We were lucky to catch up with Alexander D. Paul recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alexander D. , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you share a story about the kindest thing someone has done for you and why it mattered so much or was so meaningful to you?
I began my career in 2008. I had one semester left of college and was shipped out to Los Angeles to finish off my academic life with an internship with Partizan Entertainment, a music video and commercial company founded by Michelle Gundry While I was very excited to be in LA I was also very nervous. Everything was new then. The plants looked different from what I was used to. The architecture was different. Everyone was wearing jackets in 70 degree weather! I had my first few days in the office of Partizan where they quickly decided to put me on set. This is something I will never forget. It was a Janet Jackson music video! I don’t remember who the director was but it was shot by Jeff Cronenweth who also was the Director of Photography for films like “Fight Club” and “The Social Network”. I was so excited and so eager to learn. The stage was massive and the lighting equipment was so magical. What excited me the most was the way the DP orchestrated the set as if he were the eye of a hurricane. He sat at the film camera conducting everyone around him. “Hang a light here.” “Set up a 4×4 opal off the light there.” “Bring the camera down this way.” It was a whole language I didn’t yet understand. It all just looked like chaos to me but it thrilled me. I must have looked like I was new because a crew member pulled me aside. His name was Robbie. He was older, maybe 50’s, and had worked on huge film sets through out his career. He could tell right away that this was my first time ever being in this kind of environment. I was nervous to be so green but that day he took me under his wing. He explained to me what each person did on set, why they were doing it and what it took to get into that position. I told him I wanted to be a DP and he laughed. He explained that it was a hard road to walk. He explained that I would have to keep PAing, maybe get into the camera department as a trainee and move my way through that world and even then there was no guarantee I would ever make it that high on the food chain. At the end of the shoot he gave me my first pair of work gloves and some small cut pieces of foam core. He told me to write my name and number on them and hand them out to everyone I wanted to work with again from the shoot. He wished me luck. A few days later I got my second PA job from someone to whom I gave one of those foam core business cards. From there I got another PA job and then another and another. There were many more steps between that first day and where I am now, but it’s hard to think of where I would be without that small act of kindness and encouragement.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Well, in a nut shell I was born and raised in Connecticut and went to school in Massichusets. In 2008 I moved to Los Angeles where I had an intership at Partizan Entertainment. After finishing school I began working as a PA until eventually I landed a job as a Camera PA on the television show, “My Name is Earl.” After that I begain working as a film loader on low budget features films until I had enough hours to join the camera union(IATSE Local 600). Over the course of of 15 years I moved through the union ranks from Loader to 2nd AC(Clapper) and then 1st AC(Focus Puller) and as of 2018 I am a Director of Photography, otherwise known as a cinematographer. My job is essentially to photograph the project. That means I work with the writer and director to actualize technically the project they want to make. I am in charge of several departments on a film set and have an active creative say in the visuals of any given project. The work I am best known for at TV shows such as “Chef’s Table” and “Street Food”. My work has taken me all over the world and I am most proud of the team I have managed to put together as my career has grown.
Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?
My view on NFT’s is that it seems like a new form of some kind of visual entertainment and if people want to spend a ton of money on them more power to them.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
When I was younger the original driving force was money. I just needed to make sure I could pay rent. As my career has become more sustainable I think my real goal now is to find new talent and do my best to help lift it up. I have several people on my team who started similarly as I did and one of the great joys of my life has been to be able to help them ascend to the places they want to get in their careers.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.alexanderdpaul.com
- Instagram: @alexanderdpaul