Behind the Visual with Mark Hanson

Gentry is an American actor currently working in L.A. You may have seen Gentry in the Cinemax series JETT playing the character of Charles Jr. as well as roles in Furious 7, the Lifetime award winning drama series UnReal , the MTV series The Shannara Chronicles, the AMC series TURN and in many more movies and TV shows.

In this podcast he discusses what made him want to be an actor and what it was like deciding to move to L.A. to pursue is dream. We learn from Gentry what castings can be like, how impressing the right casting director can really payoff, and how he stays mentally in character, even in-between takes of the same scene.

In this episode I chat with Lauren Padilla, the senior account director for Blue C Advertising www.BlueCusa.com Lauren talks about how she went from going to school and interning to be a teacher but ended up becoming a Senior account director. She also tells us what the responsibilities of an Account Director happen to be, and discusses the importance of video in the marketing world today, and she tells a cool story of being on a shoot for a household robot!

Joe Lombardo is the CEO of Curated Artists. A full service photography and live action artists agency with talent represented in the U.S. and Europe. www.Curatedartists.com

In this episode, Joe tells us how he went from wanting to be a lawyer to ending up an artist agent after going to a party. He also gives us advice on what all artists and agents should be doing during this time to stay relevant, what the relationship between artists and agent should look like and why he lives by the words “Never eat street meat!”

Ken has worked not only at Old Navy, but also at Leo Burnett, Digitas and FCB advertising agencies, so he really knows his stuff. In this episode Ken talks about going from photographer to art producer, what he looks for when reviewing photographers at the Palm Springs photo review as well as when he is on the IPA jury and especially when presenting photographers for campaigns. He also gives a little behind the scenes look into what goes in the selection of photographers for advertisements and campaigns. You can find Ken on linked in or you can email him [email protected]

Nick is an incredible photographer with clients such as Nike, Coca Cola, Adidas, Justin Bieber and many, many more. In this episode he discusses how he went from being a graphic designer to a world renowned photographer as well as podcast host and custom hat maker. He tells us what he thought after doing his first big campaign for Nike and he came to shoot celebrities Justin Bieber, Usher, Tom Hanks and many others. Also find out with which of these celebrities he has gone on vacation! You can see Nick's work and hear his podcast by going to his website www.NickOnken.com

In this episode I talk with Eric Morley, the co-founder and COO of Blue C (www.bluecusa.com) a branding, marketing and design company with clients such as  Monster Energy, JBL, Toyota, Acura and many more!

Eric talks about how a stream of ups and downs led him and a partner to start their own agency. The best way to get new clients, and why, when they first started Blue C, they had to dump out 50,000 two ounce bottles of Absolute vodka and fill them with sand from San Diego.

We had a great conversation and I really think you'll learn something with this one!

Michelle discusses the time she met Michelle Obama and “Barry”.

Randy is the original cowboy for the hugely popular band from the 70's and 80's, the Village People. With hits like YMCA, In The Navy and Macho Man, The Village People became one of the biggest bands in the world during the late 70's.  In this episode Randy talks about which relative inspired him to be an entertainer, as well as how a loin cloth and a chain belt got him the gig as the original Village People Cowboy. He also gives us some behind the scenes stories of those times at the Playboy mansion, what it was like filming the movie “Can’t Stop the Music” and the television show “The Love Boat”. Randy also tells us what Queen Elizabeth said to him when they met for the first time.

Drew is the Global Senior Photographer for Wilson Sporting goods, which means he gets to hangout with and shoot some great, world-class athletes. He has assisted and worked with Matthew Rolston, Doug Taub and Greg Gorman, all of which helped him learn how to work with and interact with Art Directors and Creative Directors. At one point Drew was in a position to hire photographers for multiple Fortune 50 companies, so hear what he liked and looked for in photographers when he was hiring. Drew also talks about what it was like when he shot and hung out with Roger Federer. You can see Drew's work at www.DrewMeredith.com

In this episode I talk with NYC Art Producer Lisa Oropallo. We discuss how being a former Photography studio manager helps her as a producer. We also talk about what her favorite saying happens to be, the importance of putting together a good team, how the creative call can really help or hurt your chances of getting a gig, the benefits of having an agent and  what she thinks is the best innovation in photography. Lisa was a pleasure to talk with and I think we could have kept talking for an hour more. If you're interested in working with Lisa, you can find her on Linked in.