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.
Oscar Nominees Delve Into The Art Of Editing At ACE Session
You couldn’t miss Sean Baker at this past Sunday’s Oscar ceremony where he won for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Editing on the strength of Anora. However, earlier that weekend he was in transit from the Cesar Awards in Paris and thus couldn’t attend the American Cinema Editors (ACE) 25th annual panel of Academy Award-nominated film editors held at the Regal LA Live Auditorium on Saturday (3/1) in Los Angeles. While the eventual Oscar winner in the editing category was missed by those who turned out for the ACE “Invisible Art, Visible Artists” session, three of Baker’s fellow nominees were on hand--Dávid Jancsó, HSE for The Brutalist; Nick Emerson for Conclave; and Myron Kerstein, ACE for Wicked. Additionally, Juliette Welfling, who couldn’t appear in person due to the Cesar Awards, was present via an earlier recorded video interview to discuss her work on Emilia Pérez. The interview was conducted by ACE president and editor Sabrina Plisco, ACE who also moderated the live panel discussion. Kerstein said that he was the beneficiary of brilliant and generous collaborators, citing, among others, director Jon M. Chu, cinematographer Alice Brooks, and visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman. The editor added it always helps to have stellar acting performances, noting that hearing Cynthia Erivo, for example, sing live was a revelation. Kerstein recalled meeting Chu some eight years ago on a “blind Skype date” and it was an instant “bromance”--which began on Crazy Rich Asians, and then continued on such projects as the streaming series Home Before Dark and the feature In The Heights. Kerstein observed that Chu is expert in providing collaborators with... Read More