More from The Rebellion: Weston VerSteeg

Here's some advice from the man who is Wes-Town, cause ya know he holds it down!




Do you want to work in film and television?! Do you want to move but not sure how to make that happen?! Are you stressed about how either of these two things will happen after graduation?! If you said "Yes!" to these three questions, then you can join my club "Recent Grads Who-Are-Stressed-Out-of-Their-Minds Because They Want to Work in an Already Competitive Field in a Recession and Possibly Move to a New City/State With Little to No Plan of What's Going to Happen When They Get There"!

Ok, that's not a real club (yet). But, just know that virtually everyone shares that sentiment. Going from possibly the best college town in the country to a new city that you may have only vacationed in is a big change. I'm learning (slowly) that college is over and that the real world has been waiting and tapping it's foot like a mother sitting at the kitchen table when her teenager is an hour passed curfew. We will inevitably collide with the real world, but the collision can be smooth or messy depending on how well we're able to shake our crazy addiction to college and try to realize the rest of the world isn't like our sweet home of Athens.

Before I graduated, Jen Smith gave me some names of fellow Grady Grads who have moved to NYC. I got in touch with them and asked for their advice on moving, working and living in the city. They gave me excellent feedback and were more than willing to help out a Grady brotha. So definitely use the Grady network to get advice or info on the respective city where you would like to move. I know there are several Grady peeps out in LA (Mitch, Kate, Chatter, Flippo, Scofield, Carrie, Joey Brown, Ashley Kruythoff, Jared, Speas and I'm sure a few others I'm missing). We out here in NYC are a bit of a smaller but growing bunch (myself, Kalie Watch, Chelsea Galen, Chad Mumm, Rocky and, again, I'm sure a few I'm leaving out).

I was fortunate enough to work with roughly 13 other UGA grads on CBS' "There Goes The Neighborhood" which was shot in Kennesaw, GA this summer. It was a great experience and I'm so glad I was able to work on the show and meet the people I did. But I want to second what Mitch said in her previous post; when you get that job or internship, work and work hard. Complaining is the fastest way to put yourself on people's "I don't want to work with them again" list. Also phrases like, "I can't", "I don't know" and "I don't think that's gonna work." These are statements that show a lack of commitment, motivation and work ethic, all vital parts to being a valuable crew member.

All in all, try not to stress too much, find out where the Grady network is and utilize the people within it, and bust your hiney when you get an internship or job. Let the only thought of you in people's mind be, "(Your Name) is a hard worker, enjoyable to be around and reliable". As important as the Grady network is, your network with each internship/job you get can be equally if not more important in terms of getting future work. If I asked you right now to refer to me some people I could use for a short film I'm shooting, would you go online and look through people's resumes? Maybe. Or would you look through your phone and look at people in your class that you've worked with before? Probably the latter. It's the same outside of college. Some productions do staff up for crew from online applications, but a lot of them go through their phones and crew lists from other shows to find people they already know. Basically, be someone they will remember. For good reasons, that is.

As always, Jen and Biddle are amazing resources. Both have a wellspring of knowledge and experience that can help answer any questions you may have.

I'm still learning all these things I've laid out myself. It's easy to get bogged down with the details, but it's important to remember this is one of the only times in your life when you can pack up and go somewhere. Whether that's abroad in another country or across this country, this is the time to do it. I've been up here in NYC for a month now and I'm loving it. I'm staying with a friend from Macon that I've known for awhile and I'm currently working on NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice." Do I know what's going to happen after this show wraps? Not at all. But I'm hopeful and will enjoy every minute of living here regardless.

Good luck and long live the Rebellion!

Weston