Career Area: Producer

  • Brooks Leibee

    Brooks Leibee

    “You can score a Hollywood movie out of a bedroom now.”

    Brooks Leibee is a media composer for TV, film, and interactive media, currently working out of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He describes his role as “virtually building assets that go into another digital process” and is excited by the growing creative community in the region. Originally a filmmaker, he discovered his love for composition during college and now collaborates with local musicians and studios. Leibee defines success as “being happy doing what you’re doing” and believes strongly in the value of creative work in the digital age.

    Interview

    Transcript

    Emma Plutnicki  00:02 

    Okay, so to start, what do you do for work and where are you currently working from? 

    Brooks Leibee  00:07 

    I’m a Media Composer for TV, film and interactive media, like games. This is my first year venturing into that. I’m currently working out of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. 

    Emma Plutnicki  00:21 

    Amazing, so what is one thing that you love about working as a creative in South Carolina, specifically? 

    Brooks Leibee  00:27 

    Just from the perspective of via composition, there’s not a lot of us here. It’s a very niche job in industry. It’s one of the- it’s like a big three sort of situation where you find them in, like LA, Nashville, New York, or even overseas. So it’s a rare occasion when I, you know, get to meet other people in my field. So it’s, it’s fun talking to, like, local filmmakers and things like that, because they’re like, “oh, wow, I’ve never met someone who does this sort of thing”. So it’s, it’s, it’s fun to be like, the hidden gem or whatever. 

    Emma Plutnicki  01:10 

    Yeah, amazing. So how does having kind of a smaller knit community in South Carolina influence your work as as compared to working in New York or LA if you were to work there? 

    Brooks Leibee  01:22 

    It’s far less competitive. Obviously, you make friends. Here it is a small knit community, so there’s that little bit of competition there, but I find it more community based. I mean, there’s only a few studios in the area that can fit ensembles or things like that- that you’d find in soundtracks for things like movies, shows and video games and not a lot of for example, like orchestras that are aware of like forming those relationships with media composers and building a work out of that, cities like Nashville, LA, they they have that just naturally because of the culture there. And also working with people like I said, it’s a lot of fun, because when you’re one of a handful of someone that does a certain thing, the excitement is a fun part of it. I mean, it always feels like, you know, working on something with your friends, because it’s, it’s an exciting thing to have original music for your project. It’s, it’s tailor made. It’s, it’s a bit more emotional, far more than what, like library music or something you pull off of YouTube, for example, can do. 

    Emma Plutnicki  02:47 

    Yeah, and how would you describe the local professional working community in Myrtle Beach and in South Carolina overall? 

    Brooks Leibee  02:58 

    In South Carolina, most of the people that I work with is it’s a lot more commercial in Myrtle Beach. A lot of people seem to, I know right now they’re working on getting more film projects and narrative projects here, but so far, it’s, it’s heavily commercial in the literal sense. It’s, it’s a lot of commercials, promo, that sort of thing. And the people that are making narrative things in Myrtle Beach, they’re super independent. A lot of the time they’re making everything on their own. So you find a lot of well rounded people in film. Before I started getting into music, when I was at Coastal I was making short films, and a lot of the time I was doing it on doing everything myself, filming, writing, and then getting into music. And that’s how I discovered, wow, this is my favorite part of the process. Let me focus on on this thing and run with it. But most of the people that I work with for narrative appear to be from Midlands, the upstate of South Carolina. A lot of narrative work out of the those cities, and same with like festivals and things like that. So I think, like the film culture more inland out of Myrtle Beach you get the more used to they seem to be and familiar with it, yeah, but I’m excited for the future of film in Myrtle Beach. 

    Emma Plutnicki  04:29 

    Yeah that’s exciting. And I mean, within a creative career, it can sometimes be hard to define success. So in your opinion, how do you define either professional success or personal success in your career? 

    Brooks Leibee  04:48 

    Yeah, I guess it’s like, professional success, it’s like, it’s a comfortability. And I guess that comes in fine with personal success. If you’re happy doing what you’re doing, people always say, if your- if your job- if you have fun with your job, it won’t feel like a job, and when there’s bills to pay and things like that can be tough. It’s not a rare thing for someone to have a day job, and that’s fine. You just you have to live. So if you’re struggling with your creative you know, job, your career in that field, work for it. Never, don’t give up on it. But if you have to get a part time, or even full time job, I know plenty of people that have full time jobs on top of their full time jobs. So it’s, it’s, it’s- it’s overall, it’s okay. And it’s not a failure. It’s not a failure. It’s not a you know, time waster. You have to live. And whenever you have that creative job, it that’s like, what keeps you going. So I think, yes, the personal success is just being happy doing what you’re doing, and professional success, you know, you’re living comfortably if you’re if you’re struggling, that tends to make the creative job harder, because sometimes the creative jobs are more expensive than living so. 

    Emma Plutnicki  06:11 

    Yeah, and so when you decided to go into this career, did you have any fears, or did you have, like- What was your biggest fear going into this career? 

    Brooks Leibee  06:25 

    Starting out, yeah, the fear of just industry, like in Myrtle Beach, it’s it’s growing, for sure, the last few years, especially, it’s just been rapid shifting, especially in community, with just meeting people, but starting out, yeah, there, you know, just no one here in this industry, even in just like the more, even more niche parts of it, like recording engineers, orchestrators, things, you know, things that go into it, that more behind the scenes, that a lot of people don’t get to see or or know about but we’re thinking about it all the time, and be the prospect of moving to another city. So LA was always on the mind, uh, Nashville, New York, things where, or even overseas, where these industries are flourishing, and that’s where the people are, and there’s an abundance of of culture and facility resources, especially so I’m sure in the future it’ll be it’ll become more localized, and there are more resources than there were just a few years ago. So yeah, starting out, it was just the fear of location, industry, resources, things like that. But career wise, those go hand in hand. But yeah, there weren’t, there aren’t many fears in terms of like choice or like repercussions of career choice, if that makes sense. 

    Emma Plutnicki  08:03 

    Yeah and so when you have those fears, were there any people around you giving you advice? What was the best and worst advice that you have received throughout your career? 

    Brooks Leibee  08:18 

    Worst advice is going to be is going to take a minute. 

    Emma Plutnicki  08:20 

    Yeah? 

    Brooks Leibee  08:20 

    Best advice that I hear all the time, and it’s true. I mean, it’s it’s proven true, just in my experience. But with some jobs, you can do it wherever. With this job, especially like in the digital age and post COVID, we’re like working from home became part of our daily lives with this, I’m, you know, I’m virtually building assets that go into another digital process. You know, in editing, people just drop the music in, it lines up, and that’s it. You know, there’s some mixing that other people have to do, but my job can literally be done anywhere, and especially now post COVID, a lot of the things, like the things I was talking about with recording engineers and recording spaces that can fit large ensembles, there are brand new services overseas or even in the states that can record large Hollywood scale orchestras that are used in Hollywood films and TV shows and video games remotely, and these are in major European countries and cities with AAA musicians, some of the best in the world. And that’s a post COVID thing that wasn’t possible pre-2020, so that just yeah, that adds to it. So you can, really, you can write. Like, I’m working out of my bedroom right now. Yeah, you can write anywhere, prepare, do all of your mechanical technical work. And then, I mean, yeah, you can, you can, you can score a Hollywood movie out of out of a bedroom now. And I think that’s crazy. That’s probably the best advice that I’ve heard everywhere. And it’s proven true that you can work from anywhere in this field. And, yeah, worst advice is hard. 

    Emma Plutnicki  10:29 

    That’s good, good that you haven’t had anybody tell you- 

    Brooks Leibee  10:34 

    I- if I hear or see things, something where, that’s where something you know, rubs me the wrong way. I tend to deflect it, because there’s just no point, you know, in focusing on- on- on our you know, of course, there’s the doubters and people that that are always going to say creative fields aren’t successful. You know, it’s a rare thing. It’s one, one in a million, which I’m sure, I’m sure there’s some statistic truth to that. But if you know, if you work hard, work hard, and you love what you’re doing, and you’re good at what you what you’re doing, that comes with working hard, and over time, yeah, you fly. So it’s, yeah. 

    Emma Plutnicki  11:17 

    Yeah, no, I love that. And so throughout your career, have you had any specific project that has made a big impact on on you, or something that you’ve produced that has really showcased your creativity? 

    Brooks Leibee  11:35 

    Last year yeah, I worked- I got to work with another Coastal alum on a short film. Name is Jay Bennett, and they made this Gothic Horror short that, yeah, she produced a short film while she was at Howard, and it was the most creative and I think culturally and emotionally rich project that I’ve gotten to write music for, and when things like that have that amount of support creatively, that makes music writing so much easier. So I really enjoyed scoring that one, and also that was a very fun project to produce because worked with a studio in Calabash, North Carolina called Sunset Beach recording. Ironically, it’s not in Sunset Beach, but yeah, and local musicians, five cellists and the bass player. So there’s this cello choir that we called it, but like a low string ensemble, and recorded there for for a few hours, and just got to jam with some cellists and that was a lot of fun. Some were from Wilmington, some were from Myrtle Beach. And, yeah, just the, like, just the Carolina musicianship showed itself there, and that was a lot of fun. So I definitely think that’s where, like, oh, local resources are here. And it was a lot of fun, especially, and I feel more prepared for future projects when that sort of opportunity comes again. That was the second time I got to record with musicians. So you know, if you learn as you go, and that was definitely the more successful session. 

    Emma Plutnicki  13:36 

    Yeah amazing. It must be so cool to see the music come to life like that. Very cool- 

    Brooks Leibee  13:43 

    Yeah, it’s unreal every time.  

    Emma Plutnicki  13:44 

    Yeah, so nowadays, what- What does a typical work day look like? What’s expected of you on a daily basis? What does your work process look like? 

    Brooks Leibee  13:54 

    It’s very different. Every day. I don’t have, like, a set process, but I like to set deadlines, so usually days like today is when I’m having calls, having meetings and setting my calendar for deadlines through the week or in the following weekend. So and I live in my calendar and my it’s just the Apple calendar. I live out of that thing. So a lot of the scheduling happen happens through there. So from say, I have a call today for a project coming up in the next couple of weeks, if it’s a film, generally, after the first call, I like to set up what’s called a spotting session, where either the filmmaker or I can screen share. We watch the project. Usually it’s edited. It’s mostly done by the time I’m but I’m brought on board and we set ins and outs for things called cues, where music starts in. Ends, and that’s for every scene. So we just watch the movie and talk about what music could go there, what it’s supposed to do, what it could sound like. And from there, I start sketching, and that’s usually like a week to two weeks most time I’m working on short films. So there they come together pretty quickly, and from then, it’s just a an approval process. So I’m sending drafts, either they- they have notes, or they sign off. And if I’m given the opportunity to record musicians, that’s probably another two weeks of taking the virtual music from my software and transferring it onto paper as legible music for musicians, and then contracting a space the musicians, setting a date, making sure everyone is ready to go on that- sending the musicians the music, and then recording, and after that’s just mixing, mastering the music and then sending it off to the editor. And it’s very similar for for interactive music, a lot more music than your than a short film whenever it’s a game, but that’s generally it’s generally a similar process, only when you’re writing, you’re focusing on interactivity, loops, stingers and the different possible endings for where a player chooses to go in a game. That’s, that’s a whole other, whole other thing. But yeah, generally that’s, that’s the process, and it’s different with each project. But usually it’s a about a month, month and a half for a project. 

    Emma Plutnicki  16:57 

    Okay, yeah, so it sounds like pretty busy schedule. So how were you able to kind of manage the work life balance with keeping personal creativity, but then also getting your professional work done? 

    Brooks Leibee  17:09 

    Yeah, also days like today, I feel like Sundays generally are like the “life day”. I hang out with my roommates a lot more because most of the scheduling and calls happen in the morning to afternoon. So after that, yeah, anything’s possible. So but, and then also just throughout, throughout weeks. Some, you know, some days are off, or even in off seasons, sometimes there isn’t a project. So it’s a lot of, excuse me, so it’s a lot of like, housekeeping or, yeah, it’s sparse, but like, Yeah, but it’s there. The work, the work life balance is there. And actually had a kind of conversation with a friend online not long ago about the work life balance and how it’s just life. You know, it’s all it’s all life. So if because I can get caught up in the whole work life balance thing like, Oh, am I spending my putting enough time into A or B? But if you, if you are mindful about it, and you don’t spiral over one thing or another, and just making sure that you’re spending time taking care of yourself, touching grass, you know, getting out of getting out of your space, and I’m working out of my bedroom. So, you know, it’s always a work life, a mix. You know, my beds are behind me. My there’s a closet of clothes right there. You know, it’s, but on the opposite side, I have all, all of my instruments and tools and my desk right here. So it and living with a house of roommates, you know, we’re young, we’re saving money. It’s, it’s the intersection of work, like work life balance and Brooks’s life right there. That makes it really interesting, but it but it’s working, and as long as it works for you, won’t work for everyone, but as long as it works for you, and you’ll find that then. 

    Emma Plutnicki  19:34 

    Yeah, that’s a great way of looking at it. And just as we wrap up our Is there anything else that you would like to add, or any questions you wish that I might have asked that I didn’t? 

    Brooks Leibee  19:49 

    No, I think you asked really good questions. Anything else to add? I- Yeah, the- this, it’s funny with things like social media and like online presence. Since, since you are where, at least from my perspective, I am working out of my bedroom. I amsometimes going overseas for programs or, you know, traveling the country to meet to meet friends. It’s it, but all of these are connected online. So I think having a strong, a strong social media presence is important, but especially today, where social media is in a very strange spot. Yeah, you have to be careful, I suppose, maintain your professionalism. I think more so because in these creative fields where, and especially living in somewhere like Myrtle Beach, where there isn’t an industry for this specific job. It’s all online. You’re going to be talking to people from around the world, around the country, and you never know who’s going to come across you. I was went to a concert in New York last year, very end of last year, and the composer, I’m a huge fan of or, his music, excuse me, and we had a moment to chat after his concert, and he recognized me just from online. He’s like, “Oh yeah, I see you everywhere”. I was like, “Oh, is that a good thing? “Didn’t clarify, so I don’t know, but, but yet, but we had a great talk, and talked about music and things like that. But that made it very clear that you know your presence online is very important now, and if you’re in a creative field, it’s, it’s a weird moment in time where you kind of have to be very active and putting things out there, which is something that I’m personally struggling with, is just writing music that I can just, you know, throw online. Because sometimes with projects, you have this like respectability thing, where you don’t want to throw all your music out there, because the filmmaker is, you know, still processing, and it’s a creative process, and you don’t want to show all of it. It’s a thing also NDAs with larger projects, but, yeah, social media presence is big, and the work life balance thing is also there with- with, like your personal accounts and professional accounts. That’s the one that comes to mind right now. Yeah, not sure of anything else. 

    Emma Plutnicki  23:06 

    No, that’s great. Thanks for sharing all that. And so last thing, if there is any other creative that you think we could benefit from talking to, would love to hear of anybody. I could send you a link to that to nominate people. So I’ll give you time to think on it, if you can think of anybody. But other than that, thanks for talking with me today.

  • Akai Shelise Jones

    Akai Shelise Jones

    “Success is building meaningful relationships with our youth… making sure that the youth get positive exposure and not just be limited to what their sentence is.”

    Akai Shelise Jones is the Visual Digital Media Director for the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice, where she blends creativity with purpose to tell powerful stories of change.

    Interview

    Transcript

    Emma Plutnicki  00:02 

    So to start, what do you do for work and where are you currently working from? 

    Akai Shelise Jones  00:06 

    All right. So, hi guys. My name is Akai Jones. I currently work for the Department of Juvenile Justice, and what I do here is, the state title is Public Information Manager. So, I urge anyone, if they were going to look, it’s in the communications umbrella, but my in-house title is Visual Digital Media Director. So, it runs the gamut from anything like, if we have an incident here, I may have to communicate that internally. If it’s really bad, we may have to communicate that externally, and that would happen by way of media notification, some type of writing. Sometimes it’s drafting a letter or a memo to state the facts, so the funner sides of it, or the more love and light sides of it, I get to carry a camera and I go out and sometimes I just try to capture things that are around retention efforts for current employees. Sometimes it’s trying to gain the interest of potential employees. So, I may post some employee morale things. I run the social media page so you can check out the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice Facebook page. Sometimes it’s website updates. So, it really is a lot under the communications umbrella. 

    Emma Plutnicki  01:38 

    Yeah, and how long have you been working there for? 

    Akai Shelise Jones  01:41 

    So, this August will make three years.  

    Emma Plutnicki  01:44 

    Okay. 

    Akai Shelise Jones  01:45 

    Yeah, it’s coming up fast. But prior to that, I was a foster care social worker, so this has always been my population of people. We have youth here depending on the age, but most of the youth are anywhere between, and this is facility wide, between 13 and 18. 

    Emma Plutnicki  02:06 

    Okay, makes sense. And so what does the typical day to day look like for you? What are your responsibilities and what do you get into on a daily basis? 

    Akai Shelise Jones  02:13 

    So it depends. So, I try to be very organized, because I’m the only one that does this job for the entire state of South Carolina. So depending on, I usually try to keep like a content calendar. And like, for instance, this month is Social Worker Month Appreciation Month. So instead of just doing a flyer, I was like, let’s do something a little different this year, as long as everyone is on board. So, we had, like the leadership, our deputy directors, submit a few names, and I literally went out and grabbed a few interviews for a few social workers. So now that would mean capturing it, editing, putting some graphic design around some of the more poignant parts of the interview. So that’s just like one small piece. Some like day, the day after tomorrow, we have a community graduation. So that’s anybody that’s in a community role. So, you could be Intensive Supervision, you know, a Probation Officer. You could be an administrative person in the community, because we have over 43—it’s either 43 or 46, excuse me, counties, and those people do varied work. So, I may go out, I’ll take the graduation so that everybody has that personal moment. I’ll just do still photographs, but then I’ll come back to Facebook and post, we had another graduation. We had X amount of people. So, the duties do change. The other hot topic right now is we’re migrating from an old, kind of antiquated website to a new one. So I had to, like, kind of go through my external drive and find some cool pictures and upload that. Then there was a lot of text. I had to go back, and I had to vet information with leadership and say, “Is this still valid? Do we still need this? Is this any good?” So, it—that’s been laborious in that way, because it’s just like, I gotta make sure that everything is current and, you know, still even relevant. Yeah, so it really depends day to day. 

    Emma Plutnicki  04:30 

    Yeah, and with so many tasks on a daily basis, how do you personally define success in your role? Is it accomplishing all your tasks? Is it financial based? Is it, you know, ideological? How do you define success in your career? 

    Akai Shelise Jones  04:45 

    For me, I think it’s getting the right stories out, and what I mean by the right stories. A lot of employees here have been here for 17, 20 years. And for me, I think there’s some intrinsic value to getting those stories out where people don’t, you know, they don’t even know what the role is. I mean, some roles are so unique, like, I have a colleague of mine. He’s a Hearings Officer. Well, he’s the only one that does that role over the entire state. So, getting his story out and like, how the worlds collide with how we help our youth. To me, that’s the most important is just making sure that these kids are exposed as well. Like, because I have the clinical background with social work, it allows me to open up that conversation when I just have the camera out. So, they’re like, “Ms. Akai, you know you’re gonna, can you take my picture?” or “Do you do, you know, you do videos, you do music videos?” You know? And it allows me to put the camera in their hand, and then I have a conversation, and I might say, what are you in here for? And somebody may say, “Well, I did armed robbery.” I mean, some of these charges are heavy. And I’m like, “How much do you think the camera is?” And you know, they usually don’t guess. And I’m like, “Just the body of the camera, without a lens, is $3,600” and they’re like, “What?” And then I start to tell them. I said, “Well, if you were to book me as a client for two hours, what could you charge me to come out and shoot your event?” So, I think for me, defining success is have—making building meaningful relationships with our youth, giving them the opportunity to understand what I do and how it can translate to their life, and getting their stories out. So like, I guess the long answer is, you know, making sure that the youth get positive exposure and not just be limited to what their sentence is. 

    Emma Plutnicki  06:48 

    Yeah, no, it makes sense. And did you have any fears when you were coming into this career? 

    Akai Shelise Jones  06:53 

    I won’t really say fears, but like, there was some apprehension, because I’m what we call, we have some jargon, but we call it “behind the fence.” So like, for you, I wanted to take your call, but if there’s an incident and I’m on the other side of the fence where I’m just locked out, you know, so I think, like, more family and like friends were like, “Don’t do it,” you know, they have these stories and in their mind it made up that this is jail, this is corrections. But for me, it was a dream come true, because, like, I’ve always loved media, but, and I’ve always liked working with children, and really on the prevention side and the intervention side, but here, just because they’ve made a mistake doesn’t mean that it’s over. So, this was a dream job to be able to have both parts for me. So, I really didn’t listen to anyone, but I would say apprehension, like, would I be safe? You know, would I be able to tell the stories in the way that I want, have the autonomy to work? But I don’t know. I’m from the Bronx too, so I don’t, I don’t know about being scared. 

    Emma Plutnicki  08:04 

    Yeah, no, it makes sense. You mentioned your family members talking about it. Have you received any advice from family or friends or mentors or other colleagues along the way in your career, either positive or negative? And what kind of things do people say, what’s like, the worst and the best thing that people have given you advice about? 

    Akai Shelise Jones  08:27 

    The best advice is keep creating like, no matter what. I probably would say the worst advice is people saying, “Oh, they don’t want to see that,” you know, or “Oh, don’t, don’t do the pictures. Just do a newsletter, a stoic newsletter with no pictures or no don’t attach video to it.” I think that’s probably the worst advice, because in this ever changing world where we’re literally being, our attention spans are like really being governed by social media and things like that, like we have an opportunity to leverage that in the communications field and, like, do things in a new and fresh way. And so, I think that’s probably been the worst advise. Like, don’t do it, just somebody trying to put a limit on the seat. You know, when I look at it, like it’s a glass ceiling, I’m like, I can keep going. So, I don’t know. I’m just, I motivate myself, I try new things, and I think I really have leadership. You know, I have a nice relationship with the director here, Eden Hendrick, and the Chief of Staff, Christine Wallace, and they give me the autonomy to work, and that is probably the biggest blessing, so I can try new things. If it doesn’t work. They you know, I don’t know if there’s anything they’ve ever been displeased with, but they may tell me, I have an area of opportunity, and I work on them go from there. 

    Emma Plutnicki  09:48 

    No, that’s great to have, great to have. And throughout your career, has there been one moment that stood out as an especially significant moment in your career? Whether that’s a project you worked on, maybe an individual who impacted you, anything like that? 

    Akai Shelise Jones  10:05 

    I think one of the things that I have, I have two, but I’ll give you one. When I see youth, if they’ve been incarcerated and they’re out, they’re released into the community, and they’re able to actually come back and say, “Ms. Akai, I’m working. I’m here, I’m, you know, I’m helping my family.” So I started a segment called, where are they now? And I think the most memorable time was I had a young man and he said, “Ms. Akai, I want to play for South Carolina State.” And I was like, “What?” And he, big guy, and when you go, go scroll our Facebook page and look, look for in the video section. But so the team, we have a Career Readiness Team here that worked with him to help him with admissions and getting into the school and that kind of thing. Well, for me, what was so gratifying was, he was like, “Well, let’s just ride up there and you can see, you know, be a part of the process.” So it was like, I was like an extended family member, and it was myself, a few of the counselors here that worked with him, and I literally just followed him around with the camera through SC State, and then the school superintendent here, Floyd Lyles, was like, we’re gonna try to find the football team, since that’s what he wants to do. So we, like, went to that building, and ironically, the football team happened to be in a meeting, and they—we just kind of knocked on the door and they let us in. So he, to see the kid light up and say, this is at arm’s reach. It is attainable. And like to capture all of those moments. And it was just a short video. I mean, I think in it was toward the end of 2024 but like in a short amount of time, I had over 20,000 views, and that that felt good, because he got exposure, and it just showed that these kids are more than their, the first mistake that they made. So that was pretty memorable. 

    Emma Plutnicki  12:10 

    That’s a great story, and I’m sure it’s so rewarding to be able to see those stories come to light. Amazing. Yeah. And just like as we’re wrapping up, is there anything else you’d like to share about your career? Any advice for young professionals, young professionals who might want to get into this career? 

    Akai Shelise Jones  12:29 

    I would, I would tell them the first thing is, go beyond the actual search, because I think looking for a job like sometimes the descriptions are not really what we think it is, and like for me, seeing public information, having no exposure to what that meant, may have deterred me from applying. So I would say, do a cross search, ask questions, and look at some of the sub points within a posting, and then ask questions about those sub bullets because a lot of times something that you want to do is really embedded in that job description. I think the second thing would be, is still try the job shadowing. It feels like it may be an archaic thought, but some people are willing, whether it be internships, career shadowing and going for a day. I would tell those young folks, go online and be bold, because they’re so brazen and bold now. Use that boldness to like command and build what career you want, because you can do it. And not saying like you can do it, but like you, literally, it’s within arm’s reach to have someone write a position description and really make a job for you that you may not necessarily see on Indeed, on Monster or whatever, and that the third thing would be, use the creativity that they have in their personal life. You know, if you’re, if you’re a social media person, if you’re a Tiktok person, use that to get some structure around what you do, because it will help you professionally. So, I’ll give an example. If you, if you are, if you podcast, I’m just saying, and you think it’s just fun and you’re doing it with your friends, well, really set up the structure of a show. Really, storyboard, really, you know, do a treatment, really do a shot list for it. So, I would urge them to do what they do in their—use what they do in their personal time, and make it as structured and professional as they can, because it will translate to a career that’s awesome like this. 

    Emma Plutnicki  14:41 

    Yeah, well, thank you so much for your advice.  

    Akai Shelise Jones  14:44 

    You’re welcome.  

    Emma Plutnicki  14:45 

    I really appreciate it. 

  • Sam Sokolow

    Sam Sokolow

    “Make something. Follow your gut. And remember, everything, success or failure, is a learning experience.”

    Sam Sokolow is a two-time Emmy-nominated film and television producer who recently relocated to Greenville, South Carolina after 23 years in Los Angeles and a childhood in New York City. Now focused on building a slate of independent films from the South, Sokolow is also helping develop the Clemson Film School and working on global workforce training for emerging film markets. His mission is to empower storytellers and creatives through mentorship, opportunity, and industry experience.

    Interview

    Transcript

    Lexi Raines  00:00 

    Sam, okay, so first, I just want you to give like a little introduction of yourself. What do you do for work, and where are you currently working from? 

    Sam Sokolow  00:09 

    Sure. My name is Sam Sokolow. I am a producer of Film and Television. I’m a two time Emmy nominated producer who, after 23 years in Los Angeles and growing up in New York City, has now moved to Greenville, South Carolina, where I am building a slate of independent films. I am working to help build the Clemson film school, and I’m still running my production company from here, as well as working on a global workforce development program that I helped build to help train crew to work in emerging markets, which are skills I certainly want to bring to South Carolina. 

    Lexi Raines  00:46 

    Yeah that- and that’s awesome. So you said you’ve lived in LA. So what does working in- what does working in Greenville like, or in South Carolina in general, what’s one thing that you have loved about working here? 

    Sam Sokolow  01:01 

    There are many things I love about working in Greenville. One, most of the time I feel like I’m in the middle of a Hallmark movie. Absolutely beautiful, and it is, and I and I say quaint in the best way, coming out of big cities like New York and Los Angeles. This is a perfect place for me right now. My wife is from the upstate of South Carolina. She’s from Gaffney, South Carolina, and we moved here for the best reasons in the world, which was love. To be near her family, and when you do those things, I think miracles happen around you, and so all of the things that I’m working on right now to help bring production to South Carolina and develop production in South Carolina are really motivated by love and by being in the right place that I’m supposed to be in life right now, but bringing my unique skill set from a from a career, you know, in Hollywood, in New York, making movies and TV shows. 

    Lexi Raines  01:54 

    Yeah that’s- that’s awesome. So would you say that that’s one aspect that South Carolina like brings to your work, or what would you say its unique influences on you compared to like anywhere else? 

    Sam Sokolow  02:07 

    Well, at the end of the day, we’re storytellers. How we execute those stories is modified project to project. I’ve told stories for very, very little money, and I’ve told stories for astronomical sums of money in studio deals with companies like Disney, but at the end of the day, it’s about great storytelling and one thing that I have found in my, you know, 25 plus years of coming to the upstate of South Carolina is that this place is, you know, teaming with great storytellers and whether those storytellers tell their stories in journalistic fashions, whether they write books, poems, essays, short stories, make YouTube videos, as my wife does on her YouTube channel, the Southern Women channel. It’s about authentic storytelling that can also connect with universal themes, so that people locally can appreciate them, and people you know globally can appreciate them. Because we live in a remarkable time right now where there’s only one territory left and it’s the whole world at once. Yeah. So the opportunity to be a part of an emerging market like South Carolina, and hope to help facilitate the remarkable storytellers here tell their stories on screen, is extremely exciting and gets me up every morning with a tremendous amount of ambition and enthusiasm and there are a lot of talented people in the state of South Carolina, I think it’s a hidden gem. So, you know, again, if I can help facilitate some of those storytellers and- and some of those stories then, then it’ll be a true blessing. 

    Lexi Raines  03:54 

    Yeah that’s- that’s an amazing to hear, and that’s such- you’re bringing such wonderful opportunities to South Carolina. So, I’ve actually heard that there’s like, a really, like, big and close knitted filmmaking hub in Greenville that I didn’t know about before. How would you describe that local community? 

    Sam Sokolow  04:15 

    It’s a, it’s a, I would describe the Greenville production community, to paraphrase Shakespeare, you know, “she may be small, but she is mighty”. There are very talented people here, cinematographers, grips, you know, directors, assistant directors, certainly writers and I think that tapping into that talent is something that I’m in a constant state of trying to do because, you know, being a producer and- and having had the fortune of producing some pretty big things in my career, it’s a very unique skill set, and I think that producers, while not everyone understands what they do. Are, are organizing? Can we? Can we? Can be a part of organizing the- the talent that’s already there. So, you know, I’m not here to put my own thoughts or process into play or attempt to do that. I’m here to try to learn and discover and harness the energy that’s here, and again, see if my experience as a producer can- can help some great stories be made here, and hopefully made by local artists, filmmakers, writers, directors, and exported to the world. So, the South Carolina stories and attitude and wonder can be felt by everyone the way I feel it, you know, by getting to live here now. 

    Lexi Raines  05:43 

    Yeah, that is- that’s awesome. That’s so amazing. So how would you define your professional or personal successes and like your creative endeavors, since you have shifted to kind of helping people along in their paths? 

    Sam Sokolow  06:02 

    You know, when you have a career in the arts, I think that you’re always looking ahead to the next project, as we say, swimming to the next buoy in the ocean. And, you know, I’ve been very fortunate to work on amazing projects my whole career, and at different levels. So, when I was in New York, it was more independent films and commercials. When I moved to Los Angeles, I got involved in larger television series, and eventually global, you know, shows that really had a massive impact. And now that I’m in South Carolina again, I’m not bringing my own preconceived ideas of what it should be. I’m trying to harness the energy here and see if I can be a supportive force. Again, there are a lot of different ways to think of a producer, and I certainly have many definitions and many facets that I go through when doing a project, from development through production, through delivery, then distribution and marketing. I mean, you’re sort of there for the whole life cycle of a project. But ultimately, I distill the job of being a producer down to putting creative people in a position to do their best work. Yeah, and I can come here and put creative people in a position to do their best work, then I’m doing my job that I’ve been fortunate to learn over many, many years of trial and effort, and, you know, failure and success. And, you know, learn by doing this. This, this job, I think, for everyone that works in filmed entertainment, to a large degree, is you learn by doing. You can get trained, certainly, and you can get the education, but once you step on set, that’s where you take your training and you’re in your education, put it to work and begin to learn by doing and by- by the real world experiences that you have and- and so I’m just hoping to bring that experience and good energy and support to the to the creatives here that I am fortunate to meet and hopefully work with. 

    Lexi Raines  08:09 

    Yeah, it’s- it’s amazing that you can give that to people, because I know there are so many people that in like smaller states that don’t have that type of guidance to look to. When you first started your journey in film, what was, what was your biggest fear to first starting out with that? 

    Sam Sokolow  08:31 

    I’ve wanted to do this as long as I can remember. I was what’s called the latch key kid growing up in New York. My parents both worked. My brother and sister were older than me, so I came home most days from school, and sort of was on my own, and movies were my imaginary friend. Movies were my escape. Movies were my babysitter, and so I’ve loved movies and dust as well television and storytelling on screen my entire life. So, I try to keep things very positive, but honest to goodness. My biggest fear was not getting to do it. My biggest fear was failing in my attempts to actually work in the industry and be a part of projects. That was what drove me to never quitting, to being, you know, really stick to it, to having something that I think everyone needs in this industry, which is perseverance. And I have a deep well of perseverance, because not doing this was the worst thing I can imagine. You know, you know, could I have been a lawyer, a doctor, or the politician or whatever, perhaps. But I think that, you know, going back to the original, original, original, sort of caveman days, you know, there are people who go out or cave people who go out and kill dinosaurs, and they’re those who guard the cave. And then there are people in the back drawing on the wall and creating a sense of entertainment. Storytelling, continuity and storytelling, to me, is the bedrock of society and the bedrock of continual society. And so not being a storyteller was the scariest thing. And so again, I’m very blessed to have had a supportive family, to have had a supportive people around me, but, but really, my only fear was not doing it. 

    Lexi Raines  10:24 

    Yes, and obviously, you’ve become so successful being nominated for the Emmys, that’s like mind blowing. That’s absolutely awesome. Was- was this like a defining moment in your creative journey, or do you have one, like, was there a particular project you worked on that had a significant impact on you. 

    Sam Sokolow  10:45 

    I think there are many projects that have impacts on you as you go through time. Yes, and with each achievement, you have earned the right and what I would say, the internal credibility to reach for the next rung on the ladder. You know, I’ve done projects; when I- I made an independent feature when I was in my 20s in New York, that was like the- the very definition of the labor of love, the fall on the sword, the kind of, you know, throw all caution to the wind. And when we got that film made, I thought that was the most definitional moment of my career. Yeah, when the film didn’t get the distribution deal that we had hoped, and we sort of somehow ended up with it, literally like sitting in boxes in an apartment, I thought that was the other kind of definitional moment of my career. Then we created a paradigm and became the first filmmakers to ever self-distribute a movie using the internet? Yeah, that’s got a tremendous amount of national and in some cases, international attention. And I thought that was a defining moment, you know, so that that the goal is to keep working, and the goal is to keep trying, and the goal is to keep stretching yourself, to try to, you know, do bigger projects or more significant projects as you see them. And that definition is different for everyone. But certainly, when I got nominated for the first Emmy, it was, without question, a feeling to kind of use the allegory of the hero’s journey of slaying a dragon. I went out to Hollywood, I- I broke into an industry I’d never been in before. I only knew at the time my brother and my best friend, even- even Julia, my wife, who was my fiance at the time, was still in New York. It was a very kind of caution, again, caution to the wind. I hope it works out experience and to have built a career there and built the relationships and built the company that I built and achieved those things, I would say that getting nominated for the Emmy was certainly a significant moment that allows me to kind of step back and be like, wow, look, look what, look what happened. It was pretty remarkable. But even that is a collaborative experience, you know, I didn’t get nominated for an Emmy. I mean, technically, I did, but we got nominated for an Emmy, the creative team on that show, and that year, you know, Jeffrey rush got nominated for Best Actor, and there were, you know, there were 10 nominations from the technical side. So it was, it was being able to work with people of that caliber that I think, for me, was more exciting and more meaningful than the accolade. But the accolade certainly is, is pretty astounding. And, you know, frankly, pretty cool. 

    Lexi Raines  13:41 

    Yeah for sure. So you seem like you obviously, you have so much experience in this. I’m sure people have tried to put in their two cents into your career. What is the best and worst advice you’ve received? 

    Sam Sokolow  13:59 

    The best advice that I received was that you don’t aim for money in the creative arts. You aim for relative moments and to be a part of moments that that capture people’s imaginations or get a certain amount of attention and become a certain level of success that, again, allow you to go up to the next rung in the ladder. Because, you know, as a- as a producer, I want to work with the best talent in the world. You know, that’s the goal, world class talent. And so if I was aiming just for money, I may not have achieved or taken some of the risks that I took that allowed me to achieve things that allowed me to go up that ladder. So, working for moments, being a part of something relative, always thinking, how can we do something that cuts through? How can we do something that really connects with an audience that taught me to focus? On the work and the creative idea and process and quality of something, and give the things you’re a part of an opportunity to become relevant, and then the opportunities and things like money follow. So that was the best advice I would say to anybody that wants to be a filmmaker or be in this industry, make things,? you know. Don’t just wait to get chosen. Don’t just wait to get picked, take agency of your career, of your experience, and make a short film, write a script, do something that gets noticed, because we’re in the visual arts, and if you have visibility and getting to do the art, kind of follows. So that was the best advice I was given. The worst advice that I was given, honestly, it, I don’t think I can nail one particular thing down. It’s sort of in, you know, I would say that there were moments where my gut told me to do something, and I allowed a representative, an agent, a manager, a lawyer, to tell me that’s probably not going to work. Yeah, and when I, when I took the advice of others that something wouldn’t work and didn’t execute something that my gut was telling me to do more than not, I would see some version of it become a success. You know, not in every case. This is not a business, a patent, 1000 for sure, but I would see that and say I should have just followed my gut. So it was less about, I think, sweeping advice that was like bad advice, yeah, which is, I think it was in the moment, listening to whoever was in my ear at any given moment that talked me out of following my heart and my gut, and so I learned over time, to follow my heart and my gut, and as one of my other producing mentors said to me, do the things that you believe in, and I promise that you know, 10 years from now, there’ll be plenty of people lined up to tell you if you were right or wrong. 

    Lexi Raines  16:57 

    Yeah, I think those are good words to live by, because you truly never know until you’ve gone out and you’ve tried it, so- 

    Sam Sokolow 17:06 

    Exactly, I don’t look at anything like a failure. Everything is a learning experience. Everything is a learning experience. So, you know, I try not to think about things in the terms of successes and failures. I try to think in the terms of, what did I learn, what did we experience? And, you know, again, you have a lot more failure, quote, unquote, than you do success in the industry. I’ve put 20 TV shows on the air. I’ve been a part of making half a dozen films. You know, these are all incredible experiences and achievements, of course but to get there, I’ve probably tried 300 things, so there’s 275 things that never quite made it, yeah, but, but I’ve learned from every single thing that that we tried. 

    Lexi Raines  17:59 

    Yeah, I think that’s extremely valuable. So, can you walk me through a typical work day for you, like, what does your process look like, and what do you, what’s kind of expected from you on a daily basis?  

    Sam Sokolow  18:15 

    It’s a great question. On a daily basis, I- I wear several hats. And- excuse me- 

    Lexi Raines 

    You’re good. 

    Sam Sokolow 

    On a daily basis, I wear several hats. And the number one thing that I’ve learned is to be present, so that whatever I’m doing, I’m completely present for and right now I am only here talking to you. This is, this is what I’m doing. When we’re done, I will move on to something else and be present for that. So any given day, I even just- taking today as an example: I woke up early. I had a 90 minute meeting with a writer in the UK, in England, with a producing partner in Iceland on a global television series that we’re developing. We hope it becomes a global series, but it has the potential to be. I did some of that while driving to Clemson. I then taught film production courses at Clemson, which I’m extremely passionate about, to help build the Clemson film program. Help- help South Carolina again, go up and weight class itself, which isn’t going to happen because I wanted to it’s going to happen because great young talent is emerging here. And put in that effort and energy, and I love teaching. Then on my way back to Greenville, I had a few other business calls. And then once I got to Greenville, I put all my energy into this, you know, global workforce training program that I do with a company called Stage 32 and in that, I’ve been going back and forth, literally, with film commissions and some studios in Austria, in Uganda. Bucha. I had an exchange with the film commissioner in Croatia. So, you know, I think it’s seeing the- the world as open right now, but again, trying very hard to focus locally on developing things. But in any given day, I will develop. I will work on the projects that I’m producing. I will work on educating people here in the state of South Carolina, I will work on building the Clemson film school, and I’ll work on this, you know, incredible global training project to help people all over the world get the skills they need to work in the industry as- as it’s emerging all over the place. Yeah, it sounds like, but they’re, they’re busy days, but they’re exciting days. And what I will say on a very personal note is that working from Greenville is an absolute joy, and in New York and Los Angeles, there’s more external pressure and external noise, and I find that I’m more effective here in focusing on each thing that I’m trying to do. Zoom has changed the world. So nobody cares where I am as much as what I can bring to any given opportunity, or- or- or aproject or initiative. So, you know, it’s wonderful to be in Greenville and kind of have this calm around me, but, but be doing, you know, probably the most exciting work I’ve, I’ve ever done, including, you know, two seasons of genius that have, that have happened since I’ve been here. 

    Lexi Raines  21:33 

    Yeah, and that’s that’s so good to hear. So it sounds like you obviously have so much going on at all times. How do you create, like, a healthy work life balance where you’re able to maintain kind of like your professional life and also just your personal life? 

    Sam Sokolow  21:53 

    You know, maintaining a healthy work life balance is not the easiest thing in the world, and sometimes you certainly put more emphasis on work at times, and then you have to make a point of, you know, either having set date nights with, you know, my wife, or making sure that we get in the car and go spend a day with her family, or I hop on a plane and go up and spend a weekend in New York with my mom and my brother and taking vacations when we can. And when those things happen, get out of the house and do things, hiking a little bit, getting into nature here has been really wonderful. I try to have a little bit of balance in every day, you know. And- and by having a little bit of balance in every day, then, then- then you end up in balance in life. But I, you know, I meditate, I- I have my own, you know, spiritual, you know, experience that I am deeply into and- but I love the work and so from the outside looking in. You know, others might think that I maybe work too much, but to me, this is such a reward to get to do this work. I-I’m not a hobbyist. I don’t, I don’t really- I’m not going to bake sourdough bread or make a ship in a bottle. I’d rather spend that time helping somebody make a short film or reading a script or- or again, helping Clemson with new opportunity, helping the Film Commission in South Carolina try to achieve whatever goals they have, helping, you know, people around the world get the skills they need to work in this industry. So it’s not always easy. You do have to really be disciplined to take time off and to and to make sure that you do smell the roses and- and cultivate a really healthy personal life. And I’m lucky. I’ve got some really wonderful friends. I’ve got a great family and- and I have a wife who I love so dearly that I’m in South Carolina now. 

    Lexi Raines  23:56 

    Yeah. So what are some, like, habits that you have developed throughout your career that you think would be beneficial for others wanting to join your field? 

    Sam Sokolow  24:10 

    It depends on what they want to do, but immersing yourself in what you want to do while sounding so obvious, I think that there’s a there’s a sense that the arts and filmed entertainment is some type of magic and- and is some artistic experience, which it is, but on some level, that is like, can feel a little unattainable. But when I graduated from film school myself, I did not get a bachelor of the arts. I got a Bachelor of Science, and that always reminds me that this is a science, this is a craft, and you have to apply yourself to the craft. So if you want to be a producer, you know, go online, Google “What does a producer do?” Google things about the things that- that- that make a producer. I know how to manage a budget. I know how to do cost reporting. I know how to manage a crew of people on the creative side and the business side. If you want to be a cinematographer. Study cinematography, shoot things, get a camera, take the camera apart, put the camera back together. You know, don’t, don’t, kind of sit around dreaming about things. Be active. Yes, meet, meet your dreams halfway. Don’t, don’t expect somebody to just knock on the door and hand them to you. Study work. If you want to be a screenwriter, awesome. Read screenplays. You can download screenplays right now off the internet for almost any movie, -there’s- there- you can go on sites and download all the Oscar nominated movies right now, the scripts, read the scripts, then watch the movie, see what choices were made by the by the director and by the creative team and the production designer and the costume designer and the hair designer to all be a part of telling that story. So, I really think it’s about immersing yourself in the things that you want to do and just trying to learn as much as you can about them. And those are things that every individual can control. If you want to be an actor, study acting, get into acting class, put in the time, get- get better at your craft, get, you know, build your reservoir of- of- of tools so that you can be a strong actor. And then, by being an acting class, you may meet other actors that invite you to be in a film, be in a short, be in a play. You know, I think, I think you have to get into the community that you want to be in, and you have to kind of commit yourself to learning and- and- and experiencing the things that you want to do and learn from them. So, yeah, I’m just a real believer in self-studying and self-motivation, and- and, and, and we live in a moment now with the internet where everything’s at your fingertips, so you can learn about anything, and you can learn about and then apply those things yourself. So, you know, I think that the best advice I can give people is think about the things that you want to do, and you don’t have to do one thing. I have a friend in Los Angeles who, you know, we refer to as the Swiss Army knife. He’s a professional grade editor. He’s a professional grade line producer, which is someone who makes budgets and handles the money. He’s an accomplished producer. He’s in the Writers Guild of America. He’s a writer, and he’s given himself the opportunity to always work by mastering multiple crafts. And so I think ultimately, we’re crafts people, and when you’re a crafts person, you know, study the craft, do the craft, and everything else will happen. 

    Lexi Raines  27:46 

    I completely agree. I feel like so many people, they think that the most successful people are only these creative geniuses that have had this, this burst of creativity. But there’s so much more to that, to it than that. There’s, like, every aspect of it outside of that, marketing yourself, networking, learning how to budget, like you were saying, basically. So I think people, I think people will find a lot of good advice from that. 

    Sam Sokolow  28:17 

    Well, yeah. I mean, look, ultimately, and I don’t want to sound like brash or anything, but the difference between amateurs and professionals in the arts is really the difference between people who start stuff and people who finish stuff. And if you can become a finisher, get your film done, get your script done, you know, put it out there in the world, even if you just put it on YouTube and share it with people to see and get see, get feedback, finish things. You know, being a professional producer for all the years I was in Hollywood, especially working in television, you know, these weren’t independent projects that I could get back to later. I mean, this was like, deliver on time and on budget and- and, and you have to deliver a finished thing. And so all of the things I’ve been talking about always come back down to me as- as learning how to finish finishing the great divider of people that that want to do things and people that are doing it. And so, it’s, it’s not to me again, it’s not very complicated. It’s just finish the script you’re writing. Don’t get to page 40 and write another one. Don’t get to page 40 and start rewriting it from page one again. Get to the end, finish of something, and then go back and look at the edit and keep working on it. But finishing is the ultimate goal, I think, for anybody that wants to work professionally in this world. And if you finish something, the great news is you can then start the next thing and apply everything you learn from the thing that you finished. But if you don’t finish things, you can easily get bogged down and lose a lot of time and momentum and then feel like I can never get anything done. And you know, there’s no perfection. There’s no perfection. I mean, Francis Ford Coppola just recut God Father Three again. You watch the movie, Empire Strikes Back and there are continuity issues. There’s no such thing as perfection, but finishing and exposing your work to an audience is, is, is the is, to me, the coolest thing in the world. And you know, not everybody’s going to like everything you do. Some people might really not like something that you do. That’s okay, but finishing is really the key. So I- I hope that people in South Carolina continue to create, continue to start, and really continue to finish, and get the work out there. 

    Lexi Raines  30:36 

    Yeah. So do you have any questions that you wish you were asked today? 

    Sam Sokolow  30:47 

    Hmm, it’s a good question. I don’t believe I do. I mean, if you feel that I’ve answered the questions that that this, this opportunity to talk to you, you know was about then, then I feel pretty good about it. You know? Again, there I’m I can talk about this all day long. I love teaching and I love the I love talking about the process, but at the end of the day, it’s the doing. And so instead of answering more questions, you know, hopefully we’ll do a lot of things that people will hear about and see and enjoy and- and you know, continue to look at South Carolina as this great place that great stories come from. 

    Lexi Raines  31:32 

    Thank you so much. I think that people are definitely going to get so much from this interview. I think you had so much amazing advice, so much so many good stories that people can take and just digest on their own. So my last question for you is, do you have a creative in South Carolina that you’d like to nominate to be interviewed? 

    Sam Sokolow 31:58 

    Ah, can I get back to you on that?  

    Lexi Raines 

    Yes, you can, yes 

    Sam Sokolow 

    Because I don’t. I mean, I will, but I don’t, I don’t for something like this. I don’t like to nominate people that I have not asked if they want to do it.  

    Lexi Raines 

    Yeah, you’re completely good. Yeah. 

    Sam Sokolow 

    I want to make sure that who I nominate says yes and- and isn’t too busy or into some other things, or maybe this isn’t their jam. So give me, you know, pop me a note, maybe again on Monday or Tuesday. I’ll talk to a few folks and there, I mean again, I’ve met some extraordinary creative energies down here. I have two at the very top of my head, one in the film industry and one of the music industry but let me, let me put a feeler out to them and see if they’re if they’re game. 

    Lexi Raines  32:44 

    Okay. Thank you so much again. This interview has been so amazing, like, even just on a personal level, like, your advice means a lot. So yeah, I hope you have an amazing rest of your day. 

    Sam Sokolow  32:59 

    You too, appreciate you making the time work. And, you know, reach out if there’s anything else I can do. And awesome. Alright, well, I’ll let you know about nominating somebody. And if you wouldn’t mind, whenever my interview does drop, if you can just pop me a note and a link, I’ll share it with a bunch of people. 

    Lexi Raines  33:14 

    Yeah I definitely, will definitely do that. Love it. 

    Sam Sokolow 33:17 

    Alright Lexi, awesome yourself. And great Friday night and we’ll be talking. We’re in touch. Thank you. 

    Lexi Raines  33:22 

    Thank you too.  

    Sam Sokolow 

    All right. Take care. Bye. 

  • Daniel Kline

    Daniel Kline

    “Just jump in and just do it and learn along the way. Don’t wait until you’re don’t. Don’t wait until you feel ready.”

    Daniel Kline is a fitness coach and writer/producer for Starling media in Conway, South Carolina. Daniel has been professionally making films for two years now and offers great advice for those entering a career in the arts. 

    Interview

    Transcript

    Lexi Raines | 00:01 

    First, just give a little introduction of yourself. What do you? Who are you? What do you do for work, and where are you currently working from?  

    Daniel Kline | 00:09 

    Yeah. So my name is Daniel Kline. I am from Conway, South Carolina, and I, as far as work goes, I’m kind of doing two things as most artists are doing. I, my main job is, I’m a fitness coach, but my creative job is, I’m a writer and producer for Starling Media.  

    Lexi Raines | 00:31 

    Yeah, that’s awesome. And, so how long have you been working for, you said Starlight Media?  

    Daniel Kline | 00:40 

    Starling media, like the bird. Yeah, yes. So that’s Starling media is actually it’s my thing. I, I’ve been making films like professionally, both creatively and I’ve done a couple of commercial things, but I’ve been doing film for about two years now, although Starling media was started back in November, so it’s still pretty fresh. But yeah, I’ve been doing film professionally for about two years, but total about four years. First two years was mostly learning.  

    Lexi Raines | 01:14 

    Yeah, that’s awesome. So you said you’re from Conway. So what is one thing that you like working as a creative in South Carolina? Because I know some people, they tend to think that if you want to be a creative professional, you’re going to have to move out of South Carolina. You’re going to have to move somewhere bigger. What does South Carolina give to you that somewhere else wouldn’t?  

    Daniel Kline | 01:40 

    I think South Carolina is actually a really great place to be a filmmaker, because one of the largest hubs in the world for filmmaking is Atlanta, which is practically our back door. I mean, it’s a little bit further for us because, you know, or at least makes them in Conway, but, I mean, it’s, yeah, we got Atlanta right in our back door, which means a lot of, a lot of film companies are, you know, they do kind of like sub out in a bunch of different areas that are nearby. So like, Charleston is close to us, Wilmington is close to us. And actually, most of the work that I do is up in Greenville, which is about an hour and a half from Atlanta, and so we get a lot of, like, Atlanta productions that film in Greenville as well. So I think we’re, like, we’re at a really great position to, you know, have, like, a really affordable living and, you know, also be very close to where the action’s at.  

    Lexi Raines | 02:37 

    Yeah, that’s amazing. So I’ve actually heard a lot of filmmakers and producers, there is a big hub for that in Greenville right now. So how would you describe the professional community up there?  

    Daniel Kline | 02:56 

    Oh, gosh. I absolutely love my filmmaking friends. I mean, I’ve met producers, I’ve met filmmakers that are kind of on both sides, so it’s not 100% but the community that I’ve, I’ve met, and I’ve worked with, and I’ve really, you know, dug roots with, there are some of the kindest, most giving people. Like, they freely give their time. We, we pretty much exchange time, like, I’ll work on your project if you work on mine. And everyone really gives 100%, sometimes 110%, and it’s just a really fantastic community, and I’m just, I love being part of it, and they welcome me as a local, even though I’m three hours away.  

    Lexi Raines | 03:38 

    Yeah, South Carolina really is just like one big community. I feel like, no matter where you’re from, we’re all very close with each other, which is awesome. So kind of moving a little bit, how do you define your professional or personal successes in your creative endeavors?  

    Daniel Kline | 03:58 

    So as far as filmmakers go, there’s a lot of talented filmmakers out there. And, I mean, there’s a lot of talented filmmakers that are way more talented than I could ever hope to be. So I learned pretty early on that my why, my why is, what’s going to make me different. And so like professional success would, would, on the surface, be, you know, like having a successful film, you know, film that wins awards and everything but personal success. I, I’m really passionate about people, and I think if I’ve got an award winning film, but my film was a miserable experience to work on, then I failed. And so that’s, that’s kind of how I am choosing to define my success; is just being a team player, being a, creating a positive work environment, and also just creating a product that shows love. You know, when I say shows love, like you can tell that people loved it when they worked on it. And I think that, and I think that really shows in the final product as well.  

    Lexi Raines | 04:58 

    I completely agree. I- I’ve seen movies in the past that you can just tell the actors, the people on set, they weren’t super passionate or happy about it, but I feel like it always makes the biggest difference.   

    Daniel Kline | 05:12 

    Yeah, absolutely.  

    Lexi Raines | 05:13 

    Yeah, so you said that you’ve been making movies for a while now, seriously, and just outside of that, what was your biggest fear when you first decided to pursue this career?  

    Daniel Kline | 05:30 

    I think the easy answer would be fear of failure. But I’m going to dig a little deeper, and I’m going to say my biggest fear is creating a product that I think is great, and people not liking it. Like, if I look at the final product, I’m like, “alright, this is awesome. This is my best work”, and it just absolutely flops. I think that’s the biggest fear.  

    Lexi Raines | 05:53 

    Yeah, I feel like that is a- that’s a big fear for a lot of people. But, so on a more positive note, like, what’s a defining moment you’ve had in your creative journey? Like, was there a particular project that made a significant impact on you, or was it something you produced that really showcased your creativity?  

    Daniel Kline | 06:17 

    Yeah, so my- I would have to say that the most defining moment was probably my first project, my first short film. It was, it was that big step where I went from wanting to become a filmmaker to actually being a filmmaker. I took I’d been, I had spent like, two years learning. At that point, two years learning and not doing anything. And everyone was just saying, “Just do it. Just do it. Just, you know, just push through. You’ve got stuff, if you’ve got a phone, you can make a film,” and so we just did it. I wrote something that was accessible, that had like a little creative spin on it, and something that we could film like, pretty easily in a weekend, and we just put a lot of effort into it, and it was, it was pretty good. Like, it’s, it wasn’t like the best thing, and you can tell it was like our first thing ever. But I got to show it to our, my filmmaking community up in Greenville, and these are people who, like, work full time in it, and like, they, like, some of them were actually wowed by it. They were like, “wow! Like, who, who did this? Who, you know, who edited them?” Like, it’s, my brother edited it. He’s never edited anything in his life and it was just like, it, it ended up being such a really cool thing, because we just, we just did it, and it’s been entered into film festivals. We just won Best Short and Best Director for it couple months ago. And so it’s like it was a really defining moment, because it was just that moment where I realized, you know, we can do this.  

    Lexi Raines | 07:47 

    Yeah, that is amazing. That’s so special. Congratulations on that.  

    Daniel Kline | 07:52 

    Thank you.   

    Lexi Raines | 07:53 

    So, what is, while you were on this path, was there any like advice you received, like good advice, bad advice?  

    Daniel Kline | 08:05 

    That- the advice, the best advice that I received was, was just do it. There’s a lot of, there’s a lot of creative people, not just filmmakers, but there’s a lot of creative people who are afraid to take that first step, but I mean, really, there’s no reason- there’s no time like the present, and there’s no reason why you can’t, and especially if you’ve got a phone in your pocket, you can do most of your creative work to some capacity. And, so the best advice and the thing I always just tell people who ask me what to do, just do it. Just jump in and just do it and learn along the way. Don’t wait until you’re ready. Don’t wait until you feel ready.  

    Lexi Raines | 08:43 

    Yeah because- I feel that. Like you’ll never feel ready.  

    Daniel Kline | 08:48 

    Yeah, I had about a dozen people tell me that in a day, and I was like, “Okay, I get it. I get it.”  

    Lexi Raines | 08:55 

    Yeah, so along with “just do it” you obviously, you said you were a fitness instructor, so you have another job. How would you- How do you balance your day? Like walk us through a typical work day for you. That is an awesome, an awesome balance. So when you’re shifting into more of like, your creative mindset later in the day, what does your process look like for when like, you’re writing these movies, producing them, what does what does that process look like?  

    Daniel Kline | 09:11 

    Oh my gosh. So my day usually starts at 4am, which is rough. I’m not a morning person, but you know, I have to be, but no, my day usually starts at 4am and I just basically work between four and seven sessions. So my day, usually, my professional day usually ends around 11 or 12- 11am, or 12pm, so I mean, I’ve got the the last half of my day to do anything creative, you know, anything creative that I want and so it does allow for a lot of time, and, but- and the gym that I work at, they know, they know what I do. They know what I love to do, what I want to do and so, like, anytime there’s a project, I can freely take off and, you know, go pursue that. And I- So I, it’s a really awesome job to have, yeah.   

    Lexi Raines | 10:05 

    That is an awesome, an awesome balance. So when you’re shifting into more of life, your creative mindset later in the day, what does your process look like for when like, you’re writing these movies, producing them, what does that process look like?  

    Daniel Kline | 10:22 

    Yeah, you asked about writing and producing. I could, I could talk for hours about either so I’m going to choose one. I’m going to shorten it. I mean, writing, writing is, is just a bunch of planning. That’s all it is. It’s just a bunch of planning. You plan on conversations and everything, and then you write it out. So I’m actually going to shift to producing what my day looks like as a producer. It’s a lot of- it’s a lot of boring office work. It’s phone calls. It’s making sure that people’s schedules align. It’s making sure that money is where it needs to be. It’s filling out spreadsheets, creating spreadsheets. I like to use this website called Milanotes. I know a lot of people use it to, like, take notes and everything it’s, it’s where I like to have, like, a different- it’s basically like a giant virtual cork board that you can, like, put different files and draw different lines between things. It looks like a crazy conspiracy theorist board, but- that’s, but yeah, it’s basically just filling in information and just making sure that everyone’s caught up on everything.  

    Lexi Raines | 11:27 

    Yeah, so, that seems like a lot to juggle. What are some habits that you have, that you’ve developed that you think would be beneficial for others wanting to join this field?  

    Daniel Kline | 11:47 

    I think the- the best habit for people who are wanting to join the field, if they’re starting from scratch, the- probably the best thing that I did for myself, and I, like, I would absolutely recommend, is I keep this, this rolodex spreadsheet. I created- I created this spreadsheet that anytime I, I basically just got on set, anytime I could, like, I volunteered, I like, met people, shadowed people, and I spent, like, two years working on sets, different sets, without getting paid, just to, like, meet people. And so what I did was, every time I worked with somebody that I enjoyed with- enjoyed working with, and that I would want to work with again, someday, I would put their name, put their information in spreadsheet, put how I met them, and then, I also had a line that was like, this is the last date that I talked to them on, and I kept all of those dates within a month. And so, like, if it’s been about a month since I talked to somebody, I would text them say, like, “Hey, what are you working on? How are you doing?” and that spreadsheet quickly grew into, like, 100 lines. And that was 100 different connections that I you know, people that I kept in in contact with, and that, after about a year and a half of investment, that- that became work, like those people started calling me for- for work, and those became paid projects. And so, like, so, I mean, bottom line is, however you want to do it, like, find your community. Write down, write down a list of people that you want to work with and stick with those people.  

    Lexi Raines | 13:26 

    Yeah, that’s actually a really, a really clever idea. I haven’t- I wouldn’t have even thought to do that. That’s so smart. So do you have any questions that you wish we would have been asked- we would have asked you?  

    Daniel Kline | 13:47 

    Oh, no, not really. I think that covers everything.  

    Lexi Raines | 13:50 

    Okay, awesome. And my last question for you today is, do you have a creative that you’d like to nominate to be interviewed?  

    Daniel Kline | 13:57 

    Hmm, well, I’ve got a whole Rolodex full of them. Yeah, I’ve got, I’ve got one. I think she’d be really cool person talk to. But Yasmine Lee.  

    Lexi Raines | 14:11 

    Yasmin Lee?  

    14:12 | Daniel Kline  

    Yeah.   

    Lexi Raines | 14:14 

    Awesome.   

    Daniel Kline | 14:15 

    She’s a filmmaker up in Greenville. She’s an Emmy Award winning person, really, yeah, she’s and she’s really cool. Worked with her several times.  

    Lexi Raines | 14:24 

    Okay, awesome. Yeah, send us, send us her information, and then, yeah, I will hear this if you can. Thank you so much for your time. It was really great interviewing you. I’m going to look into your work. You seem so passionate about everything, I’ll be looking for your name out there.   

    Daniel Kline | 14:46 

    Thanks. Appreciate it.  

    Lexi Raines | 14:48 

    Thank you so much for your time. I hope you have a good. rest of your day, stay safe in the snow. Supposed snow.  

    Daniel Kline | 14:59 

    Alrighty, bye.  

  • Sam Sokolow

    Sam Sokolow

    “Make something. Follow your gut. And remember, everything, success or failure, is a learning experience.” 

    Sam Sokolow is a two-time Emmy-nominated film and television producer who recently relocated to Greenville, South Carolina after 23 years in Los Angeles and a childhood in New York City. Now focused on building a slate of independent films from the South, Sokolow is also helping develop the Clemson Film School and working on global workforce training for emerging film markets. His mission is to empower storytellers and creatives through mentorship, opportunity, and industry experience. 

    About

    After decades of producing major television and film projects in New York and Los Angeles, Sam Sokolow now calls Greenville, South Carolina home. With roots in big cities but a heart that is grounded in authentic storytelling, Sokolow brings a wealth of experience to the South’s emerging film industry. He’s not only producing independent films from Greenville but also working to build a foundation for the next generation through the Clemson Film School and a global workforce development initiative for training production crews. 

    “I feel like I’m in the middle of a Hallmark movie most days,” Sokolow says, describing Greenville’s charm and creative energy. For him, the big move was inspired by love, his wife is from nearby Gaffney, and it has led to a sense of purpose. “When you move for the right reasons, miracles happen around you.” 

    With a career spanning from indie features to large-scale studio productions, Sokolow understands the full life cycle of a project. But he defines his role as: “I put creative people in a position to do their best work.” Whether this is through cultivating local talent or producing globally relevant stories, he’s driven by a passion for storytelling and a determination for persistence. “My biggest fear was not getting to do this work,” he shares. “That fear kept me going.” 

    Sokolow is now committed to helping others take that same leap. “Don’t wait to be chosen,” he advises. “Make something. Follow your gut. And remember, everything, success or failure, is a learning experience.” 

  • Akai Shelise Jones

    Akai Shelise Jones

    “Keep creating, no matter what. So, use what you do in your personal time make it structured and professional, because it will translate to a career that’s awesome like this.”


    Akai Shelise Jones is the Visual Digital Media Director for the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice, where she blends creativity with purpose to tell powerful stories of change.

    About

    As the Visual Digital Media Director for the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice, Akai Shelise Jones is a one-woman creative powerhouse managing storytelling, strategy, and communications across the entire state. With a background in foster care social work, Akai brings deep compassion to her role showcasing the humanity and potential in the youth and staff who make up DJJ.

    Her days are anything but predictable. From documenting community graduations and capturing employee morale moments, to managing a full website migration and crafting digital campaigns, Akai does it all. She’s the creative force behind impactful internal and public-facing content, including the agency’s social media presence.

    But her work goes beyond design it’s about visibility. “Getting the right stories out,” she says, especially those of staff who’ve served for decades or young people ready to transform their lives, is the heart of her mission. One of her most meaningful projects, a video following a formerly incarcerated teen touring South Carolina State University, earned thousands of views and even more community impact.

    Akai’s advice to emerging creatives? Be bold, job shadow, and structure your personal creativity into professional frameworks. She urges young professionals to look past job titles, seek mentorship, and remember that every skill from TikTok videos to podcasting—has real-world value when refined with intention.

    For Akai, this isn’t just a job, it’s purpose-driven communication. And in her lens, every youth deserves a new narrative.

  • Daniel Kline

    Daniel Kline

    “Just jump in and just do it and learn along the way. Don’t wait until you’re don’t. Don’t wait until you feel ready.”

    Daniel Kline is a fitness coach and writer/producer for Starling media in Conway, South Carolina. Daniel has been professionally making films for two years now and offers great advice for those entering a career in the arts. 

    About

    Daniel Kline values working with people and the passion of filmmaking rather than receiving awards. He is really passionate about people, and says, “I think if I’ve got an award-winning film, but my film was a miserable experience to work on, then I failed.” He wants his product to show love.

    Kline’s most defining moment throughout his career was thanks to his first short film. After spending two years learning the ropes, Kline was urged to finally just go for it and make his own film. He says: “I wrote something that was accessible, that had like a little creative spin on it, and something that we could film like, pretty easily in a weekend…” Kline explains how his local filmmaking community in Greenville, S.C. were amazed at the film he had created, and that it had been entered into film festivals, and won Best Short and Best Director.

    Kline emphasizes the importance of organization, specifically using spreadsheets in a creative career, which he explains helps him stay organized. He also mentions the importance of noting people he enjoyed working with most throughout the community. This helps him to keep in touch, establish projects and nourish connections within his community.

  • Shyla Duff

    Shyla Duff

    “Trying out a bunch of things is how you find the lane you want to go in.”

    Shyla Duff has been a Social Media Associate Producer for PBS News Hour and Washington Week with the Atlantic. She grew up in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and she graduated from Coastal Carolina University with a BA in Digital Culture and Design and a film minor. She held multiple internships at PBS NOVA and the Wall Street Journal.

    Interview

    Transcript

    Shyla Duff   

    My name is Shyla Duff. I’m actually from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I’ve grown up here. I’m a Social Media, Associate Producer if that makes sense. So, like video, but like specifically for TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and I think Facebook and Twitter. 

    Emma Plutnicki   

    Cool. Awesome.  

    Emma Plutnicki   

    And just in general, how did you get into this field? 

    Shyla Duff   

    This is what’s interesting, because it’s long and convoluted. But it starts CCU [Coastal Carolina University], with the Athenaeum Press. So, I transferred to Coastal in 2019, from USC [University of South Carolina], and USC are like, okay, I could start from the very beginning, which is that I went to Charleston, College of Charleston, they didn’t have a video or film, or I think a Communications Degree, or major. So then I transferred to USC. And then from USC, I actually ended up coming home and transferred to CCU [Coastal Carolina University], and then I remember talking with them and being like, what kind of video work do you guys have, or like a major? And I got placed into digital communication, or digital culture and design. So that was 2019. And then I hopped on the Athenaeum Press, as this might have been, I think 2020 Because I remember the pandemic started. But I hopped on anything in price as a video, Videographer, and Video Editor. And that was like my foray into, like, video production and digital media as like an educational type of, I don’t know the word, like, route, I guess. Or like platform. I just really, are you guys still doing the Gullah Geechee [Digital Project]? 

    Emma Plutnicki   

    I think, I think that project finished, but— 

    Shyla Duff   

    Okay, so that’s what I was doing. It was great that digital archive. So, it was like, create, it was a binding like local, with history with educating the public. And so all of that I just like, really, really love. So, I started there. And then because the pandemic hit, I was able to get a remote internship with the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. And while I was there, I was a digital, or I was like, I was a digital video intern, or I think it was a video production intern, but video. And there, what I was on was for creating content that was surrounding like S.T.E.M. [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics],  and science and like, space and stuff like that, for middle, middle school students. So it was the same type of thing where it’s like educational, but it’s also like, kind of breaking down topics so that like the general public can understand them. And, but, it still stayed in the video sphere. And I really like video editing. So, like, because it was remote. I couldn’t film anything. So I was just like, they would give me interviews and stuff that they already filmed, and I would edit them. 

    Shyla Duff   

     And then after that, I got an internship with PBS Nova as a digital video intern. And it’s still remotes; all this is still remote. And so then it was the same thing. That’s their science show or, like, organization. And, I was working on YouTube videos, and I got to produce my own video while I was there. And I got to help, like, basically, like cut down their documentaries for social. They didn’t have Tick-Tock off at this time. So it was just Twitter, and, Facebook, and YouTube. And so I got to do the same thing there that was like science oriented, but complex topics, breaking them down for the general public to understand and also like history is involved there too, in some ways. And then after that, I think I graduated, and then I got an internship with the Wall Street Journal’s podcast, the Journal, and it’s a daily news podcast. That’s like 20 minutes a day. But it’s business news and stuff like that. And so I was a podcast intern remotely still.  

    And so this was my first news job. But it was still like breaking down there to break down these like crazy news stories that were happening like in like the political sphere or like business sphere and things like acquisitions and stuff and we would like help them break it down into like, 20 minutes that like, again, the general public could listen to on their commute to work and like understand and stuff. And so that was really interesting. I I’m glad that I did the podcast because I kind of just learned that I still love video. Like I was missing video that whole time, but it gave me like firsthand News. From experience, which I don’t think I would have been able to get the job that I just got if I didn’t have any newsroom experience. So I did that for a few months, and then the internship ended. And then I got my full time job of a digital production assistant remotely, but for PBS Nova, so I went back to them, and they hired me full time. And then I was like a contractor, but it was full time. So then I worked with them for a year being a digital production assistant.  

    So then we launched our TikTok, that’s when they launched the TikTok, and I went like all in on that. But my job wasn’t social media producer. So it was kind of hard because I was also doing a bunch of other stuff for them. Like, I was like working on their website, and I actually wrote a few articles or a couple articles for them. And then I also was helping them produce tiktoks Like, I’m talking like scripting factchecking, finding scientists interviewing them, then editing the tech talks and captioning that like I was doing I was we were like cranking them out. And then just just like that was just on top of my regular job. But it still was really fun. Because I like we had we got to experiment a lot with that, which was fun. And it was still video focus. And so that was my last like, full time job. But during all of this, I was a social media intern in Myrtle Beach with the Children’s Recovery Center, which is a nonprofit. So I did that for like, I think like two years to three years. And so I was making content for them on Instagram and Facebook. And we didn’t really do Twitter, but I was filming. I got to film stuff for them, like interviews and things there. So that was like the only like, local thing I was doing on the side. While I was just like hopping around to all these other different places. And then I ended up with PBS NewsHour, which is really exciting. 

    Emma Plutnicki   

    Yeah, wow. That’s such an amazing journey. 

    Shyla Duff   

    It’s kind of crazy. When I like look back on it. I’m like, Yeah, I’ve done that, too. Like when people ask me, like, if they’re just like, oh, like what got you into it? I’m like, Well, I just like had a lot of different things I had to build off of the other. Yeah, that’s 

    Emma Plutnicki   

    amazing. So in your job that you’re going to start soon, do you know like, what day to day life will look like or what projects you’ll be responsible for, or what your responsibilities will be? 

    Shyla Duff   

    I know that Washington Week is the show that they said they’re just gonna give me and then I have to like produce for it. It’s following the it’s following their roundtable show of their anchors, and I think, don’t quote me on this, it might be someone with the Atlantic, but we can look it up. But I know it’s a roundtable discussion every week about like what’s happening in the political sphere and like the election, so I know it’s gonna be political focused, but I have to grab content from their discussion every week, every program, and then pick sections of it that are going to go on YouTube, and then tick tock. And then they said, I was going to also work with the Atlantic on picking out Instagram segments or something for Instagram, too. So I know it’s gonna be social media base, but like, I think directly around the election and like, just because that’s in November, that it’s like, they told me is a little crazy right now. But I’m working on the Washington Week show. And then PBS News Weekend, because I’m going to work weekends. So that said that it’s both social focused, and like clipping, clipping things from the Friday 8pm show. And then I think I work through the weekend. So it wasn’t I think I said it was on Saturday or something. But it comes out Friday eight, and then they like, discuss, then I work on clipping through the weekend. And like, it says, I’m going to work with the Atlantic and like send them stuff. I think so. 

    Emma Plutnicki   

    Cool. That’s so cool. 

    Shyla Duff   

    So that’s not to like vague.  

    Emma Plutnicki   

    No, no, that’s good. And just in general, has it been challenging to kind of find your way in this career?  

    Shyla Duff   

    Yes. So there was like a ton of media layoffs last year, because I applied for this job in December. But I saw that their opening has been up since October. And then I didn’t start interviewing till January. And it took two full months of interviewing. So that was like really stressful, because I just like I’ve been applying and stuff and just like didn’t know how long the process is going to take. And like they weren’t—like I had four interviews, which I’ve never had four interviews before, that was just like a lot. And I also had to take a very extensive writing in pitching test.  

    And so on top of applying with cover letters and everything and find and trying to find these jobs, I found this job by—this is also how I felt my internships, they weren’t a like, I think I found one of them on LinkedIn. But most of them I would have to just like I’d signed up for newsletters, journalism, and I’m signed up for like a freelance newsletter, and that would come out weekly, and I would just have to search through them and they kind of would lead me to other websites. And I found most of these on their official website in their job stuff. Because LinkedIn was just like not always reliable and  I used Indeed as well, but it felt like a lot of these jobs were hidden. And then a lot of media layoffs were going on on. So there are a lot of hiring freezes. And then there are a lot of times where I was applying for jobs.  

    And there was one that I wanted really bad. And I had a connection, I had two connections there. And they told me to reach out, email them. And so I did. And then the girl that I have a connection with, she was like, I’ll text him and let him know to look out for your application. And I was just really excited because my old boss was like, I’ll put in a word for you. And then never heard a single thing back, like not even like an email back, not an interview, nothing.  

    So it was like pretty, it was just like a lot of challenging, like trying to find these opportunities and stuff. And they don’t really like make it that easy. Like, a lot of the times it’s on their website under careers. And it’s not like on a full job board. So you have to kind of just like, I would kind of have to just like think about like, what company? Like I could try it like it might have an opportunity and then go directly there and like search through their stuff. 

    Emma Plutnicki 

    Yeah. That definitely makes it hard. And also, just like throughout your entire professional career so far, have you had one project that you’ve worked on that like particularly stands out as having like a significant impact on you?  

    Shyla Duff   

    Yes, this is so funny, because I actually said this in my interview, and I think that helped me get it. So this is just like, it’s just like the whirlwind that it was. So when I was an intern at PBS Nova, they were like you are tasked with like producing throughout the few months you’re there, you get to produce your own video. And it is in partnership with the documentary at the time that is coming out. So I didn’t pick this. But the documentary that was coming out is called The Cannabis Question. So it was all about cannabis. And like, its health effect, or its effect on PTSD. And veterans and stuff like that, because it has a really big impact on them, and people who have seizures. So it was like a medical approach. But also, the approach was like incarceration stuff, too. So they touched on a lot.  

    But that was the overarching documentary. And so they were like, you get to produce a video during your time here that could be like a supplemental short form video on YouTube that goes along with it. And I was like, “Okay.”  

    And so they were like, “You get to pick the topic.” And so I pitched a few topics, but the one I was the most excited about was a history-based one, but that goes with science. And I pitched the genetic history of the cannabis plant. And at first like the executive, my boss liked it. But the executive producer was like, “This is too history focused.” And I was like, I just like really talk to my boss about it and kind of fought for it. I was like, I really think like, this is a very interesting topic. And there was actually a scientific study that came out like a few months before I started that was about how the plant… Everyone thinks that it originated in India, but they they actually like traced it back to China. So I was like everyone thinks is in India, which makes sense, but because it grows like crazy there. But this scientific study, which we worked a lot with scientific studies while there, kind of debunks that. And so I was like, this is just super interesting. Like, I really think there’s something there and there’s no one’s really talking about it and like this format.  

    So I fought for it, they approved it. And then they tasked me with finding two to three women of color scientists that are in the cannabis research field. And that was so insanely hard because one there’s not a lot of women of color in science anyway. But like in cannabis specifically, like research it was was really hard. So that gave me one that was in the documentary or in one of their videos or something like they only worked with her. So I had her, which was great. And then I had to find another. And I was searching so many places, so many academic institutions, just everywhere. It was so hard. And then I finally was like, I couldn’t find anyone in America. And so I was like, let me check Canada, and I found this girl on LinkedIn, she had a private profile. So I don’t even know like I was like, I don’t even know if she’ll answer my request. And then I have to talk to her and like vet her and stuff. But I found her in Quebec and she agreed she like answered my message. She agreed to it. We did a phone call, or like a zoom. And because she was in Quebec and even though I was remote, PBS Nova is in Boston because it’s this is confusing, but it’s produced by GBH, which is their like, public media station, but they produce PBS Nova. So they’re in Boston, so they set someone to fly to Quebec and film the interview for me and then send me all the footage. And then the other girl they gave me she worked at like Arizona University or Arizona state. And they have this thing where like you can for free like you can just like they can film an interview for you and send you the footage. I was able to get like professional footage of both because we’ve done like Zoom interviews, but it was just like it’s better quality if it’s like an actual interview with the camera. So I was able to have those sent to me, and then edit this videe. Go through a few things like I had someone else do the narration because I do not like the sound of my voice.  

    And so we did all this, edited everything, the script turned out well, it was cut down to like four minutes. So the video was like four minutes. And it performed so well, they were able to get it out right before like on my graduation day in December of 2021. And that was rare because usually they were saying like, they hadn’t like when I got there, they still hadn’t, I think like put out there other interns videos, it’s just hard to get an intern video out. But because I was graduating, my boss was like, I really want to make sure we get this out and just like be done with it and like have it out there for you. And so they got it out. And then it ended up performing like so well. And it was one of their top performing videos of the year. It’s over 500,000 views, which is like literally crazy. And they said it was the best an intern video has ever done on there. And then when I joined as a full time employee, when they were going over like the last years, like statistics, everything that my video was on there, and they would like shout me out, because I was working there now. And I was like, “Oh yeah, that’s me.” 

    Emma Plutnicki   

     That’s amazing. 

    Shyla Duff   

    I know. That was actually really cool. It was just like, the payoff was just really, I don’t obviously expect every video to go viral or anything, and they don’t of course. But I just worked so hard on it and like as a student like, and I had to fight for my topic. So it was just really gratifying to be like I really believed that people were interested in this topic, and then it like came true. 

    Emma Plutnicki   

    Yeah, that’s amazing. 

    Shyla Duff   

    Let me see. I don’t remember the name of it. But okay, it’s at 749,000 views right now two years ago, but the title is “Where did the cannabis plant come from?” So it’s like the genetic history, the genealogy of it.  

    Emma Plutnicki   

    Amazing. 

    Shyla Duff   

    Very confusing. By the way, it was I remember putting out the scientific study and having to read it like 10 times, because I was like, We got to figure out what they’re talking about.  

    Emma Plutnicki   

    I’m gonna have to go watch that.  

    Shyla Duff   

    I’ll send it to you. I’ll send you a link.  

    Emma Plutnicki   

    Okay, perfect. And so within, like this field, if you’ve been going through application processes a lot. So do you think there’s any, like specific skills that an applicant should have or explain so that they can do better in like the job market? 

    Shyla Duff   

    Sure. That is a great question. 100% cover letter. I feel like once I changed my cover letter, I started to get more, at least, at least interest. Like there’s a few jobs I’d never gotten interviewed for. But they would tell me that I got moved into like a category… Like an example is I was applying for like Smithsonian social media jobs to because I wanted to play I want to be in DC. So that’s why I always kept doing that area. But they have this thing where they go to veterans first, but they would email you if you got moved. And they were like, if we can’t find a veteran, we would go to you. So like it was still positive feedback. But I really think the cover letter is very important. And my cover letter starts with, it’s like three paragraphs is still one page. But the first paragraph is like something that grabs you. It’s not just like, Hi, how are you? That’s not like that at all. I was applying for the New York Times Fellowship a few years ago when I was a student, and one of the fellows, they were like, reach out to me with any questions. I asked them specifically about cover letters. And they were like, if you I think this only kind of applies for people in creative fields. Like if you’re like a computer science major, like this wouldn’t make any sense. But in the creative field, they were like, narrative cover letters and approaches like work, like that’s what they did. And so I made my first paragraph kind of narrative, where… because I’m trying to look for Social Media Video positions. So I immediately start kind of talking about how everything is on our phone. And then I actually put in a statistic from the Pew Research Study, which is about how like 53% of Americans get the news on their phone, or like on social media. But I kind of started with a narrative approach where it’s not just about me, but it’s not super long, but it’s something just to grab them. And then I go into my experience. And then I say like how the experience applies to the first paragraph, which is like how social media how everything’s on our phone, like what I can bring to the table. But ever since I changed my cover letter to that, I feel that I’ve gotten at least like further in the process.  

    Shyla Duff   

    And then also my portfolio which I made, it was like our senior thesis or a senior project while in digital communications or Digital Culture and Design. And I like am able to put everything on there and link everything there. And so I’ve had like interviews where they’re like, or I’ve had applications where they asked you to link a portfolio and like three videos you’ve done or something like that. So portfolio I think is very important. But if you’re a video person, then you have to do an editing reel, which I’ve tried to do that. And I don’t think mine’s good. So I’m just like, stick with my portfolio because it’s just like it’s writing. It’s social media. It’s video, it’s podcast. But I really think a place where everyone can find, like your work, and it’s easy to navigate is really helpful. And then my resume, I don’t know, I actually like, don’t I don’t like that you don’t get any feedback on your resume. But honestly, because I’m in a creative field, my resume is colorful, I made it on Canva. I haven’t heard anyone say like, this is a bad resume or anything. But again, if you’re like, like, I have a friend who’s in accounting, and she was like, my resume is not allowed to look like that. But it’s because she had to have like a specific format for business. But in the creative field, I think mine kind of is more fun and kind of shows like I’m in a creative like person. And then the color scheme goes with my portfolio. So if they’re looking at both, they’ll see that like, the text is like the same color, stuff like that. But I really think that’s only allowed in the creative field. And like you have to be more like, you know, like by the book if you’re in like a more business field or something like that. Yeah, that makes professional I guess. I don’t know. 

    Emma Plutnicki   

    Okay, so just in general, do you have any advice for someone who’s trying to get into your field? 

    Shyla Duff   

    That’s a good question. Oh, I forgot to mention that. Right. before I graduated, CCU added a film minor. And I immediately was like, I have to have that and hopped on that. So if someone’s interested in video, specifically, I would say the film minor, obviously, everything went remote while I was there, so I don’t know what it’s supposed to be like in person. But I think like, we were supposed to have like, production studio stuff. And I remember like, we had to go remote. Because the studio look really cool at CCU.  

    I would say 100% do the film minor. And then internships, like do like as many or do an internship at least one or two, because you get credit for it. So because I think they let you do get at least two credits for an internship and so are basically they let you do an internship for credit. And they let you do that twice. I mean, so I was able to get like two credits towards my degree, because I had two internships at the time. And so I would say just like, go that route, obviously, it was easier for me because everything was remote. So like, like, everything opened up, like, there’s no way I could have moved all around to that where those places were. But the children’s Recovery Center was local. And then I got credit for the Athenaeum Press too. So I would just say, like, internships for credit, but also just like, for experience, even though it’s remote, so it wasn’t like in an office or anything, but gave me experience like in the professional world, like you’re still learning how to do like, like how to send out emails and stuff to people, and set up phone calls, and you just get like thrust into the professional space. And I think that was that really helped me feel more confident. And just like, it’s just something you have to learn, like, you have to learn how to talk to your co workers.  

    And we use Slack and Teams and stuff like that at different places. So you’re always like, communicating with one another. And just like learning how to collaborate, if that makes sense, with everyone. And it’s kind of fun, because like, obviously, like I was the youngest person there, because I was just an intern. But like, it still was really fun. It wasn’t, it’s not as intimidating as like, someone would think because like I can get intimidated very easily, but it’s just nice to be like say even if like you’re doing nothing, you’re doing a bad job, but they want to help you succeed. They want to help you learn like you can’t really do a bad job if you unless you’re like not trying, but it’s just a fun experience in general that I think like just really helped me feel more confident like going to the next internship or something like knowing like, okay, they want to see me to see like succeed they want to see me learn like I can do it and then helps me like like stepping stone to others.  

    Emma Plutnicki   

    Yeah, that makes sense. That’s really good advice. Just in general, is there anything else you’d like to add? 

    Shyla Duff   

    That’s a good question. I don’t want to forget anything like I got the film minor. Because honestly, the second they were like we’re adding a film minor and I was about to graduate. I was like, I have to have that because, what’s funny though, is like obviously like I was Digital Culture Design, but like I don’t know if anyone knows what that is. So I was like having the film minor, I could just be like I didn’t video stuff or like digital media and could just like lump it in, and it wasn’t like I mean I did it right before I graduated, so it wasn’t like I had to add on like a ton of classes or anything, and like couldn’t. So minor for sure. Internships definitely. I’m trying to think…  

    Oh, well in the meantime, like while I’ve been job searching and stuff, I just like love TikTok and so I have like a history-based TikTok account that I just use to keep practicing my skills Unlike my video production skills just so they don’t get like rusty, I guess like, while I haven’t been like working a nine to five, so honestly, like, advice that someone gave me was: Just create what you want to create, and it’ll help you get to where you want to be. So like, I really want to be in the like history, still the educational sphere, but like history content, stuff like that for video. And so I would just like was like, let me just start making it for myself and for my portfolios, at least is going somewhere and I have something to like show. But it helps you kind of like channel your like creative ideas and stuff, and just  help you focus on where you want to be headed. But also, I think it’s totally okay not to know because in the beginning, I didn’t know I just knew I wanted to do video, but I was like, how the heck am I going to figure out like what path I wanted to go? And it wasn’t until I went to the Athenaeum Press and work there that I was like, I love history and local stories and like stories that really matter (or not that others don’t matter) but like really are like just important and like underrepresented and stuff. And so by just trying out a bunch of things, it’s just kind of how you find out like the lane you want to go. 

    Emma Plutnicki   

    Yeah, that makes sense. Perfect.