April 11, 2025 • 42 mins
Welcome to episode 11 of The First Act Break podcast, the show where we dive into the art, business, and hustle of breaking into the film industry, and help you build a career doing what you love.
Today, we bring on Cece Mou a USC film producer who worked at Disney and camera operates for Jubilee. We talk about the how to step foot into the industry, her experience working on set and for Zach King, and philosophies about producing and filmmaking.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 02 (00:00):
and she was a EVP of production at Warner Brothers.
And then they ultimately placedme as a production management
internship at Disney.
At Disney, because it is such alarge corporation, everything
is very specialized is what Isaw.
At Disney, everyone has onesingle hat and they do that job
very efficiently.
When I'm networking withsomebody, I just wanna see how I
can fit into their life and howI can potentially serve them.
Speaker 01 (00:23):
How is working for Jubilee?
What is that like and how didyou get that
Speaker 02 (00:26):
job?
I literally met the DP at abirthday party And he hired me
on the spot.
Whose
Speaker 01 (00:31):
birthday party was it?
Speaker 02 (00:32):
It was one of the directors for Jubilee.
And I met her at another, like,birthday party event.
They do games.
Like, they do, like, the oddone out.
Oh, that's right.
I've done, like, the datingshows.
Like, that is so fun.
That's, like, one of myfavorite things to shoot because
it's just, like, people havingfun.
And, like, it's just watching,like, a video in real life.
And, like, you kind of know,like, who's going to win and,
like,
Speaker 01 (00:53):
who's who.
Cece, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 02 (00:57):
Thank you guys for having me.
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 01 (00:58):
How would you describe yourself?
Speaker 02 (01:00):
Well, you guys know me.
I'm Cece.
I'm currently a third year atUSC studying film and television
production.
And like, I think from a veryyoung age, I was always very
much involved in the arts.
I did like dance, I did art andeverything.
And I did music.
I was very involved in anythingand everything to do with art.
But I think at the center of itall was like film and video
(01:23):
production.
And And since then, at school,I've developed a really strong
foundation in producing,production management, and both,
I would say, on set, on theground, and also in a more
corporate studio environment.
So yeah, that's kind of where Iam today, and I love to
produce, write, and direct, andjust be helpful to people and
(01:44):
uplift creatives.
Speaker 01 (01:45):
Awesome.
Well, we're so excited to talkabout you and your art and
stuff.
So, you know, in film school, Ifeel like there's two types of
people.
One type is people who aren'treally sure what they want to do
with their film and people whoare just kind of trying to see
what the film school bringsthem.
And then there's other peoplewho know exactly what they want
(02:07):
out of film school and is kindof like a go-getter.
And I feel like seeing a lot ofthe people I've met at film...
uh, USC film school, you're oneof the people who, I don't
know, have very strong goals.
And like, I feel like evensince freshman year, you were on
site, like, you know, you wereon three tents crewing, um, you
(02:28):
were interning in the summer andyou were just like making a lot
of connections, you know?
And one of them was when youstarted working at like Disney
and stuff.
And I want to hear more abouthow you got that and how that
experience was.
Speaker 02 (02:44):
Yeah.
So, um, specifically talkingabout um disney and like kind of
my experience at film school umi think like i won't say i had
a very unique approach to filmschool but like it was kind of a
thing where i knew like it issomething that you get what you
put in is what you get out of it
Speaker 03 (03:03):
um
Speaker 02 (03:03):
i came i'm from orange county and like i'm sure
you guys have talked to a lot ofpeople from orange county and
you guys probably know thatthere's like randomly a very
Specific niche of like verytalented filmmakers that come
from their business one programSo I had already had a quite a
bit of like filmmakingexperience when I got to film
school That being said I knewthat the real value of USC came
from the people and like theconnections that it could offer
(03:26):
me basically looking at anindustry week event there was
like a speaker Tamara GloverPark and she was a EVP of
production at Warner Brothersand I reached out to her after,
and we just hopped on a call,and she was the one that
recommended me the TelevisionAcademy internship.
Took that information, appliedto the internship, mentioned
(03:47):
that she was the one thatreferred me and went through
that whole process.
If you don't know theTelevision Academy internship,
it's kind of like a longprocess.
I remember I took eight hoursto film my five-minute interview
video.
I really tried hard.
So yeah, and then theyultimately placed me as a
(04:08):
production management internshipat Disney.
And that's kind of a little bitabout how I...
got there in the first place,but my experience there, I
learned a ton.
Everyone was very welcoming.
I have nothing but good thingsto say about that program.
Speaker 00 (04:23):
What would you say is the biggest difference
between working at a space likeDisney or Television Academy
versus like student sets whatwould you say is the biggest
other than like just pure scalebecause obviously
Speaker 02 (04:36):
yeah yeah I think like at Disney because it is
such a large a large corporationeverything is very specialized
is what I saw like you would Ithink like on a student set or
like at a smaller productioncompany people wear a lot of
different hats but at Disneyeveryone has one single hat and
they do that job veryefficiently and that's the
biggest thing I noticed I willalso say like I had a really
(04:58):
interesting experience becausewhen I was at Disney, it was
actually during the writer'sstrikes.
So nothing was really beingmade in full swing.
And so I think it was a greattime because everyone was down
to chat because they had nothingto do.
And I just really talked toeverybody there and everyone was
really nice.
And I think I just really gotto see what how that kind of
(05:23):
process, the scheduling, likepost-production management,
asset management, how that lookson a larger scale.
Speaker 01 (05:31):
What was your role on this internship?
Speaker 02 (05:34):
So my exact, my official title was like
production managementinternship, but the specific
department that I was in waskind of like production and post
and acquisitions.
It was kind of like my directsupervisor was kind of like the
head of a lot of differentteams.
So I'm really grateful for thatbecause I was able to like
shadow and like get an idea ofeverything.
(05:55):
And like also like I, like Iwas able to like get an idea of
everything.
Yeah, that was my exact title.
Yeah.
Speaker 01 (06:02):
What did you do in that
Speaker 02 (06:05):
role?
So like I mentioned, it waslike during the writer's strike.
So often I actually would justlike network and talk to a lot
of people, honestly, becausethey were very open to anyways.
And people would stop by mycubicle and just chat with me a
lot.
But I think the biggest projectthat they assigned me, it's
something I was doing like onthe regular, was like editing
(06:25):
like disney's productionhandbooks basically like every
time they have a show they havelike this set of protocols it's
like this document that's likelike like 50 60 pages long and
um kind of details like who alot of lists of contacts like
who to reach out to how to booka soundstage like very similar
to like what i think like youlike 310 might teach us you know
(06:47):
but like on a larger scale sogoing through that they had me
basically update everything so iwas talking i would set up
meetings with like legal team tomake sure this was up to date
um and like just kind of likeand i'll just kind of like go
through very step by step abouthow a new show might be set up
um aside from that like a lot oflike inventory and tracking
(07:10):
schedules a lot of shadowingsitting in on meetings um and
yeah
Speaker 03 (07:16):
That's
Speaker 02 (07:17):
sick.
It was kind of a little bitago.
Like, it was maybe a year agotoday.
So, like, it is a little bitfurther back.
Speaker 01 (07:26):
It looks sick from your Instagram posts and stuff.
Thank you.
It looks like a coolinternship.
So, I mean, you talked aboutnetworking at your internship.
Like, what's your approach tonetworking in general and, like,
or even, like, at film school?
Speaker 02 (07:38):
Yeah.
I think, like, I thinknetworking...
I just like to make friends,honestly, and I don't look at it
as something like, what can Iget out of this person?
And I think one of the reasonswhy I do like producing is
helping other people.
So when I'm networking withsomebody, I just want to see how
(07:58):
I can fit into their life andhow I can potentially serve
them.
So I know it sounds corny, butI don't know.
I just feel slimy approachingit any other way.
Speaker 01 (08:09):
No, that's a good answer.
That's how you're supposed to,really.
Yeah.
i
Speaker 00 (08:12):
feel like the feeling you get yeah the feeling
you get of like from being ableto help someone yeah what they
want to do
Speaker 02 (08:18):
definitely
Speaker 00 (08:19):
it's such a great feeling
Speaker 02 (08:20):
yeah
Speaker 01 (08:21):
and now you have a job that is very different than
networking and producing whichis camera operator for jubilee
yeah how is working for jubileelike what is that like and how
did you get that job
Speaker 02 (08:34):
um guys i wish i could tell you a funny story but
bad but i literally met the DPat a birthday party like the
main guy who managed all thecamera ops at a birthday party
and he hired me on the spot so
Speaker 01 (08:46):
whose birthday party
Speaker 02 (08:47):
was it?
it was one of the directors forJubilee and I met her at
another like birthday partyevent so like I don't know whose
Speaker 03 (08:54):
birthday
Speaker 02 (08:55):
was that?
like I don't know it was likethat's how I got it he was like
oh I'm looking for people areyou down?
and he was like you look likehigh end from New Jeans and I
was like okay
Speaker 00 (09:04):
like who?
Speaker 02 (09:04):
like this girl from New Jeans I
Speaker 00 (09:06):
don't see it was New Jeans was New Jeans
Speaker 02 (09:08):
I think it's like, it's like a K-pop group.
Speaker 00 (09:10):
Oh, okay.
Do you know
Speaker 02 (09:11):
what I'm talking about?
Maybe I'm getting it wrong.
I don't know.
But like, he was just like,yeah, like, are you free this
weekend?
And I was like, wait, yeah.
Wow, that's cool.
So that's, but also like, toprovide context, like I already
knew a few, I was friends with afew of the other camera ops
too.
Oh, wow.
So like, they were, they'relike, oh, I'll introduce you to
Pat.
And that's his name.
(09:31):
And yeah, he was great.
hi if you're watching this hibut like that's essentially how
I got on and um it's really coollike being a camera operator
for them because they do they'reso they they they have such
like huge production and veryhigh impact but they do so very
efficiently and with a verysmall team I don't think I've
(09:52):
ever seen more than eight peopleon set for any of their videos
and that's including myself
Speaker 01 (09:58):
wow so that's sick
Speaker 02 (10:00):
yeah it's like it's very like um And I won't even
say...
It's very amazing to see whatthey can do with such...
a small team everyone there islike very very talented very
creative and very hardworking soi just feel like i'm very lucky
to be a part of that and to besurrounded by like that group of
people
Speaker 00 (10:20):
yeah do you see yourself more as like a hands-on
person or like camera op ormore like a producorial managing
i
Speaker 02 (10:27):
will say like um i i do like both and i'm and i'm
trying to find like a balancebetween the two because as much
as i do like producing and kindof like doing that behind scenes
work like I love to be on setlike I was on set quite a lot
and I still am on set quite alot and I really love it so I
don't know that's just somethingI'm gonna have to keep like
(10:49):
figuring out as time goes on
Speaker 01 (10:51):
what's your favorite part about being on set
Speaker 02 (10:53):
I think the people um
Speaker 01 (10:55):
I
Speaker 02 (10:55):
love meeting people I love helping people and like
I've always said like if I'm notproducing directing or like
ADing I guess um my favoriterole is to be a PA because you
can just help so many people.
And I don't know, I have a lotof fun doing that.
Speaker 01 (11:12):
And I think, you know, it's because of that, like
love for helping people that,you know, makes you so popular
too.
I feel like that's why theliving room was full when I went
to your birthday party.
Back to Jubilee, because I feellike every time I see you,
that's what I talk about becausereally that's so sick.
Like, I don't know.
I haven't met anyone who, youknow, shot Ben Shapiro or the
(11:33):
camera, sorry.
That
Speaker 02 (11:34):
was funny,
Speaker 01 (11:34):
yeah.
But what is like something thatyou guys see that the viewers
usually don't see?
Speaker 02 (11:40):
I will say that like, What you see that is
recorded is very...
What I see as a camera op isvery similar to what people
might see on YouTube.
It's not cut that much.
I think they do a great job oftrying to create an unbiased,
straightforward...
(12:00):
platform for people to say andlike to share their opinions and
stuff and that's like theirwhole goal is like to offer
spaces where people can interactand share their different
diverse perspectives and I thinkum I think people think it's a
lot more edited and dramatizedthan it is, but usually it's
very honest, and I appreciatethat.
Speaker 00 (12:21):
What would you say is the most fun part of being in
that world?
Speaker 02 (12:25):
I don't know, because they do games.
They do the odd one out.
Oh, that's right.
I've done the dating shows.
That is so fun.
That's one of my favoritethings to shoot because...
it's just like people havingfun and like it's just watching
like a video in real life andlike you kind of know like who's
gonna win and like who's who solike I think I that's my
favorite part and also meetingpeople there like so often like
(12:47):
the cast will like have littleconversations but they're just
curious about like what we doand I'm always open to answer
questions and like point them tothe right person and yeah
everyone is very nice andeveryone's very talented so yeah
I love the people meeting them
Speaker 01 (13:03):
yeah That's sick.
I would love to crash anotherbirthday party.
Yeah.
Outside of Jubilee and workingat Disney, you also do a lot of
freelance producing gigs fordifferent production companies.
Talk about how that...
Speaker 02 (13:18):
I guess the one I'm working on right now, I'll talk
about, is I just finishedholding rehearsals for it, is
Awake.
It's a short film directed byAngela Kim, and she's just
finishing out her senior year atUCLA's film school.
Um, we're like about to shootthis month with, um, Elliot and
(13:38):
he's a grad from AFI.
So it's going to be, it's likekind of like a crazy collab of
like all of our schools.
So I'm very excited for that.
Um, and like, I, I, I think I'mreally drawn to producing.
Cause like I said, like itreally is fulfilling for me to
uplift creatives.
And especially when like, Ibelieve that they're going to do
a great job.
And like, I believe that thestory matters to them.
(14:00):
Um, like I, I, just want you beable to like hand them the
resources and be like okay gomake it and um how I kind of got
connected with that project isI went to it also is just like I
went to high school with Angelaand she went to UCLA I went to
USC she's a year older than meand she just reached back out
(14:21):
she said like hey like I seenyour work and I like I think we
would be like great to work witheach other because we've known
each other since high school sothat's kind of how that started
and most of like the producingstuff I do comes from a very
similar spot where people justlike they need someone and I'm
open and available and I say yesso like yeah I will say like
(14:41):
there's never been anapplication process or like a
resume or an interview thinglike for like these side
projects so yeah
Speaker 01 (14:49):
yeah I mean but You know, your time is limited.
How do you, like, pick the bestproject, do you think?
You know, what makes you chooseone project over another
project if you had to?
Speaker 02 (14:59):
A big factor is, like, the team.
Do I think the director is,like, committed and, like, will
be able to pull something likethis off?
And, like, do they love it?
Like, are they just, you knowwhat I'm saying?
Like,
Speaker 03 (15:12):
it
Speaker 02 (15:12):
should come from a place of, like, passion,
especially at the student level.
Like, you know what I mean?
And then B, like, the contentitself.
Like, do I resonate with it?
Do I, like, like it?
Speaker 03 (15:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 02 (15:24):
And also, do I have time for it?
So that's another considerationto say because I think I've
learned, like...
one of the biggest things I'velearned is to set boundaries
with what I take on.
Um, because I've been insituations where I've taken on
too much and that's like, it'sa, it's the worst feeling ever
to disappoint someone when youare not able to like handle,
right.
(15:44):
And give a hundred percent.
Speaker 00 (15:46):
What are some overworking through these
different projects?
What would you say is like thenumber one or number two quality
that a good director has thatreally makes you feel like
they're getting the work done
Speaker 02 (15:59):
um i think like the first thing that comes to mind
is just like passion for theproject um i think like if the
director does not like theproject like what is like the
whole point you know i mean notnot to be like not to say that
there's not projects where likethat it shouldn't be made
because the director's not intoit but i think like the director
(16:19):
is meant to be like setting thetone, setting their vision.
And so it's always the bestfeeling when You can tell the
director really is putting a lotof effort into it.
They may not have to love it.
They may not have to love thecontent material, but I think as
long as they show up and put inthe effort, I think that's the
most important thing to me.
Speaker 00 (16:39):
That's awesome.
Speaker 01 (16:39):
And you've been on a lot of sets, and you've worked
with a lot of people, and somepeople include Zach King.
Love to hear what that waslike.
Speaker 02 (16:49):
Yeah.
So like I said, a lot of thefreelance stuff I do truly is
just through people I know andstuff.
So that was...
How I got connected to themwas...
I'm trying to remember becauseit's been a long time.
Oh, I was following this personand she's from Orange County as
well.
And she was like, she posted onher story, I need someone to do
(17:11):
wardrobe.
And I think I was like in highschool or something.
And I was like, wait, I can doit.
And I'd never done wardrobebefore in my life.
And she was like, she DM'd meback.
She was like, can I FaceTimeyou?
And I was like, oh my God.
Okay.
So like...
I mean, and then she like justgave me a rundown and I was just
like, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Like I can do it.
I can do it.
And I had no idea what I wasdoing.
I'd never done wardrobe or beenon like a professional set at
(17:31):
that point.
Yeah.
So like.
But I just tried my best.
I remember I took my dancecompetition duffel bag, which
had a little wardrobe rack, andI brought it to the set.
And I brought my own clothes.
I went shopping.
I just did my best, I think.
(17:51):
And I really took it seriously.
And that just...
put me in a position where theykept calling me back and she
introduced me to other people atthe team and they keep calling
me back so I won't say like I ama I'm definitely like a
freelancer.
If they need someone, they'llcall me.
But like, I think I'vedeveloped a pretty good
relationship with that team.
(18:12):
And like, um, and I, and Ialways try to do my best every
time I work with them.
So yeah.
And they're great.
Like they're, they're soamazing too.
Like they very much inspire me.
Speaker 01 (18:22):
And how is Zach?
Like, what is he like?
Speaker 02 (18:24):
Oh, he's so kind.
He is so kind.
I think, um, he's such a greatleader he really cares about
everything that he does and youcan really tell like despite
having such a huge following onacross all his social media
platforms like it is he caresabout what he's making at the
end of the day even if you knowhe doesn't he already has such a
(18:44):
huge platform like he reallyputs a lot of effort into
everything
Speaker 01 (18:49):
that's great and Now, kind of pivoting to some of
your own work, right?
You made this film calledMargot last year, probably
around this time.
No, you did it in the summer,actually.
But last year around this time,you started doing
pre-production for a film calledMargot.
And you guys went, like, allout with, like, the fundraising
and everything.
Yes.
And I want to hear, like, howdid you guys raise all that
(19:11):
capital for your project?
Speaker 02 (19:13):
Well, I'm sure you can talk about your capital,
too.
Because we were at the sametime, and we were going to do a
collab.
We were.
Well, I'm sure, like, you know,like, kind of what it was like
then.
Just, like, a ton of work.
I think, like, I honestly,like, I never thought I would be
able to raise, like, 10 13k bymyself but like you kind of just
(19:38):
put you have to put yourself inthat situation and just put
yourself out there and like seewhat you're capable of i think
like i i don't know like when iwhen i launched the the
kickstarter i wasn't like yeahi'm gonna make it like i didn't
have a plan i was just like iguess i have to make it now like
you know what i mean like
Speaker 03 (19:53):
i
Speaker 02 (19:53):
set a deadline and everybody i posted on my
instagram and everybody's gonnaknow if i failed so like i kind
of i feel like just puttingyourself out there and like
releasing your work or sharingwhat you're doing was a way for
me to hold myself accountable.
Speaker 01 (20:07):
Right.
Yeah.
What was something you learnedfrom, you know, afterwards
looking back?
Speaker 02 (20:12):
My entrepreneurship professor said this once and he
was like, your network is yournet worth.
So I think just like beingmindful and like mindful of the
people that you know and likenot being afraid to call on your
community for help I think isone thing I learned because they
definitely, everyone definitelyshowed up for me in ways that
I'd never anticipated.
(20:32):
So, yeah
Speaker 00 (20:34):
what was it like uh working as a director now that
you have producers on theproject because the roles are
kind of flipped because youusually produce and now you're
the one who's setting the visionwriting the story and you have
this incredible team who'slifting you up what was that
like um
Speaker 02 (20:52):
yeah i i will say like i think one thing i
appreciate about producing isthat it is so actionable um like
if you get a project like youcan just set it up like
immediately start going you knowbut i think as a director one
thing i struggled with was kindof like okay i don't have to do
anything right now like i don'thave to not do anything but it's
like i don't have to like callpeople right now or like i don't
(21:14):
have to like i just need tofocus on myself and i think
that's one thing i struggledwith because um i appreciate
like impact and i find a lot ofsolace and structure and and and
like just taking action andhaving the work be tangible.
So that's one thing I think Istruggled with a little bit.
And something I learned is justto be able to trust your
(21:37):
producers and let them know thatthey are competent and gonna
work very hard, which also,shout out C, did a wonderful
job.
she's so talented and Sona andMichaela and Kyler and my whole
team like they really pulledthrough for me and I think the
biggest thing I learned is justlike you can trust other people
to do that and they will show upfor you
Speaker 01 (21:59):
yeah that's great and also talking about other
projects you've done yourecently well not that recent
anymore but directed thenomination video
Speaker 02 (22:09):
oh
Speaker 01 (22:09):
yes for the film festival
Speaker 02 (22:10):
I wonder what Ryan said about it what did he say
about it
Speaker 01 (22:13):
well he said you know he liked the process of
working with such a big team andit kind of prove that he can do
bigger projects but I mean youguys had vastly different
projects so we'd love to hearyour thoughts on the pirate
movie
Speaker 02 (22:26):
oh yeah the pirate movie yeah I mean I think like
with every project it was a hugelearning experience because I'm
sure like as Ryan said it'sthat that team is just huge and
like it has a lot of resourcesand a lot of like a lot of I'm
incredibly grateful to Phil Medand everyone over there for just
(22:46):
trusting alex and i with thatwhole team and i think it was
also a unique experience toobecause i was able to co-direct
and um i never really done thatbefore and i'm sure i don't
think alex has really done thatbefore either but it honestly
ended up working out veryefficiently because both of us
were on the same page and likewhen things got like because as
a director you're always justfielding questions from every
(23:07):
department and when things gotkind of like a lot from one
person, we could easily justsplit off and be like, okay, you
do this, I do this, anddelegate.
And that was very, very, like,rewarding.
But, again, it is a hugeproject.
I learned a ton from that, and,like, it was, like, probably,
like, one of the most, like,sleepless, like, stressful days
(23:28):
that I've yet to experience.
It was on, like, this boat inSan Diego.
We had an Airbnb.
The it was so fun it was so funit was so intense but like i
loved every moment of it yeah soyeah
Speaker 01 (23:44):
i mean i saw like a like a few stills from it and it
looked incredible oh yes jake
Speaker 02 (23:49):
jake shot it and yeah um jake is so kind and a
great dp he was chapman so sanjaco dp on instagram
Speaker 01 (23:57):
yeah i'm gonna plug everybody here he's alex's go-to
right yeah so i'd love to meethim one day too.
Yes.
Well, you know, I have met himbecause he was first AC on
Hermit Crab, right?
Yes,
Speaker 02 (24:08):
yes, yes,
Speaker 01 (24:08):
yes.
Oh, really?
He's very kind.
He was.
Speaker 02 (24:10):
Shout out everybody.
Shout out Daisy who did PD forthat.
That's right, yeah.
Juto on Instagram.
Yeah.
Shout out everybody.
Shout out.
Speaker 00 (24:19):
That's it.
Yeah, small world.
I mean, yeah, Juto was just onthe show
Speaker 02 (24:22):
last
Speaker 00 (24:23):
week.
Last week?
Speaker 01 (24:24):
No, her episode was so fun.
Like, she's great.
Oh, she's great.
And, well, you know, it's onAlex's website, so I'm going to
watch that nomination video.
Oh, man, it's
Speaker 02 (24:33):
40 minutes long.
I don't know if you
Speaker 01 (24:34):
want to do that.
40 minutes?
Yes.
Which is crazy.
Like, how many days did it takeyou to shoot that?
Speaker 02 (24:39):
Three, I think.
But it did, like, we ended up,like...
we ended up splitting into twounits which is why I mentioned
the co-directing thing becauseit was like it was just like
okay like we're running out oftime that's what we need to do
Alex this I do this and it wasjust like so easy and I have
like nothing but good things tosay about Alex too so yeah I'm
very grateful to have him as myco-director
Speaker 01 (25:01):
yeah shout out Alex at Alex Glow what's your
favorite crafty
Speaker 02 (25:06):
applesauce
Speaker 01 (25:09):
Really?
That's crazy.
Because I said the same thingfor Darren's set.
He was like, what do you wantfor crafty?
And I said, applesauce.
Unfortunately, bro got the cupones.
And they didn't have spoons onset.
Speaker 02 (25:22):
Bro, that's OD.
That's, like, stupid, bro.
Speaker 01 (25:24):
I'm sorry.
I was, like, trying to lickthat.
Speaker 02 (25:27):
Oh, my God.
No, applesauce is the best.
I think it's, like, you canjust squeeze it and it's yummy.
And it doesn't make you feel,like, terrible.
Speaker 00 (25:35):
Yeah, I agree.
What's your view on, like,fruit snacks?
Speaker 02 (25:38):
They're fine.
Welch's, it's Welch's.
I don't like Mott's.
Speaker 01 (25:42):
I don't like Mott's either.
I
Speaker 02 (25:43):
think Welch's
Speaker 01 (25:44):
is, like,
Speaker 02 (25:44):
the way to go.
Speaker 01 (25:45):
Mott's always gets stuck in my teeth.
I know.
And I'm, like, licking on itfor the next 30 minutes.
I'm, like, who likes it?
Speaker 02 (25:49):
Like, literally, who likes Mott's?
Speaker 01 (25:50):
You know what?
Someone does.
Because I had a conversation,and they were, like, I love
Mott's.
I'm okay with both.
Who is it, though?
I don't know.
Speaker 00 (25:58):
What about, uh, what about Wang Wang Xue Bing or
Wang Wang Xian Bei?
Do you not know what that is?
No way.
What is that?
It's, like, the Chinese snack,the rice cake that's circular,
or, like...
Speaker 01 (26:08):
it's like a rice crispy
Speaker 00 (26:11):
rice crispy cracker no way wait I think you
Speaker 02 (26:13):
should show me a photo I know what it is but I
don't know it's
Speaker 00 (26:15):
like yellow there's like yellow version that's long
and then there's like a whiteversion that's a circular you
just bite on it
Speaker 02 (26:21):
you need to send me a photo oh oh it's like a
cracker
Speaker 00 (26:23):
yeah yeah yeah
Speaker 02 (26:24):
rice cracker yeah yeah yeah
Speaker 00 (26:26):
yeah
Speaker 02 (26:27):
i know i know the one that's like circuit like an
oval
Speaker 00 (26:29):
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah i don't know
Speaker 02 (26:32):
what they're called though
Speaker 00 (26:33):
i think right oh my god i
Speaker 02 (26:35):
don't
Speaker 00 (26:36):
remember i
Speaker 02 (26:36):
look you just call them like rice crackers
Speaker 01 (26:38):
yeah no they are they're so good yeah wait so
seriously how often do you go onset usually um
Speaker 02 (26:46):
Probably as often as, like, you do.
Like, I mean, we had 310, bro.
And then, like, 480,
Speaker 01 (26:51):
and, like...
But, because you were...
I just asked this because youwere talking about how you
really like being on set.
Speaker 02 (26:55):
Oh.
Well, it depends on the time.
Like, nowadays, like, sometimesI have...
Like, no set November.
Like, that was...
Because I just need to, like,chill.
Like,
Speaker 01 (27:03):
I need to, like, have a weekend and, like, go
home.
Totally.
You were on set in November,though.
Speaker 02 (27:08):
I was.
I know.
I didn't really keep with it.
But, like, I guess, like, ifyou were to say, like, freshman
year, like, I was doing a lot of310s.
So maybe, like, every weekend.
And obviously, 310 and 480 justhappened.
So that was, like, another...
every weekend situation but Idon't know like if I had to put
(27:28):
it maybe like an average monthand there's like four weekends
in a month I would say maybe two
Speaker 01 (27:33):
and you were AP on just friends or frogs
Speaker 02 (27:36):
frogs
Speaker 01 (27:37):
how is APing that
Speaker 02 (27:38):
oh so great the team is very lovely and like
everyone
Speaker 01 (27:41):
yeah
Speaker 02 (27:41):
I have nothing I have nothing good but good
things to say about everybody Iworked with so yeah
Speaker 01 (27:47):
that's respectable yeah
Speaker 02 (27:50):
yeah I mean and I'm not even saying that like like
to be like not messy or whateverlike No, everyone is great.
I don't have any complaints.
Speaker 00 (27:58):
I think at some point, like, if you're on set a
lot, like, you just understandwhat's needed to be done.
And if that's the environmentyou're in, like, it's really
easy to work with each other.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You kind of understand thatthere's going to be.
You can anticipate.
Yeah, like, anticipate problemsthat might arise.
Yeah.
And if they do arise, like, youjust have to know that
everyone's just putting theirbest foot forward to get it
done.
And, yeah, a lot of, like,positivity can come out of that.
(28:21):
And that's kind of what youneed on set.
So, yeah.
Speaker 01 (28:24):
So we're almost going to be seniors.
Well, Looking back, did youthink the film school was worth
it?
Speaker 02 (28:30):
Oh, interesting.
I mean, I don't regret any ofmy experiences here.
I had a great time.
I will say it's worth it in mypersonal growth, but I won't say
film school serves everybody.
Yeah.
I think it served me reallywell and the type of person I am
and how I like to work, though.
Speaker 01 (28:48):
Yeah.
What's your favorite part aboutthe film school besides the
people?
Speaker 02 (28:53):
Um...
well it is the people thoughlike i don't know if i like
anything else about it like ithink and also like the
equipment and like the resourcesand like the faculty like um
but it really was just about thepeople and like it just
creating environment where it'sso easy to be like hey can you
be on set and like you know whoto call on set because i can't
imagine like not having that umlike team of people like that
(29:17):
are just willing to help you
Speaker 01 (29:19):
and so talking about that right as a producer you're
constantly getting people to beon set or like coordinating
building teams and stuff andobviously you need to know a lot
of people but when you know allthese people it's like a lot of
times your mind can't remembereveryone do you have like a
system or like a strategy to youknow organize these people um
Speaker 02 (29:41):
uh not really I feel like if I like someone I'll
remember them or like I try tolike if I won't say I try to
like meet everybody and like sayhi to everybody
Speaker 01 (29:49):
no database I mean but it also is like
Speaker 02 (29:52):
12 hours a day like that you're spending with you
know what I mean it's like it'slike and like also Instagram I
guess it's like a big thing so Idon't know I wouldn't say I
have a database or anything likethat
Speaker 01 (30:05):
cool no that's like who's your favorite like
professors at USC you think
Speaker 02 (30:10):
um Albert Napoli um he teaches the entrepreneurship
class actually
Speaker 01 (30:14):
oh you've been talking about that a lot yeah
his
Speaker 02 (30:16):
one bro his one class like beat out a lot of SCA
classes wow um what was theclass it was it was fundamentals
of entrepreneurship
Speaker 00 (30:24):
I've heard a lot of good things about that class
yeah with
Speaker 02 (30:26):
Albert yeah Napoli specifically because he's an
amazing teacher and likegenuinely that life I mean that
class like very much impacted mylife in in in a lot of
different ways I met a lot ofpeople new people um that were
kind of, like, like-mindedbecause I do think, like, film
and entertainment and art isvery entrepreneurial.
Speaker 00 (30:45):
Oh,
Speaker 02 (30:46):
yeah.
So, like, I really resonatedwith a lot of the topics they
were talking about.
Like, it's, like, it's asopposed to, like, how to make a
film good.
It's just, like, how to...
I feel like that class reallytaught me about how to like
start something, you know, and Ithink like screenwriting
classes just kind of hone in thecraft and entrepreneurship
really teaches you how to evenbegin the craft and like get it
Speaker 00 (31:08):
up on its feet.
Yeah.
What are like the top threetakeaways you would say?
Speaker 02 (31:11):
I think like, to be fair, that class is very much
oriented towards businessmajors.
So, but like a lot of thingswas like knowing like your
audience, like finding a niche,like and delivering like,
finding a problem and finding away to solve that pain.
And I think a lot of theseconcepts are just very
(31:31):
transferable.
So yeah, I found a lot of greatinsight in that.
And also I just think seeing aclass...
approach like a topic like youknow even though it was like i
said it was a business class ijust took a lot of what the
lessons and went to film and ithink like a business class just
gives you a differentperspective oh yeah than what se
(31:51):
can offer
Speaker 00 (31:52):
yeah going off of that like film can be really
overwhelming sometimes andthat's that in certain times
that's all you can think aboutso other than business like what
are some ways you explore youas a creative or as a
professional outside of the likeSCA or filmmaking community
Speaker 02 (32:10):
well like I have to like remind everybody I like to
remind everybody that we'restill in LA and I think like
there's a huge network offilmmakers out there that are
not in film school that justpacked up their stuff and moved
here when they were 18 and likeI have really really like loved
just reaching out to thosepeople and talking to them
because I think like with filmschool like there's a structure
(32:30):
and like they teach you how todo a certain way and like yes
it's like it is like USC's wayright but like I think just I
find a lot of joy in meetingjust talking with people that
are not in USC because they justapproach creativity and like
filmmaking such a completelylike different way than I'm used
to so hearing that perspectiveis really like illuminating I
think so yeah
Speaker 00 (32:51):
that's wonderful news we had a a friend of mine
that I met freshman year whodidn't go to film school and
who's like a freelancer now andhe definitely has some like
really fresh and interestingyeah yeah yeah
Speaker 02 (33:01):
I love it so much
Speaker 00 (33:02):
yeah
Speaker 01 (33:02):
what made you like become such a person.
Growing up, what was theinfluence for you?
Speaker 02 (33:08):
I don't know, guys.
I don't even consider myselfthat much of a people person.
I just enjoy what I enjoy.
So I can't say there wassomething that made me learn to
be this way.
I think I just find happinessin that.
Speaker 01 (33:23):
Is there a reason why you like telling stories?
Speaker 02 (33:26):
I don't know.
I think it's one of thosethings I've always done.
You know what I mean?
And I'm sure if I asked youguys, what would you like about
film?
There would be things I likeabout it, but I'm like, why?
Then you'd...
It's just kind of very naturaland inherent.
Speaker 00 (33:42):
Is that from a young age?
Speaker 02 (33:44):
Yeah, I low-key would do this.
I guess the start of it all waswhen my 6th grade teacher wrote
a grant to start teachingvideography.
That's so nice.
Yeah, we won the lotteryrandomly, and so they painted
our classroom wall green, andthat just kind of started when I
was in 6th grade.
Speaker 01 (34:04):
6th grade?
Speaker 02 (34:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 01 (34:06):
this is a question from our class for 50 but is
there a certain time frame thatif you weren't able to achieve
what you want to achieve thatyou would pivot as a career
Speaker 02 (34:18):
i don't know i don't think i have an answer for that
because i don't think thereshould be like i don't know like
i just i don't think it's rightto set deadlines on
accomplishments because i thinkaccomplishments are and success
for me at least is so much morebased in how i feel as opposed
to what i've actually done on aresume so if i'm at a place
where i feel like i accomplishedand i feel good about that no
(34:41):
matter what it is um i don'tthink i don't know does that
make sense i just don't thinklike putting a
Speaker 01 (34:47):
deadline for the rest of your life
Speaker 02 (34:49):
yeah like i think yeah exactly putting a deadline
on accomplishments when i viewsuccess as such an intangible
intangible concept
Speaker 00 (34:56):
that's a totally valid answer i feel like i
struggle with that a lotpersonally or
Speaker 02 (35:00):
like
Speaker 00 (35:01):
what, like, what is the idea of, like, making it?
What is the mark?
Because, like, do I stop whenI, you know, achieve?
It's so hard to, like, totallyquantify, you know?
Speaker 02 (35:10):
Yeah, I think for me, like, I think, like, it's
hard.
Everyone defines success indifferent ways, but for me, it's
more of a feeling.
Speaker 01 (35:20):
What is that feeling?
Is there a description?
It's
Speaker 02 (35:23):
just when you feel happy and fulfilled.
If I'm consistently feelingthat way with my work and the
people that I'm surroundingmyself by and what I'm doing,
then I think that's success forme.
I don't really need anythingelse.
Speaker 00 (35:37):
What are some other mediums that you enjoy?
Either it's reading or...
painting, like some mediumother than film.
I
Speaker 02 (35:44):
love to dance.
I mean, I grew up dancing, so.
What kind of dance?
I just think it's hella fun.
Anything.
Like, I don't know.
Anything?
I'll take my sister's, like, mysister is a really big dancer.
She's, like, a competitive teamat UCLA.
Oh.
So over the summer, we'll,like, take classes together.
That's cool.
So, yeah, it's just fun.
Like, I, and I, like I said,I've done a lot of art, like,
since I was little.
(36:04):
So, still enjoy piano.
Yeah.
yeah i love i love listening tomusic a lot so
Speaker 01 (36:11):
music yeah that's a huge thing i remember that one
time when you hijacked my tvduring the party oh yeah i was
so confused for 10 minutes andi'm so glad you did because i'm
like i don't know what peoplelisten to
Speaker 02 (36:24):
yes i like how you're matching is that
purposeful oh
Speaker 00 (36:28):
no we are i
Speaker 01 (36:29):
actually didn't realize that we are in sync you
Speaker 02 (36:32):
know
Speaker 01 (36:32):
yeah cc something we do on this podcast is um the
previous guest would leave thecurrent guest a question
Speaker 02 (36:39):
oh very interesting okay go on
Speaker 01 (36:42):
and previous guest asked what is your current
iphone wallpaper
Speaker 02 (36:46):
oh i'm dead okay okay well okay i'm on dnd so let
me turn it off it's like it'sit's an apple juice
Speaker 01 (36:55):
oh why i love
Speaker 02 (36:56):
apple juice doesn't this look like liquid gold it's
so good like i took this photo iwas like this is like the most
beautiful like crisp deliciouslooking drink ever yeah like
don't you want to just drink itwhat's
Speaker 01 (37:10):
in your what's on the inside oh
Speaker 02 (37:12):
it's still apple juice
Speaker 00 (37:13):
wow dedicated fan of apple juice what do you think
of orange juice
Speaker 02 (37:17):
orange juice is like fine but martinelli
specifically like i lovemartinelli's
Speaker 01 (37:22):
it's like liquid gold there's that apple juice
where you can bite on it and itmakes yeah that's what i'm
talking about that's the samebrand that's the same brand
Speaker 02 (37:29):
but it just looks so beautiful in that moment i
think i took this in likeseattle or something yeah i was
in seattle it was so
Speaker 00 (37:35):
beautiful you should make a short film about that
Speaker 02 (37:37):
look i have another i have another apple juice
Speaker 01 (37:41):
oh that's the biting one right
Speaker 02 (37:42):
yeah it's a biting one and then i have like yeah I
don't need to reveal all of thembut like bro like I have like a
like I have a shooting schedulehey this is a good tip
Speaker 01 (37:52):
yeah
Speaker 02 (37:53):
like it's like it's helpful honestly yeah yeah so
then you can just be like whattime is it and see if it matches
up if you have a shootingschedule
Speaker 01 (37:59):
oh yeah this is look
Speaker 02 (38:01):
Jenna, Cece, and Rin arrive at Jenna's house to load
in like
Speaker 01 (38:05):
that is really smart
Speaker 02 (38:07):
yeah
Speaker 01 (38:08):
yeah wait speaking of like organizing as a producer
because that's very importantright because you're always on
projects
Speaker 02 (38:14):
yes
Speaker 01 (38:15):
How do you organize and stay organized?
Speaker 02 (38:18):
Google Calendar.
I was telling you.
I was like, if it's not in theGcal, it's not real.
Speaker 01 (38:23):
Why Gcal and not Apple?
Speaker 00 (38:25):
Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing.
I love
Speaker 02 (38:27):
Google Calendar.
I don't know.
I just never got into AppleCalendar.
Also, I appreciate how you canshare your calendar with other
people on Google Calendar.
Speaker 00 (38:35):
It might just be...
personal preference yeah justhave it you just get used to it
Speaker 02 (38:40):
yeah
Speaker 01 (38:40):
yeah maybe i should because i feel
Speaker 00 (38:42):
like you can like
Speaker 02 (38:42):
invite people they can say yes or no versus via
their email right yeah yeahthat's what i also appreciate
about it
Speaker 01 (38:48):
that is smart hmm maybe that's something to look
into do you have a to-do list
Speaker 02 (38:55):
uh yeah kind of i have like a notebook that i like
write everything in oh so yeah
Speaker 01 (39:00):
do you journal
Speaker 02 (39:01):
i do a lot
Speaker 01 (39:02):
About what usually?
Speaker 02 (39:03):
Everything.
Just like your emotions?
I've kept one since I was likefive or six actually.
Speaker 00 (39:09):
Wow, that's dedication.
I started when I was like 19 or18.
No, it's
Speaker 02 (39:13):
like this.
It's like the stack is likehuge.
Speaker 00 (39:17):
I wish I started doing that because like when
you're in your 30s and 40s, youlook back to when you were like
a six-year-old or aseven-year-old and you see just
how much you've
Speaker 02 (39:25):
grown.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I wish I did that.
It's really interesting to see.
Speaker 01 (39:29):
wait so back to on set because you know a lot of
times when i'm on set i'm sodrained you know like i just i
don't know how people who lovebeing on set do it sometimes and
i'm just curious like what doyou do to stay motivated and
just like fresh on set becauseit's 12 hour days
Speaker 02 (39:46):
well i will say it's not that i don't get drained
like i will get i'll get sotired too like yeah but like i
mean like with every good thinglike comes with a cost so like i
don't know i i won't say like Idon't get tired at all I won't
say I'm like loving every singlesecond of it of course there's
going to be like challengingparts but I think like just
knowing that everyone's with youand doing it like you're not
(40:07):
the only one going through itlike just means a lot you know
Speaker 01 (40:10):
yeah that's true and to the people who are aspiring
freelance producers what advicedo you have for them
Speaker 02 (40:19):
um treat every like opportunity as the interview for
your next
Speaker 01 (40:26):
that's a great philosophy yeah That's sick.
Speaker 02 (40:28):
Someone told me that once.
I forget who, but it's reallystuck with me.
Speaker 01 (40:33):
See, even the fact that you're willing to credit
them, I would have just thoughtthat was a CC original.
No, it's not me, guys.
Speaker 02 (40:39):
Someone told me that on set, and every time you're
on set, every time you'remeeting someone, it's a job
interview.
And it feels like, well, notnecessarily, and I feel like
that gives a lot of pressure,but it is true.
Just do your best.
Show up, and...
See what happens.
So yeah.
Speaker 00 (40:58):
If you had the attention of the whole world for
one minute, what would you sayor show?
Speaker 02 (41:02):
I would show them just something like happy and
funny to brighten up everybody'sday.
I don't, yeah.
Yeah.
Speaker 01 (41:10):
That's sick.
What
Speaker 02 (41:11):
have other people said?
Speaker 00 (41:13):
What have people said?
I think a lot of them are veryabstract because it's hard to
like actually concrete and findlike the one thing.
Cause not
Speaker 02 (41:21):
everyone would be able to understand me.
Like I'm speaking English.
I'd be like, what are youtalking about?
You know, like,
Speaker 01 (41:26):
no, that makes sense.
Speaker 02 (41:28):
So I would, I would show them a little, like, I
would be like, And I would showthem a video.
Speaker 01 (41:32):
That's the craziest ad for an apple juice.
I
Speaker 02 (41:36):
know.
No, I wouldn't show them applejuice.
I would just show them like avideo or something like visual
and universally understandableto like make just brighten
everybody's day.
That's it.
That's
Speaker 01 (41:45):
cool.
Cece, what do you want youraudience of your work to take
out from your work?
Like what do you want them toget from your work?
Speaker 02 (41:52):
The fact that like filmmaking and creating is very,
is a miracle in itself.
And the fact that anything getsdone is very, it's crazy.
I hope people understand howwonderful it is that a group of
people came together to makesomething.
Yeah.
Speaker 01 (42:10):
Great.
Well, Cece, thank you so muchfor coming on our podcast.
It was so great talking to you.
Of course.
And excited to see where you gonext on your projects.
Speaker 02 (42:17):
Thank you, thank you, thank
Speaker 01 (42:18):
you.
Thank you for coming
Speaker 02 (42:19):
on.
Great.
Of course.
Thanks for listening.
and she was a EVP of production at Warner Brothers.
And then they ultimately placedme as a production management
internship at Disney.
At Disney, because it is such alarge corporation, everything
is very specialized is what Isaw.
At Disney, everyone has onesingle hat and they do that job
very efficiently.
When I'm networking withsomebody, I just wanna see how I
can fit into their life and howI can potentially serve them.
Speaker 01 (00:23):
How is working for Jubilee?
What is that like and how didyou get that
Speaker 02 (00:26):
job?
I literally met the DP at abirthday party And he hired me
on the spot.
Whose
Speaker 01 (00:31):
birthday party was it?
Speaker 02 (00:32):
It was one of the directors for Jubilee.
And I met her at another, like,birthday party event.
They do games.
Like, they do, like, the oddone out.
Oh, that's right.
I've done, like, the datingshows.
Like, that is so fun.
That's, like, one of myfavorite things to shoot because
it's just, like, people havingfun.
And, like, it's just watching,like, a video in real life.
And, like, you kind of know,like, who's going to win and,
like,
Speaker 01 (00:53):
who's who.
Cece, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 02 (00:57):
Thank you guys for having me.
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 01 (00:58):
How would you describe yourself?
Speaker 02 (01:00):
Well, you guys know me.
I'm Cece.
I'm currently a third year atUSC studying film and television
production.
And like, I think from a veryyoung age, I was always very
much involved in the arts.
I did like dance, I did art andeverything.
And I did music.
I was very involved in anythingand everything to do with art.
But I think at the center of itall was like film and video
(01:23):
production.
And And since then, at school,I've developed a really strong
foundation in producing,production management, and both,
I would say, on set, on theground, and also in a more
corporate studio environment.
So yeah, that's kind of where Iam today, and I love to
produce, write, and direct, andjust be helpful to people and
(01:44):
uplift creatives.
Speaker 01 (01:45):
Awesome.
Well, we're so excited to talkabout you and your art and
stuff.
So, you know, in film school, Ifeel like there's two types of
people.
One type is people who aren'treally sure what they want to do
with their film and people whoare just kind of trying to see
what the film school bringsthem.
And then there's other peoplewho know exactly what they want
(02:07):
out of film school and is kindof like a go-getter.
And I feel like seeing a lot ofthe people I've met at film...
uh, USC film school, you're oneof the people who, I don't
know, have very strong goals.
And like, I feel like evensince freshman year, you were on
site, like, you know, you wereon three tents crewing, um, you
(02:28):
were interning in the summer andyou were just like making a lot
of connections, you know?
And one of them was when youstarted working at like Disney
and stuff.
And I want to hear more abouthow you got that and how that
experience was.
Speaker 02 (02:44):
Yeah.
So, um, specifically talkingabout um disney and like kind of
my experience at film school umi think like i won't say i had
a very unique approach to filmschool but like it was kind of a
thing where i knew like it issomething that you get what you
put in is what you get out of it
Speaker 03 (03:03):
um
Speaker 02 (03:03):
i came i'm from orange county and like i'm sure
you guys have talked to a lot ofpeople from orange county and
you guys probably know thatthere's like randomly a very
Specific niche of like verytalented filmmakers that come
from their business one programSo I had already had a quite a
bit of like filmmakingexperience when I got to film
school That being said I knewthat the real value of USC came
from the people and like theconnections that it could offer
(03:26):
me basically looking at anindustry week event there was
like a speaker Tamara GloverPark and she was a EVP of
production at Warner Brothersand I reached out to her after,
and we just hopped on a call,and she was the one that
recommended me the TelevisionAcademy internship.
Took that information, appliedto the internship, mentioned
(03:47):
that she was the one thatreferred me and went through
that whole process.
If you don't know theTelevision Academy internship,
it's kind of like a longprocess.
I remember I took eight hoursto film my five-minute interview
video.
I really tried hard.
So yeah, and then theyultimately placed me as a
(04:08):
production management internshipat Disney.
And that's kind of a little bitabout how I...
got there in the first place,but my experience there, I
learned a ton.
Everyone was very welcoming.
I have nothing but good thingsto say about that program.
Speaker 00 (04:23):
What would you say is the biggest difference
between working at a space likeDisney or Television Academy
versus like student sets whatwould you say is the biggest
other than like just pure scalebecause obviously
Speaker 02 (04:36):
yeah yeah I think like at Disney because it is
such a large a large corporationeverything is very specialized
is what I saw like you would Ithink like on a student set or
like at a smaller productioncompany people wear a lot of
different hats but at Disneyeveryone has one single hat and
they do that job veryefficiently and that's the
biggest thing I noticed I willalso say like I had a really
(04:58):
interesting experience becausewhen I was at Disney, it was
actually during the writer'sstrikes.
So nothing was really beingmade in full swing.
And so I think it was a greattime because everyone was down
to chat because they had nothingto do.
And I just really talked toeverybody there and everyone was
really nice.
And I think I just really gotto see what how that kind of
(05:23):
process, the scheduling, likepost-production management,
asset management, how that lookson a larger scale.
Speaker 01 (05:31):
What was your role on this internship?
Speaker 02 (05:34):
So my exact, my official title was like
production managementinternship, but the specific
department that I was in waskind of like production and post
and acquisitions.
It was kind of like my directsupervisor was kind of like the
head of a lot of differentteams.
So I'm really grateful for thatbecause I was able to like
shadow and like get an idea ofeverything.
(05:55):
And like also like I, like Iwas able to like get an idea of
everything.
Yeah, that was my exact title.
Yeah.
Speaker 01 (06:02):
What did you do in that
Speaker 02 (06:05):
role?
So like I mentioned, it waslike during the writer's strike.
So often I actually would justlike network and talk to a lot
of people, honestly, becausethey were very open to anyways.
And people would stop by mycubicle and just chat with me a
lot.
But I think the biggest projectthat they assigned me, it's
something I was doing like onthe regular, was like editing
(06:25):
like disney's productionhandbooks basically like every
time they have a show they havelike this set of protocols it's
like this document that's likelike like 50 60 pages long and
um kind of details like who alot of lists of contacts like
who to reach out to how to booka soundstage like very similar
to like what i think like youlike 310 might teach us you know
(06:47):
but like on a larger scale sogoing through that they had me
basically update everything so iwas talking i would set up
meetings with like legal team tomake sure this was up to date
um and like just kind of likeand i'll just kind of like go
through very step by step abouthow a new show might be set up
um aside from that like a lot oflike inventory and tracking
(07:10):
schedules a lot of shadowingsitting in on meetings um and
yeah
Speaker 03 (07:16):
That's
Speaker 02 (07:17):
sick.
It was kind of a little bitago.
Like, it was maybe a year agotoday.
So, like, it is a little bitfurther back.
Speaker 01 (07:26):
It looks sick from your Instagram posts and stuff.
Thank you.
It looks like a coolinternship.
So, I mean, you talked aboutnetworking at your internship.
Like, what's your approach tonetworking in general and, like,
or even, like, at film school?
Speaker 02 (07:38):
Yeah.
I think, like, I thinknetworking...
I just like to make friends,honestly, and I don't look at it
as something like, what can Iget out of this person?
And I think one of the reasonswhy I do like producing is
helping other people.
So when I'm networking withsomebody, I just want to see how
(07:58):
I can fit into their life andhow I can potentially serve
them.
So I know it sounds corny, butI don't know.
I just feel slimy approachingit any other way.
Speaker 01 (08:09):
No, that's a good answer.
That's how you're supposed to,really.
Yeah.
i
Speaker 00 (08:12):
feel like the feeling you get yeah the feeling
you get of like from being ableto help someone yeah what they
want to do
Speaker 02 (08:18):
definitely
Speaker 00 (08:19):
it's such a great feeling
Speaker 02 (08:20):
yeah
Speaker 01 (08:21):
and now you have a job that is very different than
networking and producing whichis camera operator for jubilee
yeah how is working for jubileelike what is that like and how
did you get that job
Speaker 02 (08:34):
um guys i wish i could tell you a funny story but
bad but i literally met the DPat a birthday party like the
main guy who managed all thecamera ops at a birthday party
and he hired me on the spot so
Speaker 01 (08:46):
whose birthday party
Speaker 02 (08:47):
was it?
it was one of the directors forJubilee and I met her at
another like birthday partyevent so like I don't know whose
Speaker 03 (08:54):
birthday
Speaker 02 (08:55):
was that?
like I don't know it was likethat's how I got it he was like
oh I'm looking for people areyou down?
and he was like you look likehigh end from New Jeans and I
was like okay
Speaker 00 (09:04):
like who?
Speaker 02 (09:04):
like this girl from New Jeans I
Speaker 00 (09:06):
don't see it was New Jeans was New Jeans
Speaker 02 (09:08):
I think it's like, it's like a K-pop group.
Speaker 00 (09:10):
Oh, okay.
Do you know
Speaker 02 (09:11):
what I'm talking about?
Maybe I'm getting it wrong.
I don't know.
But like, he was just like,yeah, like, are you free this
weekend?
And I was like, wait, yeah.
Wow, that's cool.
So that's, but also like, toprovide context, like I already
knew a few, I was friends with afew of the other camera ops
too.
Oh, wow.
So like, they were, they'relike, oh, I'll introduce you to
Pat.
And that's his name.
(09:31):
And yeah, he was great.
hi if you're watching this hibut like that's essentially how
I got on and um it's really coollike being a camera operator
for them because they do they'reso they they they have such
like huge production and veryhigh impact but they do so very
efficiently and with a verysmall team I don't think I've
(09:52):
ever seen more than eight peopleon set for any of their videos
and that's including myself
Speaker 01 (09:58):
wow so that's sick
Speaker 02 (10:00):
yeah it's like it's very like um And I won't even
say...
It's very amazing to see whatthey can do with such...
a small team everyone there islike very very talented very
creative and very hardworking soi just feel like i'm very lucky
to be a part of that and to besurrounded by like that group of
people
Speaker 00 (10:20):
yeah do you see yourself more as like a hands-on
person or like camera op ormore like a producorial managing
i
Speaker 02 (10:27):
will say like um i i do like both and i'm and i'm
trying to find like a balancebetween the two because as much
as i do like producing and kindof like doing that behind scenes
work like I love to be on setlike I was on set quite a lot
and I still am on set quite alot and I really love it so I
don't know that's just somethingI'm gonna have to keep like
(10:49):
figuring out as time goes on
Speaker 01 (10:51):
what's your favorite part about being on set
Speaker 02 (10:53):
I think the people um
Speaker 01 (10:55):
I
Speaker 02 (10:55):
love meeting people I love helping people and like
I've always said like if I'm notproducing directing or like
ADing I guess um my favoriterole is to be a PA because you
can just help so many people.
And I don't know, I have a lotof fun doing that.
Speaker 01 (11:12):
And I think, you know, it's because of that, like
love for helping people that,you know, makes you so popular
too.
I feel like that's why theliving room was full when I went
to your birthday party.
Back to Jubilee, because I feellike every time I see you,
that's what I talk about becausereally that's so sick.
Like, I don't know.
I haven't met anyone who, youknow, shot Ben Shapiro or the
(11:33):
camera, sorry.
That
Speaker 02 (11:34):
was funny,
Speaker 01 (11:34):
yeah.
But what is like something thatyou guys see that the viewers
usually don't see?
Speaker 02 (11:40):
I will say that like, What you see that is
recorded is very...
What I see as a camera op isvery similar to what people
might see on YouTube.
It's not cut that much.
I think they do a great job oftrying to create an unbiased,
straightforward...
(12:00):
platform for people to say andlike to share their opinions and
stuff and that's like theirwhole goal is like to offer
spaces where people can interactand share their different
diverse perspectives and I thinkum I think people think it's a
lot more edited and dramatizedthan it is, but usually it's
very honest, and I appreciatethat.
Speaker 00 (12:21):
What would you say is the most fun part of being in
that world?
Speaker 02 (12:25):
I don't know, because they do games.
They do the odd one out.
Oh, that's right.
I've done the dating shows.
That is so fun.
That's one of my favoritethings to shoot because...
it's just like people havingfun and like it's just watching
like a video in real life andlike you kind of know like who's
gonna win and like who's who solike I think I that's my
favorite part and also meetingpeople there like so often like
(12:47):
the cast will like have littleconversations but they're just
curious about like what we doand I'm always open to answer
questions and like point them tothe right person and yeah
everyone is very nice andeveryone's very talented so yeah
I love the people meeting them
Speaker 01 (13:03):
yeah That's sick.
I would love to crash anotherbirthday party.
Yeah.
Outside of Jubilee and workingat Disney, you also do a lot of
freelance producing gigs fordifferent production companies.
Talk about how that...
Speaker 02 (13:18):
I guess the one I'm working on right now, I'll talk
about, is I just finishedholding rehearsals for it, is
Awake.
It's a short film directed byAngela Kim, and she's just
finishing out her senior year atUCLA's film school.
Um, we're like about to shootthis month with, um, Elliot and
(13:38):
he's a grad from AFI.
So it's going to be, it's likekind of like a crazy collab of
like all of our schools.
So I'm very excited for that.
Um, and like, I, I, I think I'mreally drawn to producing.
Cause like I said, like itreally is fulfilling for me to
uplift creatives.
And especially when like, Ibelieve that they're going to do
a great job.
And like, I believe that thestory matters to them.
(14:00):
Um, like I, I, just want you beable to like hand them the
resources and be like okay gomake it and um how I kind of got
connected with that project isI went to it also is just like I
went to high school with Angelaand she went to UCLA I went to
USC she's a year older than meand she just reached back out
(14:21):
she said like hey like I seenyour work and I like I think we
would be like great to work witheach other because we've known
each other since high school sothat's kind of how that started
and most of like the producingstuff I do comes from a very
similar spot where people justlike they need someone and I'm
open and available and I say yesso like yeah I will say like
(14:41):
there's never been anapplication process or like a
resume or an interview thinglike for like these side
projects so yeah
Speaker 01 (14:49):
yeah I mean but You know, your time is limited.
How do you, like, pick the bestproject, do you think?
You know, what makes you chooseone project over another
project if you had to?
Speaker 02 (14:59):
A big factor is, like, the team.
Do I think the director is,like, committed and, like, will
be able to pull something likethis off?
And, like, do they love it?
Like, are they just, you knowwhat I'm saying?
Like,
Speaker 03 (15:12):
it
Speaker 02 (15:12):
should come from a place of, like, passion,
especially at the student level.
Like, you know what I mean?
And then B, like, the contentitself.
Like, do I resonate with it?
Do I, like, like it?
Speaker 03 (15:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 02 (15:24):
And also, do I have time for it?
So that's another considerationto say because I think I've
learned, like...
one of the biggest things I'velearned is to set boundaries
with what I take on.
Um, because I've been insituations where I've taken on
too much and that's like, it'sa, it's the worst feeling ever
to disappoint someone when youare not able to like handle,
right.
(15:44):
And give a hundred percent.
Speaker 00 (15:46):
What are some overworking through these
different projects?
What would you say is like thenumber one or number two quality
that a good director has thatreally makes you feel like
they're getting the work done
Speaker 02 (15:59):
um i think like the first thing that comes to mind
is just like passion for theproject um i think like if the
director does not like theproject like what is like the
whole point you know i mean notnot to be like not to say that
there's not projects where likethat it shouldn't be made
because the director's not intoit but i think like the director
(16:19):
is meant to be like setting thetone, setting their vision.
And so it's always the bestfeeling when You can tell the
director really is putting a lotof effort into it.
They may not have to love it.
They may not have to love thecontent material, but I think as
long as they show up and put inthe effort, I think that's the
most important thing to me.
Speaker 00 (16:39):
That's awesome.
Speaker 01 (16:39):
And you've been on a lot of sets, and you've worked
with a lot of people, and somepeople include Zach King.
Love to hear what that waslike.
Speaker 02 (16:49):
Yeah.
So like I said, a lot of thefreelance stuff I do truly is
just through people I know andstuff.
So that was...
How I got connected to themwas...
I'm trying to remember becauseit's been a long time.
Oh, I was following this personand she's from Orange County as
well.
And she was like, she posted onher story, I need someone to do
(17:11):
wardrobe.
And I think I was like in highschool or something.
And I was like, wait, I can doit.
And I'd never done wardrobebefore in my life.
And she was like, she DM'd meback.
She was like, can I FaceTimeyou?
And I was like, oh my God.
Okay.
So like...
I mean, and then she like justgave me a rundown and I was just
like, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Like I can do it.
I can do it.
And I had no idea what I wasdoing.
I'd never done wardrobe or beenon like a professional set at
(17:31):
that point.
Yeah.
So like.
But I just tried my best.
I remember I took my dancecompetition duffel bag, which
had a little wardrobe rack, andI brought it to the set.
And I brought my own clothes.
I went shopping.
I just did my best, I think.
(17:51):
And I really took it seriously.
And that just...
put me in a position where theykept calling me back and she
introduced me to other people atthe team and they keep calling
me back so I won't say like I ama I'm definitely like a
freelancer.
If they need someone, they'llcall me.
But like, I think I'vedeveloped a pretty good
relationship with that team.
(18:12):
And like, um, and I, and Ialways try to do my best every
time I work with them.
So yeah.
And they're great.
Like they're, they're soamazing too.
Like they very much inspire me.
Speaker 01 (18:22):
And how is Zach?
Like, what is he like?
Speaker 02 (18:24):
Oh, he's so kind.
He is so kind.
I think, um, he's such a greatleader he really cares about
everything that he does and youcan really tell like despite
having such a huge following onacross all his social media
platforms like it is he caresabout what he's making at the
end of the day even if you knowhe doesn't he already has such a
(18:44):
huge platform like he reallyputs a lot of effort into
everything
Speaker 01 (18:49):
that's great and Now, kind of pivoting to some of
your own work, right?
You made this film calledMargot last year, probably
around this time.
No, you did it in the summer,actually.
But last year around this time,you started doing
pre-production for a film calledMargot.
And you guys went, like, allout with, like, the fundraising
and everything.
Yes.
And I want to hear, like, howdid you guys raise all that
(19:11):
capital for your project?
Speaker 02 (19:13):
Well, I'm sure you can talk about your capital,
too.
Because we were at the sametime, and we were going to do a
collab.
We were.
Well, I'm sure, like, you know,like, kind of what it was like
then.
Just, like, a ton of work.
I think, like, I honestly,like, I never thought I would be
able to raise, like, 10 13k bymyself but like you kind of just
(19:38):
put you have to put yourself inthat situation and just put
yourself out there and like seewhat you're capable of i think
like i i don't know like when iwhen i launched the the
kickstarter i wasn't like yeahi'm gonna make it like i didn't
have a plan i was just like iguess i have to make it now like
you know what i mean like
Speaker 03 (19:53):
i
Speaker 02 (19:53):
set a deadline and everybody i posted on my
instagram and everybody's gonnaknow if i failed so like i kind
of i feel like just puttingyourself out there and like
releasing your work or sharingwhat you're doing was a way for
me to hold myself accountable.
Speaker 01 (20:07):
Right.
Yeah.
What was something you learnedfrom, you know, afterwards
looking back?
Speaker 02 (20:12):
My entrepreneurship professor said this once and he
was like, your network is yournet worth.
So I think just like beingmindful and like mindful of the
people that you know and likenot being afraid to call on your
community for help I think isone thing I learned because they
definitely, everyone definitelyshowed up for me in ways that
I'd never anticipated.
(20:32):
So, yeah
Speaker 00 (20:34):
what was it like uh working as a director now that
you have producers on theproject because the roles are
kind of flipped because youusually produce and now you're
the one who's setting the visionwriting the story and you have
this incredible team who'slifting you up what was that
like um
Speaker 02 (20:52):
yeah i i will say like i think one thing i
appreciate about producing isthat it is so actionable um like
if you get a project like youcan just set it up like
immediately start going you knowbut i think as a director one
thing i struggled with was kindof like okay i don't have to do
anything right now like i don'thave to not do anything but it's
like i don't have to like callpeople right now or like i don't
(21:14):
have to like i just need tofocus on myself and i think
that's one thing i struggledwith because um i appreciate
like impact and i find a lot ofsolace and structure and and and
like just taking action andhaving the work be tangible.
So that's one thing I think Istruggled with a little bit.
And something I learned is justto be able to trust your
(21:37):
producers and let them know thatthey are competent and gonna
work very hard, which also,shout out C, did a wonderful
job.
she's so talented and Sona andMichaela and Kyler and my whole
team like they really pulledthrough for me and I think the
biggest thing I learned is justlike you can trust other people
to do that and they will show upfor you
Speaker 01 (21:59):
yeah that's great and also talking about other
projects you've done yourecently well not that recent
anymore but directed thenomination video
Speaker 02 (22:09):
oh
Speaker 01 (22:09):
yes for the film festival
Speaker 02 (22:10):
I wonder what Ryan said about it what did he say
about it
Speaker 01 (22:13):
well he said you know he liked the process of
working with such a big team andit kind of prove that he can do
bigger projects but I mean youguys had vastly different
projects so we'd love to hearyour thoughts on the pirate
movie
Speaker 02 (22:26):
oh yeah the pirate movie yeah I mean I think like
with every project it was a hugelearning experience because I'm
sure like as Ryan said it'sthat that team is just huge and
like it has a lot of resourcesand a lot of like a lot of I'm
incredibly grateful to Phil Medand everyone over there for just
(22:46):
trusting alex and i with thatwhole team and i think it was
also a unique experience toobecause i was able to co-direct
and um i never really done thatbefore and i'm sure i don't
think alex has really done thatbefore either but it honestly
ended up working out veryefficiently because both of us
were on the same page and likewhen things got like because as
a director you're always justfielding questions from every
(23:07):
department and when things gotkind of like a lot from one
person, we could easily justsplit off and be like, okay, you
do this, I do this, anddelegate.
And that was very, very, like,rewarding.
But, again, it is a hugeproject.
I learned a ton from that, and,like, it was, like, probably,
like, one of the most, like,sleepless, like, stressful days
(23:28):
that I've yet to experience.
It was on, like, this boat inSan Diego.
We had an Airbnb.
The it was so fun it was so funit was so intense but like i
loved every moment of it yeah soyeah
Speaker 01 (23:44):
i mean i saw like a like a few stills from it and it
looked incredible oh yes jake
Speaker 02 (23:49):
jake shot it and yeah um jake is so kind and a
great dp he was chapman so sanjaco dp on instagram
Speaker 01 (23:57):
yeah i'm gonna plug everybody here he's alex's go-to
right yeah so i'd love to meethim one day too.
Yes.
Well, you know, I have met himbecause he was first AC on
Hermit Crab, right?
Yes,
Speaker 02 (24:08):
yes, yes,
Speaker 01 (24:08):
yes.
Oh, really?
He's very kind.
He was.
Speaker 02 (24:10):
Shout out everybody.
Shout out Daisy who did PD forthat.
That's right, yeah.
Juto on Instagram.
Yeah.
Shout out everybody.
Shout out.
Speaker 00 (24:19):
That's it.
Yeah, small world.
I mean, yeah, Juto was just onthe show
Speaker 02 (24:22):
last
Speaker 00 (24:23):
week.
Last week?
Speaker 01 (24:24):
No, her episode was so fun.
Like, she's great.
Oh, she's great.
And, well, you know, it's onAlex's website, so I'm going to
watch that nomination video.
Oh, man, it's
Speaker 02 (24:33):
40 minutes long.
I don't know if you
Speaker 01 (24:34):
want to do that.
40 minutes?
Yes.
Which is crazy.
Like, how many days did it takeyou to shoot that?
Speaker 02 (24:39):
Three, I think.
But it did, like, we ended up,like...
we ended up splitting into twounits which is why I mentioned
the co-directing thing becauseit was like it was just like
okay like we're running out oftime that's what we need to do
Alex this I do this and it wasjust like so easy and I have
like nothing but good things tosay about Alex too so yeah I'm
very grateful to have him as myco-director
Speaker 01 (25:01):
yeah shout out Alex at Alex Glow what's your
favorite crafty
Speaker 02 (25:06):
applesauce
Speaker 01 (25:09):
Really?
That's crazy.
Because I said the same thingfor Darren's set.
He was like, what do you wantfor crafty?
And I said, applesauce.
Unfortunately, bro got the cupones.
And they didn't have spoons onset.
Speaker 02 (25:22):
Bro, that's OD.
That's, like, stupid, bro.
Speaker 01 (25:24):
I'm sorry.
I was, like, trying to lickthat.
Speaker 02 (25:27):
Oh, my God.
No, applesauce is the best.
I think it's, like, you canjust squeeze it and it's yummy.
And it doesn't make you feel,like, terrible.
Speaker 00 (25:35):
Yeah, I agree.
What's your view on, like,fruit snacks?
Speaker 02 (25:38):
They're fine.
Welch's, it's Welch's.
I don't like Mott's.
Speaker 01 (25:42):
I don't like Mott's either.
I
Speaker 02 (25:43):
think Welch's
Speaker 01 (25:44):
is, like,
Speaker 02 (25:44):
the way to go.
Speaker 01 (25:45):
Mott's always gets stuck in my teeth.
I know.
And I'm, like, licking on itfor the next 30 minutes.
I'm, like, who likes it?
Speaker 02 (25:49):
Like, literally, who likes Mott's?
Speaker 01 (25:50):
You know what?
Someone does.
Because I had a conversation,and they were, like, I love
Mott's.
I'm okay with both.
Who is it, though?
I don't know.
Speaker 00 (25:58):
What about, uh, what about Wang Wang Xue Bing or
Wang Wang Xian Bei?
Do you not know what that is?
No way.
What is that?
It's, like, the Chinese snack,the rice cake that's circular,
or, like...
Speaker 01 (26:08):
it's like a rice crispy
Speaker 00 (26:11):
rice crispy cracker no way wait I think you
Speaker 02 (26:13):
should show me a photo I know what it is but I
don't know it's
Speaker 00 (26:15):
like yellow there's like yellow version that's long
and then there's like a whiteversion that's a circular you
just bite on it
Speaker 02 (26:21):
you need to send me a photo oh oh it's like a
cracker
Speaker 00 (26:23):
yeah yeah yeah
Speaker 02 (26:24):
rice cracker yeah yeah yeah
Speaker 00 (26:26):
yeah
Speaker 02 (26:27):
i know i know the one that's like circuit like an
oval
Speaker 00 (26:29):
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah i don't know
Speaker 02 (26:32):
what they're called though
Speaker 00 (26:33):
i think right oh my god i
Speaker 02 (26:35):
don't
Speaker 00 (26:36):
remember i
Speaker 02 (26:36):
look you just call them like rice crackers
Speaker 01 (26:38):
yeah no they are they're so good yeah wait so
seriously how often do you go onset usually um
Speaker 02 (26:46):
Probably as often as, like, you do.
Like, I mean, we had 310, bro.
And then, like, 480,
Speaker 01 (26:51):
and, like...
But, because you were...
I just asked this because youwere talking about how you
really like being on set.
Speaker 02 (26:55):
Oh.
Well, it depends on the time.
Like, nowadays, like, sometimesI have...
Like, no set November.
Like, that was...
Because I just need to, like,chill.
Like,
Speaker 01 (27:03):
I need to, like, have a weekend and, like, go
home.
Totally.
You were on set in November,though.
Speaker 02 (27:08):
I was.
I know.
I didn't really keep with it.
But, like, I guess, like, ifyou were to say, like, freshman
year, like, I was doing a lot of310s.
So maybe, like, every weekend.
And obviously, 310 and 480 justhappened.
So that was, like, another...
every weekend situation but Idon't know like if I had to put
(27:28):
it maybe like an average monthand there's like four weekends
in a month I would say maybe two
Speaker 01 (27:33):
and you were AP on just friends or frogs
Speaker 02 (27:36):
frogs
Speaker 01 (27:37):
how is APing that
Speaker 02 (27:38):
oh so great the team is very lovely and like
everyone
Speaker 01 (27:41):
yeah
Speaker 02 (27:41):
I have nothing I have nothing good but good
things to say about everybody Iworked with so yeah
Speaker 01 (27:47):
that's respectable yeah
Speaker 02 (27:50):
yeah I mean and I'm not even saying that like like
to be like not messy or whateverlike No, everyone is great.
I don't have any complaints.
Speaker 00 (27:58):
I think at some point, like, if you're on set a
lot, like, you just understandwhat's needed to be done.
And if that's the environmentyou're in, like, it's really
easy to work with each other.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You kind of understand thatthere's going to be.
You can anticipate.
Yeah, like, anticipate problemsthat might arise.
Yeah.
And if they do arise, like, youjust have to know that
everyone's just putting theirbest foot forward to get it
done.
And, yeah, a lot of, like,positivity can come out of that.
(28:21):
And that's kind of what youneed on set.
So, yeah.
Speaker 01 (28:24):
So we're almost going to be seniors.
Well, Looking back, did youthink the film school was worth
it?
Speaker 02 (28:30):
Oh, interesting.
I mean, I don't regret any ofmy experiences here.
I had a great time.
I will say it's worth it in mypersonal growth, but I won't say
film school serves everybody.
Yeah.
I think it served me reallywell and the type of person I am
and how I like to work, though.
Speaker 01 (28:48):
Yeah.
What's your favorite part aboutthe film school besides the
people?
Speaker 02 (28:53):
Um...
well it is the people thoughlike i don't know if i like
anything else about it like ithink and also like the
equipment and like the resourcesand like the faculty like um
but it really was just about thepeople and like it just
creating environment where it'sso easy to be like hey can you
be on set and like you know whoto call on set because i can't
imagine like not having that umlike team of people like that
(29:17):
are just willing to help you
Speaker 01 (29:19):
and so talking about that right as a producer you're
constantly getting people to beon set or like coordinating
building teams and stuff andobviously you need to know a lot
of people but when you know allthese people it's like a lot of
times your mind can't remembereveryone do you have like a
system or like a strategy to youknow organize these people um
Speaker 02 (29:41):
uh not really I feel like if I like someone I'll
remember them or like I try tolike if I won't say I try to
like meet everybody and like sayhi to everybody
Speaker 01 (29:49):
no database I mean but it also is like
Speaker 02 (29:52):
12 hours a day like that you're spending with you
know what I mean it's like it'slike and like also Instagram I
guess it's like a big thing so Idon't know I wouldn't say I
have a database or anything likethat
Speaker 01 (30:05):
cool no that's like who's your favorite like
professors at USC you think
Speaker 02 (30:10):
um Albert Napoli um he teaches the entrepreneurship
class actually
Speaker 01 (30:14):
oh you've been talking about that a lot yeah
his
Speaker 02 (30:16):
one bro his one class like beat out a lot of SCA
classes wow um what was theclass it was it was fundamentals
of entrepreneurship
Speaker 00 (30:24):
I've heard a lot of good things about that class
yeah with
Speaker 02 (30:26):
Albert yeah Napoli specifically because he's an
amazing teacher and likegenuinely that life I mean that
class like very much impacted mylife in in in a lot of
different ways I met a lot ofpeople new people um that were
kind of, like, like-mindedbecause I do think, like, film
and entertainment and art isvery entrepreneurial.
Speaker 00 (30:45):
Oh,
Speaker 02 (30:46):
yeah.
So, like, I really resonatedwith a lot of the topics they
were talking about.
Like, it's, like, it's asopposed to, like, how to make a
film good.
It's just, like, how to...
I feel like that class reallytaught me about how to like
start something, you know, and Ithink like screenwriting
classes just kind of hone in thecraft and entrepreneurship
really teaches you how to evenbegin the craft and like get it
Speaker 00 (31:08):
up on its feet.
Yeah.
What are like the top threetakeaways you would say?
Speaker 02 (31:11):
I think like, to be fair, that class is very much
oriented towards businessmajors.
So, but like a lot of thingswas like knowing like your
audience, like finding a niche,like and delivering like,
finding a problem and finding away to solve that pain.
And I think a lot of theseconcepts are just very
(31:31):
transferable.
So yeah, I found a lot of greatinsight in that.
And also I just think seeing aclass...
approach like a topic like youknow even though it was like i
said it was a business class ijust took a lot of what the
lessons and went to film and ithink like a business class just
gives you a differentperspective oh yeah than what se
(31:51):
can offer
Speaker 00 (31:52):
yeah going off of that like film can be really
overwhelming sometimes andthat's that in certain times
that's all you can think aboutso other than business like what
are some ways you explore youas a creative or as a
professional outside of the likeSCA or filmmaking community
Speaker 02 (32:10):
well like I have to like remind everybody I like to
remind everybody that we'restill in LA and I think like
there's a huge network offilmmakers out there that are
not in film school that justpacked up their stuff and moved
here when they were 18 and likeI have really really like loved
just reaching out to thosepeople and talking to them
because I think like with filmschool like there's a structure
(32:30):
and like they teach you how todo a certain way and like yes
it's like it is like USC's wayright but like I think just I
find a lot of joy in meetingjust talking with people that
are not in USC because they justapproach creativity and like
filmmaking such a completelylike different way than I'm used
to so hearing that perspectiveis really like illuminating I
think so yeah
Speaker 00 (32:51):
that's wonderful news we had a a friend of mine
that I met freshman year whodidn't go to film school and
who's like a freelancer now andhe definitely has some like
really fresh and interestingyeah yeah yeah
Speaker 02 (33:01):
I love it so much
Speaker 00 (33:02):
yeah
Speaker 01 (33:02):
what made you like become such a person.
Growing up, what was theinfluence for you?
Speaker 02 (33:08):
I don't know, guys.
I don't even consider myselfthat much of a people person.
I just enjoy what I enjoy.
So I can't say there wassomething that made me learn to
be this way.
I think I just find happinessin that.
Speaker 01 (33:23):
Is there a reason why you like telling stories?
Speaker 02 (33:26):
I don't know.
I think it's one of thosethings I've always done.
You know what I mean?
And I'm sure if I asked youguys, what would you like about
film?
There would be things I likeabout it, but I'm like, why?
Then you'd...
It's just kind of very naturaland inherent.
Speaker 00 (33:42):
Is that from a young age?
Speaker 02 (33:44):
Yeah, I low-key would do this.
I guess the start of it all waswhen my 6th grade teacher wrote
a grant to start teachingvideography.
That's so nice.
Yeah, we won the lotteryrandomly, and so they painted
our classroom wall green, andthat just kind of started when I
was in 6th grade.
Speaker 01 (34:04):
6th grade?
Speaker 02 (34:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 01 (34:06):
this is a question from our class for 50 but is
there a certain time frame thatif you weren't able to achieve
what you want to achieve thatyou would pivot as a career
Speaker 02 (34:18):
i don't know i don't think i have an answer for that
because i don't think thereshould be like i don't know like
i just i don't think it's rightto set deadlines on
accomplishments because i thinkaccomplishments are and success
for me at least is so much morebased in how i feel as opposed
to what i've actually done on aresume so if i'm at a place
where i feel like i accomplishedand i feel good about that no
(34:41):
matter what it is um i don'tthink i don't know does that
make sense i just don't thinklike putting a
Speaker 01 (34:47):
deadline for the rest of your life
Speaker 02 (34:49):
yeah like i think yeah exactly putting a deadline
on accomplishments when i viewsuccess as such an intangible
intangible concept
Speaker 00 (34:56):
that's a totally valid answer i feel like i
struggle with that a lotpersonally or
Speaker 02 (35:00):
like
Speaker 00 (35:01):
what, like, what is the idea of, like, making it?
What is the mark?
Because, like, do I stop whenI, you know, achieve?
It's so hard to, like, totallyquantify, you know?
Speaker 02 (35:10):
Yeah, I think for me, like, I think, like, it's
hard.
Everyone defines success indifferent ways, but for me, it's
more of a feeling.
Speaker 01 (35:20):
What is that feeling?
Is there a description?
It's
Speaker 02 (35:23):
just when you feel happy and fulfilled.
If I'm consistently feelingthat way with my work and the
people that I'm surroundingmyself by and what I'm doing,
then I think that's success forme.
I don't really need anythingelse.
Speaker 00 (35:37):
What are some other mediums that you enjoy?
Either it's reading or...
painting, like some mediumother than film.
I
Speaker 02 (35:44):
love to dance.
I mean, I grew up dancing, so.
What kind of dance?
I just think it's hella fun.
Anything.
Like, I don't know.
Anything?
I'll take my sister's, like, mysister is a really big dancer.
She's, like, a competitive teamat UCLA.
Oh.
So over the summer, we'll,like, take classes together.
That's cool.
So, yeah, it's just fun.
Like, I, and I, like I said,I've done a lot of art, like,
since I was little.
(36:04):
So, still enjoy piano.
Yeah.
yeah i love i love listening tomusic a lot so
Speaker 01 (36:11):
music yeah that's a huge thing i remember that one
time when you hijacked my tvduring the party oh yeah i was
so confused for 10 minutes andi'm so glad you did because i'm
like i don't know what peoplelisten to
Speaker 02 (36:24):
yes i like how you're matching is that
purposeful oh
Speaker 00 (36:28):
no we are i
Speaker 01 (36:29):
actually didn't realize that we are in sync you
Speaker 02 (36:32):
know
Speaker 01 (36:32):
yeah cc something we do on this podcast is um the
previous guest would leave thecurrent guest a question
Speaker 02 (36:39):
oh very interesting okay go on
Speaker 01 (36:42):
and previous guest asked what is your current
iphone wallpaper
Speaker 02 (36:46):
oh i'm dead okay okay well okay i'm on dnd so let
me turn it off it's like it'sit's an apple juice
Speaker 01 (36:55):
oh why i love
Speaker 02 (36:56):
apple juice doesn't this look like liquid gold it's
so good like i took this photo iwas like this is like the most
beautiful like crisp deliciouslooking drink ever yeah like
don't you want to just drink itwhat's
Speaker 01 (37:10):
in your what's on the inside oh
Speaker 02 (37:12):
it's still apple juice
Speaker 00 (37:13):
wow dedicated fan of apple juice what do you think
of orange juice
Speaker 02 (37:17):
orange juice is like fine but martinelli
specifically like i lovemartinelli's
Speaker 01 (37:22):
it's like liquid gold there's that apple juice
where you can bite on it and itmakes yeah that's what i'm
talking about that's the samebrand that's the same brand
Speaker 02 (37:29):
but it just looks so beautiful in that moment i
think i took this in likeseattle or something yeah i was
in seattle it was so
Speaker 00 (37:35):
beautiful you should make a short film about that
Speaker 02 (37:37):
look i have another i have another apple juice
Speaker 01 (37:41):
oh that's the biting one right
Speaker 02 (37:42):
yeah it's a biting one and then i have like yeah I
don't need to reveal all of thembut like bro like I have like a
like I have a shooting schedulehey this is a good tip
Speaker 01 (37:52):
yeah
Speaker 02 (37:53):
like it's like it's helpful honestly yeah yeah so
then you can just be like whattime is it and see if it matches
up if you have a shootingschedule
Speaker 01 (37:59):
oh yeah this is look
Speaker 02 (38:01):
Jenna, Cece, and Rin arrive at Jenna's house to load
in like
Speaker 01 (38:05):
that is really smart
Speaker 02 (38:07):
yeah
Speaker 01 (38:08):
yeah wait speaking of like organizing as a producer
because that's very importantright because you're always on
projects
Speaker 02 (38:14):
yes
Speaker 01 (38:15):
How do you organize and stay organized?
Speaker 02 (38:18):
Google Calendar.
I was telling you.
I was like, if it's not in theGcal, it's not real.
Speaker 01 (38:23):
Why Gcal and not Apple?
Speaker 00 (38:25):
Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing.
I love
Speaker 02 (38:27):
Google Calendar.
I don't know.
I just never got into AppleCalendar.
Also, I appreciate how you canshare your calendar with other
people on Google Calendar.
Speaker 00 (38:35):
It might just be...
personal preference yeah justhave it you just get used to it
Speaker 02 (38:40):
yeah
Speaker 01 (38:40):
yeah maybe i should because i feel
Speaker 00 (38:42):
like you can like
Speaker 02 (38:42):
invite people they can say yes or no versus via
their email right yeah yeahthat's what i also appreciate
about it
Speaker 01 (38:48):
that is smart hmm maybe that's something to look
into do you have a to-do list
Speaker 02 (38:55):
uh yeah kind of i have like a notebook that i like
write everything in oh so yeah
Speaker 01 (39:00):
do you journal
Speaker 02 (39:01):
i do a lot
Speaker 01 (39:02):
About what usually?
Speaker 02 (39:03):
Everything.
Just like your emotions?
I've kept one since I was likefive or six actually.
Speaker 00 (39:09):
Wow, that's dedication.
I started when I was like 19 or18.
No, it's
Speaker 02 (39:13):
like this.
It's like the stack is likehuge.
Speaker 00 (39:17):
I wish I started doing that because like when
you're in your 30s and 40s, youlook back to when you were like
a six-year-old or aseven-year-old and you see just
how much you've
Speaker 02 (39:25):
grown.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I wish I did that.
It's really interesting to see.
Speaker 01 (39:29):
wait so back to on set because you know a lot of
times when i'm on set i'm sodrained you know like i just i
don't know how people who lovebeing on set do it sometimes and
i'm just curious like what doyou do to stay motivated and
just like fresh on set becauseit's 12 hour days
Speaker 02 (39:46):
well i will say it's not that i don't get drained
like i will get i'll get sotired too like yeah but like i
mean like with every good thinglike comes with a cost so like i
don't know i i won't say like Idon't get tired at all I won't
say I'm like loving every singlesecond of it of course there's
going to be like challengingparts but I think like just
knowing that everyone's with youand doing it like you're not
(40:07):
the only one going through itlike just means a lot you know
Speaker 01 (40:10):
yeah that's true and to the people who are aspiring
freelance producers what advicedo you have for them
Speaker 02 (40:19):
um treat every like opportunity as the interview for
your next
Speaker 01 (40:26):
that's a great philosophy yeah That's sick.
Speaker 02 (40:28):
Someone told me that once.
I forget who, but it's reallystuck with me.
Speaker 01 (40:33):
See, even the fact that you're willing to credit
them, I would have just thoughtthat was a CC original.
No, it's not me, guys.
Speaker 02 (40:39):
Someone told me that on set, and every time you're
on set, every time you'remeeting someone, it's a job
interview.
And it feels like, well, notnecessarily, and I feel like
that gives a lot of pressure,but it is true.
Just do your best.
Show up, and...
See what happens.
So yeah.
Speaker 00 (40:58):
If you had the attention of the whole world for
one minute, what would you sayor show?
Speaker 02 (41:02):
I would show them just something like happy and
funny to brighten up everybody'sday.
I don't, yeah.
Yeah.
Speaker 01 (41:10):
That's sick.
What
Speaker 02 (41:11):
have other people said?
Speaker 00 (41:13):
What have people said?
I think a lot of them are veryabstract because it's hard to
like actually concrete and findlike the one thing.
Cause not
Speaker 02 (41:21):
everyone would be able to understand me.
Like I'm speaking English.
I'd be like, what are youtalking about?
You know, like,
Speaker 01 (41:26):
no, that makes sense.
Speaker 02 (41:28):
So I would, I would show them a little, like, I
would be like, And I would showthem a video.
Speaker 01 (41:32):
That's the craziest ad for an apple juice.
I
Speaker 02 (41:36):
know.
No, I wouldn't show them applejuice.
I would just show them like avideo or something like visual
and universally understandableto like make just brighten
everybody's day.
That's it.
That's
Speaker 01 (41:45):
cool.
Cece, what do you want youraudience of your work to take
out from your work?
Like what do you want them toget from your work?
Speaker 02 (41:52):
The fact that like filmmaking and creating is very,
is a miracle in itself.
And the fact that anything getsdone is very, it's crazy.
I hope people understand howwonderful it is that a group of
people came together to makesomething.
Yeah.
Speaker 01 (42:10):
Great.
Well, Cece, thank you so muchfor coming on our podcast.
It was so great talking to you.
Of course.
And excited to see where you gonext on your projects.
Speaker 02 (42:17):
Thank you, thank you, thank
Speaker 01 (42:18):
you.
Thank you for coming
Speaker 02 (42:19):
on.
Great.
Of course.
Thanks for listening.
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