FROM THE CLASSROOM TO A CAREER

The path to a full-time career in the creative industry is incredibly unique, but at the same time very practical. It doesn’t take rocket science and in many cases, it doesn’t even require you to be the most talented person in the room (although you should always strive to be the best). What this career path requires more than anything is being good enough, outworking everyone else, and building a network of professionals around you that want to see you win just as much as you want to see them win.

The following are responses from professionals across the industry answer the question “What steps does it take to turn what you learn in the classroom into a career?”

My name is Tessa Voccala and I am a creative industry professional specializing in photography, graphic design, and internal content creation. Here is my roadmap to a full-time career in the creative world.

• I grew up taking photos and dabbling in web design.

• Attended Lee University (studio major) - I didn't expect to use my major at all.

• Immediately looked for opportunities to take photos.

• Got connected with the university's biannual magazine (spent one semester volunteering and showing up to literally anything and everything, had a job the next semester + the next four years)

• Was asked to join Media Services (handles all social content for the university) as a photographer.

• Spent two years doing anything and everything from being a grip on random sets, shooting events, making graphics, running socials etc. I wanted to learn and I wanted to see things succeed. That drive to learn and the trust I built with my boss and team brought me from a photographer to being in charge of running all social content at biggest event in the university's history.

• Met my current boss through the friendships I made with other people on the MS team and with my boss at Lee.

• Interned at RVRB. I mostly did organizational work and did not touch creative work for most of the internship. When the internship ended I continued to show up and essentially forced my way into a job (apparently this approach works for me 😉). Went from intern to part-time. Graduated and went full-time. I am now in charge of all things photo, graphic, and internal content creation.

Advice for the students:

• Show up for more than what you "want" to do.

• Get used to doing a lot of stuff you don't want to do in order to get to what you love to do.

• People remember and value dependability more than talent.

• Put yourself in positions to learn new things (either through shadowing or volunteering as the entry level person just to get yourself in the room).

• The people you build trust with are the people that are going to give you opportunities in the future so start making friends and helping people out more than you expect to be helped.

Josh McCausland is a multiple award-winning filmmaker and music composer based out of Chicago, IL. Josh has traveled the world working as a filmmaker making music videos, commercials and short films. Here is his roadmap to a full-time career in the creative world.

• I was always drawing growing up and stealing my mom’s camera to take pictures (with permission of course).

• I started making music videos for fun in high school. Mostly silly cover music videos of my friends and I lip syncing to popular songs on the radio. (Please don’t look it up).

• I made my first short film my senior year in high school and was hooked on film as a medium.

• I attended Cumberland University in Lebanon, TN and played soccer as well as studied Fine Arts.

• I found early on in my college career that my university wasn’t going to be able to fully support my career choices. The program I was in just didn’t have a film program or a digital arts presence. So, I searched for internships and started my own freelance company called iQ flicks in my freshman year.

• One of the biggest lessons I learned from my art courses was from one of my mentors, Ted Rose. He would say, “I’m not teaching you how to draw. You all know how to draw. You write your name and you’re drawing. What I am teaching you is how to see.” And it was from that fundamental idea I started to look at the world differently.

• I interned with Start Struck studios and Sony Tree throughout college as a freelance/ contract videographer. I worked as a grip/ assistance director on a ton of music videos. I also shot short films throughout school to constantly keep busy.

• After graduation I struggled pretty hard. I had a really crummy photo gig that paid 10 dollars an hour working 12-13 hour shifts photographing peoples junk to sell in online auctions. I pretty much survived off Little Caesars for the better part of a year and a half. Which, some would look down on but.. 5 dollars you can’t beat it.

• I moved to Chattanooga and landed a pretty nice internal marketing gig as a videographer for The Vincit Group based out of Chattanooga.

• I met a great group pf people there and one of my closest friends, Johnny Cate. He introduced me to other creatives around town. It was how I met Kessler and heard about Dynamo along with a whole slew of other amazing people.

• This was when I really started thriving as an artist. I then in the span of a few years got to know the community much better. I traveled the country producing videos for ads, commercial spots, music videos, and short film. I was able to produce two of my own films, Chaos Theory and Anamnesis. The latter being one that really changed my career.

• I started producing music on the side of my regular work as well and landed some amazing opportunities with my piano solos.

• That leads me to today. I currently live in Chicago working at an International tech company based out of Chicago called Relativity. I work on the brand team and get to help create content for an international tech company. It’s pretty awesome. I am on a small team of about 4 of us. We produce all the video content. It’s a lot of work but it’s pretty cool to be able to be in this spot at my age and I am able to travel the world with my talents. Since starting this job I’ve been able to travel all around the US, Canada and London telling stories.

• So on a day to day I manage my full time position, my side work of film scoring and producing ambient music, as well as freelancing under my company iQ flicks around town. It’s a lot to juggle but I enjoy it and my hustle through college helped really set the stage for my life.

Advice for Students:

• Don’t be afraid to say yes to things you don’t necessarily fully understand. For instance in college I reached out to businesses all around my university to shoot commercials for them. I hadn’t had a long list of work I’d done but I told them I was a student and would shoot it at half the price of the other film companies and I would use it as a portfolio piece. As a student and a learner that experience is priceless and much more valuable than anything you can learn in a classroom (personally… please don’t hurt me teachers)

• Learn to siphon and translate between classroom skills and street skills. The two don’t translate. Learning to always be open minded and flexible when approaching new jobs goes a long way. For instance, shooting a music video for a local hip hop artist isn’t the same approach as a feature film you’re learning to produce in class.

• Communication and being humble. Learning as an artist how your talents can help serve others truly changes your approach to what you’re doing.

• Be prepared to work. Like really work. Being an artist is far from easy and it takes constant drive to be semi-successful.

• Surround yourself with more talented people than yourself. And don’t look at that talent as competition. Look at it as inspiration.

• Invest in people more than ideas. Getting to know people is more important than making the right calls technically. This is important. On all my projects I get to know the people I’m working with before I bring out a camera. If it’s a music video, I get to know the person before I dig into the song. I can then from understanding them, deliver a better video because it’s more unique and personal.

• Be okay with failing. Just learn from that failure.

• Imposter syndrome will always be real. You can’t avoid it. None of us feel like we’re good enough. Talk to your friends about it. Talk to other creatives about it. We’re all in this together.

• Be prepared for post-graduation. School is a bubble. Once you graduate you are very alone. I don’t want this to sound too heavy but be prepared for the world after. It won’t catch you if you fall. Surround and prepare yourself with a good network before you graduate.

• Be weird. There is no “normal” person. And if someone tells you there is, they are lame. We’re all strange in our own beautiful ways. If you’re a total weirdo, that’s awesome. I’m weird. We have to be weird in order to see things differently.