-was to constantly keep in mind that it's one foot in front of the other.


I'm currently a freelance designer/animator. I went to film school at UT, and always knew that I wanted to move to LA and make movies and cartoons. While I was making films in school, I would make animations for them, title sequences, etc etc etc, as well as other assorted graphic things--stickers and shit that my roommates would put up around campus. I hustled up an internship at Detour Films, the animation house that made Waking Life, and used that to build relationships with various artists and musicians around town.

I made a few things in Austin, but quickly learned when I moved out to LA that people don't really give a fuck. So I got a list of music video production companies out here, 206 of them, and called them all. TWO of them agreed to meet me. One was cool, but didn't have full time work; the other did, so I went with them. While I was there I became friends with the directors on the roster, learned how things are done, and even scored a couple videos myself based on my animation skills. I was living my dream; I've always been obsessed with music videos, and here I was, directing them for a living. It was great.

I ended up leaving that place, kicked around a few other shops, and decided to go completely freelance at the beginning of '06. And let me tell you, that shit was nerve wracking. But you know what? I made a shitload of phone calls, mostly to places that didn't know who the hell I was, asking them to look at my work, and eventually, people started hiring me. I got thrown on to some really cool jobs, working on feature films, network spots, even some music videos. I'm making a living with my art, I call my own shots, and, basically, I'm happy.

So what's my point? My point is that I didn't start out going "I need to find a directing job." I started out calling everyone I could, looking for someone to hire me. When I found someone, I kept busting my ass working with them and sharpening my skills until someone noticed and gave me a shot at something bigger. I built that into more work, which begat more work, etc etc etc. The whole time I focused on doing what I was currently doing well, knowing that if I take care of that, it'll lead to something else. Make no mistake, it took a bunch of hustle, too. But I found that if you concentrate on doing things correctly, they eventually lead to bigger things. I watched my old roommates do it, too. They're screenwriters, with a pretty good deal with a major studio. I knew them when we were all just young punks in film school. But I watched them bust their ass writing scripts, which led to getting a manager, which led to an agent, which led to a better manager, which led to studio meetings, which led to their current gig. It wasn't easy, but they focused on doing what they were doing well, with the faith that it would build.


ps. gotta link to my site:

http://www.milesforpresident.com