Jessica Pantoja is a Mexican Cinematographer. She graduated with a Bachelor's in Science in Communications and Entrepreneurship, but she decided to pursue a career in filmmaking. She received training in the camera department while working as the only female camera technician in EFD, later earning her the skills to be a camera assistant under-talented Mexican and American Cinematographers. After that, she moved to LA to pursue an education as a Director of Photography. She received her MFA with a specialty in Cinematography at AFI and became a NAUI certified Underwater Cinematographer and Camera Operator. She was recently the director of photography for the comedy "Adult Best Friends," directed by Delaney Buffett, which was an official selection of the 2024 Tribeca Festival.
Jessica's passion for storytelling and nonverbal communication motivates her to work in different fields of filmmaking and photography, pushing her creative boundaries constantly to create unique content every time. Her pool of experience involves short films, feature films, documentaries, commercials, music videos, fashion, and abstract art pieces. Her work has been displayed on many different platforms worldwide, including film festivals such as Camerimage, Krakow film festival, Cine Gear, and VIZIO filmmakers Challenge, to mention a few. Jessica has also collaborated with greater artists and publications such as Vogue, Eone, NYLON Magazine, and Zoe Saldana's Latinx digital news platform, BESE. Though Jessica enjoys diversifying her work pool, her passion lies in documentary filmmaking. She believed that sharing true stories allows people to empathize on another level with the film's subject. This passion leads to collaborations with organizations such as VICE, Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation, One Vote at a Time, Home Storytellers, Travel & Leisure, and most recently, Amy Poler's Smart Girls.
Detailed Breakdown:
[00:00] Introduction
[14:10] What brought me to film school
[45:22] Applying to film school
[51:12] After Film School
[1:02:33] Adult Best Friends
[1:24:30] Is film school worth it
Links and Resources:
YouTube Episode Link to the show.
Related Episodes:
Martim Vian Cinematographer FAMU / AFI After Film School #021
Ed Wu Director of Photography American Film Institute (AFI) After Film School #014
Keith Nixon Cinematography American Film Institute (AFI) After Film School #004
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