What has been your biggest break?
My biggest break came as a result of a single word I’d heard at my first job in production, which was an internship in the UK with the travel series “Pilot Guides”. It was there that I first heard about “carnets” – a word that I mentioned in passing during an interview for what would end up being my second job. I landed the job – and I found out later that the reason I did was because I knew what a carnet was. I didn’t have the heart to admit I didn’t actuallyknow what it was – I’d just heard the word and knew it had something to do with customs and equipment. (It’s basically a list of all the equipment a production is traveling across a border with. You have to present it to customs and at their discretion they will look at the equipment and make sure it matches the list. It’s to make sure you aren’t buying or selling equipment without paying proper duties.) But that one word got me in the door with Paperny Entertainment, who gave me numerous opportunities over the years as I worked my way up from Production Coordinator to Supervising Producer (and became an expert at carnets!)
What was your greatest mistake?
I was attending the Banff World Media Festival and had a chance to speed pitch to a major US broadcaster. It was all new to me and I had no idea what I was doing. My pitch was at 10 a.m., so I arrived at the hotel 45 minutes early as I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time. I sat outside the room trying to calm my nerves, running through my pitch over and over again. As time went on, I thought it strange that there weren’t too many people waiting – but it wasn’t until 9:55 that I realized I was at the wrong room! I made a mad dash through the hotel and arrived at the right room as they were calling my name. I was told I had almost lost my space, and I had to hurry in to the pitch. By then I was frazzled and slightly out of breath. Not a great first impression! As someone who deals with logistics on a daily basis, it was a mistake that should never have happened. Always double check where you’re going!!
