Today we’d like to introduce you to Paulo Araujo.
Paulo, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My journey in the arts has not been linear. I have reinvented myself a few times, but what has always remained was my desire to be creative. It started in middle school with acting and musical theater. I continued in high school and after college enrolled in Stella Adler’s night program to study general acting. At the end of the program, I found an aspect of acting I hadn’t known before, voiceover. People had always told me I had a nice voice, but I always just took the compliment and moved on. But after studying it a bit, I discovered I really enjoyed it. Now after six years, I have worked with some big brands voicing commercials. My next reinvention was enrolling in a video editing course after Stella Adler. Not many people make a switch like that, but I felt like I was still searching for something. So after six weeks in the editing course, I landed a job at a production company. This really opened my eyes to what goes on behind the camera. I left the company after a while and started as a production assistant throughout NYC. I met some great people and learned a lot. While working, I created a production company myself, Arrowood Creative. After a couple of years in NYC on sets, I decided to reinvent myself once again by moving to the West Coast. The space, the climate, and the opportunities drew me here, and so far I have managed to produce more work with my production company as well as work freelance around the city. It’s been a twisting road so far. Not only has this journey brought me great insight into who I am as a creative, but as a person as well and I look forward to seeing what’s next.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The journey so far has had some obstacles. Mostly navigating my own doubts and fears. I have taken leaps of faith in order to get to where I am, but leaps into the unknown can create stress at times. Most recently moving to LA. I had very few contacts out here, and although it felt like the right thing to do, I was leaving the comfort of what I knew. I drove across the country with everything I could fit in my recently bought Prius to see what I could make of myself. I’ve found some success while navigating out here, but there is always an obstacle waiting to be overcome. I’ve learned that overcoming yourself is really where a lot of growth comes from.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I do a few things; those being voice-over, editing, and production. I have had highlights in each of these areas throughout the years. With voice-over, I was the voice of a nationwide commercial for LG. As for editing I recently edited the entire second season of the show Lace on the ALLBLK network. As for production with my company Arrowood Creative, I recently produced a short documentary called Accidental Artist. I am very proud of the film, and it is currently in consideration for several film festivals. I think what sets me apart from others is my versatility. I’ve been an actor, production assistant, editor, voice-over artist, and director. I didn’t really have a plan of being all these things, but I followed what interested me, and now I have a wide range of skills that make me an asset for any creative endeavor.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
There have been many people that have helped me along the way. First and foremost being my mother who gave me all the encouragement I could ask for. She even bought my first laptop, which I started using for editing. Alex Marsanuto, a director friend of mine, was also instrumental in my development. He was the first person to get me on set and opened the door for opportunities to work on sets throughout NYC, so I’ll be forever grateful. Bruce Kronenburg of Abacus Entertainment in NYC coached me in voice-over when I started out and helped develop my first commercial demo, which got me agents around the country. His help really gave me a head start in the voiceover world. MCM Creative, also in NYC, gave me my start editing and general production gigs. The CEO Mike Canzaniero has always been in my corner helping out with advice and guidance when I asked. There are many other people, especially friends like Stephen Medina, Andy Dallenbach, and Young Sang Son. These guys were always helping on projects when I asked them and all of them are artists in their own rights. The spirit of collaboration was definitely fostered with friends like them.
Contact Info:
- Email: arrowoodcreative@gmail.com
