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It was pouring in Burbank, on a cold Thursday morning. Without much further thought, we stepped in my car and drove. We were not sure which direction we were headed, as long as we drove somewhere more dry, warm, and friendly for a conversation. Coffee perhaps. The common destination for the common Angeleno. But I was not interviewing just any Angeleno. My interviewee is a rising gaffer and key grip in the film industry we hold dear and close to our lives who started out right here at Woodbury University and is a 7500 magazine alumni. A person who I know and am quite fond of. A wonderful local to be around. Kyle Thor grew up in the San Gabriel Valley, and lived in Los Angeles most of his life. I frankly could tell he was very familiar with the area. Most locals know that Los Angeles is very diverse city and every region has its own distinct characteristics.
As we drove past many potential establishments, I saw “Mariscos” in the distance, a quaint, yet beautifully set and tasteful restaurant, near the heart of Burbank. I had always wanted to eat there, I said. Turns out Kyle is quite familiar with that restaurant. He’s stopped there many times for a bite after work. |
"Coffee culture is very big out here, going out to get a cup of coffee is just a thing we do."
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Kyle reminisced about his time living in Burbank, which is his favorite place to live so far. Burbank was the first place for him where he went to college, to Woodbury. He enjoyed venturing off and living on his own in the city for the first time where he began working in the film industry, made many friends, and was able to support himself. It was quite a liberating feeling.
“This place has a lot of great memories”, he said. He remembers his favorite hookah lounge, Gitana, along with other local bars and restaurants, where he felt like a regular. He loved having the feeling that he was a part of a family and for that reason, “Burbank will always have a special place for me”. Unfortunately for him and many other youth, Burbank can be quite expensive and so he was inclined to move to Alhambra. |
We left Mariscos, full of great food and a pleasant conversation and a little thirsty for something refreshing. What better than the current Los Angeles trend, coffee. We drove in the direction of the local studios, a perfect setting for my interviewee. The place we ended up is called Coffee Commissary, a wonderful place to meet a friend, have a meeting or even spend some time by yourself, working. “The average local likes to get coffee, like, coffee culture is very big out here, going out to get a cup of coffee is just a thing we do”, Kyle says.
But there’s so much diversity in Los Angeles. He states how everyone has different forms of interests. There’s so much diversity. So many hole in the wall restaurants, cafes, so many places to go to people watch and explore. As touristy as it may seem, Hollywood and Venice are some unique places to visit. There are so many interesting people to see, street performers, interesting stores, etc.
But there’s so much diversity in Los Angeles. He states how everyone has different forms of interests. There’s so much diversity. So many hole in the wall restaurants, cafes, so many places to go to people watch and explore. As touristy as it may seem, Hollywood and Venice are some unique places to visit. There are so many interesting people to see, street performers, interesting stores, etc.
After we finished our little adventure around the greater Burbank area, we returned home to our headquarters, Woodbury. It would be absolute madness to finish the interview, without discussing the makings behind the entertainment industry. I think one of the key elements of being a local in Burbank and overall the Los Angeles area is the film industry. In many ways, this is the entertainment capital of the world. Even within this industry, there is a massive amount of diversity. There are locals and transplants. Locals are the people who obviously were born and raised in LA, who ended up in the film industry and transplants are from everywhere else.
We sat together near the senior film editing lab and continued our conversation, which to me became even more fascinating, considering that I am very intrigued with this field. “If you’re about to graduate, and you don’t know what to do, that’s okay. If you’re about to graduate, and you haven’t been on a set yet, that’s probably not okay,” explains Kyle. No matter what department you want to work in: “You have to go out there, and get on a set, and work”. This is an industry that requires a lot of field experience. Many things are taught on set as opposed to in class and the lack of that knowledge will hinder you in the future.
Whatever field you want to work in, whether it be a director, a makeup artist, a producer, you have to go out there and understand how to acquire that skill and use it to your advantage. Everyone is important on set, even the PA’s.
“I want to be a director of photography,” Kyle says, “I’m working as a gaffer and a key grip right now cause that’s how I learn. I need to master lighting before I master camera and become a DP. That’s an old way of doing things. A lot of DP’s nowadays are just straight up camera department. You have to know at least a little about every single thing that goes into the production process.”
We sat together near the senior film editing lab and continued our conversation, which to me became even more fascinating, considering that I am very intrigued with this field. “If you’re about to graduate, and you don’t know what to do, that’s okay. If you’re about to graduate, and you haven’t been on a set yet, that’s probably not okay,” explains Kyle. No matter what department you want to work in: “You have to go out there, and get on a set, and work”. This is an industry that requires a lot of field experience. Many things are taught on set as opposed to in class and the lack of that knowledge will hinder you in the future.
Whatever field you want to work in, whether it be a director, a makeup artist, a producer, you have to go out there and understand how to acquire that skill and use it to your advantage. Everyone is important on set, even the PA’s.
“I want to be a director of photography,” Kyle says, “I’m working as a gaffer and a key grip right now cause that’s how I learn. I need to master lighting before I master camera and become a DP. That’s an old way of doing things. A lot of DP’s nowadays are just straight up camera department. You have to know at least a little about every single thing that goes into the production process.”
“You have to go out there, and get on a set, and work."
“Get on a set, get in a production office, get somewhere and learn. You have to learn, you will never stop learning in this industry,”
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One great way to get introduced to the industry as a beginner is to work as a PA on set, according to Kyle. A PA could go to every department, because they tend to help every department on set, whether it be costume, grip, camera, etc. “You have the ability to gain knowledge from every department, and not every PA does that.” he states, “Get on a set, get in a production office, get somewhere and learn. You have to learn, you never stop learning in this industry” he continues.
Experience is very important, yet the theoretical knowledge is also a key element to the process. The experience, compliments the knowledge you could get from school or a potential mentor. That foundational school knowledge is often set aside when you are gaining experience, and it is only in the later years of experience where you realize how crucial the science behind each action really is. “A good grip has a good knowledge of physics,” for example, as he continues to describe, and it is difficult to marry information to anything when you don’t have the experience to go with it. The conversation was near its end, as the rain kept pouring, and I asked what he could say as a final statement before we call it a day. He replied with a very hard yet hopeful response: “This industry is a marathon. You’re not going to get straight out of college and instantly be a DP or director, or a producer, that just doesn’t happen. It’s a long trek. You’re going to have to do it for a while. Take your time, don’t get stressed about not getting work right away. It’s gonna be slow” Kyle continues. “You have to go out and hustle for it.” |
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"Take your time, don’t get stressed about not getting work right away. It’s gonna be slow. You have to go out and hustle for it."
Holding a relationship in the industry, starting a family, or even having a life away from the industry is very hard because it tends to be demanding. This is often why people in the industry get together. “We have the highest divorce rate,” jokes Kyle. It’s a tough industry in the sense that people don’t see you for days or weeks at a time. “There are days where I’m gone and my roommates don’t even see me,” he confesses, “I come home, and I go to bed and I leave and they’re like ‘Dude where you been?’ I say, ‘I live here!'"
“But, you will have like, the best work relationships you will ever have. You will come out of every job with the best stories. You will have such a full life with such amazing experiences. You’re living the dream, you’re living the dream right now, you’re also living the dream in the sense that people ask, ‘Hey how you’re doing man?’ ‘ You know...living the dream...’” we laugh. “It’s good and bad. Sometimes when you’re working, you’re working like ‘I wanna die, kill me’. But then it’s also just like, ‘Well that was f*ckin’ dope!’. It’s hard to explain. It’s living life extremely. Longer days, longer experiences, stronger relationships, stronger fallouts. If you make a friend, you make a friend for life. You make an enemy, you make an enemy for life. A crew, in the industry, is a family and family’s got your back, and it’s awesome,” Kyle states, as I listen intently.
“Most of the greatest experiences I’ve had in the industry, are not from the screenings, or the red carpet, but from the little moments on set with the crew, ice cream, pie, and beer, for example, another story for another time. But, know that the first few years are gonna suck. You might do a lot of sh*t shows. You might not get paid at first. You might have to chase checks like I did. You will struggle a lot, it’s gonna f*cking suck. The first two years working in the industry is just to test if you could handle it. Cause when you get past it and you are still working here, you start to get the callbacks. You never notice until you realize you’re just there," he concludes. I couldn’t have stated better myself. A truly wonderful conversation with a truly wonderful individual. The perfect conversation to have with a cup of coffee.
“Most of the greatest experiences I’ve had in the industry, are not from the screenings, or the red carpet, but from the little moments on set with the crew, ice cream, pie, and beer, for example, another story for another time. But, know that the first few years are gonna suck. You might do a lot of sh*t shows. You might not get paid at first. You might have to chase checks like I did. You will struggle a lot, it’s gonna f*cking suck. The first two years working in the industry is just to test if you could handle it. Cause when you get past it and you are still working here, you start to get the callbacks. You never notice until you realize you’re just there," he concludes. I couldn’t have stated better myself. A truly wonderful conversation with a truly wonderful individual. The perfect conversation to have with a cup of coffee.
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