Michael Buffo – Founder

Mike on 120 Film in NYC square cropMichael Buffo co-founded HARA Motion Picture Conservatory in October of 2010 to provide a wholistic approach to youth filmmaking. Mr. Buffo’s inspiration for great talent and bringing together forward-thinking young actors with filmmaking professionals has created a powerful and creatively-rewarding environment of film-creation. With over a dozen projects varying from 50-minute featurettes, TV shows, web shows, short films, and live theatre the HARA Motion Picture Conservatory is the most accomplished private filmmaking classroom in the area.

Mr. Buffo is also the CEO of House of 8 Media LLC. Since its inception in October of 2013, House of 8 has been providing professional motion picture services throughout the Monterey Peninsula. The camera and editing workflow are typically not found in this area. The result is video that looks as close to film as digital camera technology can allow.

Mr. Buffo has over 14 years professional experience in the theatre and motion picture industries. He was a founding member of Performing Arts Conservatory of Carmel , Shakespeare Santa Monica, and Not Man Apart Physical Theatre Ensemble . Mr. Buffo is a certified Body/Mind Counselor and Transpersonal Energy Healer from The Lionheart Institute as well as a certified Transformational Leader from Thrive Academy .

He holds a BA from San Francisco State University of Performance in Theatre Arts. He has studied closely with teachers from NYU Experimental Theatre Wing, NYU Classical Theater Wing, Juliard’s Directing Fellowship, Brown University.

Mr. Buffo is a frequent theatre arts archivist for the Pace Rep Theatre, Monterey High School, and Carmel High School. He regularly hosts a thriving MeetUp group for local filmmaking peers at the Carmel Youth Center called “Carmel Video Knights.”

Mr. Buffo on his approach:
“With the background of my youth and young-professional life spent entirely on the stage while being able to process those experiences in the healing-arts classroom, my perspective on the actor’s existence is unlike any other of my age. The result is a “relentlessly positive” approach to teaching and directing.

There is an opportunity sneaking up in the hearts of the willing. Senses are available for development in the body, mind, and spirit of the entreprenuer that will give those who study this approach an edge to their careers on every level of their being. Michael and Brittney’s HARA Motion Picture Conservatory will challenge students to approach their screen presence differently and provide a container for their experiments in the classroom to stick.

Mike's Training and Skills