141: Season Sixteen Premiere -What Storytelling Looks Like in the Creative Industries

Catalyst is a Creative Industries podcast, from Chapman University. Each episode features Chapman students who have completed a Podcasting course through the Center for Creative and Cultural Industries at the university. Students who had no podcasting experience or technical ability in the genre before taking the course were able to contribute all the segments to Catalyst this season with the goal being that they will take this ‘hands-on’ experience and carry it over to the launching of their very own series. Each episode of Season 16 will feature one to two different interviews conducted by CCI students, exploring different aspects of the Creative and Cultural Industries.

Back with a new and exciting look at working within the creative sector, Catalyst starts our season with two exciting interviews. First up is Kaitlyn Lee who sat down to interview Dany Gaitan a PR Manager for Disney Consumer Products. Dany started working with the company in 2009 at Disneyland, then moved through special events and public affairs before landing in consumer products. He talks about his pivot from pre-law to public relations while at Chapman, walks through what a typical workday looks like, and explains how Walt Disney Studios and Disney Experiences differ as places to work. Dany also gets into a few of his favorite PR campaigns, including April Pools Day, the annual Deadpool celebration and a Fantastic Four product launch in New York that put him up overnight at the TWA Hotel. The interview closes with Gaitan discussing what it takes to last in PR, emphasizing communication with your superiors and the value of building a real network.

Closing our first episode of the season is an interview with Robbie Brenner, President of Mattel Studios and Chief Content Officer, who spoke with Senior Izze Sanor about career growth, creativity, and the power of storytelling.  The pair discuss how Robbie studied drama at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts before realizing she would rather shape stories from behind the scenes than perform them, and she reflects on the early jobs and unexpected breaks that turned her into a producer. Much of their conversation centers on Barbie and the challenge of turning one of the most recognizable brands in the world into a film with real meaning and cultural weight. Robbie explains how she balances brand expectations against creative freedom and why she believes a story needs urgency and purpose to work. They wrap their conversation with Brenner sharing how her definition of success has shifted over time, from Oscar nominations to something closer to legacy.