We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nicholas Di Blasi a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nicholas, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I remember as a kid, I would always translate every idea, concept, even music, into images in my head. I guess it was a simpler, more comfortable way to digest the world around me. Although I was born in New Jersey, I grew up in Venezuela where my mother was born. When I was 10 years old, we had to move back to New Jersey and that was a bit of a cultural shock, but also a great influence in my life. Something that I found fascinating was moving into a house with a basement. Homes don’t have basements in Venezuela, so for me, it was a whole new world to explore and a new and exciting spectrum of images to create. I would spend endless hours down there, just imagining how I would tell stories with images, but in the early 70’s, having access to a camera, as un relatable as it may sound to youngsters today, wasn’t easy at all. I would sometimes draw, but my skills as an illustrator weren’t good enough to recreate what was in my mind.
With time, I started to give up on the idea of filmmaking, simply because it seemed unreachable. But I guess once you put your dreams and desires out there, they find a way to find you.
One day I was walking to school and I was running late. I knew that one way to save time was to walk through a patch of forest, as opposed to going around it as usual. I was always told to avoid the short cut because people would go in there to smoke pot and I could be at risk. But desperate times call for desperate measures, so in I went. I felt like an Olympic race walker as I made my way through the path and as I came out the other side, I , literally saw a scene that would change my life for ever. A small crew was shooting a short film. Rudimentary lighting and an old Pathè 16 millimeter camera that had to be winded before every shot, looked in my mind like a Mission Impossible 280 million dollar budget set. I ended up being late for school anyway, but it was well worth it. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and for the next week, I would sneak into the location every day just to watch them film. Until one day the director asked who I was and why was I there. I couldn’t come up with a credible lie, so I had to tell him the truth and identify as an intruder, which he found moving enough to take me under his wing. And that’s how I knew that if I could do that as work, I wouldn’t have to work a day in my life, because that is the most fun I had ever had.

Nicholas, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

The entire process of conception, pre-production, production and post production of a project is nothing but fun. There are times when I can’t wait for my alarm clock to go off, just knowing how exciting the day on set will be.
I understood early in life, that I had to pursue my dream and I did. I enrolled in Glassboro State College, which later became Rowan University in South Jersey and graduated with a bachelors degree in communications, majoring in TV and Film.
After that I moved back to Venezuela and started out as an actor, but I knew my calling was behind the camera. I took some jobs as a production assistant and moved my way up to the point where I was invited as a partner in one of the production companies I worked for. We produced mostly commercials and offered production services to companies that wanted to come from abroad and shoot in Venezuela. I had the opportunity to act as production manager for films like “A handful of Dust” starring Angelica Houston and Sir Alec Guinness among others and “Arachnophobia”, directed by Frank Marshall, along side Kathy Kennedy and Steven Spielberg as Executive Producers. My career as a producer/director was ascending, however, my heart was solely on the creative side, so I decided to dedicate full time as a Director.
I’ve been fortunate to have experienced the industry from a variety of angles. My years in advertising showed me the value of aesthetics and attention to detail. My years directing series and telenovelas at Telemundo Studios, both in Miami and Mexico, gave me a sense of productivity on set and problem solving on the spot as well as the ability to work with different cultures. My experience in films have granted me the opportunity to oversee a project in all aspects of the process from start to finish. I’ve experienced the evolution and advances of the technical side of the industry, but in the end, the essence of telling a good story is still the same and people value emotions above all things.
The most fascinating part for me is collaborating with people who have different views and opinions, but share the same passion for story telling.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

As filmmakers, directors, actors, all we do is recreate the human behavior in the hope of moving human emotions. That simple. And yet, every time we do that we get to dive head first and learn the most about an endless library of subjects and stories. And based on those we get to create our own, which elevates the already endless possibilities into a whole new level. It is a blessing to see an image in your head and somehow, with the help of wonderful people and cooperative components, be able to see it materialized, sometimes in ways you didn’t know were possible.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I hesitate to divide the world into those who are creative and those who aren’t. I truly believe everyone uses creativity, just in different ways . I think it’s important to acknowledged the value of those who are involved in the process and yet are capable of doing those things that are necessary and yet are not exciting to us. As much as I expressed that every part of my job is nothing but fun, being involved in budget meetings and administrative proceedings is really dreadful to me. So the fact that there are those who are passionate about numbers and logistics and legal papers, is something that I have to appreciate and honor, because it makes my life easier.
It is more valuable to celebrate the diversity of people needed to pull a project and invite those involved to try to walk in each others’ shoes in order to understand before judging each others motives.

Contact Info:

• Website: Nick.juanervas.com
• Instagram: Diblasiproductionsmiamiok