Rising Stars: Meet Tony Pape of West Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tony Pape.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I moved to LA from Cincinnati, Ohio a little over 4 years ago as a writer/director/DP with a special interest in sketch comedy and television, which I’ve had a strong passion for since well before high-school.

A few weeks into living here, a friend recommended me for a video recap gig at a huge party for this A&R executive, and at one point I jumped into the pool, put my camera on an inflatable, and got a bunch of shots from the water. I remember vividly hearing someone shout “this white boy’s different!” – A phrase I will never be upset to hear. A filmmaker who goes by CaliiVision in particular saw that, hired me for a few shoots as a DP/editor with various clients, and before I knew it all those clients started reaching out to me for their own work.

Those connections would branch out into this massive tree that has given me opportunities I’m super blessed to have gotten like shooting at the NFL Draft, directing, shooting, and editing a slate of documentaries with the NFL which featured Jerry Rice, Ludacris, Rakim, and Hit Boy, editing music videos for artists like Lil Baby and Kid Quill, directing commercials for LA Metro, The Drew League, Manchester City, and more.

Eventually, I began doing a lot of work with actor and comedian Brandon T. Jackson and our frequent collaborator Rob Woods. I started writing with Brandon, shooting his standup shows, and eventually directed a pilot with him. That escalated a year later when I directed, shot, edited, and assistant wrote for his standup special “Chest Out” which will be on Zeus sometime in the next month or two, and also recently directed, shot, and edited two seasons of his new Shark Tank-style parody show “Makin A Brand” which will be on Tubi in October.

Somewhere between the pilot and the standup special, I also started working very closely with comedian DeRay Davis who produces “MonDerays” at the Hollywood Improv every Monday night. Most Mondays, you can find me there three cameras deep shooting the show. That’s where I met Lewis Belt, who asked me to direct his first special “Raised By OG’s Not IG” in 2023, which was also my first special. Since then, I’ve directed and/or shot specials for Patrick Neal, Anna Simeri, Brandon T. Jackson, and Lewis’ second special “On Mamas” coming out soon. I also started actually doing standup around two years ago since there’s obviously a huge need for new standup comedians the same way we need new podcasts. Since then, I’ve had the honor to open for DeRay, Brandon, and a handful of other comedians around LA and even a few spots around the country, which has been a hoot and a holler as they say back home (nobody says that back home).

Now I’m working hard toward changing how standup specials are filmed and moving the medium toward a cinematic and creative style more emblematic of older specials and indie filmmaking. I still have my main passion in sketch comedy, often working with comedians and writers around LA. Zack Wold and I cocreated a sketch comedy show called “The Melt Show” starring a myriad of up and coming actors (like Casey Antonides, Aaron Jaeger, and Michaela Kahan) and guest starring Brandon T. Jackson that we’re currently shopping around town.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’ve been very blessed with the people that hire me and work with me. It seems like they always want what’s best for me, support my talents and goals, and even years after working with them, they’ve floated my name to others for new projects. I think I’ve had a very blessed road in that way.

That said, it definitely takes a lot of hard work, a lot of dealing with clients who don’t pay on time or at all, which I think every freelancer will deal with at some point in time, and a lot of little bumps in the road that add up really quickly. I’ve been scammed out of thousands of dollars that just never got paid, had my phone in holding as a piece of evidence in a homicide after almost getting shot at a club while filming a standup comedian, and I deal with a lot just to get certain projects done or started. Oh, and California freelance taxes. But it’s a lot of fun, even though everything is often incredibly chaotic.

Also don’t worry, I got my phone back. Shoutout Cincinnati PD.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a director mainly, but I almost always get hired or act as the director, cinematographer, editor, colorist, and VFX artist for each project. I mainly do work in standup comedy, sketch comedy, television pilots, commercials, and documentaries.

My passion right now is in directing for short form comedy and also in standup specials. My soapbox I like to stand on is that standup specials today are all shot the exact same way, and it’s incredibly boring. There’s a massive opportunity to make specials that feel cinematic and much more intentional as opposed to the more “live event” formula we often see. That’s something I was super specific about when directing Brandon T. Jackson’s “Chest Out.” I wanted it to feel more like a film you’d go see in a theater that’s shot more like a scene from “Joker” than your typical Netflix-style special, and I’m super proud of how it turned out.

I think what I’ve realized sets me apart is that as a director/DP/editor, I direct with the edit in mind and prioritize efficiency on set to make the environment feel like that old high-school/college style of filmmaking we all came from – just with a higher quality end product. I love running sets that are really improvisational not only in the acting but even in the production, and if you know going into it how each shot can work in the edit, it allows a lot of flexibility when things might get tight or go wrong.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
DM me on Instagram! Come to a standup show! Watch a Browns game with me. Please, my Sundays are really sad. I mean, I have to watch the Browns, so you can probably imagine. Shoutout Joe Flacco.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tony_pape/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BadSpellerPriductions

Image Credits
Kyle Schwieger