From Music Videos to Number 1 Apps, Producer Kim Shapiro’s Dynamic Approach to Modern Day Production
A highly skilled producer is the driving force behind any great production, so it’s no wonder that they’re often referred to as the glue that holds the entire team together.
Along with being the sole communicator between director, artist and crew, a good producer is responsible for all of the business elements of a production from the pre production phase all the way up until its release.
Managing an entire production from every angle requires the skill set of a natural born leader, something that premier Israeli born producer Kim Shapiro is known for on an international level.
His astute organization and leadership skills have consistently driven the production of numerous commercials, films and music videos in today’s industry.
“I honestly think that I’m a born leader,” Shapiro says. “I never see myself above anyone, I’ll give 100% of myself to any person who’s working for me and they’ll reward me by giving me a lot more than that. My crew are like my family to me.”
Born in Tel-Aviv but raised in New York, his eclectic array of jobs growing up, which ranged from tennis coaching to border security for the Israeli Defense Force, shaped him to become the intelligent and diversified character that he is known as today.
“I was always good at managing things, people, and keeping things in working order,” he says. “But the first job I had as a producer I figured that there’s no going back, and this is my future and where I want to be.”
Shapiro found his true calling for producing after a visit to his brother Don in New York on the set of the music video “Layla Meshuga” for pop singer Nadav Phillips in 2018.
“Ever since that day I have had the passion to do it myself, to take an idea and make it into a film that anyone can see.” He continues, “It affected me in an interesting way as I never thought of myself as a film person, I always saw myself ending up as a businessman.”
However it was his outside-of-the-box business mentality that catapulted him to become the highly sought-after producer that he is today.
He adds, “But now that I see what the film world is like from the producer point of view, I understand that I am sort of a businessman just in the film world.”
After earning a scholarship, Shapiro went on to study at the New York Film Academy in 2019, home to award-winning Hollywood stars Bill Hader (“Saturday Night Live”), Aubrey Plaza (“Parks and Recreation”) and the late Naya Rivera (“Glee”).
Much like a great business, he knew that producing requires teamwork. Earlier this year Shapiro and his brother Don launched “ShapiraBros,” a New York based production company that creates high quality content for commercials, music videos and fashion brands.
With Shapiro leading the company as head producer, the duo have built an impressive client base including Elle magazine, Universal Music Group, Amazon Alexa, Oppo and Sony Music.
“Kim is a great producer, a lot better than most I had the chance to work with,” says Shapiro Bros. co-founder Don Shapiro. “I’m not saying it just because he’s my brother, I can see that each one of the crew members in each of our productions feels the same way about him.”
Whether he’s meeting tight deadlines on a commercial shoot for the world’s leading selfie app Facetune, or bringing the creative visions to life for Brazillian artist Emelia Pedereson’s music video “Skyline,” Shapiro’s unique ability to drive the production team to deliver phenomenal work is a skill that sets him apart.
In 2019, he landed the remarkable opportunity to produce a commercial for the release of Facetune2, the follow up to the world’s number one selfie editing app which has gained over 100 million downloads on both iOS and Android.
The Facetune app was founded by the billion dollar company “Lightricks” which has nearly three million paying subscribers, and have won many prestigious awards including the Best of Google Play Award, three Apple App of the Year Awards and the esteemed Apple Design Award.
The engaging commercial that Shapiro produced was showcased across Facetune’s social media platforms, including Facebook which boasts a following of over 173,000 and Instagram with over 139,000 followers.
A booming repertoire of remarkable success in the industry proved that Shapiro was the right man for the job.
“The client approached us from Israel after a lot of good experiences they had with us before on other commercials.” He continues, “I was in charge of making sure that everything that the director and my client wanted to see in the commercial would be seen and in the best way.”
What makes Shapiro the absolute best at what he does, is that he knows that a good producer can meet a deadline, however a great producer will also motivate their entire team to collectively meet their deadline with gratifying results.
He says, “The biggest challenge was making it all happen in just one shooting day. We were shooting this commercial in 9 different locations, which is a lot more than usual for just 1 shooting day with many different actors, and a lot of crew members and equipment. We had to be super exact in everything we did and eventually, it all worked out.”
Considering the mammoth task at hand for the reputable software company, it was Shapiro’s impeccable time management and ability to think quickly on his feet which led the team to great success.
Showcasing his extraordinary talents across many spectrums of the industry, Shapiro recently produced the music video “Skyline” for Brazilian singer and actress Emilia Pedersen.
The lively music video was a monumental success, earning a massive 1.9 million YouTube views in just a few short days since its official release on October 22nd.
Pedersen, who was crowned Miss Brazil Teen USA in 2015, is signed by Universal Music Group, best known for representing international artists such as Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Adele, Lady Gaga, Jay-Z, Rihanna and the late Prince.
The artistic vibe of the music video was extremely fun and social, a creative approach requested by Pedersen that Shapiro helped achieve.
Along with sourcing all cast and crew members for the entire shoot, he was also responsible for each member on set; explaining exactly what their specific roles were, ensuring they were well fed and that they had a comfortable place to rest in between takes.
He adds, “I made sure we had all the equipment and set dressing materials we need in order to make this project happen.”
The backbone of achieving flawless results on a shoot ultimately comes down to pre-planning. Shapiro’s ability to foresee any obstacle that may arise helped to ensure a smooth transition between pre and post production.
He says, “The main obstacle was dealing with the client and satisfying all of their wishes with the budget they gave us. I overcame those obstacles with many talks with the client and the director and made sure that we all agreed on what can be done and what can’t be within what they gave us. Eventually, everyone was very happy with the outcome.”
The ability to not only listen to the artist and director’s creative vision, but to match their expectations on time and within budget is what makes Shapiro the highly sought-after producer that he is today.
“Kim is the best at what he does and he was always like that for a simple reason, that’s just the way he is,” says brother and business partner Don Shapiro. “In everything he does, he has to be the best person in it and he’ll do anything he can to make it be like that.”
Undoubtedly a passionate producer at heart, it’s clear that with consistency and drive, Shapiro will continue to deliver extraordinary work amongst the entertainment industry.
“The thing I love most about producing is the ability to control anything that will happen and know that if it goes for the best or for the worst, it’s on me.” He continues, “I always enjoyed being the leader, the person who everyone else wanted to put in charge of the situation, and being a producer is just that.”
