Meet Nathan Hertz of Stay Lucky Studios

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nathan Hertz.

Nathan, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I came up through filmmaking the scrappy way—working across editing, producing, and directing, just trying to stay close to the work. After training as an actor at Guildhall, I shifted toward directing and started building projects independently while also working in commercial production for brands like LEGO, Mattel, and HBO Max.

That hands-on path naturally led to co-founding Stay Lucky Studios in East LA. We saw a gap for a flexible, filmmaker-friendly space that could handle everything from lean indie shoots to high-end commercial work, so we built a studio designed to be practical, adaptable, and creatively supportive. It’s grown into a full-service stage with in-house lighting, multiple build configurations, and post capabilities—something we use both for our own projects and for a wide range of outside productions.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all. We opened Stay Lucky Studios right before COVID, so almost immediately we were dealing with shutdowns, uncertainty, and trying to keep a brand-new business alive during a time when production had largely stopped.

As a small, owner-operated studio run by Nathan Hertz, Joe Wesley, and Spenser Harrison, we had to be extremely hands-on—figuring out how to manage overhead, keep the stage booked, and adapt quickly as the industry came back online.

A lot of it was trial and error, but those challenges ultimately shaped the studio into something flexible, resilient, and genuinely useful to the productions we serve today.

We’ve been impressed with Stay Lucky Studios, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Stay Lucky Studios is a full-service sound stage in East LA built by filmmakers, for filmmakers. We specialize in flexible, production-ready spaces—ranging from a white cyc and black void to a water stage—with pre-rigged RGB lighting and in-house gear, making it easy for teams to move fast without sacrificing quality.

What sets us apart is how hands-on and adaptable we are. As a small studio run by three working filmmakers, we understand the realities of production and prioritize efficiency, creativity, and problem-solving on every shoot.

Brand-wise, we’re most proud of building something that actually supports the work—an accessible, reliable space that’s been used across commercials, music videos, and independent films, including our own feature Thinestra.

How do you think about luck?
We named the company Stay Lucky Studios, so we like to think we’ve built in a little insurance.

In reality, it’s been a mix. We definitely had some bad luck early on—opening right before COVID wasn’t exactly ideal—but we also found that the harder we worked and the more adaptable we became, the “luckier” things started to get.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.staylucky.io/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stayluckystudios/