Follow That Passion (Part 5 of 7)
This is the fifth of seven retrospective blogs exploring how recognizing and honoring one’s passion often creates a rich, satisfying life. Continuing from Part 4, another question often asked over the years…
How does someone get into the entertainment design industry?
The world of entertainment is a business industry like many others. Yes, its products often look like lots of fun, however, discipline and sacrifice must be part of your career plan in order to succeed. The entertainment road is not for the faint of heart. While it’s often filled with wondrous discovery and effervescent joy (think opening night), it’s also checkered with unexpected diversions and painful potholes. However, with focused intention comes tangible opportunity. In other words - good fortune (aka: luck), has a reasonable chance of happening to those who dedicate time to learning, being proactive, following through, and taking responsibility even when a situation becomes less than joyful.
I devoted a lot of my pre-adolescent time to making things from cardboard, glue, paint and adhesive tape while friends were doing more normal things such as sports, collecting baseball cards, and sifting through comic books. I viewed my making time as fun, though some friends saw it as sacrifice, asking why I would devote extended hours to make things rather than play. The activities I chose were play to me, involving imagining, pretending and experimenting - elements I believe to be success cornerstones.
In those early days it was fun to witness raw shapes evolve into refined objects, and to see the partial objects on my bedroom work bench as the sun rose the next morning. That simple experience drew me into continuing to develop the object and to improve its design, occasionally learning from failures such as a part of the object collapsing overnight under its own weight. However, this was only part of the journey.
A virtue of failure is it reduces the remaining options toward achieving success.
Parallel to the making path was connecting with real people in physical places - a core source of enjoyment. I chose to display or perform small shows via my creations, such as a slice of Disneyland’s® Enchanted Tiki Room in my bedroom to entertain friends during my last year of elementary school. A couple years later, a taste of New Orlean’s Square’s Haunted Mansion in our family home’s living and dining rooms to entrance trick-or-treaters when I was fifteen.
In eleventh grade, after negotiating with my geography teacher, a written essay about Cajun culture in the swamps of Louisiana was replaced by a scale model of the Blue Bayou Lagoon from Disneyland’s Pirates Of The Caribbean attraction, complete with music and a narrative audio track by a neighbor with a southern accent. The model was built pre-internet from a sparse array of Disneyland souvenir book photos and lots of attraction ride-throughs. Whenever possible, let passion lead your homework and influence work assignments. You’ll make points with most teachers.
Disneyland’s Pirates Of The Caribbean life size, sail-through Blue Bayou lagoon on left, alongside my 1974, five-foot wide high school diorama. Photo on left ©Disney
Today, social media excels in showcasing what you’ve created. Social media is also fine for learning about individuals, companies, and projects, but you must physically get to know real people in real situations who make real hiring decisions to bring you into projects. Online presence isn’t a whole picture of a successful creative designer. Building personal relationships is the Holy Grail in business development, no matter the industry. Social media is merely a part of the process, and, in my opinion, a lesser part as time moves forward. Never be nervous about meeting people in the physical world, no matter where you are in your career.
Consider why musicians perform live concerts across multiple cities, why artists exhibit in galleries and appear at opening galas, and why authors tour to sign books. You must physically connect with the real world to make an authentic difference!
When attending a theatrical performance or music concert, hang around after the show to ask questions of the stage manager, lighting and sound board operators, or technical engineers. Go direct to the source, bypassing ushers and those in the box office. If you’re at a special event such as a brand promotion or parade, ask to speak with the event director or technical supervisor – and compliment them for their efforts. Don’t be shy. Lean over the railing and ask if they have a moment for a question, preceded by a compliment or simple appreciation for what they have created. Professionals enjoy an honest accolade with sincere feedback and will help you open doors to your career.
Electronic design engineer Ron Quillin, part of a LaserDreams show production team, checks his headset backstage prior to a corporate theater show in 1984.
At a sporting event, ask for a quick tour of the video production truck, or a glimpse backstage as sets and lights are being positioned at a local telethon or theatrical play. Sketch, draw and doodle your visions on paper, then share those visions online and when you meet industry professionals in person. Show your interest and developing talent to people since you never know who they know. And don’t bypass intern and apprentice opportunities which offer outstanding pathways with interpersonal connections into many industries.
Inspired by a family trip to Mammoth Mountain, CA in the early 1970s, this #2 yellow school pencil drawing recalls details from a mountain ski gondola. Thirty years later I found myself designing and producing an immersive entertainment experience around a new ski lift at Schweitzer Mountain Resort in northern Idaho.
As for the entertainment industry, knock on doors with examples of your work on hand. Follow through by writing a ‘Thank You’ note to the few special people who will have you into their office, realizing many will not. Don’t become discouraged by ‘No’s.” Each ‘No’ brings you closer to a ‘Yes.’ Then, once you hear a ‘Yes,’ be prepared for it to revert back to ‘No,’ which does happen on occasion. There’s an old adage I’ve found to be true: “Nothing is for sure until the check clears in your bank account.”
While digital devices make it easy to carry creations in your pocket, there’s nothing to match a larger illustration on real paper or art board to present your ideas in a grander format. Size does make a difference, since most everything has been reduced to smartphone screens. Stand out with the physical size of your presentation. People appreciate actual artwork since it’s such a rare thing these days!
Detailed appreciation of someone else’s work, while showing them yours, goes a long way and may just get you invited backstage to a future event or into an office to meet others. When you reach this juncture, you’re making excellent progress.
In the family garage, applying finishing touches to a custom-designed mascot costume for Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor in 1977, and an entry dressing concept sketch for a sports arena show - which never materialized. However, the effort provided sketch practice. No, I can’t draw people!
Learn by doing in a garage, after school in the wood, metal or scenic shop, or volunteer at a school or community theater helping in the costume shop, or going into town to seek and collect props. If you live in a medium to large city, offer to assist in a theatrical lighting or sound equipment rental shop. Meet other makers at a regional Maker Faire where amazing creations are shared with other like-minded creative types. Divert a couple of hundred dollars from movies, apps, snacks and video games toward constructing something on a back patio or porch. With a small sacrifice of personal time, manifest a dream idea by yourself or with a friend who can help hold things as needed and bring food to share once in awhile.
These are several gateways to live entertainment design: dramatic theater, motion picture and television production, and theme park development. Be creative… invent your own path!
Go to Part 6
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