Meet Dylan Paulini | Filmmaker/Chief Lighting Technician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dylan Paulini and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dylan, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
At the risk of sounding naive, I truly believe that the most important factor for success in any job in this industry is having hope. It’s a very competitive industry with thousands of people wanting to do what you want to do and be where you want to be which means there’s always going to be someone else for the job, I believe you must accept that and know what makes you stand out from the rest and embrace it. It’s not easy to be successful in this industry but if you really love what you’re doing and you know how to do it, work will find you, but that doesn’t mean you still shouldn’t go looking, always try to stay busy by doing jobs with a low pay rate or no pay rate at all while you wait for that one good job to come along.

And that waiting truly is the hardest part, yes, you can probably pay for rent with a couple days on a good gig but then comes the waiting in fear for a month for another good job to come along. You just have to know that you’re good at what you do and always stay hopeful. you’ll make it.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I think I’m going to focus a little more on my work as a gaffer for this question.

I think I’ve had an amazing journey in becoming a gaffer because I didn’t really notice how I got here until I did. While in film school, aside from directing, I was fascinated with the grip and electrical department and I got as good as I could’ve gotten with the limited equipment and time that I had in my one year program. but as soon as I graduated and got onto a non-student film set I truly felt like I knew nothing, the amount of equipment and knowledge that these other people had was basically incomprehensible to me, but sure enough, I loved the challenge. I started working as a grip, and quicker than I thought I already knew so much more, I quickly started being the key grip on small sets learning more and more with each set and just kept climbing up positions until I got to gaffer! I know, kind of a classic “work and climb the ranks” kind of answer but what really amazed me was when I gaffed for the first time. suddenly I was in a place of command instead of receiving instructions and without any practice with being a gaffer I just knew what to do, it came so easily, and it was all thanks to the small sets I did learning everything I could from the people in command.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
This is honestly tough, I don’t really have too many favorite spots, I suppose show people as much of the industry I work in as I can, maybe go to Warner brothers or universal, I feel like it’s easy to find good food everywhere so I guess it would just be up to what my visiting friend wanted! Sorry for the boring answer!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I of course owe it all to my parents. It was thanks to them that I was able to move to LA to pursue what I wanted to do with my life and I don’t think it could’ve worked out better. Once here in LA, I think every single person I’ve worked with has contributed to both the person and the filmmaker I am today, constantly learning from other people and becoming better at what I do. Never don’t network! You’ll meet everyone you need and want in your life on the way to doing what you want.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dylanpaulinip/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylan-paulini-009075246/