I asked 6 questions.
Questions
1. What's your name, where do you work and how long have you been in the video/film production industry?
2. What is your biggest achievement in your career?
3. What route did you take to get into the industry?
4. When looking for new creators what do you look for?
5. What suggestions do you have for any young creator who is trying to build up their portfolio and skill?
6. What is one piece of advice you'd give to the next person to have your job?
Answers:
1 - My name is John Cárdenas. I work at Prosper Portland, the city's economic development agency in charge of job creation, real estate and economic development. I have been in the industry for 19 years.
2 - One of my biggest achievements to date has been to work on the 2015 Latin Grammy Awards. I was a content creator for backstage events, after parties, and red carpet events. The Grammy team uses that content to promote the acts and sponsors. I was able to turn that opportunity into more production work for Monster Audio, Heineken, and Bellagio Hotel. The other big achievement has been to travel all over the U.S. to shoot and produce videos for a large number of national organizations like the NY International Latino Film Festival, The Hispanic National Bar Association, and the Illumination Engineering Society. Locally I have worked on projects for major Fortune 500 companies like Nike, Adidas America, Ford Motor Company, and Daimler Trucks North America.
3 - This is an interesting question. Its unlike other careers because filmmaking is as much a state of mind as it is a job. You're "in the industry" as soon as you say you're in the industry. More concretely, the first time I was paid for my work was a major milestone. From the time I picked up a camera to the time someone asked me to produce something for money was about three years.
4 - I look for new approaches and perspectives on old topics. I look for someone who knows how to get the most out of their gear and how to work with what they have. Most importantly I look for true storytellers. A good story, well told, will always beat visual or graphic esthetics.
5 - Shoot what you know. Get personal. Look into the complexity of your own life and tell that story. Tell the stories of your family members, where you live, your daily activities, what you love, what you want to see change. I think in today's market place the projects that mean the most are those that make people feel something rather than being sold something.
6 - Stay interested. Stay humble. Stay nimble. Don't fall in love with your gear or your editing platform. It will change and you better be ready for that change. Find a mentor who's work you admire, who has time for you, and who can introduce you to other people in the industry. Sharpen your writing skills. You'll write more than you'll shoot or edit video.
John has been a mentor for me for a little over 3 years and since then I've improved my ability tremendously and with a huge thanks to him I haven't given up when things got tough.
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