It’s funny how sitting and staring at your newborn will make you quickly reconsider the choices that you have made in life and re-examine how you want to keep living and working.
With the birth of my daughter almost five years ago, that contemplation led me to one conclusion. It was time to change. My responsibilities now were vast. How could I create a stable environment for my family? As I looked around, my world was changing, not just at home, but also in my industry. I asked myself, What path should I take? What was the wave of the future in commercial directing? It seemed that the old way of doing business was changing. Business models were being turned upside down and looked at every which way. As a director I knew I needed to find other ways to work and express my artistic vision.
Once I realized that working as a freelance director was a viable option for me, I soon also realized that great flexibility came with it. Being based in Los Angeles gave me a launching pad to expand and diversify into many areas of directing, travel extensively, and form key alliances and relationships with agencies and companies in many markets around the country. This has been invaluable to me professionally, as we are an industry based almost completely on relationships and repeat work. As a freelance director I have developed and expanded relationships throughout the country. This fresh take has allowed me to be agile, be constantly challenged, and learn how to work effectively in a modernized approach to this business.
Since working with an agent, I have been positioned and exposed to different forms of production. We are currently experiencing a blurring of lines within the business and realizing the fragility of the old structure. I am able to walk into this new terrain of commerce, entertainment, and technology, in a different way. I have more freedom to choose a variety of jobs, and am more available to be chosen by a variety of companies. Is this because I am freelance or is it a result of my 20 years in the business and the experience and knowledge that garners? Perhaps it is a combination of both.
This business is ever changing and evolving. Transmedia is under way and everyone is trying to understand how that will work for the future of our business. It’s an exciting time and I find myself feeling more enthused and inspired every day. We are witnessing and participating in the birth of digital communications including online media, mobile media and how they intersect with television, retail marketing, events, and so much more. There is a lot of great work becoming available out there regardless of where you are or to whom you are connected. The essential core of all this content is storytelling. And that’s the most exciting part for me.
Who knows where this industry is heading. We are living in a time with seemingly unlimited choice. I can only say for myself that I aim to continue to expand my professional development. I have been fortunate to see the volume and the quality of my work grow from year to year. To this day I am keenly aware that I am blessed to actually follow my professional calling in life.
Director Ron Hamad has been represented by L.A.-based The Directors Network since 2005.
L.A. Location Lensing Declines In 2024 Despite Uptick In 4th Quarter
FilmLA, partner film office for the City and County of Los Angeles and other local jurisdictions, has issued an update regarding regional filming activity. Overall production in Greater Los Angeles increased 6.2 percent from October through December 2024 to 5,860 Shoot Days (SD) according to FilmLA’s latest report. Most production types tracked by FilmLA achieved gains in the fourth quarter, except for reality TV, which instead logged its ninth consecutive quarter of year-over-year decline.
The lift across all remaining categories came too late to rescue 2024 from the combined effects of runaway production, industry contraction and slower-than-hoped-for post- strike recovery. With just 23,480 SD filmed on-location in L.A. in 2024, overall annual production finished the year 5.6 percent below the prior year. That made 2024 the second least productive year observed by FilmLA; only 2020, disrupted by the global COVID-19 pandemic, saw lower levels of filming in area communities.
The continuing decline of reality TV production in Los Angeles was among the most disappointing developments of 2024. Down 45.7 percent for the fourth quarter (to 774 SD), the category also finished the year down 45.9 percent (to 3,905 SD), which placed
it 43.1 percent below its five-year category average.
The two brightest spots in FilmLA’s latest report appeared in the feature film and television drama categories. Feature film production increased 82.4 percent in the fourth quarter to 589 SD, a gain analysts attribute to independent film activity. The
California Film & Television Tax Credit Program also played a part, driving 19.2 percent of quarterly category activity. Overall, annual Feature production was up 18.8 percent in 2024, though the... Read More