NYFA Alum Beatriz Santamaria Pinha directs a music video for Ed Sheeran's song "That's On Me"

Beatriz Santamaria Pinha is an NYFA Alum from the One Year Filmmaking Program and is about to graduate in August from her second program at NYFA, AFA in Filmmaking. After completing the One Year program, Beatriz interned at Marvel Studios on one of their upcoming releases and worked as a teleprompter operator on projects such as Beyoncé’s Renaissance. 

However one of her most impressive projects to date is directing a music video for Ed Sheeran. She was one of the 14 artists chosen from 4000 entries in Ed Sheeran's contest for his most recent album. Her vision for the music video came to life with the help of other NYFA alumni and students. 

Read about Beatriz's filmmaking journey and her experience directing a music video for one of her idols.

NYFA Alumni Network: Can you tell us a bit about yourself, where you're from, and what brought you to New York Film Academy?

B.P: I'm Beatriz Santamaria Pinha. I'm from São Paulo, Brazil, and I've always had an immense love for movies. I remember being a kid and watching a movie over and over again to absorb all the possible details and experience the joy of immersing myself in a different reality. However, I never thought about pursuing filmmaking until my fourth year of a bachelor's degree in Pure Mathematics at the University of São Paulo. During that period, I was feeling lost, and I knew I needed a change. 

After doing a summer college internship at the Walt Disney Parks, I was able to connect with people who studied and worked with arts. I honestly never felt more at home. After this introduction, I started my journey with photography and quickly became obsessed with it. I took a plethora of courses trying to learn as much as I could. However, I still felt like I was missing something. It all clicked when I realized the obscene amount of time I spent watching and dissecting movies and TV shows. For the first time, I thought, why not do something that I enjoy so much that it doesn’t even feel like studying?

However, I knew I needed a good foundation to pursue this passion. Early that year, I stumbled upon a NYFA handout at a photography equipment store. As I learned more about the institution, I knew it was meant for me. I was lucky enough to have grown up with very supportive parents who helped and encouraged me to follow this newfound passion and move to Los Angeles. 

NYFA Alumni Network: What projects have you worked on since graduating? Have you won any awards or been showcased in any festivals or competitions?

B.P: I’m excited to finally start my festival journey with this music video and with my thesis short film, O Ingrediente Faltando (The Missing Ingredient), so hopefully I will have more news on that soon. However, after completing my One-Year Filmmaking Conservatory at NYFA, I’m proud to say I secured an internship at Marvel Studios on one of their upcoming releases. I also had the opportunity to work as a teleprompter operator on projects like Beyoncé’s Renaissance, the feature film The Last Train to Fountain where I worked closely with the incredible Malcolm McDowell, and TV shows like Germany’s Next Top Model. I consider myself extremely lucky to be on these sets, learning from great directors, DPs, gaffers, actors, and crew members.

NYFA Alumni Network: Tell us more about directing a music video for one of Ed Sheeran's new songs? How did you get involved in the project?

I grew up listening non-stop to Ed Sherran and going to his concerts. I remember waking up at 3 a.m. just to wait in line outside the stadium for a chance to see him up close in general admission. So, it's still mind-blowing to me to say I directed a music video for Ed Sheeran. However, everything lined up perfectly to make this happen. 

After working for a year on my OPT, I decided to return to NYFA because I still felt I needed more professional training and wanted to focus more on my directorial career. So, I enrolled in a second year of study in the AFA Program. As an F1 student, I couldn't work while studying. However, shortly before I learned about Ed Sheeran’s contest for upcoming artists, I was assigned to direct a music video for class.

I knew it was a long shot. However, the timing made me feel it was meant to be, so I gathered my courage and put all of my energy into my application. The contest was for Ed Sheeran's Autumn Variations album, and he announced he would select 14 artists from 14 different countries to create music videos. Experience with music videos wasn't a requirement, but we needed to submit a reel of our previous work.

I am proud of my previous directorial work on my First Semester and Intermediate Films, but I knew I was going to have unbelievably talented competitors, so I wanted to maximize my chance of getting this project. Since the visual theme for the album promos was infomercials, I decided not to send a traditional demo reel. Instead, I recorded and edited an infomercial selling myself as a director.

The timeline for the application was really tight. He announced the contest on Wednesday afternoon, and submissions closed Saturday morning. So, I grabbed my friend Dani Taouil, and she helped me record for 6 hours on Thursday. I edited the video for 9 hours straight on Friday and was able to submit it at 4am on Saturday. Later, I found out there were more than four thousand applicants. I feel overjoyed to have been chosen as one of the 14, and to represent my country in this project.

After securing the project, Warner gave me full creative control and about a month of turnaround time. One of my priorities was to ensure that, even though I was filming in the US, Brazilians were in key positions on the crew. Therefore, I hired two Brazilian producers, Bia Bauzys and Karen Sanovicz, who did an excellent job finding a talented and hard-working cast and crew, and I’m happy to say we achieved this goal. 

As I mentioned, I had a lot of creative freedom, which I’m extremely grateful for. Because of this, I wanted to take full advantage of the opportunity by incorporating a short film within the music video. I knew I wanted to create a story that resonated with people, had a connection to the song, and also featured plenty of easter eggs. Everything fell into place when we cast the actor Skip Howland as the lead. 

Skip, previously featured in Ed Sheeran’s "Overpass Graffiti" music video from the album Equals, served as my starting point. Drawing inspiration from the album's visual theme of infomercials, I wove in various hobbies to include more easter eggs. From this, I created the story of Alger, a retired injured biker seeking joy and an escape from boredom through exploration of new passions.

NYFA Alumni Network: What was your reaction when you found out that you've been selected by Ed Sheeran?

B.P: I remember thinking I hadn't gotten it because weeks had passed since I submitted my application without any replies. However, on a regular Wednesday after class, I got home, checked my emails, and there it was—an email from Warner Brothers Brasil wanting to schedule a meeting with me and confirming my interest in participating in the music video. I believe I read the email a thousand times before computing what was going on. It didn’t seem real. I, a student from Brazil who has been listening to Ed Sheeran for over a decade, was going to be able to direct one of his music videos. That's unheard of. 

When I finally understood what that meant, I burst into tears while walking in circles in my living room, trembling as I tried to type my parents' number on my phone to call them. It was one of the greatest moments of my life, and, to be honest, even now, almost a year later, I still get tears in my eyes talking about it.

NYFA Alumni Network: Fellow NYFA Alumni and Students also worked on the project with you. How did these collaborations come about?

B.P:  As soon as I got the project, I knew I wanted to collaborate with alum Mara Knight as my costume designer. I got to know them in class, and I was immediately struck by their incredible talent—from their own stunning cosplay creations to their impressive internship with Gold Rising. I was overjoyed when they said yes. Collaborating with them was an incredible experience, and the costumes they chose added a new layer to the story, making the music video look even more cohesive and visually interesting.

Another NYFA alum and key collaborator was Dani Taouil, the Brazilian production designer. We met in LA through a mutual friend, and I couldn’t have done this project without her. From day one, she helped me with my submission for the contest and was the first person I chose to hire. I've always been impressed by her work and her creative vision. The music video was extremely prop-heavy, and we had a very short turn-around time, but she delivered everything with a high level of excellence.

NYFA students A. Shoaib Khan and Johnny B. McQueen were also attached to the project as grips, and I am extremely grateful to have had them on set. They were efficient and professional.

NYFA Alumni Network: What did you learn at NYFA that you applied directly to this project and others?

B.P: So much! I undertook this project as an assignment for class, which gave me the opportunity to receive feedback from various teachers and learn extensively about the process of making a music video as I worked on it. Also, NYFA was my first experience with the art of filmmaking, and I credit my foundational knowledge to the classes, hands-on experience, and one-on-one consultations at school. 

NYFA Alumni Network: Where can people follow your journey and what are some other projects you're working on?

B.P: I always post updates about what I am working on at my Instagram @biahsantamaria, so I would love to connect with people over there. However, my current project is my Thesis Short Film: ‘O Ingrediente Faltando’ (The Missing Ingredient), which is in the last stages of post-production. We are planning to submit it for a festival run, it will be available online afterwards. Therefore, I would love it if people could also follow @OIngredienteFaltando on Instagram to follow our journey! Finally, the music video for ‘That’s On Me’ is available on Ed Sheeran's YouTube channel, so I would definitely recommend going there to check it out!

NYFA congratulates Beatriz on all her success!

Check out the music video below: 

Director: Beatriz Santamaria Pinha

Producer: Bia Bauzys and Karen Sanovicz

Starring as Alger: Skip Howland

Assistant Director: Reece Ragusa

Director of Photography: Nicolle Batista

1st AC: Kathlyn Almeida

Gaffer: Declan Berkeley

Grip: Xian Zhao and A. Shoaib Khan

Production Designer: Daniela Taouil

Art Assistant: Melanie Englmaier

Practical Effects Supervisor: Liam Blackburn

Costume Designer: Mara Knight

Editor: Spencer Smith

Color: Ryan Berger