Disclaimer: This may not resonate with everyone but I would really like to write a quick article on some people that have become important to me within the last 3 years. I believe an article like this may not be the most popular but it may show you how much it means to someone to believe in them. It’s a bit personal, but its from my first hand experience and it really taught me what it means to have people believe in you. So here is my appreciation and acknowledgment to the people who have done that for me these last two years.
6 months after I picked up a camera, I found my self back at square 1. Pretty broke, living at home, and at this point I would consider my self an official “College dropout”. But just like any other day, I woke up, picked up my mothers old Nikon and set out to try and hone in some of my newly acquired “skills”. Now with no real direction, plan of action, and parents who were anxious to see what I was actually going to do with my life, I knew this free living situation wouldn’t last long. Something I have always been grateful for is my relationship with my mom. And I’m proud to say we that out of all the aspects of our relationship, one of the best parts is our communication. We often can see between the words and there was always and understanding about how we really, really feel. I believe she knew up to this point, I was struggling. Struggling to find work and place in life, I found my self in a bit of a rut. I had a quick chat with her and told her I was thinking about going back to the bar and bartending for what I promised would just be for a little bit. Little did I know she already knew this conversation was going to happen and she had been looking for jobs as well, and it was this day were she told me about an ad she had read on indeed.com.
The ad was pretty straight forward, “Diocese seeking camera operator”. Now I’d hardly call my self an “operator”. I mean, a camera owner? Maybe? Up until this point I only had one completed videography job and a select few of decent photos. But on faith I applied, and to my surprise they liked what they saw. A week later I was sitting across being interviewed from my future boss. I don’t remember exactly what we talked about but I remember we barely talked about the position and often found ourselves talking about our passions and art that we loved. Now, I’m sorry if this post isn’t connecting with you right now, but I did say that this all is a personal appreciation article. I got hired that day and they took a big, big chance on me, and this seemed to become a running theme. With no real experience, and absolutely no training or school, they gave me a shot. And not only did they give me a shot but they taught me all they knew. From the producers, to my friends working in master control I can not thank the people I worked with enough for putting their faith in me and teaching me everything from how to deal with talent, to understanding exposure and lighting ratios. Some of the people I met at my old job have become great long lasting friends, and I truly believe they’ll be in my life for a long, long time. Through out the years, yes… not every shot, or angle or lighting ratio was decided collectively or coherently, and there were disagreements and arguments had, and yes… tempers did flair at times. But I am so blessed to have met some of the people that I did over these 2 year and these people became my family and there are a select few I know will be there with me for the rest of my life.
Learning, watching and working with them has been an absolute blessing and it taught me much more than just what makes a production work. Life lessons, handling people, working and dealing with crews of varying experiences, when and when not to talk, I learned how to work with people and lead a crew, be a team player and know what it takes for the product to be the absolute best it can be. Because it deserves to be. In these two years, Ive made two simple rules and they are the rules I apply to EVERYTHING.
Rule 1: Give a shit
- No matter what, no matter with who, always, always, always give a shit and put your 100 percent into it.
Rule 2: Don’t be a dick
- Simple, lead the team by example. Never delegate, but show how to get something done through ethic, morals, hard work, and appreciation.
These rules may sound obvious or simple, but I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.
As I leave this position and go forth on my own, I am proudly taking these lessons with me. There are too many things I was taught to list, and there are some people who deserve their names said even if they don’t read this. Lisa, thank you. Thank you for always giving me a shot again and again, even when things I did seemed “fireable”. There are WAY too many things to talk about here, and what I want to say, so i’ll just say this… “save some chicken for me, bruh”. Dawn-Marie, you ARE STILL my second mom and your gifts make me smile till this day. Your love and nourishment(literally) kept me alive and sane there. You have an amazing soul and I’m so blessed to have gotten to know you so well. Jon, you’re a god damn dad now. You were the person I always wanted to be there. We both know what makes life worth it and the communication we had always made my days better. Like Lis, there are too many things to say so I’ll leave you with this… Chief… Chief…. Chief. I love you guys.
Thank you.