MA Media Producing first-year student Paul Michael Bloodgood has been nominated for two Lone Star Chapter EMMY® Awards for his commercials Love's Gentle Spring and Romeo & Juliet. Prior to his work in film and television, Paul had a 20-year career as a professional ballet dancer. He is also a stunt performer, virtual production director, and movement specialist. Read our interview with Paul to get to know more about him:
You graduated from Saint Edward's University with a BA in Dance and Humanities. Please tell us about your career trajectory from a professional ballet dancer to director, stunt performer, and movement specialist.
Throughout my professional ballet career in live theatre, dance also opened the door to work in film and television during the off-season. In all transparency, dance was never my "first love" - that special place belongs to film. My late father (a diehard musician) was a huge fan of cinema and he took me to the movies as often as time allowed. That being said, dance has been part of my life since I was 8-years-old; it's carved and shaped the way I perceive and move through life. My background in music and dance informs my storytelling as it relates to film. When I "retired" from the stage in 2018, I had the opportunity to work as a stunt performer on Fear the Walking Dead - a memorable experience that lasted four glorious seasons. Big shout out to James Armstrong and Jack Barnett for believing in me - I'll be forever grateful. Their recommendation led to a 6-week stunt contract on Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon - another incredible moment I won't soon forget. I loved talking shop with the incredible KNB EFX artists that did my makeup and prosthetics on FearTWD, sharing fun BTS on Jurassic Park, Ghostbusters and The Thing, just to name a few! I've played various creatures over the years, which has opened opportunities for movement specialist work ranging from coaching various dance styles on actors to teaching others how to move like a walker.
How did your experience in one creative project or role help shape you for the next?
ACADEMY® and GRAMMY® Award-winning director, James Moll was an executive producer on my first feature-length documentary, Trenches of Rock. James' mentorship through the process was invaluable. He gave me tangible feedback while simultaneously allowing space for me to follow my instincts. I've carried my experience with James through every project since, including my most recent feature documentary, Finding Light. Every project I've worked on - large or small - has informed the next. Whether it's delving into a new editing style, overcoming a technological hurdle or adapting to different communication styles on set, the most important thing is to keep learning. There is so much nuance to filmmaking, and the artform itself is subjective - so just enjoy the ride!
You were recently nominated for two 2025 Lone Star Chapter EMMY® Nominations for your commercials Love's Gentle Spring and Romeo & Juliet. Please take us behind the scenes and the overall making of these pieces. What is your process for creative storytelling with this new technology?
I frequently collaborate with a fantastic virtual production studio here in Austin called Virtigo Pictures. We've created three projects together with The Volume technology and we're currently in pre-production on a fourth. Our first, the cinematic trailer for Stephen Mills' POE / A Tale of Madness performed incredibly well in the marketing awards circuit, including Lone Star EMMY® and Clio Entertainment Awards. The Volume is truly groundbreaking technology. Utilizing Unreal Engine software to custom build digital backgrounds of choice with realistic lighting, you can film just about any story you can imagine - without ever leaving the warehouse. As opposed to traditional green screen where you shoot the actors and then build the backgrounds in post, The Volume technology does this in reverse: You create the digital backgrounds first, light the room to match, then film your actors and props in front of the screen in real-time. You don't like where the moon is positioned? Move it...up, down - wherever you like. You can increase or decrease the size of anything in the build in seconds, too. Revolutionary! We filmed five different "locations" for Romeo & Juliet in just 14 hours over 2 days. Love's Gentle Spring takes you inside a painting inspired by Monet and Van Gogh, with the dancers' movements causing rapid growth of over 1 million flowers all around them. Due to the complexity of the CG required in post, we filmed it completely on green. However, by shooting on The Volume (vs. traditional green screen) we were able to maintain the parallax effect that provides such excellent depth of field. The Volume technology goes beyond Unreal Engine as well, with the ability to shoot with background plates for an even more realistic aesthetic. There are superb behind-the-scenes mini docs on Netflix's 1899 and Disney's The Mandalorian if you want to learn more about the process.
As a student in the MA Media Producing program, how are you finding the coursework relevant to your work in industry?
As a filmmaker, I'm always looking for ways to enrich my experience - not only through technological and artistic endeavors, but also through the business side of the film industry. I have such great respect for NYU Tisch and the artists that have come out of the university. I always wanted to pursue a master's degree, but I knew it had to be the right fit. When I happened upon NYU's MA in Media Producing, I knew I had to apply. The coursework has been rigorous but satisfying. I'm also substantially expanding my network which we all know is vital in this industry.
What's next for you? What type of stories are you interested in producing?
I'm in development with another producer on a location-specific feature we're aiming to shoot in Germany by 2027. I'm also neck-deep in pre-production on my fourth Volume project with Virtigo Pictures, a cinematic trailer for the live dance production Marie Antoinette: Vampire Queen of Versailles, conceived and choreographed by Stephen Mills. Stephen and I have collaborated many times over the years, so we have a well-earned level of trust. Unlike films which lean on actual footage from the film itself to create their trailers, when you're making a trailer for a live production world premiere - there's nothing to pull from - you're starting from scratch! So my job as director / producer / writer of the Antoinette trailer is capturing the tone and feel of the live production - months before a step has been made in rehearsal. It's a delicate balance of staying true to Stephen's original vision for the live production, but also finding a "standalone story" for the trailer that entices the viewer enough to purchase a ticket to the live performance. I'm far from the first to say this, but each time I take on a project I look for something that scares me just a bit - something that takes me out of my comfort zone. Because when those projects succeed, as a filmmaker there's no better feeling.