Interviewed by Grace Hansen
Editor-in-Chief
Interview with: Carina Wood
Career Title: Preditor. Producer/editor.
What are you working on right now/for whom?
One client is Microsoft in Australia. I’m also doing a job for a company in Israel. Both are marketing videos. At the same time I’m editing assisting episodes for an online cooking show called Humbly Northwest.
What project was the best you’ve done/most proud of?
Personal stuff. There is a short film my friends and I made. It’s been the most fun. A lot of the crew are my best friends. And I think it’s really well done. It will be released when the sound guys finish sound effects and the sound track, hopefully the end of this month.
Tell me about the script you are working on?
It will be our next project. Our company is called 3Fist. The script is titled For Hate. We have a production meeting coming up soon. I’ve already written another script for the second episode of the movie we are just finishing, the problem is our actress is pregnant so we have to wait until she gets back down to her normal size.
What does it take/qualities to work in that career?
You have to be willing to do everything and be a jack of all trades. My first job was I was the assistant to the crane camera, eventually that turned into producing/editing. You have to be willing to learn any job and do just about anything to get it done. People like positive attitudes and go getters. Finding people you can trust is hard in media. One of my bosses said, “If we can’t trust you get our coffee how can we trust you with a $3 million movie?”
What do you dislike the most about your job?
There is a period of rush rush rush and then you have to wait for a producer or someone to say go ahead for the next part. I also hate the “up in the air” feeling. You don’t have a solid job. You have to find new jobs each time you finish a production. But I kind of like it too because you aren’t working on the same thing every year. Another thing that is hard is the fact that sometimes people who don’t work that hard will get a big break, but someone who works hard might get skipped over because they aren’t in the right place at the right time. You have to be good at making connections. In Texas I worked my butt off but people who just came on got better projects because they were better at networking.
What got you interested in this/how did you begin working in the movie industry?
I’ve always been interested in it. I wanted to be an author and make movies as a kid. After high school it took a lot of soul searching and seeking after God and testing things out and admitting that it was actually possible to do if I worked hard. My parents were very against it, so I had to make a decision to follow God’s direction to the media industry. When I was two years through school my dad finally started supporting me. They saw my name in the credits of one of my productions and were so proud.
What is the coolest thing you have experience doing this job/people you’ve met?
There comes a point when you don’t realize the famous people anymore. I did camera-ing for a P.O.D concert and I met the band Red (who were really nice.) You start to see famous people as regular people. The coolest thing is when you make something really good and people really enjoy it. I took a three day project, didn’t get any sleep and presented the “short film” to 40,000 people in a stadium and they were mesmerized by it. It had a good message: stand up and be a leader, don’t let people tell you how to live. There is such a power in media to influence people in subtle or large ways. That is where I want to go with my ministry. I want to affect people’s lives.
What’s the pay like?
Up and down. Its dependant on what you are doing and how well you are established and known.
Editing is 30$ hour for internet/TV. Editing a small movie $300-$400 an hour,a big movie could be $3000-$4000. It’s all word of mouth. Contracts are negotiated.
Long range career goals?
I want to be successful at doing God’s stories, with good messages. Success isn’t about money but obeying God and doing quality Christian stuff. I want to raise the cheesy Christian media standard. In media no one takes responsibility, and a lot of people lie to get where they are, I want to change that. When you work on a movie the actors and crew become like family. It’s a great opportunity to reach out to people. I would also like to get published.
A lot of people think anything having do to with making movies is glamorous, what’s your take on that?
People have stars in their eyes. If that’s your priority you won’t make it anywhere. People won’t work with you if that’s your goal. I’ve heard it said that if you want to be an engineer it will take you four years and to be a doctor it will take you nine years. In media it takes more like 20 years to become successful. Its hard work, long hours, and you have to have a passion for it…. but it is an amazing job.
How do you know media is for you?
If you like sleep don’t go into media. If you aren’t good at writing/spelling/reading media might be your thing.
