. Read it thoroughly, as if you’re going to direct the project. Pick three scenes that you feel are essential to the story. Then tell yourself that you have very little time on set to shoot those scenes.

Select the KEY moments and ESSENTIAL camera angles that you’d need, minimum, to convey the content of those scenes. Run it over in your head many times so you see the movie approach you would take. Then watch the movie, stopping and starting the three scenes you chose.

Did the director use your approach? Your angles? Your minimal setups? Assess what that director did and try to figure out why those choices were made. This process costs you nothing, but gives you a virtual on-set experience without the stress of shooting those scenes and the weight of expectations on you.

When you work for yourself, time management can seem like an impossible requirement. No supervisor. No in/out time clock. No clear way to measure the achievements of the day.

I’ve seen and experienced the effectiveness of shifting time management to ‘productivity management.’ Simply put, productivity management involves examining where you’re putting your energy/focus. It’s not filling the hours with work, it’s filling the moments with something conscious, whether that is active or passively rejuvenating.

For an actor, or writer or director, a productive day should be about inspiration today that excites you to seek more the next day. Yes, it can feel better to say, ‘look at all I wrote/worked on today,’ but that often means a day with no measurable results sending one into a depression, which removes motivation.

I believe it’s much better to say, ‘I was productive today’ and allow a month of such statements to provide the evidence of your real, measurable success.

An actor waiting for an ‘opportunity’ to get on set is one of the most frustrating realities of their day to day life. The notion of taking ‘any acting role’ offered is an idea that can often work against the actor’s growth if the material and the quality of the production have no focus or clarity.

However, I suggest an actor take ‘any role’ ON the film set, behind the camera, no matter the quality of the film. The technical realities of shooting a project provides the most accelerated actor education, even if you are observing other actors.

From the best and worst experiences, you can gain invaluable insight into how YOU would prepare the scene, overcome the limitations, and bring your best IF you were playing the role. With this insight, after a handful of film shoots, you’ll have gained the widest understanding of how to deliver when YOU are next in front of the lens.

When there are few auditions for an actor and a week between classes (if one is studying) it is very possible to lose one’s sense of craft. Further, in an industry where time is not a premium, it is even easier to lose one’s depth of craft. Here is one requirement that I ask of actors who truly want to dig deep and keep themselves fresh…

Take one long monologue, a minimum of ten minutes, and work it everyday for a month, without exception. This gets it deep in your DNA and takes you well beyond ‘knowing the material.’ After that month, work the piece twice a week, every week, ongoing.

This reminds you that there is always more to find. But most importantly, it teaches you what it’s like to LIVE the material in your conscious and unconscious mind. Once you experience this, you have a tangible goal for every piece of material you pick up for an audition or class. You might not have the months to prepare the new material, but you will know when you’re ‘settling’ for surface work because you’ve experienced DEEP work with this singular, ongoing piece.