Q: Where do you work/for whom?
A: I work at Crazy Legs Productions in Atlanta, GA.
Q :What is your role/position there?
A: I am the Executive Producer/Director of Programming. I oversee all the content that we produce in the reality/documentary space.
Q: How long have you been working in the industry?
A: I have been working in the industry since college. Almost 25 years
Q: What jobs, if any, preceded this? How did you make your way to the position you hold now?
A: I’ve held a number of jobs throughout my career. I started as an intern at a public broadcasting station in Tallahassee, Florida. Then I worked as a PA in the Atlanta area on films and tv shows. I got my first staff job as a Producer/Writer/Editor of promos for Paramount. I switched to long-form reality/documentary and started working up that ladder, starting as an Editor, then a Producer/Editor, then Series Producer/Editor, then Supervising Series Producer/Editor, then Co-EP and finally as Showrunner/Executive Producer.
Q: What was the most important advice you have for a filmmaker starting out?
A: I was told not to take a full-time job unless it was in the business. It think that was good advice. I worked at a temp-agency between freelance PA jobs until I was able to obtain enough experience to land a real job in the business. For example, if you take a full-time job at your uncle’s insurance company you’ll end up working in insurance and never get the experience you need to work in TV/Film. I can’t tell you how many of my fellow college students ended up never working in TV or Film bc of this. I can also tell you that years later, I still get their resumes in application for jobs I have available and they are simply not qualified.
Q: How did you use your time outside of work (both currently and during your time in college)?
A: I am well out of college so I spend all my current spare time with my family. When I was in college I volunteered at the radio station and local PBS station. I volunteered as a PA on graduate films. I worked at a bookstore part-time and read a lot. Reading is great for a TV/Film student. We are storytellers first and foremost. Adapting short stories to screenplays is also a great way to deconstruct storytelling and work on your craft.
Q: What is something you think would make the film industry better?
A: Having more women in the leadership positions will continue to make the film industry better. Having the industry spread out into states like Georgia also makes the industry better and more accessible. Accessibility creates opportunity for more people from different backgrounds participate in the industry and this is a good thing.
Q: Do filmmakers have any responsibility to culture? Do you feel that being a creative person requires that you give back or tell a particular story or not do something else? Why or why not?
A: Storytelling is how our culture has always recorded history, from pre-biblical times until now. What you make becomes part of your culture’s canon. Ask yourself ‘What do you want to contribute to that canon?’ It doesn’t have to be serious, the most important thing is that it is HONEST.
Q: We would like to explore some of the more difficult times that people have had getting into the industry to better understand how to navigate those situations. With that in mind, what failures (of your own) have you been able to learn from? How did they change you and your process?
A: If I could go back to my early career, I’d have networked more. Of course, in my day, networking meant talking to people in person. And while that is still the best way to network, in today’s world you have social media. So be generous on those forums. Connect with people. Offer advice, ask for advice. Your network will expand that way. I’ve hired two people I first met on social media and it’s worked out really well for all involved.
Industry Insights 