My Creative Careers – The Pilot Episode (with Tamika Lamison & Adam Leipzig)
Release Date: 11/12/2021
Render, Rinse, Repeat. - VFX & Animation (with Lyndon Barrois & Michael Slemmons)
My Creative Careers
Lyndon Barrois is an accomplished artist, award-winning director, animator, and visual effects professional. A native of New Orleans, Lyndon played a pivotal role in creating groundbreaking visual effects for critically-acclaimed feature films such as The Matrix Trilogy, Happy Feet, Tree of Life, and The Thing, for which he received a Visual Effects Society Award nomination. Lyndon is an active member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, a Commissioner for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC, and a board member of the California...
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Jump Cut - The Editor (with Jon Poll & Angela Latimer)
My Creative Careers
Jon Poll is a director, film editor, and producer. He attended the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts and graduated in 1981 with a major in film production. As an editor, Jon worked on 18 films between 1982 and 2004, including Weeds, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Mystery, Alaska, Meet the Parents, Scary Movie 3, Forever Young, and Death to Smoochy. Jon made his directorial debut in 2007 with the comedy-drama Charlie Bartlett. He was also executive producer for The 40 Year Old Virgin and co-producer...
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Can You Hear Me Now? - The Sound Editor (with Victoria Sampson & Andrew Macht)
My Creative Careers
Victoria Rose Sampson has been a renowned Feature Film Sound Editor who learned her craft by working alongside her mother, Kay Rose, the first woman to win an Oscar for sound editing on the Mark Rydell film, The River. Victoria’s credits include Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Speed, Donnie Darko and Return of the Jedi, and she now teaches post-production sound at Video Symphony in Burbank. She is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as well as the Motion Picture Editors Guild, Local 700 of the IATSE, and serves on the...
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Get a Grip! – The Grip (with Krystina Figg & Nick Jacobs)
My Creative Careers
Krystina Figg has worked with some of the most notable directors in film today, including Quentin Tarantino on Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and the Hateful Eight, Christopher Nolan on Tenet and Dunkirk, and Tom Ford on Nocturnal Animals. She got her start on The Bernie Mac Show and since then has worked on several big-budget and independent films. Krystina is also known far and wide as the ‘Badass Grip Girl!’ On My Creative Careers show this week, we talk with Krystina Figg, who shares the details of how she became interested in the film...
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Fishing for Stars – The Casting Director: Tips for Getting That Part (with Wendy Kurtzman & Tori Hartley)
My Creative Careers
Wendy is an Emmy-nominated casting director with more than 25 years of experience in feature films, movies for television, mini-series, and theater and has worked with many distinguished directors such as Paul Schrader, Diane Keaton, Sally Field, and Roland Emmerich, for whom she cast the blockbuster “Independence Day,” starring Will Smith. In 2013 Wendy launched College to Career Acting to help emerging BFA/MFA artists navigate the transition from Academia into the Entertainment Industry. Recently, Wendy joined PhilmCo Media as Head of Casting while also serving as Faculty at UCLA and...
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Hot Set! – The On-Set Dresser (with Eric Luling & Mack Smith)
My Creative Careers
On this episode of My Creative Careers, Eric discusses the differences between his role and the responsibilities of the Props Department and where it sometimes overlaps. He gives us the lowdown on how he got into the film business (spoiler - show up and be persistent) and how he subsequently progressed in his career. Eric also gives his advice and insights to people interested in building a creative career in his area of the industry.
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Are We What We Wear? – The Costume Designer (with Isis Mussenden & LaShell Gibbs)
My Creative Careers
Isis joins us to share her insights into character development and telling stories through clothes and costume. She discusses how she came to be the first costume designer credited on an animated film and describes the intricacies of what she does as a costume designer, particularly the differences between working with human actors versus animated characters. Isis also shares how she became interested in costume design and dives into the details of some of her favorite recent projects.
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“Copy That!” – The 1st AD (with Starr Victoria & Jada Merritt)
My Creative Careers
On the podcast this week we welcome Star Victoria. Star dives into what the role of the 1st AD involves, how it differs from the director’s job, and why it is such a key position in filmmaking. She discusses potential routes into becoming a 1st AD, the key skills and qualities needed, and gives tips and advice on getting a foot in the door. Star also shares her story of the experiences in her early life that brought her to take on behind-the-camera roles rather than pursue her initial passion for acting.
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My Creative Careers – The Pilot Episode (with Tamika Lamison & Adam Leipzig)
My Creative Careers
On the My Creative Careers podcast, we are going to be talking to a vast range of people who have all kinds of careers in the film industry. But today we’ll start with a short introduction to us, your hosts Adam and Tamika, and give you a brief insight into how our own creative careers have developed over the years.
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Welcome To My Creative Careers
My Creative Careers
My Creative Careers (because creative people never have only one career!) showcases the diversity of people, arts, and professions in the entertainment industry, and shares behind-the-scenes insights so listeners can deepen their knowledge and activate their aspirations. Produced by MediaU.com – your online career accelerator.
info_outlineOn the My Creative Careers podcast, we are going to be talking to a vast range of people who have all kinds of careers in the film industry. But today we’ll start with a short introduction to us, your hosts Adam and Tamika, and give you a brief insight into how our own creative careers have developed over the years.
Adam Leipzig, Founder, and CEO of MediaU, was previously a senior executive at Walt Disney Studios and the President of National Geographic Films. He has been a producer, distributor, or supervising executive on 35 films that have disrupted expectations, including, A Plastic Ocean, March of the Penguins, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Dead Poets Society, The Way Back, and Titus. Adam’s movies have been awarded or nominated for several Academy Awards, BAFTAs, Golden Globes, and Emmys, to name but a few! In addition to guiding MediaU, Adam is a part of the faculty at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business.
Tamika Lamison is a valued advisor at MediaU; her expertise as a writer, director, and producer has garnered many awards and accolades. Before becoming the Executive Director of the Commercial Directors Diversity Program which she built for the Directors Guild of America & Association of Independent Commercial Producers, she was a research consultant at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Tamika also founded and created the non-profit, Make A Film Foundation, which grants film wishes to seriously or terminally ill children by teaming up them with noted writers, directors & producers who help them create their film legacy.
“You never leave theater, you might take extended vacations from it, but you never leave.” - Adam Leipzig
“When you can make a film that's entertaining and makes a difference or has impact, to me that's a win-win.” - Tamika Lamison
Highlights This Week:
- When Tamika was first bitten by the theatre bug and how long she stayed there before she moved into things that happen on screens
- How Tamika’s experience of being at the Disney fellowship motivated her transition into different roles in film and TV
- Tamika’s commitment to staying valued centered, why she founded the Make a Film Foundation, and how it all started with a bad check
- Why Tamika is passionate about promoting positive change and how creating Commercial Directors Diversity Program fits into that worldview
- Adam’s career trajectory, from an early immersion in theatre to being a dramaturg, then creating a theater right through to working at Disney
- Why Adam’s film A Plastic Ocean demonstrates how telling an authentic story to audiences can make a profound difference in the world.
- Why Adam founded MediaU to give content creators access to methods of upskilling and uptrending in a technologically rapidly evolving industry
- Adam and Tamika also share their personal superpowers — and they’re not necessarily what you might think!
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