Interview with Chris Hawpe

Chris Hawpe is the creator of Chris Hawpe Production Services in Louisville, Kentucky and specializes in audio for film and broadcast companies.

1. How did you get started in the business?

-He said he was first a photo journalism major, then switched and graduated with a History degree. In the 1980s he was also in a band and moved to LA where they got a recording contract and put out three records. Afterwards he started working in recording studio where he started out with basic jobs then was given more responsibility. The recording studio worked with a lot of R&B music, and he was a mixing assistant for a few well-known artists' albums. After that job, he started focusing more on field audio and was a freelance audio mixer for CNN.

2. What do clients ask for him to do as an audio mixer?

-He said mostly field audio and recording sound and mixing audio straight into the camera. He is responsible for the audio portion of whatever is being produced. Jobs can range from following one person around with a boom mic or, like with reality t.v. shows, listening and working with eight to ten wireless mics.

3. What are your favorite aspects of the business?

-He said making friendships and working with others to produce good audio and film. He said when you are putting a mic on someone, whether an actor or reality tv star or anyone, it is very important for them to trust you or perceive you as someone they can trust, because they know you will be listening to their every word and you don't want them to try and mentally censor what they say. Also, he enjoys the fast pace of the industry.

-Interviewed by Rebecca Farmer

Interview with Archie Borders

Archie Borders is part owner of BWK Media Group based in Louisville, Kentucky. BWK is a full service production company, but Mr. Borders has a lot of experience with directing and considers it to be his favorite field in the business.

1. How did you get started in the business?

-He went to film school and started working on feature films after graduation. He raised money to shoot his own film which he was able to sell to Sundance. Later he helped create BWK Media Group which does a lot of production coordination, web content, and providing crews for producers who are out of state.

2. What are your favorite aspects of the business?

-He said directing, because when you are working on a high-budget film, you are able to focus solely on the creative aspect of the film. If you're working with a talented crew and cast then directing allows you to concentrate on the creation of your vision for the film. But, directing something with a high budget can take years, so inbetween major jobs he and his company do commercial work to keep their skills intact.

3. From your point of view, what are the major distinctions between producing and directing?

-He said it depends really on the film's budget. If the film has a low budget, the producer and director might be the same person. Then the director not only has to focus on the creative aspect, but also the business side of the film's production as well. Producers make the business plans, "keep the train on the tracks," and keep the film on budget. If the film has a high budget, then the director has a responsibility to the producer to keep to the producing schedule and budget, but sometimes this doesn't always work out.

-Interviewed by Rebecca Farmer

Interview with Aaron Johnson

1. Can you briefly define your job to me?

My jobs are:

-President and founder of a video production company, Pretty Penny Productions, which involves running, planning and managing the business as well as producing and editing videos for my clients. Projects range widely from 30 second commercials to event videos to web videos. We are transitioning into a full service ad agency so I also have several clients who I generate entire ad campaigns, supervise media buys, etc. for.

-President and founder of a web development and graphic design company, Penelope Design. I mostly just supervise and manage this business and work with clients, I have a fantastic team who does the actual coding and design work.

-Owner of the F-Stop Camera Shop, which sells camera gear and provides services, specializing in film. I mostly just manage the books and marketing for this company, my business partner runs the store on a day to day basis and does all the processing, developing, etc.

-President and Founder of Hops / Scotch Entertainment which develops independent comedy videos, podcasts and other media for the web. Currently we produce two web shows and a podcast.

2. How did you get started in the business?

I started freelancing when I was a freshman in college and made a lot of little shorts and even a couple of features and two seasons of a comedy "public access" series in college. I felt like, through this work, I had a pretty good handle on the process and saw that my work was at least as good as many of the local producers in town so as soon as I graduated I started my own company. Since then it's been kind of a roller coaster but we've managed to grow every year so I guess things ain't that bad... knock on wood.

3. How do you tell someone over you (your boss) that you can't accomplish an assigned task?

My bosses, here, would be the clients. The most important thing is to make sure they are as involved as possible from the very beginning. When you make your client a part of the team they understand the problems and they root for you. Some clients want to give you 100% control and just don't want to worry about the process. This is great, from a creative standpoint, but when things go wrong it means they don't have a filter of experience to run the situation through. All they know is that something was supposed to happen and it didn't. The only solution in these situations is complete honestly and devotion to the client. If I mess something up I always make sure I put it to rights. There have been situations where the client has messed something up, usually by failing to communicate. These are messy situations because you can't just tell a good client that he or she is wrong. Often it requires taking a hit, doing some free work and hopefully learning a lesson to communicate the point very clearly with the next project that comes around and try to avoid it happening again.

4. Do you have any advice for a media student starting out?

Just do stuff! I don't understand students who go to classes, do their projects and that's it. You aren't getting an education at all if you don't experiment and try things on your own. I've made so many horrible movies, scripts and other projects - and I continue to make them - because the process of trial and error is what hones your craft. If you're just doing the bare minimum then that's where you're going to end up in the food chain. The guys and gals I went to college with who were working hard in college and doing side projects, freelancing, etc. are all working in the industry now. The folks who did the bare minimum - I hate to say it, but they're working not working in film and video. Which is probably okay, because this isn't a business you should be in if you don't absolutely love eating, breathing and sleeping in it all the way up to your neck. (I certainly wouldn't advise anyone to get into it for the money!)

Interview with Anthony Santoro

My last interview was with Anthony Santoro who works at Curious Pictures. We got a little off track with the questions and ran out of time. Below is what I asked him.

1. Can you briefly define your job?
Anthony works as the lead compositor/effects supervisor. He is involved with the shoots and in post production. Lately, he and Curious have gotten more involved in Motion/Title graphics.

2. How did you get started in the business?
Anthony said it just happened.

3. What goes into Motion Graphics?
There is a team of 6-7 people who work together on an opening sequence and it can take anywhere between 3-6 months.

4. Do you have any advice for a media student starting out?
Anthony said how you get started in the business is different for everyone. He told me to start as a PA and if you are talented and don't give up, eventually a break will come. He told me that the entertainment industry is never monotonous, everyday is creative and fun and you frequently start from scratch on new projects.

Ryan Bailey - Interview with Jacob Cook - Graphics/Visual Effects for film and commercials

1. Can you briefly define your job to me?
I am the creative director of a company named Digital Domain owned by Disney. He is a 3d artist, texture model, animator, scripter and programmer. I also deal with film, commercials, video game production, postproduction for film, and sound production/audio engineering. As a creative producer I works with anywhere from 100 to 150. My recent projects include working on the movie Tron, which we just recently completed in September.

2. How did you get started in the business?
I started at an early age of 14 playing around with programs from the Adobe Suite such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash and InDesign. I used these from early high school all the way through my undergrad at Arizona State University majoring in multimedia/design. From there I received my masters in animation and film from the Academy of Art in San Francisco, California. There he used programs such as Zbrush, Unity, Blender, 3d max and Maya.

3. How do you tell someone over you (your boss) that you can't accomplish an assigned task?
If you cant accomplish an assigned task because you don’t know how to do it. If he can’t do a task there has to be a reason rather than an excuse. Maybe it is something such as, “I don’t know how to go about it this program and utilize my program so could you show me how you would do it?” I would ask questions because that is the only way to get better. Sometime you have to swallow your pride and ask questions to better yourself and better the team that you work with. My boss stresses that I won’t get fired, but he just asks to be honest and reasonable with him no matter the situation that is brought up.

4. Do you have any advice for a media student starting out?

Make a time sheet pipeline/production pipeline. It is basically setting goals for the year and what has passed over the course of that year. For instance, I set 12 productions, 1 film, 2 commercials and an Iphone game as part of my time sheet pipeline. You also have to have extracurricular projects rather than just your school projects to show people. You have to market yourself and show people that you want to work with what your interests are. Give the people you network with a reason they should work with you so everyone involved can make a really interesting project. Also, when you don’t know something with a certain program just jump on a forum and constantly ask questions to better yourself. As a part of networking, attend conventions that are fun and business at the same time. You get to see great upcoming work and in turn exchange e-mails with people who have similar interests as you.

Interview with Corey Weisz

My 2nd interview was with Corey Weisz. He has worked on some big projects like NASCAR commercials, Nurse Jackie opening and the Bride Wars opening, just to name a few. Corey was short on time so he asked if the interview could be done via email. Below are his answers.


1. Can you briefly define your job?

As a video editor at a design/production company, my main responsibility is editing spots that our in-house director shoots (recently that includes a bunch of spots for Cooking Channel and Dancing with the Stars) and also create spots from pre-existing footage (like our Nascar on Speed series of spots). In addition, my job often includes color correction, pieces for pitches, generating ideas for pitches, sound design, and preparing spots and elements for delivery (ie. checking video levels for legality, final quality check).

2. How did you get started in the business?

I started at a company called Imaginary Forces as an office production assistant, answering phones, running errands, assisting producers, and whatever else was needed. Then, I got an opportunity to assistant edit there and ultimately edit.

3. How do you tell someone over you, like your boss, that you can't accomplish an assigned task?

There's normally a discussion with producers when a schedule is set to make sure it is doable in that time frame with the resources involved. If any issues arise during the project, I will generally talk to the project's producer to make sure that everything is covered. Normally, if there's an issue, whether it's time-related or skill-related, it's best to address it as early as possible.

4. Do you have any advice for a media student starting out like myself?

My main advice would be to figure out what you want to do and focus on getting into a company that does what you want to do in any capacity possible, even if it's just a lowly PA position or intern. Just getting that foot in the door can give you an opportunity to show how hard you are willing to work and also to gain skills. However, it's also good to keep an open mind and get to know people in different roles to see if that's something you would be interested in.

Interview with Chris Billig

I interviewed Chris Billig, who is the executive producer at TCG Studio. The director and founder of TCG is Thomas Cobb (hints the name: TCG = Thomas Cobb Group). TCG is responsible for the opening credits of Lost, Lie to Me (which was Emmy nominated), Grey's Anatomy, NCIS, 90210, 24, Friday Night Lights and the list goes on and on. Visit their website (the link is above) to check out everything they've done. It is really impressive.

Here's the interview:

1. Can you briefly define your job?
Chris explained to me that he is the executive producer. His job is to find clients, meet with them, talk to them about what they want and develop creative briefs. There are a lot of things to consider, including budget, time, scheduling, overages, etc. After he's hooked the client, the creative director and Chris get together with the client to understand what they are looking for. Chris oversees the job and gives his creative input. He makes sure the client is taken care of.

2. How did you get started in the business?
Chris told me that he majored in history and government in college and moved to LA to go to law school, when he stumbled upon Hollywood. His grandparents wanted him to pursue a trade, like becoming a lawyer or doctor, but he went against that and went into the film/television business. His first job in LA was working as a Production Assistant on Cold Case.

3. Have you ever had to tell someone over you (like your boss) that you can't accomplish an assigned task? How did you do that?
Chris said that if this question is concerning competence - the answer is no. But, if the question is have you had to tell a client no because of the restraints they've put on him, then yes. He gave me an example concerning budget. If a commercial is going to cost $500,000 to make, but the client only wants to spend $50,000 because they could go to India and get a commercial produced for that amount, then he would tell them no, he couldn't do it for $50,000 and to go to India.

4. Do you have any advice for a media student starting?
Chris told me to stay single (he said "I'm joking....kinda") because establishing yourself is a very selfish thing. You have to put in long hours and work harder and longer than anyone else. You won't have time for anyone else. He told me to define and strategize my life/goals, to be realistic but don't compromise and if I have a vision, to go for it. Chris also told me to ask people for help, because no one is going to give me anything. He seemed impressed that I emailed a "dummy" (generic) email address at TCG and contacted me back because he wanted to help. He also told me that you have to find mentors and to stay hungry. If I don't know something, it's okay to say I don't know but I will find out.

Chris was super nice and incredibly helpful. I know I've made a great contact and he will be willing to help me in the future.