Bell Productions Films

THE FILM BUG

The New York Mayor’s Office for Film Theater and Broadcasting used to have a sheet posted in their office called The Tech List. It was a list of productions due to be filmed in New York with production office addresses and phone numbers. Periodically, I would visit each office on that list and leave my resume with their assistant. Somehow someone got a hold of my resume and finally invited me to intern at an extras casting office for the movie “The Preacher’s Wife”.

Until that moment, my only experience was as an assistant for the local news show at Univision, which was not something I wanted to do any longer. I decided to give the internship at the casting office a shot. For the next couple of months, I worked with Winsome Sinclair sorting headshots all day. The ladies who worked there were lots of fun and super dedicated. I was able to meet a few of the crew members, and was even paid for my work as an assistant in the editing rooms.

In only 3 short years in the United States, I was working alongside Academy Award winner Stephen Rotter and his team. That was an exceptional experience I will always treasure. During my time with that wonderful team, I was learning the value of diligence, disciplined and attention to detail. It was by far the most professionally enhancing environment I had ever seen. The lessons I took with me from my work there have since carried me into a to a successful career in film making. Looking back, it was apparent that I had caught I the film bug.

SETS IN NEW YORK STREETS

After working on “The Preacher’s Wife”, my desire to continue in this direction only increased. The exploration began in the editing rooms and continued onto sets in the streets of New York City with Assistant Directors that would teach me more about the craft of movie making. I would get to experience first-hand just how much time, effort, and prep work goes into the successful production of a single film. In the beginning stages it is always sad to see scene after scene cut from the picture, but the final product erases all discouragement.

I started to see the film crew work as a kind of a ballet performance. It can only be properly executed as a collaborative effort where each department must be on top of their game. The film process has its own rhythm and synchronicity, and coming to an understanding of the process is the key to finding your own way.

The call time was 3:00am on a frigid Sunday morning; I remember I used to carry a beeper. It took hundreds of production assistants to lock up Times Square and make it look deserted.

We met in a holding area and reviewed which blocks each team would cover. It was a daylight scene; we had a small window of time to shoot before all the tourists would come out for breakfast and discover Tom Cruise on the streets of Times Square.

At 5am each PA was in position, and by 7am we probably had our first shot. Finally at 11am the madness began as tourists poured in, trying to grab a photo with Tom Cruise. That’s when they called it a wrap.

AN INDUSTRY OF CONNECTIONS

After many a day and night spent on movie sets, and figuring out what to do with myself in this vast industry, I received my first call to work on a TV show.

This was exciting because movies have a short film life and it was a constant hustle to come up on the next available job. I have since worked on Law and Order “SVU”, “OZ”, The “Good Wife”, and other shows.

In the nineties, New York hosted a number of steady shows and there I had the opportunity to show what I was made of. I thank my father for my work ethic, my timeliness, reliability, calling on crew members who’ve hired me before, et cetera.

He used to say to me, “I feel I have never worked one day in my life, because my job is like a permanent vacation”. He loved being a professor, and in my own words, I may say that my life is like a permanent adventure.

BOLLY WOOD IN NEW YORK

In the summer of 2003, producer Driss Benyaklef asked if I was interested in being his assistant director. Until this moment, I had never met Driss before or heard of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan.

They were offering lower than my usual rate, but I remember the producer said I could eat all the Indian food I wanted. I took the job immediately. During the filming of Kal Ho Naa Ho, I met one of the hardest working crews I have ever had the honor to work with in my entire career.

They were humble, grateful, and I heard not one complaint out of any of them. To this day I am still friends with a few of them.

LOCATIONS LOGISTICS 

Filming in New York City is its own beast. It’s exciting and lively, but at the same time challenging and very expensive. Navigating the filming process takes intuition and experience. There are many moving parts involved in producing a movie or a show or even a simple teaser. Some of the real challenges are: setting up a production office, finding a decent crew, dealing with vendors, insurance, permits, parking, weather, last minute changes, et cetera. 

As a way of exploring the city and gaining movie management experience, I decided to begin working as a location scout and later as a Location Manager. My most memorable experiences down this alley were scouting for CBS “The Good Wife”, managing Rebecca Miller’s “Maggie’s Plan”, Jason Winer’s “Ode To Joy” and Dominican director Osmany Rodriguez ”Vampires Vs The Bronx”

WRITING AND DIRECTING

When I turned 14, I received my first journal. I can’t remember who gave it to me, but since then, I have always kept a journal and written down notes, feelings, images, and my dreams. Later at NYU with a supportive team of writers, I finished my very first screenplay. Then a second one. I directed three short films and published an essay. I had found ways to find my own voice and tell stories from my own experience.

It took practice to learn how to engage an actor to deliver a scene. It took more practice to learn to listen to an actor and find mutual understanding to what the scene was all about.

Since my early days in the editing rooms, I began to trust my instincts and do things that just feel right. A movie is composed by individual moments and when everything is in sync and we are able to stay in the moment, then you can make art.

SHADOWING MICHAEL ZINBERG ON CBS “THE GOOD WIFE”

Producer Brooke Kennedy, an advocate for women and minority directors made it possible for me to shadow director Michael Zinberg as he was directing one of the last episodes of TV show hit “The Good Wife”.

His energetic approach was inspiring. It was a good learning experience in directing in the fast paced world of episodic television.

THE VERY TALENTED PEOPLE I MEET

AMAZING LOCATIONS AND OTHER FUN FACTS