WHO I AM

 
 
 
 

Hi!

My name is Paolo; I’m an Italy based film director and photographer.

I was born in the Italian Alps where I soon started to ski, climb and run around mountains. I first grabbed a camera to share the adventures me and my friends were living with more people.

After years of expeditions around the globe following some of the best outdoor athletes and working with the biggest brands in the industry I started to bring my storytelling skills and style to different worlds. In recent years I find myself traveling a lot across Africa where I find endless inspiration and stories both about conservation and adventure.

It doesn’t matter if it’s about a person or a brand, my experience as a documentary filmmaker will allow me to understand the story you need to tell and to deliver it in the best way possible.

WHAT I DO

FILM PRODUCTIONS

Story is king. I always approach my video projects by understanding the story we’re trying to tell and getting to its core, before finding a way to translate it into original and eye-catching visuals the will take my clients’s wishes to the next level.

You either have a message to tell, an idea to share or a vision to promote; I have the ability to bring your story to life and make it worth watching.

You can see my film productions here.

PHOTOGRAPHY

While today my main occupation is shooting films, I started my career as a stills photographer. My eye as well as my editing techniques allow me to stand out and be known for my own style.

I often combine photos and videos within the same production, making the most of every scenario and delivering to my clients a complete media kit for all their needs.

You can have a look at my photography work here.

 

NGOs & CONSERVATION

My deep passion for nature and wildlife naturally brought me to conservation.

I think everyone can do something to have a positive impact on our planet, and for me it is using my skills to create films and photos that educate people and raise awareness about environmental issues.

I am currently working on a few different short films that I hope will be finished and released soon…I’ll keep you updated!

SOCIAL MEDIAS

Creating visuals is my passion but making sure people see it is equally important.

This is why I’ve been very active for years on social medias, mainly Instagram, where I’ve been able to build an audience of more than 50.000 people in total. In 2024 I will also launch my YouTube channel, where I will focus on sharing meaningful stories from the great outdoors.

When used wisely, social media are an extremely powerful tool that I’ve been studying for years in order to master and use it to not only my advantage but also my clients’s advantage.

 

HOW I WORK

  • In order to start a new project, I always ask the client to be as clear as possible: what are we trying to achieve with this production?What is your goal? Are we just telling an interesting story, are trying to sell more products/services, or are we working on brand awareness? Which platforms are going to be used to share the production? What are the deadlines and deliverables?

    That way I can have a clear overview of the project and give my own insight, ideas and artistic approach.

    We also agree on a budget and conditions at this stage.

  • Once we agreed on the project direction, I start the pre-production: location scouting, talent scouting, scripting a story, planning travels, transfers, props needed and any other aspect that we need to take into consideration for the production.

    At this stage, together with the client, we agree on the storyline, shooting locations and deadlines.

  • The production part consist of shooting all the footage/photos needed to make the project come to life.

    Depending on the location, environment and client needs, we can decide to be as simple as having only myself on set with a minimal equipment or to go all the way up to a big crew with multiple cinema cameras.

    Thanks to my experience in the outdoors I am able to manage logistics and to deliver from the most challenging locations, from the top of a mountain to the middle of a desert.

    Find more about the gear I use further down this page.

  • Once everything is shot, I start the post production process.

    Depending on budget, post production include an original soundtrack (or a licensed stock soundtrack), cutting the whole film, sound design, color grading, graphics, animations…basically everything needed to create a high-end film.

  • Once the whole production is wrapped up, I always send the final production through a WeTransfer link that can be downloaded by the client.

    All my productions are in 4K resolution, 16x9 or anamorphic ratio depending what has been agreed.

    I also create specific versions that are designed to perfectly fit each platform, like shorter content with a vertical aspect ratio of 9x16 specifically edited for social media.

  • Once all the deliverables have been delivered, we can also work on social media campaign together to maximize the impact of the visuals we created.

    This can either include me promoting the production and posting it on my own social medias or simply guiding the client on how to post and promote the campaign in order to have as much impact as possible.

    Creating content is very important but using it right is equally important.

 

WHO I ALREADY WORKED WITH

I already had the honor and opportunity to work for some of the biggest companies in the outdoor industry like The North Face, Black Diamond, Haglöfs and Marmot.

You can some of the productions I’ve created for them under my film and photography pages.

 
  • For most of my filming I am currently relying on my Canon R5Cs. With the capability of shooting up to 8K RAW 60p and 4K 120p with a top-class dynamic range, this small camera is a true beast that I can rig up all the way to film for hours on conventional sets, while giving me the flexibility to strip it down and bring it to the most challenging locations without any compromise on quality.

  • Canon R5: the reference when it comes to versatility hybrid camera shooting up to 8K RAW videos and 45 megapixels photos at 20 fps.

    Canon R3: when the world gets dark or when the action gets fast, I turn to theCanon R3 which is the best low light camera on the market shooting 6K RAW videos and 24 megapixels photos at 30 fps. It also features the fastest and most reliable autofocus in the market.

  • I pair my cameras with the new line of Canon RF lenses that provide an incredible image quality and reliability, covering all the line from a super wide 15mm to the super tele of 600mm f4.0.

  • DJI Mavic 3 Pro: the latest and most powerful portable drone on the market. Shooting up to 5K log footage with 3 different focal length: 24mm, 70mm and up to 160mm, this drone is the ultimate tool for next level aerial footage.

    DJI Mavic Air2S: if I need to travel lighter or I need to fly the drone into a tiny space that doesn't fit the Mavic 3 Pro, this little boy still shoots 5.2K 10 bit footage on a 24mm lens.

    FPV: Whenever needed, I collaborate with professional FPV pilots for more immersive aerial footage.

  • Keeping my light setups up to date allows me to make the most of the latest technologies. In the last year I renewed almost all of my lights going for smaller, more powerful units that can often operate on batteries, allowing me to take a cinematic quality photography even to the most remote locations.

  • Often overlooked by filmmakers, audio is not as glamorous as the visuals but it is often more important than the images in the success of a video. I have a professional audio set that allows me to record up to 4 different microphones on external 32bit recorders for the best quality. For the bigger projects or when the environment is particularly challenging, I also bring a dedicated audio person on set to make sure we can capture the best sound tougher with the best visuals.

  • Keeping my studio workstations updated allows me to edit faster, focusing more on my clients needs and less on technical issues.

    With a Mac Studio M2 Max as my main editing workhorse, one iMac 5K for social media and one MacBook Pro M2 Pro as a mobile workstation, I can work on your content as fast as today’s technology allows.