Students gathered in the Great Hall to listen to Cinematographer, Marty Mullin, who talked about his field on March 15, hosted by the Associated Students Organization and invited by the Media Arts Department
During his speech, Marty Mullin gave information on various topics from working with a film crew, to choosing the right camera, the benefits of taking RAW pictures, how to use a steadicam, and some advice on how to stand out in the field.
“I had a wonderful time coming to Pierce,” Mullen said. “I loved seeing students who were interested in what I do and was glad some of them might want to work in the industry.”
According to Mullen, there are a number of things cinema students should do in order to excel in the field, such as, networking, getting business cards, getting domain names, and working on buddies’ films.
“A cinema student should know the crew positions and what they do, and should know the equipment, and should know how to do the entry level jobs,” Mullen said.
Mullen has worked in several well-known movies such as ‘Fast and the Furious 2’, ‘All About the Benjamins’, ‘Friday After Next’, and ‘Transporter 2’.
According to Mullen one of the trickiest things about working in his job are the people.
“Sometimes you have to know the psychology,” Mullen said. “I think it is rewarding when you are solving the problems that are presented by the logistics end, in other words, working with the director, and finding solutions to what it is we have to do, and then working with the small unit of the crew, and making those solutions happen.”
Ken Windrum, Assistant Professor in the Media Arts Department, said the point of organizing the event was to get students to see people who are working professionals and work in the media.
“It’s a great experience for students to see someone like Marty who makes his money doing this,” Windrum said. “It was a great event, I think the students really enjoyed it and learned. Even I learned something, I learned about 3d movie making, I didn’t know much about it.”
Windrum mentioned that he had another ‘Speaker Series’ event in fall, with an assistant director, which ended up with one of the students getting a job.
“The student got a job, not with [the assistant director], but with his daughter,” Windrum said. “These [events] are great, they give excellent advice on networking and such.”
Alan Escacenas, 18, undecided major, thought the whole event was really insightful.
“I got some great information about cinematography, what the work field is like, and what they do,” Escacenas said. “Basically, being a cinematographer is a duty. Those clips that he showed were all great examples about the work that they do. I’m an undecided major when it comes to the film industry, so this just a really keen interest that I have, I was there to learn more. This is helping me to solidify it.”