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Three dynamic women who have staked out successful careers in the entertainment industry will inspire your female students to explore new career pathways.Female role models help get this career on the radar of women and girls because they’re able to see someone who looks like them on the job. This video reveals the personal experiences and insights of successful women working in this field. Entertainment and related industries employ millions of people. Increasing numbers of women are establishing rewarding careers in the traditionally male-dominated entertainment field. |
Career Options for Women -- Entertainment:
This 24-minute video features profiles of three women with successful careers in entertainment:
- Stephanie Gignac, an animation storyboard artist
- Marie-France Coallier, a press photographer for a major newspaper
- Andrea Dixon, a senior film colorist for Rainmaker, a company that provides complete post-production services, on-line editing, film developing, special effects, and multi-media
Additional information from co-workers and supervisors supplements each job profile.
Meet the role models featured in the Entertainment video:
Stephanie: Animation Storyboard Artist
Stephanie Gignac is an animation storyboard artist. The storyboard artist is responsible for what is considered the "blueprint" of animation. The job involves taking a script and illustrating each scene in sequence with dialogue and actions.
She has worked in the industry for 6 years. Stefanie received her Classical Animation diploma after attending a 3 year-program at Sheridan College. She has worked on animation shows such as Rupert, Franklin, and Little Bear for Nelvana. At the time of her interview, Stefanie had been working freelance for Cinar Corporation for 4 years.
Stephanie does her work in the comfort of her home, along with her younger sister, who is also a storyboard artist. One of the shows Stephanie worked on - Arthur - won 2 U.S. Emmies for best children's animation.
"It's a great job - hard but fulfilling - and very creative. You can earn a good living if you're willing to commit to crazy schedules. There aren't many women in the field, so it's kind of special to be doing this.”
Marie-France: Press Photographer
Marie-France Coallier is a press photographer for The Gazette in Montreal. Sometimes, she does photo essays, or short articles on a story accompanied by a big picture. Reporting is a small part of the job as well - knowledge of the story (names of people, places, etc) is required before a caption can be written.
Marie-France has always liked drawing and the visual arts. She took photography in high school. Her post secondary education consists of a double Bachelors in Visual Arts and Communications. She studied photography at the Dawson Institute.
Marie-France says that - to do the job - you need to be in good shape, carrying up to 35 pounds of equipment. Many photographers tend to have back problems. You must be passionate and determined and talented - have an eye for it. You can be a freelancer too - but need money to cover your expenses. You can also work for magazines and agencies, or wire services. If you work for them you have to travel abroad.
The salary is commensurate with seniority and experience. Career advancement opportunities may include becoming chief photographer or photo editor at a newspaper. “It's not a man's world anymore. It would be nice to have more of a woman's perspective.”
Andrea: Film Colorist
Andrea Dixon works as a senior film colorist for Rainmaker, a company that provides complete post-production services, on-line editing, film developing, special effects, and multimedia. Andrea turns photo images into electronic images for color correction. She creates the 'look' for a show. Some of the shows Andrea has worked on include XFiles and Millennium. Also, she worked on 'Aftershock: Earthquake in New York,' and a mini-series for A&E named Barnum.
Andrea first developed her interest in television production through photography, which she took up when she was 16. She enrolled in a two-year Television Production program. During her first semester, she started working at Rainmaker Imaging.
For those who are interested in this line of work, Andrea recommends volunteering for cable TV stations to get experience with the machines. Hard work is necessary, as well as perseverance and a sense of humility as a beginner. According to Andrea, it's sometimes your connections that can help you 'break into' the field. A few months after graduating from university, Daisy completed a job search program, which involved finding an eight-week job placement at a company in her field of study. She approached Next and a few other companies, and ended up choosing Next Environmental Inc. to do her voluntary placement. After the eight weeks, she was officially hired by Next.
For those who are interested in pursuing a similar career, Daisy recommends talking to someone in the field. Also, if you have an opportunity to do a placement for career prep in the field, then do it. Look into the university calendars and make sure you take the necessary courses to get into the entertainment program. Today's rapid technological revolution means that engineers will be continually upgrading their education for many years to come.
“It's interesting to see how things work and how it is designed in entertainment. Also, I like having the chance to work both inside and outside of the office. Staring into a computer, day after day, all day long is not much fun.”
Video details:
Run time: 24 minutes total, including three segments of approximately 8 minutes each.
Format: DVD. Closed-captioned.
Year: 2006
Note: Videos are interspersed with Canadian salary and labor statistics, which are similar to the numbers in the United States.
Policies: There is a no-return policy on these videos.
Grade level: Middle School, High School, Two-Year College, Four-Year University