Location: PeeDee and Grand Strand

Caleb Wygal

“It’s just, it’s so gratifying to me to be able to just have that privilege to be able to entertain people like that”

Mystery author Caleb Wygal turns personal tragedy into literary triumph through the Myrtle Beach Mysteries series.

Interview

Transcript

Nora Smith 00:00

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

Caleb Wygal 00:06

So, I’m an author. I write mystery novels, Myrtle Beach mysteries, and I am working from my office, coffee shops, or breweries, but typically from my home office.

Nora Smith 00:16

And where is that in South Carolina? (Surfside Beach) Cool, cool, great area. Um, how long have you been working there? And your official job title is…

Caleb Wygal 00:28

I have been an author for almost 20 years. Full-time for the past three years. And my official job title is just author.

Nora Smith 00:38

Super cool, awesome, yeah. What’s one thing you love about working as a creative in South Carolina compared to other locations?

Caleb Wygal 00:49

Compared to other locations I love, alright, so when I started writing, I lived in the upstate of South Carolina, in Greenville. We moved to Concord, North Carolina for 15 years after that, and we’ve been in Surfside Beach, Myrtle Beach area for about five years now. What I love about being at this area compared to other areas, is that whenever I want to get out of my home office to write, I can go to the beach, pop down a chair and sit by and, watch the ocean, and type and make up stuff. Yeah, that’s a big, big, big step up from where I was before, just being stuck inland.

Nora Smith 01:35

I can see that. And what does South Carolina bring to your work? Has it had any sort of influence on your writing at all?

Caleb Wygal 01:45

It’s had all the influence on my writing because, I write the Myrtle Beach mysteries, they wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for South Carolina. So, I mean, I’ve written before I started the Myrtle Beach mysteries. I’d written mystery novels, a couple action-adventure novels, and basically, I just did that as a hobby. Well, once I started writing the Myrtle Beach mysteries, and I got to book three, that’s when I was selling enough copies that I was able to make a living off of it. So, if it weren’t for South Carolina and Myrtle Beach, I would probably just be doing social media marketing and website development for small businesses.

Nora Smith 02:27

How did you come up with an idea, like what brought you to write about the Myrtle Beach mysteries?

Caleb Wygal 02:33

I’ve always been interested in mystery novels, and when we moved down here, my main job then was to take care of our son. I was a stay-at-home dad, and I would do social media marketing, website development, and whenever he was sleeping, I would write whenever I had a spare moment in between all that. And so, we moved down here. He was three. And so, he needed his afternoon naps, and I needed his afternoon naps to maintain my sanity, so I put him in the back of the car every day we drive up and down Ocean Boulevard about every day, so I could see the ocean, coast to classical music. And he would sleep for an hour or so, and I just drove back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And it was during one of these trips, I had the idea for this mystery series, set there, set here in Myrtle Beach, and we went home, I did some research, came up with the character, pitched it to Paul Bucha, and they told me to stop working on what I was doing and do this instead.

Nora Smith 03:33

Wow, so cool. Yeah, that’s super interesting. Wow. What a great start. So how would you describe your local professional community down in Surfside?

Caleb Wygal 03:48

Well, I mean, really, there’s authors. I’ve found authors. Other authors are scattered all over the Grand Strand from Garden City to Murrells Inlet to Calabash and on into North Carolina. There’s a much stronger author network here than there was where we lived outside of Charlotte, and I’ve found that, you know, I regularly have coffee, I had lunch with another author earlier today, because it’s a much more supportive community among each other, and we try to help each other out, and I help others where I can.

Nora Smith 04:28

It’s great. Yeah, that’s a great community to work with. How would you define professional or personal success in your creative endeavors,

Caleb Wygal 04:41

Professional success. I define it, for me in my station in life is being able to pay the mortgage payment and the car payments, if I can sell enough books that I can do that, then that to me, that’s everything. Yeah, we’re not worried about that. But personally, I enjoy being able to just tell stories to give readers an escape from their lives. And I love hearing readers tell me how much they enjoy the characters and stories and how surprised they were when something crazy happens and just their reactions to, I love hearing readers say that they never read books before, but they wanted to start reading this series. So, they started reading this series. I’ve had people tell me they’ve used the books to learn English as a second language. I’ve had people tell me that they have been in the hospital for long stays, and they’ve read the book series as a way to make it through their long hospital stays and recovery periods. And it’s just so gratifying to me to be able to have had that privilege to be able to entertain people like that.

Nora Smith 06:04

Yeah, that sounds awesome. That’s so cool using your books to learn a second language. I would be so taken back if someone said that to me.

Caleb Wygal 06:14

I had a woman, I think last year, I think it was her. She reached out to me; said she was from Peru. And she married a guy who lives somewhere in the upstate of South Carolina, and when she came, when she moved here, she started trying to learn English. Her husband gave her one of my books, and she read them all, and she said, your books helped me learn English. I’ve had a Russian friend who did some work around our house, and I know he takes English lessons, and he asked me, one day, can I use your books to learn English? My English teacher told me to read American books. So, I gave him some books.

Nora Smith 07:01

That’s so cool. Yeah, great. What was your biggest fear when you decided to pursue a career in the arts?

Caleb Wygal 07:13

That my biggest fear was that nobody would like it, nobody would buy it, and therefore I wouldn’t be able to do what I do, but that’s always the risk you take when you put yourself out there like that.

Nora Smith 07:30

Could you define a sort of defining moment in your creative journey, something that happened and you were like, wow, this is it? Like “I really did this” kind of taken aback about it, about what you could create.

Caleb Wygal 07:47

Oh wow. There’s, several that pop into mind.

Nora Smith 07:52

Give them all. Give as many as you’d like.

Caleb Wygal 07:59

So, I’ve been on TV probably a couple dozen times by now. And do you know who Greg Rolls is? So, he headlined at the Alabama theater for 20 years, and he has his own theater now in North Myrtle Beach. He’s in commercials, local commercials. He has a daytime talk show on the local Fox affiliate. And when I started writing the second book, I wanted the victim to be somebody who was well known in Myrtle Beach, was on billboards and TV, and because it was a main character at a large-scale dinner theater show, they were the victims. I based the victim on a younger version of Greg Rolls, so I wrote the book based on the younger version of Greg Rolls. I never met the man before, and so about three months after the book came out, I was invited back. I was invited to a media event at a local restaurant that was getting ready to open. They wanted to have people come in, influences in the community, to maybe talk about the restaurant. I don’t know if you’re familiar with 1229 Shine in the Market Common.

Nora Smith 09:31

It sounds familiar to me. I feel like I’ve definitely seen or heard of it before, right?

Caleb Wygal 09:37

If you go, drive past Barnes and Noble down that street, behind it. Okay, yeah, there’s like, the building that has a big scuba diver mural on it. So, they invited my wife and I to go there for a media event, and there’s 10 people there total, and in the middle of the restaurant, there is like this huge bar. So. My wife and I were, like, on one side of the bar in the middle, and two women over in the far corner. And throughout our dinner, I kept seeing those women looking over at us. And whenever we left, my wife said, “I’m going to use the restroom.” So, my wife goes the restroom, the two women follows her into the restroom, and I’m waiting for like 10 minutes for her to come out. When she comes out, the two the two other women are behind her, and they’re dying laughing. And it turned out that the Fox TV station is right behind that restaurant, and the two women work for Greg Rolls, and told him the story about how I’d used him as a victim, as inspiration for a victim in one of the books. And so, they invited me to come on the show. And I said, I will come on, provided you do not tell Greg anything about this story. You can tell him who I am, but don’t tell him the story. And so, a couple weeks later, it’s a live show. They invited me there for like, such and such, on such and such dates. I came in the studio, Greg came up, introduced himself to me, he said, I just learned your name 10 minutes ago. I don’t know anything about you, but we’ll win it. We’ll win it. We’ll figure it out. He said, my producer gave me some notes, whatever. And so, whenever it comes time for an interview, to interview me. He said we’re on live TV, and he says, My producer says, and he look down his notes. He said, if my producer says there’s something about me to do with one of your most recent books, and what was it? And I said, Well, I looked at my wife while I was figuring out who was going to be the victim in this novel. And we were watching television one day, and you came on the screen, I looked at my wife and I said, what if somebody like you? And I pointed right at him, wash up dead with a sword plunge through your chest one day. And people kind of came out of their offices to watch this, I guess they knew it wasn’t going to happen, and people will, people, oh, and he and he looked at you, looked at the camera, did, killed me like, No, I didn’t kill you. I killed somebody like you, but, but after that, it kind of went viral in the area, and that’s really when the book started to take off was after that interview, because you can find it on YouTube. That was a big moment. I’ve been on there probably six, seven or more times they just like the way that he and I went back and forth together. Another one, and probably one of the most rewarding ones, was last year. I had the privilege; my son was at elementary over next to Prestwick. And one, I met one of the teachers at a book signing, and she invited me to come speak to her class, her fourth-grade class. Well, the fourth-grade class, there’s four different classes in fourth grade, and they said, once you come in, talk to the students. And so, I go in, whenever they want me to come, and they lead me to their small gym. And there’s 150 kids in there just waiting to hear me speak. And it was just so many smiling little precious faces. They were so eager to hear me speak, and I gave my little speech, and we did a little game about using your senses to solve mysteries. There’s a way to sign little pieces of paper so I could get my autograph and that was just the best. Oh, that’s so cute. Those are a few. And I’ve spoken in front of crowds of, you know, 60 to 100 people and it’s always just amazes me that people enjoy the books, they want to hear me talk about the books. And it’s just a rewarding thing that I never thought would happen in my life, because 25 years from this past Sunday, 25 years ago, I was in a car accident where I had a severe brain injury. I was just out of high school. (That’s awful. I’m so sorry.) Yeah, and I hadn’t started college or anything, and I had to relearn how to walk, how to talk, how to write my own name. Again, I never set foot in a college classroom until a couple years ago, whenever I taught a mystery writing class for Alli at Coastal.

Nora Smith 14:48

Wow, that is so inspirational.

Caleb Wygal 14:52

They told me I would never be able to work a full-time job or do any hard labor or anything like that. So, um, yeah. If you know me, where I’m coming from, where I’ve been to get to this point where I can go talk to groups of people and entertain people just by just making stuff up. I mean, I couldn’t have asked for more. If the car accident hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have asked for a better career.

Nora Smith 15:20

Wow. That’s a really cool story. Well going sort of off the last question, in a sense, what was the best and worst advice you’ve ever received in your career?

Caleb Wygal 15:40

Oh, that’s a good one. Um, trying to think of one best advice was, was to, instead of writing standalone books, write a series and have the books connect, like each book has its own self-contained story or mystery, but I have a storyline that connects them all together. And so I went from writing individual books before I came up with this series idea where I had the main character trying to figure out, through the course of the series, what happened to his wife, because his wife died two years before the series started, and he always thought it was of natural causes, but he learns through the course of the first book that it wasn’t natural causes. And so, he’s spent the next six, seven books trying to figure out what happened to his wife, and that was really what drew readers in more than just individual mysteries. What happened to his wife, what happened to autumn was it was her name, yeah, and the best advice I’ve gotten is right in a series the worst advice. There’s a lot of bad advice out there, trying to think of a time, there’s a time where I spent a lot of money on something, I’m thinking about doing this again, because I’m just, I’m just a glutton for punishment. I spent $700 on a billboard advertisement that just got crickets and that, I mean, that’s a lot of money for somebody like me, because I’m not John Grisham, I’m not some of these really big-name authors. I don’t have a lot of extra money to spend on advertisements like that, so I’ll put down $700 on a billboard ad for a month that did nothing, and then that came off to the advice of another author said, Hey, I’ve done billboards where I live, and they work. Well, good for you, probably because there’s so many billboards here in Myrtle Beach, nobody just pays attention. They just end up being background noise. That was one of the worst pieces of advice was to get a billboard.

Nora Smith 18:05

Well, that’s unfortunate you spent that much money on that.

Caleb Wygal 18:09

Now you learn and I am thinking about doing it again because I have another book coming out in May. It takes place at the legends theater where you have, like, all these impersonators, like celebrity impersonators like Elvis Presley, Dolly, Parton, Tina Turner, The Blues Brothers, Michael Jackson and so they go to the theater, and somebody collapses on stage and dies. And that’s what they’re trying to figure out.

Nora Smith 18:35

Exciting. I’m going to have to read these books. I’m from New Hampshire, so I’m not originally from here, so I’ve never heard of them, so I’m very intrigued.

Caleb Wygal 18:47

You can get them at every bookstore in Myrtle Beach.

Nora Smith 18:52

Lovely. I will definitely have to read them, especially the new ones coming out. But yeah, that’s basically all I have. Are there any questions that you wish I had asked at all?

Caleb Wygal 19:03

No. So when I go and give an author talk, I already know a lot about what I’m going to talk about. I’ve done it so much, and a lot of what I just gave you ends up being in my author talks right, ends in some shape or form or order or whatever. I can’t think of much that you didn’t go over. Oh, maybe, like, how I really started writing books. Okay, so basically, like I told you, with the car accident, I wasn’t able to work full time jobs, especially the first couple years after that, but my uncle owned a hearing aid office in Greenville, in the upside of South Carolina, and I worked for him for a while. Basically, I would sit in his office, behind a computer or behind a desk. This is 2003 or 2004. Yeah, and I would answer phone calls, schedule appointments for them, change hearing aid batteries and clean out the wax from hearing aids, and people would bring them in. But it was a really slow job. So, I read a lot of books. And I read so many books, I started to read like in front of clients, and he told me one day that I couldn’t read books anymore because it didn’t look good for him or his business if I read books all the time. And so, he left me and there’s a computer on the desk, like I said, 2003-04 was not hooked up to the internet. There was no such thing as Facebook or social media or anything like that. There were no smartphones, and so all he had on that computer was Microsoft Paint, Microsoft Word and scaling software. So, I started writing short stories, and the short story in a little book, and here we are, 20 years later. That’s super cool. That’s basically how it all started, out of boredom.

Nora Smith 20:58

Wow, yeah, that’s awesome. Well, I’m glad you had that question, because I did not have that written down, but yeah, that’s basically it. Do you have any professionals in the creative field that you’d like to nominate to be interviewed? And if nothing comes to mind right now, I’m going to send an interview press release form later, and there’ll be a little form you can write someone in. So, no worries.

Caleb Wygal 21:25

Somebody that might be interesting for you to talk to, her name is Kelly Burton. Kelly Capriotti Burton, another fellow author who originally moved to the area with her husband. It’s been like 10 to 15 years since they’ve moved here. But they came to start a theater where the Hollywood Wax Museum is, they were going to have a theater there. And it was the Pat Boone theater, I don’t know some gospel musician or something like that, there was going to be a theater there. So, she and her husband, upped their family from Chicago, moved to Myrtle Beach, got in to start getting ready to start the theater, and before the theater opened, they shut it down. Why? You must ask her. Yeah, but anyway, so she and her husband are both very, very in tune with the arts. He has a band. Her daughters are both in dance school. Performing arts, stuff like that. And she writes books as well. So, she’s somebody who’s multi-talented, and owns a business too. Um, have you ever heard of Black Dog Running Company? They have one business in downtown Conway and another one on Farrows Parkway. But she owns that with another friend of hers, and she’d be a good person for you to talk to.

Nora Smith 23:03

Great! I wrote down her name.

Caleb Wygal 23:06

I can whenever we get off here, I’ll send you her email address.

Nora Smith 23:09

Okay, great. That’d be awesome.

Caleb Wygal 23:13

She’s somebody who’s super creative.

May 27, 2025
Marsh Deane

“Especially because right now is a digital world, the world is just an open oyster for creatives so just do it. Otherwise, the dream will just stay in your head.”

Marsh Deane is a filmmaker, photographer, and outdoor educator based in Pawleys Island, SC. Through his business ML & L Media, he captures South Carolina’s hidden stories and landscapes with heart and purpose.

Interview

Transcript

Lexi Raines 00:00

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

Marsh Deane 00:09

So, my name is Marsh Deane. I’m a photographer and a filmmaker and an outdoor educator. I’m based out of Pawleys Island, South Carolina, and I own an independent media company called ML & L media.

Lexi Raines 00:26

That’s awesome. So, how long have you been doing this?

Marsh Deane 00:30

I’ve been into photography since I was in middle school. Probably 20 years as a photographer. But as a career, I only started in 2019 when I graduated from Coastal Carolina, so I’m in my sixth year as this career.

Lexi Raines 00:52

Yeah, that’s amazing. So, you said you work out, you work in Pawleys Island. What’s one thing that you love about working as a creative in South Carolina?

Marsh Deane 01:01

Well, for me, it’s definitely the access to nature, the access to the outdoors. Here along the coastline, we have, of course, amazing beaches that everyone knows about, but we also have amazing river systems. We have Cypress forests. We have remote barrier islands. We have a lot of special places that have been conserved and are kind of off the beaten path. And a big mission of mine as a creative is I try to document, and I try to showcase our heritage. I try to showcase the parts of South Carolina that visitors don’t see and really, as an outdoors enthusiast. It’s a playground for me. I’m a boater. I’m a kayaker, and that’s kind of what I’ve become known for.

Lexi Raines 01:53

I would completely agree with that. I think that a lot of people, whenever they think of South Carolina, only think of the super touristy parts. And yeah, we do have that, but we also have a lot of other stuff. So, what do you think South Carolina brings to your work, and what is its unique influence on you compared to being anywhere else?

Marsh Deane 02:15

Well, I’m born and raised here, and a kind of unique part of my story is that, I grew up in historical locations. My parents were antique dealers, and they purchased old plantation properties. So, I was very, very lucky to grow up on 50-acre properties by the river in 150-year-old former plantation houses. And when you grow up in a place like that, on one side, I had the natural beauty, I had access to that which really shaped my development and my interests. And then there also is a negative side to our history, and I learned about that at a young age. We had slave cabins on the plantation that I grew up in, and so I learned about that history, and I learned about, you know, the dark truth of the South Carolina story. And that also shaped my interests, and it shaped the stories that I wanted to tell. And so, for me it’s a very personal journey. As a proud South Carolinian, I hope to tell our story. I hope to share our heritage. Also, in this area, we have a lot of tourism and a lot of development. So, I see a unique opportunity that as this region changes, part of my job is that I can capture moments in time, and I can tell these stories while we have them, because I know that down the road, this area is going to change so much. And I feel a little bit of a weight on my shoulders that as a South Carolinian, I’m trying to preserve some of our heritage for the future generations to enjoy.

Lexi Raines 04:05

I think that’s definitely an amazing thing to do, for sure. How would you describe your local professional community?

Marsh Deane 04:13

Very giving. I live in Pawleys Island, and we’re a little tourist town, and when I started out, I was with the Georgetown RISE program at Coastal Carolina. And from there, I was connected with the nonprofit world. We have a lot of nonprofits in this region, and I started marketing for the nonprofits. And I found out that this area is just so giving from churches to school groups, to community groups. I mean, there are, I believe now, in Georgetown County, there are 90 different individual nonprofits that you know have community missions. And so, I’m heavily involved with southern hospitality that is alive and well down here. And that can really impact your career, you know, especially as a creative finding ways to share the positive stories and the positive the giving nature of this region.

Lexi Raines 05:12

One thing I’ve noticed is that everyone who moved here from the north, their number one thing they always say is everyone’s just so friendly, so like, I’m glad to hear that it’s the same in the professional community as well. So, how would you define professional or personal success in your creative endeavors?

Marsh Deane 05:29

For me, it’s really about having a tangible impact that you can see in the creative industry. There are different paths you can take. And nowadays we get sidetracked by social media. We get sidetracked by, you know, followers and views and short form media, right? And that gets a lot of attention, you know. So, you can focus on social media, on Instagram, YouTube, and get those high views. And there’s certainly a great career in that of being an influencer, but there’s also other things. For me, it was more getting involved in local communities, creating short films that were, you know, supported initiatives that I’m interested in. So, yeah, as a creative our work is individualized to us. It is an expression of us and our energies and our efforts and our interests. And so, no matter what it is, whether it’s on social media or whether it’s in the local community, there’s so many ways to feel justified and fulfilled in your time spent in this creative industry. And there’s so many different niches. There are so many different things that you can do nowadays, and it’s very rewarding. Once you find that path that’s working out, and you find that that job or that that gig or that niche that satisfies you. It’s just extremely rewarding, in my opinion, more so than any views or really any dollar amount. And it is just the satisfaction of being an artist and knowing that I’ve done something that has created a ripple.

Lexi Raines 07:11

Yeah, I completely agree with that. I feel like long form content has definitely been lost with the rise of social media. So, I feel like it’s awesome that you are still finding beauty in that, because I think there is a lot of value in it. What was your biggest fear when you first decided to pursue the arts professionally?

Marsh Deane 07:33

Definitely the biggest fear is, you know, going out on a limb by yourself, not having a boss, not having a company that you’re working for, and not having a guaranteed paycheck when you start a business as a creative. The great thing about it, is that you can shape it to what you want to do and have not having a boss is great, right? Setting your own schedule is great. But there’s also immense pressure with that, because you realize you are the one responsible for the income. And so, it is taking a leap. It’s taking a leap of faith, if you really commit to it, I think anyone that takes that leap is going to find success, especially because right now, it’s a digital world, and so the world is just an open oyster for a creative you know? And again, whether you’re going to focus on social media or you’re going to focus on the business side of it, there’s just every company, every industry, every business needs marketing, needs to tell their story. And so, there’s just so much out there you might not even know when you take that leap. You might not have a clue what you’ll be doing next year, but you have got to take the leap to find out.

Lexi Raines 08:47

I think that is definitely one of the most important things. I’ve talked to a lot of creatives, and they have all said that you just got to take that leap. I agree that it’s very important. Can you describe a defining moment in your creative journey? Was there a particular project that made a significant impact on you?

Marsh Deane 09:09

I would say probably my internship with the village group started it off for me. I had been doing some Real estate photography, and so I knew that I could make money doing Real Estate photography. I knew that there was some potential there, but it didn’t fulfill a lot of satisfaction. It was a great career to be in. I started my internship with the village group, and I was doing marketing, showcasing what this nonprofit is doing for children in a rural Plantersville community. And through that nonprofit, first I was doing marketing, but then they found out, oh, well, you like the outdoors? Hey, would you like to take our students on an outdoor walk? And then that outdoor walk became, I brought my cameras along, and I let the students use my cameras. Then that became a Media Club, and we got a grant, and we got 20 cameras for the students. It quickly went from a marketing internship to a teaching opportunity, and it was just this eureka moment, because I loved it. I mean, taking these, these kids, out into the woods on a nature trail, giving them cameras, and kind of teaching them photography, and just seeing how just how interested the kids were, it’s a fun class to teach, and so I get the best out of the students. And that was the moment where I was like, I definitely want to do this for the rest of my life, if I could just keep doing this, finding an avenue to, you know, combine my camera the outdoors and people having a good time, and the village group having that internship through the Georgetown RISE program. Had I not done that, I have no clue what I would be doing today.

Lexi Raines 10:58

That’s so special, like, I’m sure you gave special memories for those kids, and that you might have given them something they really love too. So, that’s actually awesome. So, what’s the best and worst advice you’ve ever received?

Marsh Deane 11:15

I guess the best advice I’ve received in many ways over the years, the Nike slogan, just do it. Just do it. It’s so easy. Nowadays we’re surrounded by comfort, and it’s so easy to put things off. It’s so easy in the evening to, you know, sit down and turn on the TV. But if you have any goal, you have to just do it. You have to, sometimes you must give yourself that little kick in the pants to get up and chase that dream, to make that project that you want to make. Otherwise, it’ll just stay in your head. You have to just do it. You know, action, and especially nowadays, I think a lot of my generation and younger, with all these distractions around us. I think a lot of us do struggle with procrastination. And so, really, the best thing is you got to get up and do it. You know, you got to be moving, momentum. The worst advice being opinionated online, I tell students, just to be careful with, you know, online right now, there’s so many different things going on in the world, and we’re all very passionate about many things, and online discourse, as we all know, gets very it’s easy to misunderstand, it’s very easy to misunderstand people, and then it gets negative pretty quickly, right? And so, I’ve learned just that, you put something out there, and you really need to take the time to make sure that your thoughts are understood by the reader in the way you intend. And let’s say, if they’re not understood the way you intend. Don’t take it personally, and don’t get in those comments. And you know, it’s easy to get even a little triggered online. And that goes for all of us, and I admit that. And you know, sometimes you can turn away viewers. You can turn away the audience you’re supposed to reach, just with online misunderstanding. Misunderstandings and bad advice that I’ve received, but I do just that’s I know that that’s advice I try to give my students of things not to do is just take a little slower online when dealing with other people and just understand communication. We’re meant to communicate face to face and see each other and hear each other’s tone, I don’t know if that really answers the question.

Lexi Raines 13:49

It does. I think that is good advice, because I feel like if you don’t listen to that. There is so much that could go wrong in that situation. So, can you walk me through a typical workday, what does your process look like and what’s expected of you on a daily basis?

Marsh Deane 14:07

Well, so the cool thing as a creative and owning my own business is that I am my own boss. So, I get to wake up when I like usually, I’ll wake up between eight or nine, but it depends. Really, you know what’s on the schedule. I have set up my business so that most of the work I like to do after 10am. I like to give myself that extra time in the morning to kind of wake up and have a slower pace. So. usually during the day, after 10am it’s meetings, I’m going out into the community to different locations for photo shoots or video shoot, interviews, and then the afternoons and the evenings are usually set aside for editing time and editing as a creative that’s one thing. Yeah, we work a lot. We work a lot behind the scenes. Often, I’ll be editing until 11 or 12 o’clock at night. And so I’ll tell some people that I work 80 hours a week, but those 80 hours aren’t what you would typically think of as work. You know, because sometimes I’m sitting at the computer, I’m working on a project, but as the computer is rendering, I’m pulling out my phone and on social media, or I’m multitasking, I’m bouncing around. My days are very, a little disjointed, you know, I’ll spend an hour working on something, and then I’ll get up and walk around my yard for a little bit, do some yard work. I’ll go inside, you know, make a meal. So, I don’t really have a set schedule. I don’t have a nine to five, and I love that. But also, again, sometimes it is annoying, you know, when you find yourself at midnight still editing and working on that project. So, for creatives you kind of have the power to be as structured as you want or as unstructured as you want. I’m unstructured by nature. I’m ADHD. But I would definitely say being a creative you do have that power to structure your life whatever way you wish. And I think that’s amazing. I tell many people that I get up when I want to, I go to sleep when I want to, and I schedule work when I want to, but of course, you schedule your work around your client and when they’re available, and so really, on a week to week basis, it changes. I travel a lot for work, which is great, and there’s also a lot of time spent. Though people don’t see this as a photographer or any creative, there’s a lot of time spent packing gear, charging batteries, processing data on the computer. And if for painters or other you can translate that into dealing with, you know, the paint or your canvas, there is a lot of unseen. It’s not as glorious as you think, being a creative there’s a lot of time doing busy work in between to get everything lined up so that you can create.

Lexi Raines 17:09

You have already explained this a little bit, but how do you create a work life balance where you’re able to maintain. Like your professional creativity, your personal creativity, and what are some habits that you have that you think would be beneficial to others wanting to pursue the arts?

Marsh Deane 17:26

For me, having the work life balance there, there really is no, well, it’s unbalanced, but that’s a little bit of a good thing for me, because it is my passion. Every day I’m working on projects. Some days that’s a project for a paid client, so it’s work. But then there are other days where I’m working on a personal project. And those personal projects, it might be a video going out into the swamp and showing people a really cool tree, right? YouTube videos. So, my balance is that I’m balancing the professional work and then the personal, the passion work, right? The work that I want to be known for, the work that I enjoy. I’m not getting paid for it, like the YouTube videos, or the swamp adventure videos. That’s not my career, but I do see it as work, because I see it as my portfolio. I see it as my legacy. And so, for me, it’s having that passion and doing what you love. If I didn’t have the time to do those personal projects that I enjoy, I probably would be miserable. And so, I think, for any creative just make sure that, yes, you’re doing a lot of work for clients that are going to get you paid but make room for the personal work that you want to do. I feel that most creatives are always working on something, and so just be sure that some of that is giving you enjoyment. It’s for you, it’s for your soul, it’s for your satisfaction as an artist, because you can get burnt out really easily. And I certainly got burnt out about a year or two into my journey, because all I was doing was working for money, working for other people’s vision, and I wasn’t doing things for myself.

Lexi Raines 19:19

I think that honestly is really amazing advice, because, as you’re saying, it is so easy to get burnt out as an artist.

May 27, 2025
Jenny Powers

“The money will come and go, but the impact you make on people’s lives that’s the real success.”

Jenny Powers is a Myrtle Beach-based music marketing strategist and founder of Blue Avenue Music Group, empowering independent musicians to thrive on their own terms.

Interview

Transcript

Emma Plutnicki

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

Jenny Powers

So I live in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. My husband is the men’s tennis coach at Coastal and I am here in my office. And I own Blue Avenue Music Group, which is a music marketing and management company, and so I work a lot with artists and musicians from everyone from ground up to Grammy nominated artists

Emma Plutnicki

Cool, and how long have you been doing? That for?

Jenny Powers

I’ve had my company for seven years, and then I’ve been managing a tree house the local reggae rock band for about 15 years.

Emma Plutnicki

Amazing. So what does a typical day look like for you? What kind of responsibilities are expected of you, and what do you get into?

Jenny Powers

Oh, well, it varies from artist to artist. So right now, with Treehouse, we have a new song that will be coming out in a few weeks, and so we’ve been working on their content plans and their tour and making sure everything is uploaded and ready for those releases

Emma Plutnicki

cool and so how do you manage kind of like having a work life balance, because I’m sure, like creativity strikes at different times of day and things like that. So how are you able to kind of manage that?

Jenny Powers

Oh, that’s a good one. Definitely set boundaries. I mean, my clients are on tour, so they are up at all times of the day and night, and so for me, it was really about setting those boundaries that I am available between eight in the morning and five o’clock in the evening, unless there’s an absolute emergency that cannot be taken care of. So definitely setting those work boundaries, especially because I work from home, so making sure that I allocate the necessary time to spend with my family and do the things I love to do like I even like I don’t respond on weekends either. So those are, those are my times, and those are times that I think everyone should be be bound to, yeah, for sure, 40 hours, yeah, and working from home.

Emma Plutnicki

Is it sometimes hard to separate work life from personal life? Or have you been able to kind of overcome that?

Jenny Powers

Oh, I have, even in my family life, it’s, you know, eight o’clock until five o’clock here at home, and if my door is closed, I’m in meetings or I’m actively working on something, but if my door is open, then my kids are always welcome to just come on in and see, see what I’m doing and what’s what we’re what’s going on.

Emma Plutnicki

Yeah, for sure. And so living in Myrtle Beach, does South Carolina play any role in your work? Does it influence your work in any way? Or have you lived in other places where you notice that living in South Carolina kind of has a different influence on what you do?

Jenny Powers

So that’s that’s a really great question. I was born and raised here. I graduated from the academy of arts, science and technology in entertainment technology, my sister is one of the first graduating students from the Governor’s School in Greenville for music and arts, and she went on to found the longest running Girls Rock and Roll camp, and now we have our our nonprofit in Nashville. So South Carolina’s definitely given me and my family a lot of opportunities. My brother’s been a touring musician for 17 years. My sister was a touring musician for 10 years, and and I’ve been doing this for a long time too, and so we’ve always had that philosophy of bloom, where you’re planted. And we’ve, we’ve done so well.

Emma Plutnicki

Yeah, amazing. So coming from such a musical family, have you been given any advice along the way from family members or mentors that kind of helped you in this career path?

Jenny Powers

No, no, no, because think about think about it like the major hubs for music are New York, Nashville and. And LA with Austin having its own central like Texas is like its own music world. Honestly, there’s artists that only tour Texas and never leave it. So being in South Carolina that wasn’t a music hub. I had to learn those things. And I was very lucky to meet Ari Herston, who is, you know, the go to guy for independent music. And what I learned from there, I was able to bring and work with my artists and really elevate them from where they are and take them to where they want to go.

Emma Plutnicki

Yeah, for sure. Did you have any fears when you started in this career?

Jenny Powers

No, no. Like, I didn’t have a choice. Yeah, my brother called me up, and he was like, I need a manager. And I was like, I have no idea how to manage you in your music career. Yeah, we’ll find out. And once I found out, made a plan. We’ve been trucking along ever since.

Emma Plutnicki

So yeah, amazing. So throughout your entire career, have you had one specific project you worked on, or one specific person that you’ve worked with that has really kind of had a significant impact on you, and you kind of see as maybe, like the pinnacle of your career, just something that stands out in in your career so far.

Jenny Powers

I mean, every day is kind of magical, because I love that you never know what’s going to come your way. So I mean, I’ve had some really great people in this industry that I really do lean on. So Ari. Ari was one of them. And I have all kinds of great friends that I lean on, but I think I forgot your question.

Emma Plutnicki

No, it’s okay. How is, how is the local working community in South Carolina? Is there a network that you rely on in South Carolina specifically, or are you kind of just a lone wolf out here?

Jenny Powers

I am probably the lone wolf of South Carolina in the way that I work with artists, and the amount of artists I’ve worked with and the impact that I’ve actually made in the music industry. So one of my other positions is the VP of community of artist hub, which is a music marketing company. And we’ve, you know, we actually changed how you market music. So through those, those deep links, we’ve, you know, revolutionized how you market your music. And right now we’re working on building direct distribution through the blockchain. So that is going to be, you know, taking the way things are right now and looking into the future of how the whole industry is going to be moving forward.

Emma Plutnicki

Yeah, makes sense. And so to succeed in this career, you know, in creative fields, it can be kind of hard to figure out what success looks like, because it’s different. So how would you define success in your career? Is it financial? Is it projects you’ve worked on reaching success? Like, how do you kind of gage your success and your professional life?

Jenny Powers

Well, okay, that’s a that’s a good one. I mean, yeah, it’s hard. That is a hard one because I have been able to literally take everyone else’s platforms that they’re working on and help them succeed, and by helping them succeed, that is my success. So the money will come and go, but the help and the impact that you make on people’s lives is what really is my driving force?

Emma Plutnicki

Yeah, I love that. And what kind of skills do you need to have in your career to find success? Like, what are, what are important qualities to have for someone in your position,

Jenny Powers

One, knowing the ins and outs of how the industry works. So one of the big things in our industry right now is the independent music voice was about 40% of streaming revenue, and they were doing it so well that the major labels but. Up all the independent distributions, and that was a big scary thing for me, because I’ve seen where the major labels would actually use independent artists and take them off of platforms to negotiate with like Tiktok and things like that, so the artist who thought they were independent really weren’t independent. And so now artists have almost no true autonomy over their careers without new independent sectors coming in and giving them that opportunity that they had before. So that’s really where I am, is making sure that, you know, all these artists that I love back here have the ability to have full control over their music business. You know who’s managing their catalogs and who is managing their publishing administration and where they’re just distributing their music on these platforms, because if they don’t know up the chain who owns those they could be giving their rights away without knowing it. That’s my, my biggest concern.

Emma Plutnicki

Yeah, and how were you able to learn those ins and out ins and outs? How were you able to kind of establish your knowledge within that?

Jenny Powers

Oh, definitely. I mean, I read, read a book, not much about the structure of your businesses, like the music business itself has changed, but being able to use the new ways that are implemented to your advantage is really, you know, staying ahead of the curve while everyone is talking about things I’ve been doing for the last year and a half, they’re just now like, this is what you should be doing. And I started doing those things because you can see those trends if you’re paying attention.

Emma Plutnicki

Yeah, makes sense. Amazing. So just as we wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to add, any advice you’d like to give, or anything else you’d like to add about your career?

Jenny Powers

Oh, wow, yeah, if you’re going into you know, if you’re going to be a musician that wants to tour and distribute your music and have, like, a real business and that be your livelihood, then make sure you know the ins and outs of what that means, the contracts, the the everything, because you have all of these rights. And with every step of the way, everyone wants a cut of it. And so by maintaining your rights, gives you the power to have that autonomy over your career. Amazing.

Emma Plutnicki

That’s great advice. Well, thank you so much. I’m going to stop the recording. Okay, bye.

May 27, 2025
Luis Sanchez

“Be wise where you put your time, money, and effort.”

Luis Sanchez is a freelance web designer based in South Carolina.

Interview

Transcript

Emma Plutnicki 00:02

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

Luis Sanchez 00:09

So, so I, I started a web design business last June. So most of my time is, you know, setting that up, working from home, but you know, my main job is- I work at a church as a Youth Director. So those are the two things I do.

Emma Plutnicki 00:29

All right, amazing. And what would you say your official job titles for each of those will be?

Luis Sanchez 00:36

So, that’s a good question for, you know, small businesses like, am I a CEO? But you know, the main passion is just web designer, brand design, web and brand design. And then for the church, is just the youth director.

Emma Plutnicki 00:52

Yeah, great. And how long have you been doing those four?

Luis Sanchez 00:55

Yeah, so I’ve been working here since at the church, since 2021. August 2021, and the design since June last year.

Emma Plutnicki 01:08

Okay, nice. And so what does a typical day to day look like for you nowadays? What’s expected of you on a daily basis? What do you get into? What are your responsibilities?

Luis Sanchez 01:17

Yeah so it actually works out pretty, pretty well for me, I- so we’re going to church. Most of my stuff is done on the weekends, so I have a chance of putting time on the web design part during the week, you know. So a week when I have, you know, when I’m working with a client, it’s just meeting with them and then spending, you know, you know, four to five hours a day working on, just design, research, designing, testing different things, and then just, depending on the website, it’ll just take a couple weeks or not. So it was either meeting, doing a lot of research and just designing. And then during the weekends, you know, I pivot back to the church. So I was just preparing for Sunday youth group. We have youth group on Sunday, so the main job just preparing, just everything for for that to happen on Sunday. But yeah, during the week is- I’m working from home, just on my computer and then meeting with clients when needed.

Emma Plutnicki 02:25

Yeah, nice. And so having some work on the weekends, I’m sure it could be hard at times to have a healthy work life balance. So how are you able to navigate that with two jobs and making sure you still have time for your own personal creativity?

Luis Sanchez 02:41

Yeah well, I have a six month old baby, so you should have a clock hits me and my wife are just just spending time together with family. But one thing about it is my wife is usually pretty- she wants to take some time off, and so we have dinner together, spend time together, but usually she goes to bed a little bit earlier. So I’ll hit a lot of different things, you know, from like nine to 11pm I like to read books. YouTube’s pretty cool just seeing what other people are looking at and, you know, and every now and then, I mean, I’ll pick a day in the week where I’m just not going to do anything, but just sit there and think about day and relax and do something aside from it. But yeah, I would just just have intentional time of consuming other- from other people who do design. It’s just helpful for me, but it’s always tempting when you hear something, it’s like, “oh, I want to try that”. You grab your computer. I just kind of have some liberty where it’s okay to do that sometimes, it’s okay to just read, It’s okay to just take some time off. But I think my job allows me to be creative too, with the church. You know doing things like running social media, creating graphics, videos, whatever it is. So I still get to do that. So it’s a good way for me to try out things that I maybe not try out with clients. So I don’t know, I just look at opportunities for- to do different things and try different things.

Emma Plutnicki 04:22

Yeah, no, makes sense. And so with both of your careers, sometimes within creative fields it can be hard to measure success, so how do you- is there a difference between what success looks like in both of your roles? And how do you personally define either professional success and then also just personal success?

Luis Sanchez 04:42

There’s definitely, very different, I think, you know, with a business there’s, there’s just numbers, whether you like it or not, whether it’s financial numbers or number of clients. But you know, in working out of church. Which, you know, we’re talking about real people. So you don’t want to treat it just as a number. So that’s not really what I’ve- I have had to learn not to focus on that, which I think helps me with my business, because I mostly care about just interactions, and how I’m interacting with the people around me, you know. So I want to, I want my clients with web design to love their website and love, you know, I want to help their businesses. Ultimately, that’s the goal for me. To make a website for them. Is to help their businesses, their brands and everything. So when I get to just interact with them or interact with their website, see that they’re growing, that people are, you know, visiting whatever, then that, for me, is fulfilling. And same thing in my church job is, you know, if I’m having good interactions with with the students, with the volunteers, then that’s just fulfilling. That’s always going to be, you know, how are people responding to the work that I’m doing? I think it’s just a healthier way to look at things, instead of just a number. And of course, I have goals, but, you know, I keep an eye on those, but those are not ultimately, they’re just determined if I’m going the right way or I need to change something, but not- defines failure or success for me. So.

Emma Plutnicki 06:19

Yeah, no, amazing, yeah. And did you have any fears when you were coming into either of these careers?

Luis Sanchez 06:26

Yeah, the biggest fear is for especially for the web design, is just investing. That imposter syndrome kicks in. Is this really something I can do, or does anyone even want to work with me? Can I- Can I even make a website like this? Weird how these thoughts take over. So it’s just investing. You know, putting that time aside every every day to work is a big deal financially. You know, you want to get the best tools, the best stuff, or whatever. You know, is it worth it if they’re gonna- so I think that’s the biggest fear. I mean, right now, just starting, you know, is finding confidence in what I can do and being wise about where to put my time and money and effort. Well, ideally, I just don’t want to look back, you know, and I messed it all up with making or whatever, so I think. But again, trying to act with the fears, it’s just hard to navigate. Yeah.

Emma Plutnicki 07:34

Yeah and has there been anybody that has helped you navigate those fears or struggles? Any advice that you’ve been given, whether good advice or bad advice?

Luis Sanchez 07:44

Yeah, I would say my professors, when I studied Digital Arts at Horry Tech and graduated last May from that- that’s so, you know, I always had. I always like creative and arts and all that but I needed some, I needed, you know, someone to teach me how to do it right. It’s all self taught and so I think just having people that you know, I graduated in May, but I still talk to them, I send every time I make a website, like, “Hey, can you give it a look? Let me know” and just, you know, just having people that I respect who would look at myself and tell me, you know, whether it’s good or bad, but just letting me have confidence that, hey, like I’m not an imposter, like I did the work, I studied, I graduated, the stuff, whatever looks good. And so I don’t know it’s like a specific advice, but just- having- being able to show stuff to other people, for critique, for ideas, for that’s probably the hardest part of me when I first started the design program, because I always kept my art to myself.

Emma Plutnicki 08:58

Yeah.

Luis Sanchez 08:58

And then once I through my professors, they pushed me to start showcasing that, you know, different ideas and different things, and I started to gain confidence in my creativity and my art. And so the- best, my best advice would be that just be willing to show, show it to other people, and you’ll get rid of the imposter syndrome for sure, because you’ll find out if you’re really a designer or not, you know.

Emma Plutnicki 09:26

Yeah. And throughout your career, you’ve mentioned, you know, struggling with imposter syndrome. Has there been one specific project that has had a significant impact on you, or has kind of been the pinnacle of your career that you can really draw on when you are feeling doubts? And you could say, Yes, I worked on this project and I can do it. Is there anything like that that stands out?

Luis Sanchez 09:49

Yeah, definitely. I think there’s a lot of them. Not that I like-

Emma Plutnicki 09:54

That’s a good problem!

Luis Sanchez 09:56

Every project that, especially in school, every project I did. I taught me something about myself. I think we have a senior showcase where you just have to show off everything you created in the past two years, which is just nerve wracking and very scary. But there’s something about looking back at those nights where you were there 2am freaking out because your design looked horrible, like it’s not going to work, and and then you see the finished product, and you know that you pushed through. It’s just really helpful, just to know that you can do it. But I mean, ultimately, for my business, my- the first website I designed, and the client likes it, and you get paid for it. It’s a little surreal, like I created something for someone. So I would say that would be probably the most meaningful, just the first website, just the full, first whole client process, website design, delivering, and it’s out on the web. So I would say that was just probably the most meaningful for me.

Emma Plutnicki 11:00

Yeah, for sure, that must be incredible to see things come to light and actually being used in a real setting.

Luis Sanchez 11:07

It’s worth it. It’s like, yes, what I want to do.

Emma Plutnicki 11:10

Amazing and how do you like working in South Carolina specifically? Have you lived in other places? Or what kind of, you know, contribution does South Carolina specifically have to your work? Is there any influence?

Luis Sanchez 11:21

Yeah. So I’ve actually, I was born in Honduras,

Emma Plutnicki 11:25

Okay.

Luis Sanchez 11:26

Yeah and then I originally went to school in Spain, so I lived there for five years, studied computer science, but then moving to South Carolina, it’s been a huge impact, because first of all, I went to Horry tech in 2022 and they had free tuition. So I did the whole program for free. So that’s just the best thing ever. Very grateful for Horry county or South Carolina, whoever made that happen, a huge opportunity, just for everyone that you know can take that. And so that was very, very big. And then I think the one thing that I love about working here in web design and church and everything just very relational. Every time- every client I work with that’s like, the goal is to be relational. I think we all have, I just feel the sense of our small businesses or it’s just a community. So, you know, I’m just, like I said, I’m not just making a website so you can pay me. I want to grow your business. I want to grow your brand, because we’re all a community, and so I think South Carolina is just, the southern charm is just very alive, and I want to be part of that. And so, you know, the heart behind what I’m doing is helping out people who want to showcase their business and their brand and grow and- but I want to do it in a relational way, not in a transactional way. And so I lived here for seven years, and everyone’s just been so, so welcoming, so helpful, so everything. So I just want to return that same to, you know, through people, through my art. So.

Emma Plutnicki 13:16

That’s great. I’m glad you found South Carolina.

Luis Sanchez 13:18

I know. Oh this is the best place, I lived a lot of places in the world, but-

Emma Plutnicki 13:22

Yeah.

Luis Sanchez 13:23

-home.

Emma Plutnicki 13:24

Good, amazing. So just as we wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to add about your career? Any advice or anything else?

Luis Sanchez 13:31

I would just add, I just, you know, looking back, you know, I’m 33 and I graduated last year, and I just know high school was a hard time because I just couldn’t figure out what I wanted to do, what I was good at, what I was not. And I studied computer science in school, but I realized that’s not what I- where my passion was. And then, you know, even though it took me a long time to go back to school, I spent that time just trying to find what is it that I was passionate about, and thankfully I had the opportunity to do digital arts. And now I know it’s very fulfilling. I’m just very I just know that was the right place where I needed to be, and this is probably where I need to be doing. So, you know, just just, just trust your passions, your- your skills, your, you know, I think everyone’s creative, and we just need to be able to have opportunities to showcase to the world how we are creative. So just, yeah, just looking back, I know that I feel like there’s a lot of people in that same boat of, like, trying to figure out what they’re called to do. And I just, you know, just go for it and ask people for help and show people what you can do and what you help you figure out and give you confidence. So you don’t feel like, you know. An impostor or anything like that.

Emma Plutnicki 15:02

No amazing. Thank you so much. That’s great advice. I should take that advice myself. So thank you so much.

May 13, 2025
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.

May 13, 2025
Kelley McDonnell

“You should love what you do, because even if you love it, there are still days that feel a little mundane.”

Kelley McDonnell is a content manager at Visit Myrtle Beach. She channels her passion for storytelling into promoting her hometown’s creative spirit.

Interviews

Transcript

Emma Plutnicki 00:02

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

Kelley McDonnell 00:08

Okay, I am the content manager for Visit Myrtle Beach. In Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Emma Plutnicki 00:13

Amazing. How long have you been doing that?

Kelley McDonnell 00:16

For just about a year.

Emma Plutnicki 00:19

Okay, amazing. And so, what’s one thing that you love about working in Myrtle Beach specifically?

Kelley McDonnell 00:25

In Myrtle Beach specifically? Well, I am from here originally, so when I majored in Film and Media at South Carolina, and then when I graduated, I went to LA and did film production over there, and then I went to Nashville, and then Savannah, Georgia, and then I had kind of gathered all of this information and new skills and decided that it was time to move back home and apply those skills. So, I think my favorite part about working in Myrtle Beach is that I am from here originally, and I feel like all of the growth that I’ve seen since I was last here, when I was in high school or early college, has been insane. So now I feel grateful to have a job where I can kind of show that to the rest of the world, how much Myrtle Beach has grown, but in a creative way.

Emma Plutnicki 01:16

Yeah, amazing. And so, you’ve been all over the country, it sounds. So, what is special about South Carolina, and does it have any unique influence on your work as compared to other places that you’ve worked in?

Kelley McDonnell 01:32

Yeah well, I think again, it’s more because I’m from here originally, that makes it feel extra special. But I think that there’s a lot of interest in South Carolina. I know that there are some other destinations within the state that are looking into having a local film commission. I know there’s a lot of film production and sorry, that’s my level of expertise. So that’s what I always talk about. I know there’s film production a little bit in Charleston. I know we here at Visit Myrtle Beach are very passionate about starting up a local film commission here as well. So I just think there’s a ton of interest, and I think that eventually it’s going to start to catch on, and people such as yourself and the people that are studying these types of careers are going to find a way to make it happen, because I feel like that’s kind of what I did, is I didn’t feel like there was a lot of opportunity for me at the time when I had graduated high school and even a little bit of college, and then I kind of went out and learned and came back, and then I realized I could do anything. I can do it here, for sure. So I think it just takes some education and some other people that work within South Carolina who can kind of share what they’ve learned and what they’ve gathered over the years and hopefully inspire people to stay and not feel like they have to go out of state to work in the arts.

Emma Plutnicki 02:57

Yeah, amazing. And so, how would you describe the local professional community here? Is there a lot of support that you lean on?

Kelley McDonnell 03:04

Yeah, definitely. When I first moved back here from Savannah, there were a lot of local people that worked in film production that were freelance, so this was all they did. And so, I was able to find some work through them, and because of that, that was kind of how I got introduced to the folks at Visit Myrtle Beach and how I have the job that I have now. But I think, you know, our stakeholders, my superiors here at my company, are all very passionate about moving it forward, especially professors at CCU like Michael, you know, who have expressed interest and in growing the education of film production and just art in general, in the area. So, I feel, like I said, there’s a lot of interest. It’s just a matter of taking the actual steps.

Emma Plutnicki 03:56

Yeah, definitely. And within a creative career, it can be hard sometimes to know what success is. So how do you define success, both personally and professionally?

Kelley McDonnell 04:08

That’s a great question. I feel very passionately that success, to me, is defined as feeling excited about getting up and going to work every day. And, you know, obviously there are those days where it’s, you know, but generally speaking, I feel very grateful to do what I love. I know that there are a lot of people out there who don’t and who dread going to work and who just do it for the paycheck, and I feel grateful that I love what I do. I love the people I get to interact with. I love creating and putting content out there for everybody to see. I love interacting with people. I love knowing what they think, and how can we be better, and everything’s always moving and changing and evolving. And I love that kind of fast paced speed of it. But I think that success is just looking forward to going to work and not feeling like you’re just collecting a paycheck. That’s how I feel, at least.

Emma Plutnicki 05:02

Yeah, that’s definitely refreshing to hear. But did you have any fears going into this career?

Kelley McDonnell 05:07

Yeah, definitely when I first started. Actually, the majority of my career up until this point has been freelance, and that is definitely scary because you don’t have any job security, and kind of have to fend for yourself to get work, there’s a lot of hustle involved. And that’s really why I wanted to sit down and talk with you about this. Because when I was in college, somebody came and spoke to our class about, you know, the first couple of years getting into the industry are really hard, but you just have to keep pushing through. You kind of feel like you’re not sure which way is up and what’s happening, but, if you just keep your head down and keep putting the work in and remind yourself how much you love it and how great it’s going to be when it does work out, that’s kind of what got me through. But the biggest challenge was definitely not knowing when my next job was. Am I ever going to get a check from those people that were kind of sketchy, that kind of thing? So, it was definitely a little nerve wracking, but it got me to the point where I am today. So just, you know, keeping your head down, keep on trucking. Do follow your instincts kind of thing.

Emma Plutnicki 06:16

Yeah, I love that. And throughout your career, has there been a specific moment or project that you’ve worked on that really stands out in terms of, you know, having a significant impact on you or your creative journey?

Kelley McDonnell 06:30

Yeah, that’s a very interesting question. A handful of years ago, I had the opportunity to direct a promo for an FX show called The Patient, and the lead in that show was Steve Carrell, so I got to interview him and direct him in some promo work for that show, for FX, and that, to me, really felt like an “I made it” moment for me and I think it was just because I had worked with a ton of celebrities previously, but never in the director’s chair. And so that was my first time as like, I’m the person that people are asking the questions to. I’m the one making the decisions. And it felt very natural, and I felt like I was in the right place, doing the right thing. And it felt very good. And then kind of after that, it was like, Okay, now what am I going to do next? So it’s kind of a, it was a pivotal point in my career, because I felt like I had hit this ceiling, almost in a way, and then it was like, Okay, what am I going to do next? And it just kind of fueled me into the next phase of my career, which is how I ended up here.

Emma Plutnicki 07:41

Yeah, that’s amazing. That must have been incredible to work on that project.

Kelley McDonnell 07:46

Yeah, it was really fun.

Emma Plutnicki 07:51

Yeah, oh my gosh. And so along the way, I’m sure there’s been roadblocks and struggles, but has there been anybody that’s offered you advice, either good advice or bad advice? What kind?

Kelley McDonnell 07:59

So many people, I can’t even tell you. I mean, there have been people that I met on set that day that were complete strangers, that are just kind of like, Hey, I know what it’s, what it’s like to have just moved to LA or to have just graduated college, keep doing what you’re doing, you know, whatever, whatever. And I’ve had the opposite, where people are like, Get out now you’re still young. Like, get a get a real job, while you still can, you know, go learn how to be an accountant. I wish I did, or whatever. And you just kind of have to take each of those things with the grain of salt, the good and the bad, because it’s not always as glamorous as people think, and it’s also not always as bad as people may think. So, at the end of the day, I think you just have to trust yourself and remember that it’s just opinions. No matter who it’s coming from, it’s just opinions. At the end of the day, all that matters is what you think and how you be yourself. So yes, I’ve gotten a ton of advice, good and bad over the years from so many different types of people. But you know, you just kind of have to internalize it and decide how you want to use it from there.

Emma Plutnicki 09:09

Yeah, for sure. And so nowadays, what does your typical work day look like? What do you usually like? What is expected of you? What do you get into?

Kelley McDonnell 09:19

So, it’s really fun. It’s different all the time, which is what I like. I think a lot of people who work in the arts and creative people like for it to be different. But since I am the content manager for Visit Myrtle Beach, I kind of manage all of, any kind of content that we put out, from social media to blog articles on our website, any kind of advertisements that we put in any publications or on any websites or anything. I’ll write all the copy for it and determine which images to use. We also do commercial shoots here for the destination, which, again, is why I love my job, because I’m passionate about the city, because it’s my hometown. So yeah, we do commercials, photo shoots, things like that. So, day to day, it’s more, it’s a lot of scheduling, which I learned how to do in LA on set, which is great. So, it’s definitely a lot of scheduling, a lot of coordination with a lot of people that are local. But I meet so many different people and interact with so many different people every week that I feel like this world just keeps getting smaller and smaller, in a good way. Yeah, so sometimes we will step out and go shoot something at the boardwalk. Sometimes, you know, we do have the Myrtle Beach classic. So sometimes I’m out on the golf courses doing some content for that. So it’s definitely always exciting, it’s different every day, which is great.

Emma Plutnicki 10:42

Yeah, that must be a lot of fun. And so, I’m sure there’s certain events that go late into the night or on weekends. So how are you able to manage a better like work life balance?

Kelley McDonnell 10:53

Yeah, that’s a great question. That’s a great question. That was something that I had really struggled with when I was freelancing, because, like I said, I didn’t know when my next job was coming, so any job that was offered to me, I took it because I didn’t want to be ungrateful. I wanted to always take advantage of any work that was coming my way. So, I did not have a good work life balance. But I feel like that’s what your 20s are for, is figuring that out. So yeah, I have definitely gotten a lot better at it. There are, thankfully for me in this job, the events and the things that require me to stay late or work on the weekend are fun. So, it doesn’t feel like work, like going to work the Myrtle Beach classic on a Saturday and Sunday. It doesn’t feel like, Oh, I’m losing my Saturday and Sunday. It’s like, I get to go to the Myrtle Beach classic for free, and I get to just walk around there, enjoy the weather, interact with the people who are having a good time. So it just depends there. And that’s not to say that there are some times where things run a little late, and it’s a little bit of a bummer, but I always just practice gratitude, and I think that’s the best way of looking at it, is that, you know, if I, if I didn’t go to these events, that means that I don’t have this job, and who knows what I would be doing if I didn’t. So, I think just always kind of looking for the positives, when things like that are always going to come up. I think in any job, any career, where you have to do something that’s on your own time, or you might have to miss something so you can go to a work thing. But I think just reminding yourself the good parts of it and keep you in check.

Emma Plutnicki 12:30

Yeah no, that’s a great way to reframe that. I love that, so amazing. So just as we wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to add about your path, your career, or any advice along the way?

Kelley McDonnell 12:44

Yeah I mean, I would just say advice that really worked for me, like I was saying kind of towards the beginning of this is just trust yourself if you life is too short to do something that you don’t want to do, especially when it’s, you know, we’re expected to work 40 hours a week for however many years of our life, you should love it, you should love what you do, because even if you love it, there are still days that feel a little mundane. So may as well love it the majority of the time. But yeah, and just think, you know, when I was growing up, it was definitely like, go to college, get the job that’s gonna make money. You know, Do this, do this, do this, do this. And I’m so glad I didn’t do that. I’m so so glad that I stuck with art and figured out a way to make it work for me. And I just would say that anybody who is passionate about it, you should try to do your passion for work.

Emma Plutnicki 13:37

Yeah, I love that. Well, thank you so much.

Kelley McDonnell 13:42

Yeah, of course.

April 29, 2025
Eugene Rocco Utley

“I would rather fail at pursuing a passion that I love rather than playing it safe, and never truly pursuing it.”

Eugene Rocco Utley is a freelance creative professional based in Myrtle Beach. By day, he manages marketing and advertising for Coastal Carolina National Bank (CCNB), blending strategic communication with local insight. Outside his 9-to-5, Utley pursues freelance work in film production, with experience in both commercial and narrative projects.

Interview

Transcript

Lexi Raines 00:00

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

Eugene Rocco Utley 00:06

Yeah, so my name is Eugene Rocco. I was born and raised in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I went to Clemson University for undergrad, but I also did a couple years at Coastal Carolina University. Right now, I’m still stationed in Myrtle Beach, working locally, as I currently work for CCNB, Coastal Carolina National Bank for my nine to five job. So, I do all their marketing and advertising there and then on the side, in freelance, I work with film production and commercial work and narrative work.

Lexi Raines 00:39

Okay, that’s awesome. So how long have you been doing freelance videography and filmmaking?

Eugene Rocco Utley 00:50

So, I’ve worked with freelance videography and filmmaking ever since just getting right out of college. I was just doing, I did my first couple of film projects while at college, and then was able to, just as soon as I graduate, was just doing as many jobs as I can while working a serving job. Then, I started just doing my own little producing, seeing just whatever projects I could create for little to no budget, and just kind of growing my network from there as much as I could, while also working with jobs more nine to five pertaining to the film world.

Lexi Raines 01:22

Yeah, that’s awesome. So, you said that you have lived in South Carolina your entire life. What’s one thing that you love about working as a creative in South Carolina?

Eugene Rocco Utley   01:36

One thing that I really love about the South Carolina creative community is the fact that we have such, I think, a very versatile market around here for any kind of creatives. You’re able to find a lot of very passionate people who are really able to have a range of talents or credits to their name. It’s something where it’s still a very growing area, especially relative to any other gigantic states like New York or California, but here, it’s something where everyone kind of is still having a voice to prove and there’s still so much that whenever you get to create your network with people, they’re willing to really go the extra mile and work with you. And you just can find so many different kinds of communities just through that kind of shared passion?

Lexi Raines 02:22

Yeah, I’ve actually interviewed a few other filmmakers, and they said the around the same thing, they just said that the community is just so willing to collaborate, and y’all are all just excited, excited to be here. Yeah? So what does South Carolina bring to your work? Does it have like, any unique influences on you compared to being anywhere else.

Eugene Rocco Utley   02:52

Yeah, well, I think that there’s a lot of diversity of work here that you are able to find. So like, you’re able to find like different markets that offer different ranges of work. I’m not sure if that answers your question, but like, for example, I’ve worked in Greenville areas while I was close to Clemson. I still travel up that way, and there’s a very potent market for creatives there, especially with filmmaking and a very growing area, especially since it’s so close to areas like Atlanta, Asheville, Charlotte etc, you’re able to find a lot of business work there as well. Around the coastal regions, you’re able to find a lot more local work and very strong, tightly knit communities of work. Here in Columbia, you’re able to be very commercial business focused. Well, if you even go to like the low country or like Aiken area closer towards, like the Georgia borderline, you’re able to find a lot of really small, like, I said, kind of like around here, like very tightly knit groups, but it’s very home oriented. So there’s just a lot of different ways that you’re able to find different markets that you can thrive in as a creative that are just completely just pertain to different parts of the region of the state. So you do definitely have a lot of versatility of options and just which directions you want to go within the state itself, which is very nice.

Lexi Raines 04:08

Yeah, that’s awesome. I didn’t know that there are so many different types of filmmaking that relies so much like on your area. So, you said you’re located in Myrtle Beach now, yes, correct. So how would you describe the local creative community here?

Eugene Rocco Utley   04:29

Yeah, in particular to here, I would say there’s, there’s a lot of people. It’s very closely knit, I think, where there was someone that I just happened to work with on a film project where I was paying and doing grip work for them, just like on the side, and then less than a year later, I reached out to them, and they’re working on a DP for a project that I was creating, and I still work with that person pretty regularly. So, it’s something where it’s not a gigantic area for filmmaking, for particular but once you find people, it helps, because you’re kept in mind, whenever they do have a project turn up, and we’ve worked with multiple projects together, and there are plenty of other people I could say the same for of just how many times you’ll find yourself kind of crossing paths with them again around here.

Lexi Raines 05:17

Yeah, that’s awesome that y’all can all stay in contact like that. So how would you define professional or personal successes in, like, your creative endeavors?

Eugene Rocco Utley   05:31

So,I think when you’re saying creative successes, are you referring mainly to, like, just in personal work, or how it relates to personal successes if that makes sense?

Lexi Raines 05:45

Yeah, like just in your life, in films, you’ve worked on stuff like that.

Eugene Rocco Utley   05:53

Okay, yeah, so, yeah, I can give two answers to that, where there’s, there’s a lot of in my work professionally in terms of defining just the work I do as a business. I think any kind of successes I find is whenever someone wants to just work together twice, whether it’s a client that I’ve served and they’ve just been happy with what I’ve been able to deliver, if it’s been a creative that I’ve been able to work with, just any time where you know you, you go out above and beyond the first time, so much that it creates it where they want to work with you again, and there’s someone that you’re happy to be in collaboration with, whether client to professional or professional to professional. It’s always just really great to have that kind of goal of just having made a good enough impression the first time that you’re, you’re kept top of mind, and you’re worth something to them.

Lexi Raines 06:44

Yeah, I feel like so much as, like, working as a creative has, it has so much to do with networking and what you’re able to do with that.

Eugene Rocco Utley   06:53

Yeah, absolutely, there’s so much that I think is important to the just any sort of creative process where you have to be worried about, not worry, but like you have to be constantly in mind of the network around you and just the people that you’re working with, and always making sure that you’re keeping them in mind with the field and then artistically. I think one thing I would also say is, even though you have to keep other people in mind, whatever you’re doing through your artistry and your passion, and it has to be something that you have to be gratified with at the end of the day. And I think that’s an important part where there’s a constant balance between making sure you’re having a strong network of people, but also still making sure that it’s all for you at the end of the day, especially just because, you know, creative work is very hard. It’s hard to find a lot of external validation through it a lot of times. So there’s a lot that you have to find internally of the pride of your works, I think.

Lexi Raines 07:47

Yeah. So, you said that you have been doing this kind of stuff since college. What was your biggest fear when you first decided to pursue filmmaking?

Eugene Rocco Utley   08:02

Yeah, I think just there’s a taken risk of instability whenever you, whenever you take it on, because whenever you do any kind of freelance work, there’s a liberty and a curse to it, of you’re always going to be reaping what you sell, how much you’re taking in is all accounting of how much you’re able to find work, how much you’re able to get that work in. And it’s something where it’s like you can always find the work no matter how much you put into it. But there’s a lot that you’re not going to be finding people just immediately coming to you out of college, or seeing that you have, oh, you have a website set up, or you have this set up. There’s a lot of grass rooting your business or your freelance work or anything like that. And I’ve been fortunate enough to where I’ve been working with a nine to five for about two years now I’ve been able to work with a creative adjacent field of working in marketing that’s given me the ability to work with passion projects or external freelance work on edge, so that fear of instability is definitely not there right now. So, I’m very grateful for that aspect is a privilege, for sure, but um, having just that known as a, a taken risk was a big thing in terms of pursuing this field for sure.

Lexi Raines 09:20

Can you describe a defining moment that you had in your creative journey so far?

Eugene Rocco Utley   09:26

Yeah, absolutely. Um, I think one of a huge defining moment for me was, um, there was a project that I made about, I wouldn’t, I want to say two years back, it was a little short film called A B, and that was a huge pivoting point of my artistic career, of just being able to it was my, I think, second professional project that I did a film festival circuit with, and it was the one that I felt the most internal and external change with externally. It was the one that I think I had my premiere with back in like. October of 2023 so just over a year ago, and it was something where I didn’t really feel like I was known, really within the community. And that was a project that went from my first showing a place outside of Myrtle Beach in South Carolina or in the Carolinas, but my first big showing elsewhere to it ended up winning the festival there and got into a bunch. It kind of just had this, like big chain reaction of getting into other festivals and ended up having a pretty big tour around the Carolinas, which I was extremely grateful for. And it was something that just kind of gave a lot of momentum into kind of the network that I was wanting to establish and being able to make a lot of great connections with people. But it was also something where it kind of correlated with an internal journey of success, and it was something where the whole project is about kind of the mental health of artists and learning to kind of find yourself through art, rather than defining yourself as a person or as an artist, learning that you’re both and having to take care of yourself as a person, because that’s the artist that you want to be anyway. So just kind of making a project that was about that struggle of mental health for artists of that put either too much pressure on them or don’t see that they should treat themselves as a person, because I think sometimes that’s a toxic mindset that exists within creative worlds making a project that kind of focus on that balance that you have to find in life as an artist, between your art and life was a big aspect for me, and I think it was around that time where I decided, like, I would rather be, I would rather fail at pursuing a passion that I love, rather than playing it safe and never truly pursuing it. And just around that time was whenever it had its premiere and had just the great success that did follow it so it that, I think is a big just aspect of where I am right now, that I’m very grateful for that project and just the path that’s paved so far.

Lexi Raines 12:09

Yeah, congratulations. That seems like, also like such a full circle moment. And I feel like that’s definitely very true. And like, you’re saying, a lot of creatives struggle with that and like, burn out, but I think that’s an amazing piece of advice. So also on that note, what is the best and worst advice that you’ve ever received?

Eugene Rocco Utley   12:37

Best and Worst? Best, I would say it’s a super nice minute one for just writing, but I think it carries a kind of applicable weight to anywhere when writing, use note cards, not entire sheet of paper. It’s something that I love because it gives you so much flexibility with your writing. And there’s so many times where I know a lot of creatives within even their respective field, have some sort of creative block. Like everyone knows writer’s block for a writer is just the worst. So it was something where doing that kind of gave a lot more freedom to just kind of write out notes, kind of plan and feel like what I was writing didn’t have much pressure to it, as if I was writing it on entirely blank sheet of paper, and I use it constantly for outlining and planning, and it’s something that I think is something to apply to any aspect of a creative field where don’t put so much pressure on yourself to get it right the first time, make sure you’re creating liberties in the creative process, that anything can be written down and thrown away at any time, anything can stick or not stick, anything can be ignored then returned to later. I think that there’s just so much abilities of being able to understand the fluidity of the creative process, and I think that that kind of piece of note card advice was a huge aspect of helping me understand to not put as much pressure on myself as an artist. Worst piece of advice, this is, this is a tougher one, I’ll admit, because I try to not let these stick to me, I guess. But I would say, not necessarily, like a single piece of advice but just a mindset that I’ve like seen throughout is a lot of people kind of think that art needs to be something that like you make your entire life like it has to be your obsession to make it, and it’s something where you have to be passionate about it, because it is very tough, and there’s absolutely aspects that you have to have sacrifices in your life with it, and sacrificing time or efforts, anything like that. But I think that there are so many people who almost focus way too much on just the artistic process and being like, too much of like the obsessed artists kind of feel. And I think that there’s so much where, not only for your sake, but also the sake of your art, that so many people are so focused on like, Okay, but how can we create this? This that you almost forget that with any sort of artistic field, you need to be saying something. And in order to say something and have views on your life, you have to be going out and experiencing life. And there are so many people that I know who kind of get paged in, held into just making, just generic projects over and over that have either been seen constantly or are just little like skittish projects because they’re not wanting to do something important with their projects, or they don’t go out to life and experience life, so they have something to reflect in themselves. And I just think making your entire life about art is something that is far too dangerous for people, and not only for the respect of yourself, but also the respect of your art.

Lexi Raines 15:48

Yeah, I feel like that is a very profound piece of advice as well, because I just feel like there’s so many elements to being a professional creative, besides just having that creativity, there’s, like, all the logistical sides, the business side, so much from it. So, do you have like, a typical work day? Like, could you walk us through? What is a typical work day?

Eugene Rocco Utley   16:19

Yeah, absolutely, it definitely varies between what my nine to five marketing work looks like versus my creative writing or onset work. In terms of what my nine to five marketing advertising work, it could be something where I could be going in, taking photographs for new employees, handling just any sort of merchandise, orders, business card orders, working on graphics, doing any sort of social media management, either updating social media calendars or designing posts, etc. 90% of my life there is between Adobe and Excel, and it’s a great job, but it definitely has a lot more to be, I guess, it has a much more of a predictable work day for sure, as for whenever it’s like writing or filmmaking, my writing process usually is existing on the weekends, where I’ll usually wake up, go to a coffee shop in the morning, try to write for about four or five hours, Six if I can get a good day in, then I’ll just kind of go on a walk, step away for a bit, either grab lunch somewhere, or just kind of clear my head. And then once I get back in the evening, just try to do some outlining for what I’m going to write the next day. And then if there’s anything producing wise, I need to be taken care of, or focusing on just responding to emails, doing any sort of planning there. So just kind of getting the creative juices flowing in the morning, and then using evenings for the kind of management aspects of either producing any freelance work, etc, and then just always kind of leaving a little bit to be excited to be writing about the next day. If that makes sense.

Lexi Raines 17:57

Yes, that makes a lot of sense. So, you definitely have to kind of juggle your nine to five and then your writing and filmmaking. What are some habits that you’ve developed that you would think would be beneficial to others wanting to do what you do?

Eugene Rocco Utley   18:20

Definitely, I think just prioritizing time management, I think there are so many times where, I mean, it’s something that I’ve had to really nail down ever since, uh, graduating and getting into the workforce, of just kind of having to learn that balance. Because I know that jumping between nine to five and freelance work and creative projects, it is very time consuming, still leaving time for myself. And I think a good way that I did that is I love being able to journal, and I love being able to just kind of, at the end of the day, just write down what my day looked like. What did I do? How much time did I put into this, and not even necessarily setting crazy goals for yourself, but just being able to look at, you know, what your day look like on paper, is always a big thing. Like, are you happy with the amount of time that you focus on these projects, as opposed to this? Are you focusing? Are you relaxing too much, or on your phone too much? Or are you not giving enough time for yourself and it’s just all work, and you’re not giving any time to step away, and just being able to have that ability to look back on your day in writing, I think was just something that helped a ton with time management, because if you make it too much of like trying to set it as like a goal for yourself ahead of time, it feels like a task, and it feels like you’re holding yourself back from doing other things, but just allowing yourself to intuitively look at what your day looks like. And like, are you satisfied with what that day was? Helps kind of cut out a lot of the fluff of the day. Of like, if a weekend I just spent too much time bed rotting, or if it was like, I spent way too much time focusing on just this one project and not the projects I need to be doing. And just like that kind of stuff, I think is always a very important thing to do when you’re learning to balance time management and you’re just balancing time between work, life, art, etc,

Lexi Raines 20:09

I would agree. I feel like I’ve recently started journaling myself, and I feel like just having that however long you’re doing it 30 minutes of just self reflection of the day, your week, your weekend. I think it’s super healthy. I think it’s super, super beneficial.

Eugene Rocco Utley 20:30

Absolutely. Yeah.

Lexi Raines 20:33

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

Eugene Rocco Utley   20:41

Cool. I mean, they’re all great questions. I I always love just hearing kind of about people’s like, if there’s ever a failure that someone has learned from because I think everyone has it, whether you’re creative or not, something where something just didn’t go right, and it’s just like, how do I kind of get back from this? How did I solve this? I think it’s just always a great way, especially for other people, to kind of, like, figure out what they would have done in this scenario, or, know, kind of like the pitfalls that people can sometimes run into, and how can I avoid this ahead of time? And then I just think it’s also a great way to know that. You know, failures are something to learn from. They’re not just failures.

Lexi Raines 21:25

So, what’s a failure? A failure that you’ve learned from?

Eugene Rocco Utley   21:30

Throwing it back at me? Shoot, let me think. I mean, I’ve definitely had just too much of, like, generic things, like, just, like, too much focusing on, like, one project, or too much where I’ve, like, put too much effort into a project that I’m not going to get the biggest skill from, if that makes sense, or, yeah, those are all very generic things I’m trying to think of, like a good specific time of, like, oh, I messed this up. I think one of the biggest things was just a lot of my time, especially in college, was a lot of kind of waiting for the things to come to me. Like, there was a lot of times where my college studies were really great in all the fields, but I always was just kind of waiting for a time where it’s like, okay, it’s going to get to this class, and I’m going to finally learn how to make film or make films, or, like, learn how to properly run with a marketing company, or do this or that, or and there was just, like, a lot of setbacks that I think happened, whether it was just like, oh, I wasn’t going to get as much from that class as I thought I would, or there was COVID that kind of kept a lot of the hands on practices of the filmmaking world that I wanted to have. And by my senior year was the time where I was like, okay, if I’m going to be learning it, it’s going to be because I’m going out and doing it myself. And I just found some like-minded creatives and just like, hey, let’s just make some projects together and just see what happens. And we started making projects, and we’re very like-minded in that, and it really was a great just way to kind of shake off the rust of what should have been more sharpened before. So, I would say just not having that sort of self-initiative was a big problem at the beginning of my career that I finally learned to shake off and kind of, you know, no better time to finally start than now.

Lexi Raines 23:37

I would completely agree with that. I’ve faced that myself, like sometimes you just have to, you have to go out and get what you want. So absolutely, it’s really important. And so finally, my last question for you today is, do you have a creative based in South Carolina that you’d like to nominate to be interviewed?

Eugene Rocco Utley   23:57

Ooh, based in South Carolina. Okay, do we want one more towards the coast or just in South Carolina?

Lexi Raines 24:04

Anywhere, really, it can be anywhere in South Carolina.

Eugene Rocco Utley   24:11

Okay, I’m trying to think. I have a couple of people I can just rattle off. And if any stick, there was a precious person who I think actually went to CCU, yeah, Brooks Leibee, or I hope I’m saying his last name, right? But he is a composer. He’s actually the person that, whenever I was talking about like someone I paid for and then he ended up doing cam work for me. It’s something where his main focus is actually composing. He, like I said, he is super versatile, and he’s a great testament to someone who’s just knowledgeable all around and how that embodies a lot of South Carolina creatives. So, he could absolutely attest to that of just being someone who is very knowledgeable around the board and just what it’s like to be a South Carolina artist. And a couple other people I can just think to rattle off. There’s a writer director in Greenville, South Carolina, Robert Isaac, super great guy, super nice. And he’s just like, done some of like the funniest projects I’ve seen in a while on but has also done some really, like strong productions of just like, the smallest things that, like any other artist would think, wouldn’t like, would think, is like a three out of four project. He makes that like a 10 out of 10 project. So those would be the two that I would definitely call out he’s so, yeah, awesome.

Lexi Raines 25:37

And then how do you spell Brook’s last name?

Eugene Rocco Utley 25:41

L, e, i, b, e, e,

Lexi Raines 25:46

Okay, awesome. Okay, um, thank you so much for your time. I’ve really enjoyed this interview. I think you, you’ve got given a lot of good advice. I think your experiences will definitely really help.

Eugene Rocco Utley 25:59

Lexi, thanks so much.

Lexi Raines 26:05

Yeah, of course, have a good day. Thank you.

Eugene Rocco Utley 26:11

You as well. Thank you. Bye.

April 29, 2025
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

00:01 | Lexi Raines

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?

00:09 | Daniel Kline

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.

00:31 | Lexi Raines

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

00:040 | Daniel Kline

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.

01:14 | Lexi Raines

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?

01:40 | Daniel Kline

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.

02:37 | Lexi Raines

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?

02:56 | Daniel Kline

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.

03:38 | Lexi Raines

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?

03:58 | Daniel Kline

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.

04:58 | Lexi Raines

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.

05:12 | Daniel Kline

Yeah, absolutely.

05:13 | Lexi Raines

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?

05:30 | Daniel Kline

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.

05:53 | Lexi Raines

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?

06:17 | Daniel Kline

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.

07:47 | Lexi Raines

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

07:52 | Daniel Kline

Thank you.

07:53 | Lexi Raines

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

08:05 | Daniel Kline

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.

08:43 | Lexi Raines

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

08:48 | Daniel Kline

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

08:55 | Lexi Raines

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?

09:11 | Daniel Kline

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.

10:05 | Lexi Raines

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?

10:22 | Daniel Kline

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.

11:27 | Lexi Raines

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?

11:47 | Daniel Kline

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.

13:26 | Lexi Raines

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?

13:47 | Daniel Kline

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

13:50 | Lexi Raines

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

13:57 | Daniel Kline

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.

14:11 | Lexi Raines

Yasmin Lee?

14:12 | Daniel Kline

Yeah.

14:14 | Lexi Raines

Awesome.

14:15 | Daniel Kline

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.

14:24 | Lexi Raines

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.

14:46 | Daniel Kline

Thanks. Appreciate it.

14:48 | Lexi Raines

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

14:59 | Daniel Kline

Alrighty, bye.

April 29, 2025
Dallas Vickers

“Think outside the box and go for it!” 

Dallas Vickers is an event and wedding planner working in Myrtle Beach. She attended Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas, but she sought out an internship in Myrtle Beach because of family connections. While event planning can be a high-stress and high-pressure business, Vickers focuses on a healthy work-life balance and the importance of knowing your professional community.

About

Dallas Vickers is an event and wedding planner working from Myrtle Beach. She attended Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas, but she sought out an internship in Myrtle Beach because of family connections. While event planning can be a high-stress and high-pressure business, Vickers focuses on a healthy work-life balance and the importance of knowing your professional community.

The community surrounding event planning is very tight-knit and people are always willing to help and collaborate. Many people within the even planning world know each other, as many of them have interned for Sarah McCall, the CEO of Stunning and Brilliant Events: “Everyone knows everyone. We all help each other out.”

Dallas manages many schedules, creates budgets and handles “high emotional and energy events,” such as weddings. She handles this stress is an ever-present process that is done through on the job experience, “I’ve learned a lot about how I handle conflict and how to properly handle conflict.”

As an event planner, she explains, “our clients want to see that we’re fun people. They want to see that we’re going on vacation and experiencing things and doing creative things.” Dallas says that it is important to find that balance, but it is a personal journey to find it.

April 29, 2025
Dallas Vickers

“Think outside the box and go for it!” 

Dallas Vickers is an event and wedding planner working from Myrtle Beach. She attended Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas, but she sought out an internship in Myrtle Beach because of family connections. While event planning can be a high-stress and high-pressure business, Vickers focuses on a healthy work-life balance and the importance of knowing your professional community.

Interview

Transcript

00:03 | Emma Plutnicki

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

00:09 | Dallas Vickers

So, I’m currently in our office in Myrtle Beach. So, we have a big office, kind of near the airport area, and I am a wedding and event planner.

00:19 | Emma Plutnicki

Amazing and how long have you been working there?

00:21 | Dallas Vickers

I actually did my internship here in 2020, and then I moved to Arizona, and now I’m back. I’ve been back for almost three years doing wedding and event planning for Stunning & Brilliant Events.

00:35 | Emma Plutnicki

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

00:40 | Dallas Vickers

I love the community. I feel like everyone knows everyone, and no matter what city you’re in, we’re close enough and know each other well enough that we can help each other out. So, if there’s a shortage on a certain type of chair here in Myrtle Beach, you know they have contacts in Charleston that can bring them down, and it’s not a big deal. And I love the connection we all have as like wedding vendors. It’s very tight knit.

01:05 | Emma Plutnicki

Yeah, so how would you describe the local professional community within South Carolina?

01:11 | Dallas Vickers

Again, very tight knit. Everyone knows everyone. We all help each other out. I know, you know, in the wedding planning world, there’s a lot of people who have interned for Sara (McCall) and may have done their own thing afterwards, like, you know, moving to a different city and doing their own thing. Or, like the DJs here, they all trained and, like, worked with each other and helped each other out. So, it’s all like very, “teamwork makes the dream work” around here. It’s, yeah, it’s great.

01:38 | Emma Plutnicki

Yeah amazing. So, in terms of, I don’t know, in a creative career, it can be a little tough sometimes to figure out like, success, I guess. So, how do you define success in your career, both professionally and personally?

01:56 | Dallas Vickers

Money, right? I mean, I think it’s just success is returning clients, continuous events and for us, it’s, you know, expanding. So, Sara, the CEO of our company, started this 14, 15 years ago after her own wedding and from there, she now has, I think, 14 franchises all around the US. And so, within the creative space, I think that our success is definitely measured in like how far our reach can go, and like how many clients we acquire, and, you know, people we meet.

02:34 | Emma Plutnicki

Yeah, makes sense. And did you have any fears before you entered this profession at all?

02:38 | Dallas Vickers

Oh, yeah, absolutely. Um, there’s always the fear of, like, another COVID happening or, you know, social events being, you know, limited or not at all. There’s always a fear of, like, a slow season or something. But I think that we’re very innovative in what we do, I mean, down to, like, if we have a slower time in December, we’re going to offer gift wrapping. We’re going to offer designing your birthday or your party, or Christmas party, we send out. A lot of marketing goes into what we do and keeping ourselves busy, and, like, ever evolving, really helps the business.

02:39 | Dallas Vickers

For sure. So, nowadays, what is a typical workday look like for you? What’s expected of you on a daily basis, and what do you get into?

03:00 | Dallas Vickers

Yeah, so I have 16 clients right now. So that ranges from anywhere from birthday parties to full weekend getaways that I’m planning for people to, of course, weddings, obviously a majority is weddings, and even like corporate events and events like that. So, all ranges. So, I come into office, 9am, a little coffee, and sit down on my computer. We all are in our cubicle, we’re all in the same area, there’s multiple planners in our office. We, you know, I get on my email, I check what, what I need to see, and then I kind of start on my checklist. So it could be, again, my days are so different every single day. If it’s a Friday before an event then I am prepping people, putting batteries into late night items for like glow sticks or whatever, or going to rehearsal an hour away, or going to a meeting with a florist. Or I’m sitting here at my computer all day making a layout, matching linens to whatever, to florals, you know, making a timeline, it could be anything like that. Or I’m doing math and creating a detailed budget for someone’s dad. It just depends. It’s always changing.

04:45 | Emma Plutnicki

That makes sense. And throughout your career, has there been a significant event or project or anything that you’ve worked on that like, stands out in your mind and has had a significant impact on you?

05:01 | Dallas Vickers

Yeah, I think every event comes with a learning curve, but there’s definitely when you’re working so closely with people and such a high wedding, specifically, it’s such a high emotional and energy event that there’s been some times where I’ve learned a lot about how I handle conflict and how to properly handle conflict, and also you know how to do it in the future. So, I think that my biggest event is learning.

05:32 | Emma Plutnicki

That makes sense, and along the way, when you have kind of those conflicts, have you received any advice throughout your career, like what’s the best advice?

05:40 | Dallas Vickers

Yeah. Sara McCall, our CEO that I was talking about earlier, she’s been around the block with almost everything that could possibly happen in an event or in event planning. We’ve done it, and she has the best advice on how to respond, and a lot of it is turn off your emotions and you remember that. You’re here for your job as well, and like you were people pleasers, but only so long.

06:07 | Emma Plutnicki

And is there any bad advice that you’ve received that you don’t think would…

06:31 | Dallas Vickers

From other people, like people that aren’t in the industry that’s like bad advice would be: well, just tell them that you’re busy with other clients. And I’m not just saying that to a bride who’s like, a few months away. You know what I mean?

06:30 | Emma Plutnicki

And so, with events, I would assume that a lot of times these happen at night. So how do you balance work-life balance in your life, because you also, you know, you want to do things too outside of work. So how do you balance?

06:46 | Dallas Vickers

That’s another reason why I love this job. It’s not corporate, we don’t have, you know, the strictest schedule in the world. If I need to work from home, for A, B and C, reason, I can work from home. And this is also, like, special to us, because we have an amazing company. But, if I’m going to go on a trip for a couple of weeks, it’s encouraged. I mean, the more that you travel, the more you learn, and our clients want to see that we’re fun people. They want to see that we’re going on vacation and experiencing things and doing creative things, we’re seen as these creative beings, and people want to see that as well. So, work-life balance is a big deal. If we have a Saturday event, then we get our Mondays to ourselves, so we still have our two-day weekends. And really just trying to, like, keep it at work and that’s really a personal adventure everyone has to go on. It was definitely a learning curve after I got out of college. So, yeah, it’s been a good transition, but it’s it gets easier with time.

07:49 | Emma Plutnicki

Yeah, amazing. Well, thank you so much. Just as we wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to add about your career, or anything you wish I might have asked that I missed?

08:00 | Dallas Vickers

No, I mean, I think that it’s not advertised. A lot of creative jobs like this I never thought would be a choice. So, whenever you know college kids are looking into what they’re doing for their internships, think outside the box and go for it.

08:17 | Emma Plutnicki

How did you find out about this career? How did you get into it?

08:23 | Dallas Vickers

Yeah, I was a hospitality student. I’m from Texas originally, so I was at school in Texas, and I knew I wanted to do my internship out of state, and my grandparents live here. So, I was looking around the area, I reached out to a venue, and I was like, “Do you guys have any internship opportunities? I’m interested in event planning or event catering, you know, that kind of world.” And they were like, “Well, we don’t, but here’s a list of event planners that might” and Sara was top of the list. So Stunning & Brilliant Events was top of the list and once I worked with her and saw exactly what they do, I was like, “This is the perfect balance of like, business and creativity,” which is, like, I didn’t even know existed.

09:04 | Emma Plutnicki

Yeah, amazing. And where did, where did you live in Texas? What school did you go to?

09:08 | Dallas Vickers

Austin yeah. Well, I went to school at SFA, which is East Texas.

09:13 | Emma Plutnicki

Yeah, nice my sister lives in Texas or in Austin. Yeah, she lives in Austin. My gosh.

09:19 | Dallas Vickers

Wait, that’s so cool. What part?

09:22 | Emma Plutnicki

Somewhere in Austin. She lives in like that, like outside suburbs, maybe like Southwest, I guess maybe. But I love Austin, very cool place. Well, amazing. So if you I don’t know if you know anybody else like a creative that would help us be interviewed, but if you can think of anybody that you want to nominate for a Creative Careers interview like this, just to get the word out to young kids, I’ll send you a link to the website that these will be put on. It’s called the Creative Careers Studio. With the South Carolina Arts Commission. So it’s a super cool website, but yeah, that’s, that’s basically all I got.

10:07 | Dallas Vickers

Yeah, thank you awesome. Thank you so much, Emma. It’s nice to meet you.

10:12 | Emma Plutnicki

Nice to meet you too. Hope you have a great day.

April 29, 2025