Imagine this - a meeting with one of the most successful and powerful agents in the entertainment industry. And we are not talking about that accidental elevator trip. I am talking about a two hour meeting, set in one of the most fancy sleek conference rooms with a man who would be otherwise impossible to get for even two minutes.
That wasn’t a scene out of one of my scripts or a film I am recommending. This was the opportunity of a lifetime and one that I am privileged to have had thanks to Newhouse. More so thanks to a Syracuse alum who chose to provide a bunch of confused, starry eyed young aspiring media professionals with the most expensive and sought after thing: his time and his advice.
Day two started with a meeting with the Managing Partner of the Creative Artist’s Agency. Rob’s first piece of advice for us was something we all instantly jotted down onto our notebooks in that automatic instinct of student behaviour: “Information and knowledge is power”. Of course and how correct! Only a second later, after he narrated his personal experience to supplement this point did we realize that it was perhaps the most self-serving but ruthless way getting ahead. When Rob told us f how a tip shared by his friend while he worked in the mailroom of ICM, helped him bag that job, I was left wondering if hiding contacts and opportunities from fellow classmates was going to be more of a norm than a rarity come internship season. Going by the next thing Rob mentioned, “Life is not fair”, I guess it will be the norm.
In those two hours, we had an exclusive insight to the Rob Light “personal experience” lessons and added to that the understanding of how an agent works and why working at an agency is perhaps one of the smartest “first jobs” to start off with. Rob’s effort in personally putting together articles, quotes and a reading list of crucial books for our benefit not only impressed but overwhelmed me. True enough as faculty have mentioned, SU alums are always ready to give back and help mentor a fresh crop of Newhouse students. And making the best of it, I posed a question about the possibility of an international student with my work experience fitting into the financing area of films in an agency. Rob Light’s response was positive and I am following that up immediately when I am back in Syracuse with some research on present collaborations with Indian studios and companies in the entertainment business.
The rest of the day was spent almost entirely on the set of a show that I watched every afternoon back at home with my father and what unique cycles of the cosmos should this be! I was watching my favourite actors Patrick Warburton and Adhir Kalyan act on the set of the latest episode of the ‘Rules of Engagement’. I kept my eyes on the multi-cam set up throughout and learnt something new about blocking shots around a table, something I dealt with in my last project on campus. Later we spend time with Doug Robinson the producer of the show and once again an SU alum and this is the best part, Tom Hertz as well, the show’s creator and one of the writers of F R I E N D S. I held onto every thing Doug and Hertz said, be it that we must read as many scripts as we can everyday to the opinion that working as an assistant to a Producer or literary agent is much better than serving time as a Production Assistant (although I feel more confused about this and need this clarified). But what I valued most was Doug’s explanation of the differences between a Creative and Executive Producer and also how being close to the marketing side helps a Producer. Learning what I have from my last job as an Associate Producer, I could not agree more. This trip is beginning to make me realise that I should not shy away from learning more of the business aspect of the industry and development is something I want to do seriously but also make sure that I have a strength over my peers about the process of strategizing, negotiation and financing aspect of the creative projects. To quote Barney from yet another one of my favourite sitcoms ‘How I Met Your Mother’ this day according to me was “legendary”.
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