WoW<\/em> films. Then, he uploaded them to websites like FilePlanet. Tristan\u2019s machinima films were downloaded over a million times in a pre-YouTube world. It was a big deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSoon after Tristan graduated college, the makers of WoW<\/em> at Blizzard Entertainment called him and offered him a job directing films for the game. They gave him 24 hours to accept the offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cA story is a story whether you shoot in 4k or 1080p.\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n The problem was, Tristan wasn\u2019t sure that he wanted to direct. He had dreamt of being an actor since he was young. In fact, when Tristan started college at City College of New York, he declared a major in acting his freshman year \u2013 even though the school advised first-year students to wait before declaring. \u201cI\u2019ve spoken to a lot of actors,\u201d Tristan said, \u201cand it turns out to be exactly the same thing. We all wanna declare acting right away. Acting is such a crazy thing to pursue, there\u2019s nothing that can really talk you out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tristan was sure<\/strong> he wanted to act. So sure, that when a director at NYU approached him and asked him to transfer after he\u2019d spent a few years at CCNY, Tristan said no. NYU\u2019s acting program didn\u2019t allow students to actually get on stage until they\u2019d been in the program for a few years, and Tristan didn\u2019t want to wait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve spoken to a lot of actors, and it turns out to be exactly the same thing. We all wanna declare acting right away\u2026There\u2019s nothing that can really talk you out of it.\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nSo he stayed enrolled at CCNY, and he acted. He enjoyed acting so much that he dreaded taking a directing 101 course that was required for the completion of his degree. \u201cI put up a fight. I told my teacher, \u2018what do I need this crap for?\u2019 Eventually I was like, fine. <\/em>But I\u2019m gonna complain about it,\u201d he said jokingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTristan was surprised when he liked the class. Soon, he started to recognize \u201call of the little tricks\u201d directors used on him to get results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After Tristan worked on The Fantastics<\/em> for CCNY, he realized he could direct. For Tristan, finding unique ways for actors to convey meaning and better understand the perspectives of their characters was one of his most important roles as a director. \u201cI basically wanted to be a therapist, but I didn\u2019t wanna go to med school,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019re taking on everything that they [actors] have in their day. You\u2019re trying to get them to be a character that they are not ready for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nTristan was divided. He\u2019d spent his college career preparing to become an actor, but he\u2019d developed an even greater passion for directing. It came down the pivotal 24-hour period \u2013 Blizzard Entertainment had offered him a job, but Tristan had received another call that same day \u2013 from an old director who offered him an opportunity to act. Tristan talked to his current director before he made his decision. \u201cHe said, \u2018what are you enjoying right now?\u2019 And I said, \u2018directing,\u2019 so I went to California and started my new job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His first project with Blizzard Entertainment was a South Park <\/em>episode called, \u201cMake Love Not Warcraft.\u201d \u201cWe won an Emmy for that,\u201d he said, nonchalantly. \u201cWe went down to South Park studios. I would sit down with Matt Stone and Trey Parker and we would talk about the show \u2013 what made sense in the game, what didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nTristan spent four and a half years at Blizzard before technology started catching up with him. Eventually, the team at Blizzard found ways to automate the films he was making, which removed the interpersonal interaction that Tristan loved. Faced with another big decision, Tristan decided to leave the company. \u201cI was going to pick up, and I was gonna start a business,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I moved to New York.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was hard to start a photography business in New York. \u201cYou can make a plan, but at the end of the day you don\u2019t really know where you\u2019re gonna land,\u201d Tristan said. He didn\u2019t like jumping through hoops to photograph New York agency models. \u201cA young girl right off the boat holding onto the arm of a 60-year-old man in some shifty nightclub, was called \u2018networking,\u2019\u201d he said. The environment associated with photography in New York made Tristan dislike his own craft, and he wanted to make a change. \u201cWhen you have a plan and that plan is not going accordingly, it\u2019s hard to change gears quickly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe answer, he discovered, was working with dancers. He would go to ballets and shows to meet potential clients, and finally networking became something he enjoyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tristan has mastered several different roles \u2013 though ironically, several have been off the stage. Though his career is in flux, he excels at everything he\u2019s done. After founding Tristan Pope Photography, he would go on to stretch the boundaries of modern storytelling by creating the first short films shot on an iPhone 6. Tristan pays attention to what\u2019s fulfilling him at the moment. \u201cI was once told that if you can\u2019t wake up and think you are doing what you love, it\u2019s not the job for you,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery day that thing, for me, might be different.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI would sit down with Matt Stone and Trey Parker and we would talk about the show \u2013 what made sense in the game, what didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"tristan-pope-dancers-of-nyc-behind-the-scenes\"](\"http:\/\/blog.wispeo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/tristan-pope-dancers-of-nyc-behind-the-scenes.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"tristan-pope-ballet-dancer-shot\"](\"http:\/\/blog.wispeo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/tristan-pope-ballet-dancer-shot.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"tristan-pope-filming-dancer\"](\"http:\/\/blog.wispeo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/tristan-pope-filming-dancer.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"tristan-pope-filming-with-iphone6\"](\"http:\/\/blog.wispeo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/tristan-pope-filming-with-iphone6.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"tristan-pope-camera-equipment\"](\"http:\/\/blog.wispeo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/tristan-pope-camera-equipment1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n