Starting Life Over

I’ve been editing for over 13 years. Before I went to film school I was a bit lost in life. I had graduated from college with a Bachelor’s in Psychology but was still working retail. I knew I wasn’t happy but I didn’t know what to do about it. I was broke and working took up a majority of my time so I didn’t have the energy or drive to really focus on anything else but survival. I had entertained the thought about pursuing a career in the film industry but it seemed like a distant dream. I didn’t know the first thing about making videos. It wasn’t until I got tired of what my life had become that I decided to start over. And I mean really start over.

I quit my job, moved to a different city (Sacramento, CA), left my old friends behind, and re-enrolled in school for a second degree. I started out as a web design major, but after taking a few film courses and showing my work to those professors, they encouraged me to switch programs. “Your web work isn’t bad, but I don’t think you’d be able to fully express yourself” one said. “You should switch to film” another said more bluntly. That was enough to make me re-think being successful in the film industry, and I’m glad I made the switch, because thinking back, those were the best and most challenging years of my life. If I’m being honest with myself, I wasn’t really into web design, but I joined the program because a lot of places I wanted to work, like CollegeHumor, Tumblr, and RocketBoom were all in need of web designers. In my mind, it was a calculated risk and since I was starting over, I wanted to make sure that I had the greatest chance of success in my new life. What I learned though, is that you have to do what you love and are interested in to be successful. Not just settle for whatever is available at the moment.

Photo by Cristina Robinson on Unsplash (also one of my friends from college!)

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After working extremely hard in school and graduating at the top of my class, I was unemployed for about 9–10 months. It was a rough period but I eventually landed a job as a Junior Video Editor at an education reform non-profit. The title still makes me laugh because I was the only member of the video team, so it was more of a one man production team. I would write scripts, shoot video, record audio, create motion graphics, do some light animation, edit, sound design and color correct videos for 10 separate states that we had a presence in. It was a lot of work, but I was prepared because of my experiences in school, and I held myself to a high standard because of the reputation I had built for myself.

After about 3 years, the non profit I was working for was absorbed by another organization on the east coast. If I had truly wanted, I think I could have picked up my life again and followed them over there, but I wanted to get more into the realm of entertainment. So I decided to stay in Sacramento and try and find work as a freelancer. It was difficult to find steady clients so I was also delivering food for Postmates, which actually made up the bulk of my income during that period. After about 1 year, I was low on funds and about to give up on my dream of becoming a filmmaker.

It was around that time that I got an email from my now good friend Cory. At the time, he was the social media manager for NRG Esports. An old friend from school, who would occasionally do some video work for NRG, had recommended me to do a job because he was too busy at the time. I accepted and turned the video around within 3 days. Cory and the other management were impressed and asked if I’d like to be on a monthly retainer. I agreed but negotiated the salary so I’d be able to pay for all of my needs and still have a little left over at the end of the month so I wouldn’t feel so stressed. It worked out to about $2000 a month, a drastic cut from my $45,000/yr salary at my old non-profit, but I was desperate not to return to someplace like Walgreens and eager to work on entertainment projects, especially gaming videos. If you would have told me that video games would be paying my bills when I was younger I wouldn’t have believed you, but there I was.

Photo by Cory Vincent (One of our many remote shoots with our old Rocket League team)

Again, this job included everything from filming to delivery so it was another long period of grinding and hard work. I was the main creative force for the organization, but now I also had Cory, who would help out as a producer, second camera, and even a graphic designer sometimes. It was still a lot of work, but sharing it with someone and knowing that they’re probably just as tired as you made it a little easier. We were in it together, and most importantly we were having fun. I felt like I had found something that filled the creative void I had been suffering from after film school. This work gave me purpose.

Over the next 5 years the organization grew and our roles along with it. I’ve seen NRG go from a staff call of 3–4 members to now 3 separate entities and over 50 people on a call sometimes. I no longer had to wear as many hats and could focus on my true passion, which was editing. It provided me with an opportunity to grow my skill sets, become financially prosperous, and work with big brands like Rockstar Energy, Levi’s, AMPM, and McDonald’s. Not only that, the owners and management made sure to take care of me. My salary grew to many times what I started with and when our teams did well or I was recognized in our industry (as a 2020 Esports Videographer of the Year nominee), they made sure to celebrate it. It’s definitely the highlight of my professional career thus far, and I’m very grateful for everything I’ve experienced.

Photos by me (A few of the gifts I’ve received or earned over the years)

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I’ve recently decided to leave NRG and the Shock. There isn’t any bad blood at all and I’ll go into specifics as to why and how in another article, but for a brief explanation, it’s just time for me to start over again. The only difference this time, is that I have a greater support system and the knowledge that I’ve done this before, and it’s just a part of life.