Meet Yessenia Palma of Syck Productions in Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Yessenia Palma.

Yessenia, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Coming from where most people would call “the hood”, the arts to me was the only thing that made me feel complete and with a purpose given the circumstances because of my environment. It all started with my love for acting. I was fortunate enough to have both my parents support my dreams as a little girl, they made sure to put me in great acting classes, this included Meisner Technique, Stanislavski, Chekhov Technique and Lee Strasberg’s Method. Taking classes left and right made me realize I wanted to do this forever and make a difference in this world I live in. I have a passion for making movies in any shape or form. Whether it’s on camera or behind the lens. To me, I am a storyteller and through my journey, I want to reach as many people as I can to inspire them to do whatever they want. Even when it seems unreachable, when you have the right mindset, anything is possible.

I attended AMDA College of the Performing Arts in Hollywood and earned my Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Acting in 2014. After receiving my first degree, I landed a principal role in a Calvin Harris and Big Sean music video “Open Wide” which was super awesome giving the fact that I booked it all on my own. I also got into ‘background’ acting which allowed me to be an extra on sets like “How to Get Away with Murder”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, “True Detective”, “Speechless”, “Roadies” and many more. This lead for me to open new levels of creativity and gained appreciation to behind the scenes of filmmaking. Giving the opportunity to be on “real” sets with well-known actors, gave me the courage to dive deep and learn more about how to make films as a filmmaker.

So in 2018, I decided go back to school. I currently attend The Los Angeles Film School in Hollywood and I’m on my way to earn my Associate of Science in Film Production. This has been such an incredible journey for me as I met amazing people who love the process of making films just as much as I do. Being able to explore the filmmaking process through ways like directing, screenwriting, sound production, digital editing, cinematography, production management and post-production, has helped me not only gain the knowledge I need but helped me keep my creative juice flowing. Given said that I love everything in the arts, modeling also has played a huge role in my upbringing.

Ever since I was little, I participated in beauty pageants that eventually lead me in winning a few pageants. In 2011, I was crowned “Señorita Mi Gente LA” for a Spanish newspaper called ‘Mi Gente LA”, in where I received a certificate for “Recognition of Service for the People of Los Angeles”. The following year I was in one of my biggest, most challenging beauty pageant ever in which I was crowned “Miss El Salvador Inc” in 2012. Make sure to follow my personal instagram if you’re interested in working together in the near future, IG Handle: @yesseniapalma_

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
A smooth road? Definitely not. One of the hardest and riskiest decisions I had to make was knowing that pursuing this path had no guarantee to the ultimate goal. With that being said, paying for school, acting classes, headshots, acting coach, etc was not cheap. I think the most difficult part of my journey is the instability of having income coming in all the time.

Patience is key and as we know, we live in a world where nothing is free. Not to mention, this whole “Hollywood Scene” comes with a lot of scammers and people who will take advantage of you for the simple reason that everyone wants to be a star, no matter how they get there, But then there are others, like myself, who want to earn everything every step of the way so we must turn down opportunities that won’t benefit us and will not give us what we deserve. Being still a full-time student is hard enough with school loans and debt, but staying in school is giving me the network I need in order to branch out in the industry.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Syck Productions story. Tell us more about your work.
In April of 2019, I sat down with my three of my closest friends and talked about this idea of creating a production company that was based on a group of young “women of color” filmmakers. Four months later, I became President of SYCK Productions and launched our production company with a special screening of our first ever produced music video, “NUKNOWIT” by D’meetri (you can find it on YouTube). SYCK productions is dedicated to creating high-quality content for our artists and audience. We specialize in music videos, short films, feature films, web-series, commercials, spec-commercials, reels, etc. We love meeting and working with people in discovering what makes them special and creating unique stories that will have their audience wanting to stop and watch.

My production company focuses on creating video content for not only artists, and other creatives but other companies and brands as well. Anything from indie style to lifestyle. Our goal is to bring together cinematic-style storytelling and branded content to create high-quality and affordable content. We are always looking to work with fresh faces to expand our demographic reach. The main thing I would have to say that sets my production company apart from others is the simple reason that it doesn’t get any better than having a group of educated ladies in what for years has been a very male-dominant industry. If you have a second, follow us @syckproductions and watch us grow and be a part of our soon to be success story.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
“Luck Is What Happens When Preparation Meets Opportunity” – Seneca (a Roman philosopher). I stay true to this quote because honestly there are no better words to describe what luck means.

Contact Info:

• Phone: (323)241-9029
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @syckproductions

Image Credit:
Jorge Valiente
Kaylie Lee

Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.