Dale Resteghini proves one doesn’t need to be fresh out of college to get one’s industry career off the ground; the director, producer, music supervisor and writer says he didn’t launch his until his 30s. Now he’s directed music videos widely circulated on MTV, BET and FUSE for renowned artists from P. Diddy to Fall Out Boy, Nicki Minaj and Hatebreed. Success was achieved, he says, by giving up the typical artist’s obsession with his work in favor of cold business decisions.
“A lot of directors make it about themselves, their craft, their decisions,” Resteghini says. “But it’s about compromise, commerce and deadlines. Put yourself in a position to execute your vision when you’re well established.”
Resteghini, a Boston native, began as an aspiring actor when he was 19, but then fell in love with filmmaking after he moved to New York City. There, he worked with directors Alfonso Cuaron, Taylor Hackford and Roland Emmerich, and wrote and directed an independent film, Colorz of Rage, that made it to the Urban World Film Festival and earned the praise of Samuel Jackson and Whitney Houston.
He went on to produce Kanye West’s first fashion film in London and is now producing a comedy entitled My Man is a Loser in New York. He advises aspiring filmmakers and directors, especially young ones, not to forget the value of face-to-face interaction and manpower.
“They all use Facebook and live stream,” he says. “You have to go hard and be relentless. You can’t look at someone else’s career. Talent will sustain you, but you have to knock on doors. Now all these kids have the same software and it’s easier, but you have to be more relentless because there are 1,000 doing what you’re doing now, as opposed to four or five.”
Web: daleresteghini.com
Most recent: My Man is a Loser
