TOR FERRANTE – LETTER TO THE EDITOR

I am majoring in film studies and minoring in creative writing at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. Choosing film as my career path was not a decision that came easy to me. For the longest time, I struggled throughout my freshman year of college choosing a major. I ultimately decided the best decision for myself at that point in time was to take a year off to rediscover what I enjoy. With this time off, I recognized that I found myself watching film reviews on YouTube every day, as well as film analyses. I also was able to become in touch with my creative side again and began filming my friends every weekend and edited the clips. As cliché as it sounds, one day it all came to me, I realized that I could turn my passions into a career. During this time, I was also moving and while sifting through old memories within my childhood home I found old mystery stories I wrote while in elementary and middle school. I also found a camera from when I was in middle school and every single video included me directing my family members to say or do certain things so I could get “the perfect shot.” My career path was always right in front of me, but for some reason, it took me almost two decades to identify it.

One interesting occurrence that has happened to me while working toward my career goal is that I was able to virtually attend an Oscars Zoom meeting, specifically called, Careers in Film Summit: Halloween Edition. It was an all-day event that had various speakers discussing animation, music in horror films, production, and how to further our careers. The best surprise about this meeting was that Jamie Lee Curtis and Tobin Bell joined to give their insight on horror. There was also a chat feature in which all the students shared social media and created a group chat on Discord, therefore, we will always have each other to network as well as go-to for advice.

My overall career goal is to be a producer. I first want to work in production and onset prior to becoming a producer to gain more experience. I will be able to offer my ability to troubleshoot in high intense situations because as a general manager at Flight Fit N Fun, I ensured every part of the day was completed within the designated time frame. If one party ran five extra minutes, the whole schedule for that day would be skewed, so I know the importance of the saying “time is money.” When the workflow changed abruptly, I would switch the roles of the employees to best benefit the situation at hand. It is a very collaborative effort. The business side of being a general manager also relates to being a producer. I create schedules, budgets, keep track of revenue, and ensure that our company is always in accordance with state guidelines. All of these tasks are components of being a producer as well. I want to not only bring my skills to a future job, but my drive as well.