A Career In Film Takes Different Routes - Creatives of Houston PART 2
Their Path to a Creative Industry Career
Houston, Texas
Film is a team sport. It takes a range of professionals to collaborate in making a film -- set designers, wardrobe, directors, producers, art directors. Everyone comes from different backgrounds and have different passions, yet all can come together to create something beautiful and well done.
This week in the Bird Feed blog, we continue our series of Creatives in Houston and how these successful professionals took different career paths into the creative industry, and what the next generation should learn from them.
Michael Robinson
Marketing and Communications Manager
Houston Cinema Arts Society
How did you find yourself in a creative industry career?
I mostly stumbled into this industry. I was on track to major in Chemical Engineering in college, taking a few film classes on the side for fun. After getting a grant to make a documentary in Jerusalem, I realized I was much more excited about the prospect of creativing than crunching numbers. From there, I got an on campus job working at the cinema. It gave me a small window into the creative scene of Houston, but that’s all it took for me to get excited about interfacing with so many artists outside of my regular sphere. After graduating and while looking for a job, I volunteered for QFest, which was really the start of where I am.
Did you go to school for this?
I did! I majored in film and anthropology, expecting to make documentary films and get a PhD in anthropology with a focus on ethnographic filmmaking. But through a series of jobs, went more towards art administration, which in turn helped both a creative practice and have a stake within the broader creative community in Houston. The school aspect was the groundwork, but there was so much more to it afterwards.
Did you apprentice or intern?
I informally apprenticed! I work with QFest, Houston’s queer film festival. I got started by just asking to help out in any way I could, initially starting with social media and email blasts and eventually began helping with programming. This also helped open the door to my current job at Houston Cinema Arts Society.
How would you define the work you have done?
I feel like I’ve done a lot and a little during this period! I have mostly done curation with arts education and general administration (marketing, event planning, etc) thrown in there, too.
What advice do you have for the upcoming generation?
Networking is important but can get easily misconstrued. It’s much more about forming relationships and getting connected with the community. View every opportunity as an investment in yourself rather than trying to climb a ladder. Additionally, criticism is so incredibly valuable within the making process,especially as a young creator. Seek out feedback from people who you don’t know well, from people who work in a different creative practice.
Javier González-Herba
Creative Director
How did you find yourself in a creative industry career?
I love the arts in all its forms since I was a child. I worked in the theater many years, acting and directing. It’s amazing what an open mind can create. I have been a creative person all my life, even before I knew it was a thing. I consider myself to be a highly strategic and multitalented creative professional. Oh yes, and multicultural, too.
Did you go to school for this?
I did. I have a BBA in Business Administration and a BA in Communications from St. Thomas University in Houston, Texas.
Did you apprentice or intern?
A little of both, I guess.
How would you define the work you have done?
Daring, fun, and sometimes crazy. Ha-ha. I’ve been fortunate to create award winning work for clients such as Walmart, Miller Lite, Dr Pepper, Goya Foods, Geico Auto Insurance, The Texas Lottery, Fiesta Mart, and others.
What is your advice for the upcoming generation?
Open your mind, be curious, and dare to experiment.
Janavi Folmsbee
Artist, Writer, Scubadiver
janavimfolmsbee.com #janavimfolmsbee
How did you find yourself in a creative industry career?
I was born and raised in Mumbai, India. Art has been something I have been creating since I was a child. My mother always encouraged me. It was something that came extremely easily to me. My father however wanted me to be a structural steel civil engineer and take up the family business. I had to fight by proving my talent, and it was worth it to be the artist I am today. It took having a solo exhibition at 16 and selling out to be able to go to the school The Art Institute of Chicago.
Did you go to school for this?
Yes. I went to one of the hardest and best art schools in the world. SAIC. https://www.saic.edu
Did you apprentice or intern?
I am a full time professional working artist. I studied in the advanced painting program at SAIC. I was a Teacher's Assistant in the wood and metal shop for one year. I have sort of created my own path and actually have had students intern with me.
How would you define the work you have done?
It’s hard to define your own work. I feel like I have been working for 16 years. I am young and this is just the start. At the same time, I have created art that has been collected internationally and some part of wonderful collections. I even have work on the Google Earth app. My client list is pretty wonderful, too. So, I feel proud to say hard work and determination pays off.
What is your advice to the upcoming generation?
Believe in yourself, constructive criticism should be heard, remove the negativity if it comes your way. Hard work and working smart are extremely important. My goal is to make something monumental. Try it.
Emilian White
CEO/President
EVW Media Firm
How did you find yourself in a creative industry career?
In high school and college, I sought out to be a radio DJ because my good friend was the number one DJ in the mornings in Cleveland, Ohio. But, that all changed when my professor said that DJs are a dime a dozen, and if you want to get into the radio industry or television, you need to get in for sales for longevity!
Did you go to school for this?
Yes! Kent State University in Kent, Ohio.
Did you apprentice or intern?
No. Six months after college, I went straight into my field!
What is your advice for the upcoming generation?
Alway, be focused on your goals, be persistent, don’t take no for an answer, be creative with selling yourself and your approach, never ever quit on your dreams, and be careful with social media! Also, you never get a second chance to make a first impression with people!
Fleurette Fernando
Director, M.A. in Arts Leadership Program
University of Houston
How did you find yourself in a creative industry career?
I was a dancer from the time I was 4 years old, so I was always in a creative environment. I was lucky enough to attend an arts integrated public school - elementary and high school - which was the first such program in Toronto. I knew I wanted to be a director/choreographer at a young age. I was inspired by Bob Fosse and Alivin Ailey and wanted to craft a similar career.
Did you go to school for this?
Yes. Aside from from daily school work, I would go to New York in the summer and study dance at Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and Broadway Dance Center. I did an undergrad in dance, an MFA in Theatre, Directing and also attended the National Theatre School of Canada in between degrees where I studied directing in Montreal. My time in Montreal was really defining as I came to understand the craft from a more "French Canadian" perspective, which at that time integrated a lot of movement and dance (like Cirque du Soleil and the work of Robert Lepage). It was a wonderful place to be young and creative...it still is!
Did you apprentice or intern?
I did a lot of apprenticing in high school working with directors and choreographers in theatre, television, film and music videos. I was working a lot in Toronto when the Canadian hip-hop scene was in its infancy...years before we knew about Drake! It's amazing how far the industry (film and music in particular) has come in Canada since then. (Go Drake!)
How would you define the work you have done?
I would define it as being an artist, practitioner, arts manager, educator and arts advocate. I think I bring a creative and collaborative sensibility to all the work I do, including to my work now as a professor at U of H.
What is your advice to the upcoming generation?
I think the more skills you have in management, business and public policy as an artist the better. You will always need to manage a certain amount of administration in creative work, and artists have to advocate for the arts place in our society perpetually. The more artists engage in public discourse, the better off our sector will be.