Kyle Crowell ’14, center, with business partners Brennon Delonzo, left, and Tony Valentino, visited Austria while capturing footage for DreamTrips in 2015.
Kyle Crowell ’14 and Ryan Farmer ’14 knew they needed to be in Los Angeles to pursue their mutual passion for filmmaking. Both studied cinema and screen studies at Oswego and collaborated frequently as students.
So, a couple months after graduating, without any jobs or housing lined up, the duo drove from Upstate New York to start their careers in Los Angeles’ trademark entertainment business. Crowell and Farmer reached out to their friend Matt Bourgeois ’11 for help.
“When Matt first moved to Los Angeles a while back, he stayed with our friend from Oswego, Tony Valentino, until he could find a place to live,” Crowell said. “He saw that Maggie Dolly ’07 [Dolly is a member of the GOLD Leadership Council] needed a roommate and moved in with her. Ryan and I stayed with them until we found our own apartment in North Hollywood.”
From left to right, Kyle Crowell ’14, Matthew Kraut ’15, Professor Michael Riecke and Ryan Farmer ’14 at the 2015 Hollywood POV Networking reception.
As a freelance cinematographer, Crowell regularly collaborates with his alumni peers. He spent a month in Cambodia with Bourgeois documenting the musical travel series Evrywhr in Cambodia and has worked on commercial and independent projects with Sam Moores ’15 and Charles Hickey ’13. In September 2015, Crowell traveled to France, Jordan, Austria and Belgium to document footage for the travel agency DreamTrips.
Farmer works as the head of new media at Combustion World Industries, a production company owned by actor and comedian Christopher Titus. He travels with Titus, managing merchandise, editing videos, assisting with script breakdowns and handling other administrative duties.
Crowell and Farmer were among 20 alumni who spoke with current Oswego students during a Hollywood POV reception organized by Dolly in August 2015. The alumni told their stories and offered advice to those looking to move to LA after graduation.
“We all help each other out,” Crowell said. “It’s great.”
—Tyler Edic ’13
Read more about SUNY Oswego’s Hollywood POV program in Oz to LA: Oswego Students Get Inside Look At Entertainment.
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