| Sandy, thanks for joining us for this interview. First, tell us a little bit about you and the projects you’ve worked on that we might recognize.“I’ve done a little of just about everything. But I’ll do my best to sum it up here. I think what is important to grasp from my work history is that I was studying film and television yet my world has included that and so much more. I try to stress when I’m talking to students that there are so many endless possibilities in entertainment and that if you’re willing to be open-minded you just might land the perfect career that you’d never heard of before.
I started out interning on a feature called “Mo’ Money” in Chicago, starring Damon Wayans, in the locations department. And through networking (and my knowledge of Spanish) it turned into a 3- year freelance stint in locations on features including every guy’s favorite, “Rudy”.
In the ’90s I took just about any job that came my way, and so I was the Production Manager for the World Cup Soccer opening ceremonies in Chicago in 1994, a secretary who worked her way up to producer at a small corporate video and event management company (or “business theater” as they liked to call it), and the Production Manager for the 1996 Paralympic Games following the Olympics in Atlanta.
After moving to Atlanta for a brief time, I decided to head to the entertainment mecca of L.A. and worked as a production coordinator and eventually associate producer at KCOP-13 (UPN affiliate) where I won an Emmy for one of our documentary specials. I left KCOP for an assistant production coordinator job on “Party of Five” (FOX) for Sony Entertainment and actually followed that path that led me back to Chicago to do the same thing for “Early Edition” (CBS) before switching gears and taking a stab at post production.
That stab led me to my current position as producer at the Whitehouse Post where I’m going on my 7th year as a post producer, something I never thought I’d want to do but like I said, keeping an open mind can open many doors.
What changes do you see taking place in the entertainment industry, let’s say over the past 5 years? Any sense of how they’ll play out over the coming 5?
The biggest changes seem to be stemming from the changes in technology and with the advent of reality television. With every new invention that is either an entirely new format or even just a tweak to make an existing piece of equipment work faster or more efficiently, it is having a ripple effect on the industry.
With the invention of Tivo and the digital recorder and now the ability to download programs onto ipods and cell phones, advertisers are looking for new ways to deliver their marketing messages. So not only are we finding that the younger viewers are having even less attention-span due to the fast-cutting programs and the overwhelming amount of accessable media, but now the advertisers (and show producers who need the revenue from the advertising dollars) need to find new and unique ways to deliver the advertisments to this audience.
In post production we are seeing a decrease in television advertising spending from ad agencies for the most part, along with much tighter schedules with quicker deadlines. We are also starting to see more variety in formats. In the past year there has been an increase in “webisodes” or advertisements online which are not necessarily strictly held to the :30 second television commercial format and now we are also finding that clients are exploring alternative options such as branded entertainment and product placement within programs to replace the standard commercial media buy.
This should make an interesting change in the future of both television and feature film production. Of course we have been seeing product placement since “E.T.” and the famous use of Reese’s Pieces in the early ’80s but now productions are so reliant on product placement that it is actually driving the content of the program. I think that young filmmakers who are looking to be a creative force to contend with, will find this issue to be rather frustrating as it is basically taking the art of filmmaking and making it much more obviously a business deal.
Going back to my mention of Reality television, I think that is probably the largest non-technology driven change we’ve seen in the past five years. Of course this again is a business-driven model – they are just plain cheaper to produce and therefore a major profit when a show is successful. Personally, I’m very happy to see that some of the most successful reality shows are trying to make a positive change for families or for society as a whole, rather than to just have mindless entertainment. At least if we’re going to have a career in entertainment we can be doing something positive with it that may make a difference in the world. I sense that reality programming will continue on and that along with “The Bachelor”-type of purely entertainment driven shows we’ll also see programs that have a heart and make a positive impression on someone’s life. It will be interesting to see what impact, if any, it has on the feature film industry.
What advice would you give a young person –let’s say late teens, early twenties– who wants to work in the entertainment industry?
Well, I give a lot of advice – it’s hard to shut me up! In fact, I had so many people referred to me for advice that it inspired me to write my book. To sum it up I’d say it is all in the attitude. You need to have what it takes in this industry…you need to have “it”. And not everyone does. You know it in your heart if you have “it”. It’s a passion and a drive to make it in the industry. To have what it takes you have to be willing to do just about anything, and to do it with a smile.
Of course the thing to remember is that there are hundreds of facets to working in the entertainment industry. Automatically people think of writing or directing a film or a TV show but there are so many other options out there. These are good, viable options. There are small, local homegrown companies that make corporate videos or programs for local network affiliates. There are companies making educational films, companies who are bringing classrooms to your home via television in rural communities who may not have access to a nearby school, video games use film production for their base, etc… and then there are the blockbuster hits that we see in our local theaters and on the top broadcast and cable television stations. I try to encourage people who are considering this industry to be open-minded and to see that the world is their oyster in this field. Making it to the major leagues and working on feature films and top 10 television programs is not something that everyone can do. The field is saturated and there are many more applicants for those positions than there are openings, so the ones that rise to the top are the ones who have “it” and who are willing to put themselves out there by taking risks and working like crazy to get there.
Be willing to work on a low-budget, indie film or on a small unheard of television show as you start out. They will likely give you more work to do and give you the experience you need to move up should you chose to keep reaching for the stars.
No matter how many classes you take on how to make a film, or how many times you rent a camera and get your roommate to be the lead in your next film…you need to have the passion that it takes to really get there. You can read up on how the machines work and how the lighting sets the mood, but it takes a special someone to be able to survive in this industry. So my advice is to be open-minded about your goals – but do set goals, just be willing to change them as you find new things that excite you. And do what is ever asked of you and with a smile and sense of willingness and eagerness to learn and to help those around you. By helping them you are learning and therefore helping yourself in the process.
Give us your review of the “film school experience.” Is it really a great way to get into the entertainment industry? Or is it mainly populated by poseur-types who won’t really follow through on a career path? (Or something in between!)
First of all, unlike other industries, you do not need to have a degree from a major university to work in the entertainment industry. As a matter of fact there are many, many people who have come into this industry from other backgrounds like lawyers or doctors, and there are even those who do not complete a degree at all. I would never recommend that though – I think a college education is crucial to success whether the degree is in this field or not. In the entertainment industry most of what you do is learned on the job. Sure you can learn about film production from books or a classroom (online or otherwise) but the real heart of the job is learned by experience which is why most people start entry-level and work their way up as they learn and grow.
What drives me crazy about film schools are the people who graduate from them with a huge and unwarranted ego. It’s as if the name of the school on the diploma will give them the job and that’s not the case. It’s not to say that seeing a particular name may strike a mood with an employer or start a conversation during an interview that could be interesting, but as I talk about in my book the key to an interview is making a connection. So you have just as much chance of connecting over the name of your alma mater as you do with sharing a hobby interest with that same person. Basically, I don’t think there is enough that the school name gives you that makes it entirely necessary to spend four years studying only this one craft there.
In my experience as a person in a hiring position, I have actually steered AWAY from people who graduate from a certain school (not mentioning any names here). One after another I was finding that these graduates felt that they were ENTITLED to the job. Not only that, they felt that certain tasks might be beneath them, and that is not the “it” factor I’m looking for. Somehow students are being taught that by attending a film program makes them more knowledgeable than everyone else. I would agree that some programs put more focus on one area than another so if you graduate with a specialty you may be a step ahead in that particular area, but then again, you are probably being shortchanged in another area which could negatively affect you if you decide to pursue a different path at some point – and you probably will.
So yes, in that regard there are people who go to film school who think that they don’t have to start at the bottom to work their way up. They think they are a Spike Lee who can make it as a director right off the bat. But here’s a news flash…there is only one Spike Lee the filmmaker in this world. And for every one of him there are thousands of budding directors waiting to be discovered who never will be because they aren’t willing to put in the hard work to get there.
I graduated from a liberal arts college with a major in television-radio and with that major was also required to (and wanted to) take film production classes. But the thing I’m happiest about with that education is that it was a liberal arts-based college and it forced me to not put all of my eggs in one basket. I also took courses in psychology, business and recreation among others. And I’ll tell you what, I’m glad that I did.
As we go along in our careers we may find that our interests change or that with the technology and media changing that we too are changing with it. It helps to have a broad education. My advice is to learn about the industry but to do it wisely. You can take classes online or take classes at a university and you’ll learn all of the basics either way. But try to be open-minded and to explore all of your educational opportunities while you can.
If you could suggest one single “first step” that a person could take toward building a career in the entertainment industry, what would it be?
Networking.
You can never start too soon with networking. If you’re a teen, learn to appreciate your friends who are helping you make movies in your backyard. When you’re in starting to get into this business it’s never too soon to establish relationships with your collegues in your industry. You never know…the guy helping you lug around your tripod today may someday be a producer looking to hire you as a director on a feature. You just never know. |