The American dream, at least the musical version of it, is alive and well. Anyone who needs proof of this can simply ask Indian born guitarist and composer Nipun Nair. He left behind an extremely successful career in his homeland with the band Public Issue. The group was featured on India’s VH1 and MTV. Public Issue performed headlining tours, playing many festivals, and winning multiple awards (Nipun has won 20 awards for best guitarist in national level competitions). The loss of the band’s bass player in a tragic accident placed Public Issue on hiatus and, after some time away, Nair set his sights on furthering his career in America. In a narrative that seems too optimistic to be true, Nipun landed in LA and went straight to a T Mobile store to obtain cell service. The salesperson who sold him his cell plan was in a band called Destino with (at that time) an undiscovered singer named Anthony Cruz. The two exchanged information and within three days Edgar (the musician/ T-Mobile salesperson) called Nipun to play guitar in the band. Within Nair’s first week of living in the U.S. he was now booked at legendary clubs like the Whiskey a Go Go, the House of Blues, and many others on the iconic Sunset Strip. It wasn’t long before Anthony Cruz was discovered by Randy Phillips and Deborah Corday (music industry legends famous for work with Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, Toni Braxton, and more). Nair began his role as the guitarist on Cruz’s songs with songwriter/producer Rafael Esparza Ruiz (known for his work with Santana, Ricky Martin, Chayanne, and many other world famous Latin artists). The Grammy nominated and ASCAP Award winning Rafael saw Nipun with Cruz onstage at a live performance and confirms that he was instantly aware that Nair was a major asset to the music. Esparza also used Nair to play guitar on a host of other Latin songs he was producing. One of these songs, “Inesperado” has already been selected by EMI music for future release by world-famous artist Anahi. Rafael states, “As an internationally renowned musician, Nipun was undoubtedly leading and crucial to the recording of the songs and to my studio.” He continues confirming, “It became immediately apparent to me upon working with Nipun that he was not simply a session musician, but an artist in his own right. I was amazed at the skill and mastery he has with the guitar. Needless to say, I was overjoyed with his work and would collaborate with him again in a second.” Not only delegated to the world of rock and pop music, Nipun composed music for The Little Theater in Nungambakkam, India. This brainchild of Aysha Rau provides a creative and educational outlet for children to explore the arts in a way not provided by the school system. The Little Theater has quietly been helping underprivileged children since 1991. Its original musical production of “The R.E.D. Bean Can” was one of only 6 productions selected from among 60 all over the world to play at the 22nd International Theater Festival for the youth at Hamaden, Iran. The Little Theater was recognized for its achievements and selected as #10 Best Theater in India by Broadway World. The productions, featuring Nair’s compositions, have played to sold out crowds across Europe and Asia. Nipun revels in the challenge and experience relating, “Working with the Little Theater has been nothing short of an adventure; always pushing the limits of our creativity. We push our productions each year to go one step further, often resulting in incredibly tight deadlines. It is an extremely creative and inspiring project for a musician to be a part of. I scored the most recent production of nine tracks within a week and a half. It turns out that some of your best work comes out when you are under pressure. I’m extremely proud of two productions I have done for The Little Theater. ‘Atita…The Curse of Xenu’ (a post apocalyptic sci-fi Broadway style musical for which I composed the music, trained the vocalists and musicians, and actively involved in brainstorming the plots of the script) and The R.E.D. Bean Can. Both received international attention.” Continuing his work in live theater here in the U.S., Nair became the in house composer for the Theater of Will, a non-profit arts education company based in southern California. Willard Simms is the president and artistic director. Simms has achieved major notoriety for his work in Biographical drama (winning the 2014 New York Theater Solo Fest award for Best Biography “Einstein: A Stage Portrait, which has also been aired on televisions in the U.S. for three years). Theater of Will is dedicated to biographical theater and school education programs. They stage dramatic presentations that extend the knowledge of great and influential historical figures on the public stage. Sponsored by LADWP, the musicals focus on the importance of water conservation in both an entertaining and educational format. Simms confirms, “Our shows could never have attained the degree of success that they have without the leading contributions of Nipun Nair.” The theater performs annually at the Grand Park in downtown LA every year (among other performances) and performs in front of thousands during the summer concerts and plays at Warner Park. Dreaming is a Private Thing, a film produced by Alan Sardana, taps into the increasingly popular concept of Artificial Intelligence. The film was featured at the Toronto Youth Festival and won the award for Best Production Design at the Ryerson University Film Festival in Canada. The question of “where does machine end and humanity begin” is approached in an original way in this tale (based on a short story by Isaac Asimov) of an android named Sam the sampler. Set in the distant future, Sam’s creator is the last filmmaker on Earth and Sam is essentially a camera in human like form. The cast includes Leo Lee (Swordfish, Contact, The Replacement Killers), Susie Park (Spider-Man 2, The Chaos Factor), and Dan Mousseau as Sam. The emotional theme of the film is one of birth, awareness, and even love. To enrich these themes and bring them to the surface, the filmmakers asked Nipun to create a score. What he composed is a dreamy and soothing soundscape that draws upon elements of blues and classical music. Dreaming’s director AJ Smith approached the composer after hearing some of his music online. Nipun recalls, “He [Smith] asked me if I’d like to score the film. I said ‘Absolutely!’ We were short on time, preparing for the festivals. They would send me scene after scene and I kept churning out music…we finished scoring the entire film within three days. It was crazy! I’m glad they were so happy with my work, especially considering the time frame we had to work with.” Director AJ Smith praises Nair commenting, “Upon the first listen, I was instantly impressed with the music Nipun created for the film. He seamlessly merged ambient electronic sounds with a more commercially minded orchestral score to tremendous success and effectiveness. It was a major achievement to have a score like this in our film.” As with many other modern composers and artists, Nipun has found an outlet for his talents in a somewhat more practical outlet avenue. Still exercising his creative abilities, Nair has been lead composer and musician for Rubecon Creative Solutions. Rubecon is a large, award-winning advertising agency in India known for national and international clients such as; Citiband, Ibaco, Arun Ice Cream, Prince Jewelry, and others. Nipun views working with Rubecon as a great opportunity noting, “Rubecon is a creative agency that is always looking to make their commercials as creative and big as possible. Working closely with their CEO and creative head Alexander Zach has been nothing short of inspiring. Working with Rubecon has helped me push the boundaries of my composition and to further my skills with each project.” Rubecon Creative Solutions has been recognized with awards like the Gold award at the Campaign for Dignity and the prestigious Silver Medal for the Times of India at the 2015 Goafest, proving that Nair’s talents have been a major contribution to the company’s impact. Nipur may soon be using his skills in the same arena here in the U.S. via a deal memo with Terremoto Productions. Terremoto is an audio production company founded by award-winning music composer Luis Guerra. His compositions have been featured in commercials for Honda, Samsung, and Mentos, as well as the Netflix documentary Art of Conflict and the Tina Fey feature film Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Among other projects, Nipun would take part as a composer and musician for Disney Junior Channel’s Doc McStuffins. No doubt his time with The Little Theater will greatly aid in his ability to communicate with younger generations. With so many possible paths for Nipun’s career to steer towards, it will be interesting to witness how he navigates them all.
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Some types of artists, such as writers, tell stories with words. Other types of artists, such as photographers and painters, tell stories with pictures. Russian- born designer and visual effects (VFX) artist Vitaly Verlov tells his stories with motion graphics and special effects.
Modern motion graphics use digital animation to create the illusion of movement and rotation of 2D or 3D artwork. TV stations and commercials use motion graphics to locate viewers to their channels and brand their shows and products. “Motion graphics is a general term. It's something that visually can be executed in different ways and styles,” Verlov explained. “It can be two-dimensional, flat or illustrated looking as well as three-dimensional.” Verlov has created motion graphics that have appeared in commercials for some of the largest and most recognizable brands in the world such as Samsung, Nokia and Mitsubishi. He’s also created motion graphics for the worldwide music channels MTV and VH1 and for the Russian channel RUTV. Even though Verlov’s work has boosted the image of some of the world’s most successful companies, his work is about much more than mere brand identity – Verlov’s work contains narrative. “Motion design is storytelling,” Verlov said. “When making a TV show opener or a channel ident, you're actually making a short, animated 10- to 15-second piece, which tells a story visually.” VFX, on the other hand, integrates photorealistic special effects into live action shots, a technique commonly used in film and TV shows to create scenes that would otherwise not be possible. Verlov’s style of motion graphics translated seamlessly to VFX, which has brought him consistent work in the film industry. “My direction is more 3D oriented,” Verlov said. “That's why it substantially intersects with the visual effects field.” Verlov was the lead 2D VFX artist for the Chinese sci-fi feature film Impossible, which was directed by Zhou Sun (I Do, Breaking the Silence). During the film’s post-production, Verlov worked on the film’s VFX in the Beijing studio of international VFX production company Pixomondo, which has created VFX for numerous major titles such as Game of Thrones, Furious 7,and Fantastic Four. But Verlov hasn’t just worked on other people’s projects. In fact, he’s made two films of his own and was heavily involved in the VFX production for each title. Verlov’s first film, Forever After, was a sci-fi story about a couple’s encounter with a mysterious alien phenomenon. The film showed at the Cannes Film Festival, the most prestigious film festival in the world, in 2012. Despite the film’s modest budget,Forever After featured breathtakingly realistic VFX and high overall production value. Redux, Verlov’s latest film, stars Hollywood actors Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight, The Expendables, The Cable Guy) and Russell Fenton (Deceptors, Freshman Psych). The sci-fi drama about a scientist, an assault team and a time-travelling warning message features a retro-futuristic vibe straight out of the 1980s. Verlov, who wrote, directed and edited Redux, is currently working its VFX. Redux is the latest credit in what is already an impressive portfolio for Verlov, one that is sure to grow with even more ambitious titles in the future. You can check out Vitaly Verlov's awesome reel below, and you can also find out more about his work through his website: http://primevalues.net/
The work of a producer entails someone capable of managing an astonishing amount of logistics. From balancing budgets to finding locations and deciding what film festivals are most suitable for showcasing a project after production is completed, the responsibilities that come along with the title of film producer paint a picture of a person with an overly "type-a" personality. However, through producer Filippo Nesci, we see that rigid organization and strategy are by no means, the only qualities necessary for becoming a success in the film industry.
"If I tell you about all the responsibilities I take on as producer you might think I am just crazy to have chosen this profession," admits Nesci. Handling the ever-mounting expanse of his responsibilities with ease, Nesci's diplomatic approach, combined with his ability to follow his gut and build meaningful relationships with people, have allowed him to accomplish more than most other producers in a relatively short amount of time. His capabilities as a producer are further compounded by his natural creativity, something that allows him to visualize a director's goal for a project and deliver a work that exceeds everyone's expectations. In 2013 Nesci produced Benjamin Weiss's (The Ferryman, Vision Quest) award-winning film Lineman, which received the $3000 Founders Circle Award from the 2013 Louisiana Film Prize competition, in addition to being chosen as an Official Selection of the Solothurn Film Festival in Switzerland and several others.
The film follows the men and women who keep the power on, an especially dangerous job that becomes life threatening in the face of a storm. Through Lineman, viewers witness age through the eyes of his girlfriend Kira, as he embarks on the journey of becoming a lineman, a challenge that ultimately tests his manhood. Lineman starred Danna Maret, from the television shows Missy from Mississipi and The Common Room, as Kira, and Chase Mowen, from the films Grace, Book of Fire and Thief, as Gage.
Nesci had his work cut out for him on this project, as the film required him to develop the skeleton of the production in California, but because the goal of the project was to win an award in Louisiana, the film also had to be shot there. "This implied a lot of problems obviously since all cast and crew had to be moved, for the exact time of the actual production… Once again, to cut expenses I relied on my diplomatic skills," recalls Nesci. "I made an appointment with the Mayor of Arcadia to explain to him the meaningfulness of our movie and ask him for help… The meeting was very successful and Mayor Smith allowed me to film freely within Arcadia’s city limits." Anyone who knows the strenuous effort that goes into applying and paying for film permits, especially in Los Angeles, knows that Nesci's accomplishment is a huge feat. After wrapping the California portion of the film's production, it was off to Louisiana for Nesci and the rest of the Lineman cast and crew. There, his ability to build relationships with the people he meets came in handy once again. "I was able to make friends also with linemen and some of Louisiana's people, up to the point that one of them invited all of us to live at his place, on the swamp, during our stay for production," explains Nesci. "This was extremely helpful to put all cast and crew within the ambience of the film, plus it allowed our DP to shoot footage of the swamp, which was useful for post-production, since he let us explore it with his boat. And… it was all for free!" The international success of the film Lineman undoubtedly proves the invaluable nature of producer Filippo Nesci's vast talents to his industry, a fact that he's proven through his work on several other productions as well. In 2014, Nesci produced a series of commercials for renowned scotch whiskey company Lagavulin with director Armen Perian. The series included the commercials entitled "Confidante," "Valiant," "Champion" and "Guardian," and went on to receive the 2014 Bronze Clio Award, the National ADDY Gold Award, and others. Nesci is currently working on several other exciting productions including the film Pepe the Movie, as well as a scientific documentary on the evolution of mourning in the digital age, which will cover mourning practices across the world surveying dances, artifacts, costumes and music. He is also promoting the film Snippets of Wally Watkins, which he produced with Janus Communications and Movies LLC., at film festivals internationally.
The highly watched series not only marked O'Connell's first reoccurring role in a television series, but it catapulted Jai to the top of the television world as well. She would go on to star in the television shows Pillars of Freedom, Medabots, Monster Force, The Magic School Bus, The Busy World of Richard Scary, Trail Mix, Stickn' Around, Little Rosey and many others. Jai also starred as Jasmine Matsumuto alongside Oscar and Golden Globe nominated actor Mako (Memoirs of a Geisha, Seven Years in Tibet, Pearl Harbor, RoboCop 3, Rising Sun, The Sand Pebbles), Billy Blanks (Kiss the Girls, Jack and Jill, Assault on Devil's Island) and Adrian Hough (X-Men: The Last Stand, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Fog, Underworld: Evolution) in the film Balance of Power. An action packed fight film Balance of Power centers on the story of Niko (Billy Blanks), a fighter who runs a dojo for underprivileged kids, and Todo Matsumoto (Mako), a martial arts expert who trains Niko to go up against an evil gang that is determined to destroy the dojo. Jai's sweet face and innocent approach to her character Jasmine, Todo's granddaughter and a constant fixture throughout the film, adds incredible amounts of cuteness to Balance of Power, a key component in making the film fit for a family oriented audience. For example, after Jai's character takes Niko to meet her grandfather to help him mend his wounds after being beaten to a pulp in an alley, she fixates her eyes on his sculpted abs and says, "May I?" and subsequently punches him in the stomach. In one of the film's most memorable moments audiences see Niko doing push-up as the small-framed Jasmine sits comfortably on his back nonchalantly reading a book. A difficult and almost impossible task for many adult actors, Jai has managed to bring that same child-like innocence that we see in Balance of Power to many of her roles during adulthood when necessary. Adding incredible emotional depth and vulnerability to Birdie, one of the leading characters in the theater production of "What of the Night," Jai gave a standout performance that received rave reviews. Directed by Caitlin Hart, the play follows Birdie as she grapples with the decision to leave her poverty-ridden family at the age of 14 in order to create a better life for herself; a decision which means leaving everything she knows behind and heading out into the cold cruel world. A Pulitzer Prize nominated play written by Maria Irene Fornes, "What of the Night" follows Birdie on a 60-year long journey of self-realization, love, betrayal and sorrow. Jai powerfully displays her capacity as an actress as she transforms from the young 14-year-old Birdie who is dead set on escaping poverty to the fragile elderly woman she becomes as years pass before the audience's very eyes. Director Caitlin Hart says, "Lisa Jai is an exceptionally professional and talented actor. I’ve had the pleasure of working with her on two shows in Los Angeles and I hope to cast her in all my shows to come! Her talent is limitless and her unique generosity onstage is a rare find. Los Angeles is lucky to have Lisa Jai!" Staged at the Vagrancy theatre in Los Angeles in 2014, "What of the Night" received an Ovation Recommendation from LA STAGE Alliance, a coveted recognition that serves as a huge testament to the performances given by Jai and her costars. Considered by many to be the Tony Awards of the Los Angeles theater world, the LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards provide a prestigious level of distinction awarding the best plays in LA, which is voted on by 250 professionals currently working in the theater industry. As an Ovation Recommended play "What of the Night" is now in the running as a possible nominee for the upcoming awards, which are usually held at the end of the year.
Originally from Montreal, Canada, Jonathan Bensimon has been taking the entertainment industry by storm on an international level, as he continues to wow audiences with his impeccable work as both a director and cinematographer.
Bensimon first rose to success in the film industry over a decade ago after working as the cinematographer on a commercial for telecommunications giant Nokia. About the commercial Bensimon says, "We created an operatic piece where we blew up TVs, Cameras and stereos and we would get beautiful highlights and light glimmers as all these pieces flew through the air, and at the end the footage would play backwards to create the phone. It was a mix of artistry and technology blending." One of the perks of being sought after by clients of this caliber is that Bensimon is always privy to using the industry's most cutting edge technology. Bensimon shot the footage for this particular commercial in super-slow motion, using a prototype digital camera that could record 1500fps, something he says at the time, "Was a new frontier for digital cinema." Eventually, Bensimon's unique visual style as a cinematographer grabbed the attention of an executive producer who, to make a long story short, put the talented young filmmaker on a path towards directing in 2006. Since then, Bensimon has gone on to work as the director and cinematographer on an impressive list of films, music videos and commercials. In 2014 Bensimon received several awards for his work, including a Gold, a Merit, and two Silver Awards at the Advertising and Design Club Of Canada (ADCC) for the film Zombie, which also took home three awards at the Applied Arts Advertising & Interactive Awards and made it onto the Cannes Lions' Shortlist. The film also received the Gold Pro Bessie Award at the 2015 Bessie Awards, one of the biggest awards shows in Canada. Zombie follows Antoine Zombé, a Canadian actor and zombie who struggles to break into the American film industry, which doesn't flock to his easy-going Canadian nature, that is, until he lets go of his niceness and becomes the kind of rabid angry zombie audiences have come to expect. "I took the film in a biopic direction where we follow this zombie actor's career. We start with his struggles and go on a journey that leads us to the eventual breakthrough into the business," explains Jonathan Bensimon. "I worked very closely with the lead actor (Ian Matthews) to create a comical tone, that was simultaneously absurd and relatable." Prior to creating the film Zombie to promote the Canadian Film Festival (CFF) in 2014, Bensimon worked as both the cinematographer and director on several other projects for the festival including the short film Canadian Sin, which garnered a Silver Award at the 2013 London International Film Festival and the Gold Award in the cinema category at the 2013 ADCC. Bensimon also worked as the director and cinematographer on Canadian Mafia for CFF, which took home the Silver Award at the 2013 ADCC, and two awards at the Applied Arts Advertising & Interactive Awards. Even in the early stages of his career, Jonathan Bensimon was widely recognized throughout the industry as someone destined for greatness, something proven by the fact that several management and production companies across Canada vied for the chance to represent him for his work. Prior to finding representation for his music videos with The Field, Spy Films (Toronto) and Les Enfants (Montreal), Bensimon was represented by Industry Films. While working with Industry Films, Jonathan Bensimon worked as the cinematographer and director on several high-profile commercials for global brands including "Passion," "All You Want," "Relief Worker" and "Father of the Bride" for Tylenol, "His and Hers," "Test Drive," "Trade In," "Checkered Flag" and "Silence" for Honda, as well as Nissan's "Choosing," Villagio's "Everyone's Favorite," Advil's "Advil Air," Honey Bunches of Oats' "Multiple Mouths" and countless others. Although Bensimon has become a highly sought after director and cinematographer for commercials, his talents in the field extend far beyond commercials alone. In 2010 he directed, as well as worked as the cinematographer on the film Tokyo/Glow, which received the Bronze Award in the film category at the Telly Awards. Upon his first visit to Tokyo, Bensimon was not only mesmerized by the beauty of the city, but was also drawn to one of the city's unique features-- a cross-walk sign, which ultimately led him to create the film Tokyo/Glow. Bensimon recalls, "I was in awe of the entire city, but something really simple caught my attention: the cross walk sign, rather than being a stick figure like every other crosswalk sign in the world this one had a suit and a fedora. I wanted to bring him to life and see him journey through the city." Incorporating stop-motion animation, Bensimon's film captures the beauty of the city's nightscape alive with movement as one man, who is literally lit up like a light bulb, moseys through the busy streets. Bensimon explains, "Our lead actor was wrapped in a 100 meters of LED rope light as he walked at a snails pace in order for the world around him to move at rapid speed." Aside from receiving a Telly Award, Tokyo/Glow reached incredible success in Canada where it aired nationwide on Bravo!, in addition to being featured on several blogs including Style.com, Tokyomango.com, Madewithjapan.com, and many more. About the way his work as both a cinematographer and director affect his overall approach to a project Bensimon says, "Being a director/cinematographer allows me to see things in a very unique way, it makes my preparation very intense and makes me develop a special relationship with the actors and the crew because I constantly look at things from multiple angles. Also, it allows me to have a very clear idea of the direction of the mood that will be in the final piece." Over the past decade Jonathan Bensimon has created an unparalleled reputation as an artist who is able to not only morph his creativity to the fit needs of his vast range of commercial clients, but one who is able to continually create groundbreaking work and frankly, we can't wait to see what he comes up with next! Make sure to check out Jonathan Bensimon's "Social Innovation" commercial for Hitachi below, where he was both the cinematographer and director, and if you would like to see more of this talented filmmaker's work you can check out his profile on Spy Films, Les Enfants and The Field , the production companies currently representing him. Multi-talented filmmaker Emeric Le Bars has been making a name for himself in the Hollywood film industry over the last few years. A talented young creative genius, Le Bars has fulfilled several roles in the process of filmmaking including director of photography, camera operator, colorist, producer and others, but what he has come to be most widely recognized for are his exceptional abilities as an editor. Originally from Angers, France, Le Bars discovered his passion for film in his youth, and while he majored in communications in college he was careful not to let his passion for filmmaking simmer into a simple hobby. Instead he took a concentration in video production, which accompanied his college degree, while also shooting and editing his own work in his free time. “I started working as an editor in France as a freelancer. I was mostly working in freelance, shooting some documentaries about local people and editing short movies,” explains Le Bars. “The first time I technically worked with editing software was about 10 years ago when my cousin and I were filming and editing some small budget movies. At the beginning editing was just a hobby, but I loved it so much that I wanted it to be my profession!” Driven to make his dreams a reality, Emeric Le Bars began working for City Hall in Angers, France, where he shot and edited several videos of the city and honed his skills in the creation of time-lapse videos from start to finish. Le Bars recalls, “City Hall used the videos to promote the city so my work was broadcasted in different theaters in Angers before the movies, and also in 27 countries on Euro Channel.” Today Emeric Le Bars is working as the editor of several projects in Los Angeles including the upcoming feature films Perception of Art and Lily’s Light, as well as for Smile TV where he is working on the show LaArt, which airs on PBS, and others. When it comes to Le Bars’ motivation to continue working as an editor he says, “Every project is different, every client is different so even if it seems to be the same thing over and over, it’s not! The only thing that I know now is that I want to keep doing what I am doing, because if you do what you love, you will never have one day of work in your life.” Although his busy editing schedule currently takes up most of his time, the talented young editor still manages to find time to create his own projects. One of Le Bars’ projects entitled “Unlimited City” serves as proof of his incredible talents as both an editor and a filmmaker. Le Bars says, "I shot the timelapse for Smile TV as stock video footage to use in our productions. Then I created the 'Unlimited City' video from that." A time-lapse video that takes viewers across Los Angeles from sunset and well into the night, Le Bars’ “Unlimited City” was chosen to represent the city of Los Angeles in the 2014 Bordeaux Wine Festival. Jane Shim of the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board explains, “[Emeric’s] time lapse video, Unlimited City, was an essential addition to the Los Angeles Pavilion at the 2014 Bordeaux Wine Festival. The looped video was projected onto an oblong balloon “screen” which provided some 500,000+ festival visitors with an intriguing visual experience of LA’s cityscape and cultural offerings. We are proud to have presented Emeric’s work as he truly embodies LA’s impetus for beauty and creativity.” Adding to Emeric Le Bars notoriety, the “Unlimited City” video has also been used by the Staple Center and the Los Angeles Kings, as well as to promote the Budweiser Made in America Festival, which was founded by 19-time Grammy Award winning artist Jay-Z. An unstoppable creative force in both the French and American entertainment industries, we will definitely be seeing a whole lot more from leading editor Emeric Le Bars for many years to come. Make sure to check out Le Bars' "Unlimited City" below, and if you want to find out more about his exciting work in the world of film and television make sure to stop by his website http://emericlebars.com/ Line producer and documentary filmmaker Nicola De Stefani laughs in the face of danger as he takes documentary and commercial productions to new heights on some of the tallest mountains in the world. Sitting atop a saddled horse in Mongolia close to the border between the Tuva region in Siberia, Nicola (Nick) De Stefani watched the Tuvan Turkic nomads, known as the Tsaatan or Reindeer people, bid him farewell, and he turned away to hide the tears in his eyes. After more than three weeks of living, eating, and traveling with the Tsaatan nomads, De Stefani found it too hard to see their time together come to a close. The Tsaatan prepared a special parting ceremony for De Stefani and his crew, offering them sweet Reindeer’s milk, and wishing them well on their travels. “They knew we were probably gone forever, but not forever forgotten. I was on a horse saddle, the last one standing there, I couldn’t leave for a while, I only left when tears filled my eyes and I didn’t want them to see me like that,” remembers Nick De Stefani. Nick De Stefani and his crew had become a part of the nomadic group, even helping them move their camp to a lower altitude once the winter grew harsh. According to De Stefani, the whole experience felt somewhat like a dream, a powerful encounter with a nomadic people from a disappearing world. De Stefani catalogued this tribe’s day-to-day life through the eyes of their chief for his eye-opening documentary, Tsaatan, Gli Uomini Renna, or Tsaatan, the Reindeer Men, which he produced for Mediaset, Italy’s largest commercial broadcaster. Nick De Stefani produced the documentary through World Watching Film, an Italian production company that he began in 1990. He took on and mastered a huge variety of roles for the company, working as a cameraman, producer, sound recorder, writer, art director, grip, and other crew roles. De Stefani was able to mold his plethora of talents to fit any challenge that arose during production, and as an indie production company that mainly shot documentaries in locales thousands of feet above sea level, extraordinary problems were the norm. World Watching Film produced nearly twenty pieces for television between 1990 and 1995, most of which were nature documentaries that specialized in educating viewers on habitat diversity and conservation. For all of these documentaries, De Stefani passionately worked a myriad of roles, drawing on his lifelong experience in the wild. Of his outdoors experience, De Stefani remembers “Being a mountaineer since I was a kid, a free climber in my teens and early twenties, and an avid lover of the outdoors, I was mostly involves in projects that were shot in the mountains or in the cold. Because of my great interest in natural life and biology, I was the one who suggested which animals or plants we were going to portrait and which became the subjects of our documentaries.” It was this passion that pushed De Stefani to the limit of his ability to survive, to take on formidable challenges in the hopes of producing work that could enlighten viewers about the diversity and beauty of life on our planet. “To be able to pass their culture and their way of life to those who saw our documentary,” De Stefani remembers, “to be able to show how those people were living once, and will probably not be able to survive for long, I believe that was a precious portrait of a common past, and a lesson for our common future.” Nick De Stefani’s undeniable passion for his art has taken him across the globe and will continue to enthrall and educate audiences worldwide. His bravery and composure under immense pressures is a testament to his dedication to his work as a producer and all around film artist who will never compromise or cut corners. |
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