"Beginnings are usually scary and endings are usually sad, but it's the middle that counts. You have to remember this when you find yourself at the beginning."
~Sandra Bullock, Hope Floats
For Capstone this week I had to give a presentation on a Westminster alum who is in the same field I would like to one day be a part of. I had a hard time trying to figure out who to contact because I'm still unsure what exactly it is I want to be when I graduate. I've come to realize that editing and shooting are my true passions and being on air is just a perk. With that figured out, I
talked to some of my professors about who I should contact and Mark Finklepearl was brought up. He is the VP of Productions and head of the East Coast division of Beyond Productions. This is an Australian based company in charge of producing shows for the Discovery family of networks, but most notably "Mythbusters" on the Discovery Channel. He seemed like the perfect person to contact! I love what the Discovery Channel and it's other affiliates offer and the work they do.
To make a long story short I got in contact with him and he was an awesome resource! He has done so much in his career and was able to give me some really good advice. He made me feel better about what the future might hold for me. The most important advice he gave me was this: "Don't be precious." He said I have to be willing to work on all sorts of projects and not just the high end ones; he's worked on some high end stuff and he's worked on some crap. But he learned a lot from the crap. He also said to freelance in the beginning; it's the best way to work yourself into as many different networks of people as possible; and that's what will keep you employed.
