I can’t believe we’re already at the end of our first week in LA!
As you guys have read from our previous blog posts, this week has been a whirlwind of events ranging from having class at the Oakwood, meeting media industry moguls, attending movie screenings, going on group tours, and having a good time while doing it all! It’s been an incredible learning experience so far and I can’t wait to see what surprises next week has to offer!
If there’s anything I’ve learned so far in our brief time here, it’s that before taking this class I had been going through periods of anxiety surrounding the daunting challenge that breaking into the industry is made out to be. I periodically felt insecure about my decision to become a film major when I could have gone the ‘safe’ route by getting a ‘conventional’ degree in STEM in order to get a job with an easier career path in something like healthcare; but after meeting both west coast Vanity Fair editor / CC Alumna Krista Smith and IMAX CEO Greg Foster this week, their advice for media careers in Hollywood sparked both a realization and a reassurance.
I realized that despite the challenges that are clearly to come given the ever changing nature of the media landscape due to digitalization, greater democratization of video content creation, and the increasingly social business culture surrounding entry into the field, that my classmates and I are going to ‘be okay’ in our individual ventures into the media world. One key piece of advice offered by the industry giants is that being a kind, genuine, and easy-to-get-along-with person can really get you far in this industry; qualities that I feel all my amazing classmates and I could be said to embody.
As Greg Foster put it, ‘content is king,’ and each of us is capable in our own right of creating dynamic awe-inspiring works of art. What seems usually to separate those who make it far in this industry from those who don’t is quality of character and, if you don’t mind me saying, we are some of the most agreeable, motivated, and responsible individuals who all possess the skills and traits necessary to do incredible things in our lifetimes. All it’ll take is for us to put our minds to the task, trust the process, and we’ll be able to achieve anything.
The journey doesn’t seem easy when looking towards the future, but darn it that’s okay. Every struggle we may go through will only serve as a learning experience and make us all better people / creators. The sky ahead might be a little cloudy sometimes and we might not always know what we’re doing, but as I sit here writing this out on my apartment’s porch on this beautiful spring California day, I can’t help but feel positive about my and my classmates’ futures.
Signing out for now,
Angel 🙂
