Before Vogue World: Hollywood—an event celebrating fashion and the magic of filmmaking—we brought together professionals from every corner of production, from sound to craft services, to explore how movie dreams come to life. Lights, camera, action!

Producers Dylan Golden, Frida Perez, and Alex Coco
Golden, who often works with director Darren Aronofsky, is dressed in Miu Miu and Manolo Blahnik boots. Perez, co-creator and writer of Apple TV+’s The Studio, wears Christopher John Rogers and Victoria Beckham shoes. Coco, known for his collaborations with director Sean Baker, is in Calvin Klein Collection and Officine Creative boots.

Boom operator Heather Fink, second assistant director Yani Gutierrez, and cinematographer David Bolen
Fink, whose credits include Euphoria and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, describes her role as balancing “actor movement, camera angles, and lighting to capture the best sound through microphone placement.” She wears a Lii vest and Kallmeyer pants. Gutierrez, in Tory Burch, says a 2nd AD’s duties—managing logistics and schedules—require “a mix of logical thinking and creative problem-solving.” Bolen, known for the documentary Some Kind of Heaven and the 2024 film Thelma starring June Squibb, is dressed in Prada.

Craft-services head Teddy Yonenaka and animal trainer Lisa Brown
Yonenaka (left), who has also served as a personal chef for stars like Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, and Brie Larson, wears a Louis Vuitton Men’s jacket and shorts with Loro Piana boots. Brown, who contributed to Jordan Peele’s Nope and Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga, sports a Khaite jacket and Los Angeles Apparel turtleneck. (She’s holding Moonstone, an Andalusian crossbreed.)

Casting director Victoria Thomas, film editor Crispin Struthers, and FX artist Bonnie Ephraim
Thomas, with credits like Straight Outta Compton, Hidden Figures, The Morning Show, and The Last of Us, wears The Row. Struthers, part of the Oscar-nominated editing teams for Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle, is in Ferragamo. Ephraim, who worked on Everything Everywhere All at Once and Alien: Romulus, explains that an FX artist handles “a range of skills to create practical effects,” including creature suits, puppets, miniatures, and prosthetics. She wears Louis Vuitton.

Writer and director Alex O’Keefe
O’Keefe, a former speechwriter for Senator Elizabeth Warren who directed an ad for Senator Ed Markey and wrote for FX’s The Bear and WWE Raw, is dressed in a Bode jacket and Junya Watanabe shirt and trousers.

Director of photography Autumn Durald Arkapaw
Durald Arkapaw, the DP for Ryan Coogler’s Sinners and Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl, says her job is to “define the overall visual style of a film”—a broad but crucial responsibility. She wears Victoria Beckham.

VFX supervisor Azra Alkana
Alkana (in Coach with Khaite boots), who created visual effects for Masters of the Air and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, describes her role as bringing to life “everything from fire-breathing dragons and massive explosions to seamless set extensions.” In short, she makes “the impossible look real.”

In this feature:
Hair by Hikaru
Makeup by Lilly Pollan
Tailoring by Hasmik Kourinian and Irina Tshartaryan for Susie’s Custom Designs
Produced by PENNY
Set Design by Colin Donahue

Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of helpful and clear FAQs about the people who bring Hollywood dreams to life

General Beginner Questions

1 What exactly does a film producer do
A producer is like the projects CEO They find the story hire the key team secure the money and manage the budget and schedule from start to finish

2 What is the difference between a producer and a director
Think of the producer as the business and logistics leader who gets the film made The director is the creative leader who guides the acting camera work and overall vision on set

3 What does a casting director do
Casting directors are in charge of finding the perfect actors for every role They hold auditions run screen tests and work with the director to build the cast

4 What does a VFX Artist do
VFX Artists create imagery that cant be captured during liveaction filming They use computers to generate everything from massive alien spaceships to subtle environmental enhancements

5 Why are there so many producers listed in movie credits
Different producers have different roles An Executive Producer often finds the money a Producer runs the daytoday operations and a CoProducer might handle a specific area like postproduction or music

Deeper Dive Process Questions

6 How does a movie actually get greenlit
A project gets the green light when a studio or financier officially approves the budget and gives the goahead for fullscale production This happens after the script cast and director are in place

7 Whats the biggest challenge a producer faces
The biggest challenge is often balancing the creative vision with the practical realities of time and money ensuring the film gets made without compromising its artistic soul or going over budget

8 How do casting directors discover new unknown actors
They scour theater productions acting schools and independent films and rely on talent agents who submit their clients headshots and demo reels for consideration

9 Whats the difference between VFX and Special Effects
VFX is added