Paul Capotosto
Filmmaker, Artist, Designer
Work & Clients
I create films and all sorts of fine art products from start to finish
What I Do
My love of telling stories and passion for film drove me to seek formal training at Syracuse University and FAMU International, in Prague, Czech Republic, where I graduated with a MFA in film in 2015. Chosen to represent Syracuse University at the International Filmmakers Academy, I traveled to Bologna, Italy to attend the Cinema Ritrovato and work with filmmakers such as Gian Vittorio Baldi, Dani Menkin, and Diao Yinan. While in attendance in the MFA program at Syracuse, I honed his skills in production design, costume design, hand drafting, model building, sculpting, and painting. I helped out on numerous short films dressing sets, making props, and designing creatures while making five short films of my own. During my second year in the program I shot a documentary following the Syracuse City Ballet on their recovery from a warehouse fire. Since then I have collaborated with the Syracuse City Ballet to design and build sets, props, and make several short promotional videos and commercials for their productions of The Nutcracker, Cinderella, and Swan Lake.
How I Work
I constantly challenge myself by working outside of my comfort zone in order to push myself and grow as an artist and filmmaker. I believe that it is necessary to try new things to develop as an artist. With my production design, I always try new things conducting research on new techniques and approaches. In my research I have studied a lot of puppetry construction, sculpture, and painting. I constantly attempt to perform my job dressing sets and creating characters so that my hand is invisible to preserve the illusion that filmmakers count on to tell their stories.
Who I Am
I come from a fine arts background. Following my passion for the arts I moved from Hamilton, New York, where I grew up, to Buffalo, New York where I attended SUNY Buffalo and earned my BFA with a concentration in emerging practices as well as a BA in French in 2011. While at school, I worked as a graphic designer and freelance artist before having the chance to work on a feature independent film as a script supervisor. This experience fueled my desire to study film. In 2010 I moved to Montpellier, France for a semester where I furthered my studies in the French language and theater at The Université Montpellier III Paul Valéry.
What I Believe
I believe the production design of a film has a great impact on how a film functions. Sets create a mood and environment for the characters to exist in. The worlds established through the production design give energy to the stories told and allow the actors to feed off of their surroundings to get into the scene and their characters. My thirst for knowledge and strive for excellence combined with my background in film production, has prepared me to enter the film industry and grow as both a designer and storyteller.