Exclusive From The Green Room: The Legacy Lives On

Astha Shrestha
Mar 9, 2018
3 min read

Throughout the weeklong event of HoF9, close to 100 individual sessions including workshops, panels, green rooms, and activities were conducted. Among those, Green Rooms were particularly sought after by the students. Almost every Green Room session was filled to capacity and students were enthusiastic about being able to make it.

One of such Green Room sessions were led by alumni Jeff Unay, Brett Novak, Larry Katz and Tom Boyd, all of whom have collectively worked in over 100 blockbusters, series, advertisements and music videos. Some of their contributions has gone into Avatar, KingKong, Avengers, Little Miss Sunshine, NCIS etc just to name a few. Among several noteworthy questions and answers, Unay’s advice was noted down by most attendees. He said, ”Don’t try to find a shortcut or fast route to complete any task.” When Tom Boyd, an underwater cinematographer, was asked about his career he said, “Ohh I just dived in, no pun intended!” He continued, “I took every opportunity that came my way from TV shows to music videos. Now I choose to work mostly with nature.” His advice to one of the aspiring cinematographers present was, “when you show a picture, don’t just show any picture because you think it is cool! Have a story to tell through your pictures.”

Katz had his own way to share his stories, the whole room cracked for a solid minute when he said that he just got his bucket list checked off after he got to see Samuel L. Jackson say M**********R live multiple times during his last film. Novak, however was the somber one and shared his experiences he gathered in over 30 countries throughout his career.

Pic: Brett Novak, Larry Katz, Jeff Unay, Tom Boyd (L->R)

The short 45 minutes with those four mentors passed by quicker than a blink of an eye and students were a little disappointed when the 5 minutes warning came by but at the same time were very grateful for the up and close time they got to have.

Meanwhile, in adjacent room Phil Pallen, a brand strategist and Michael Cardwell, creative director at Digital Brew were coaching business students on building business plans and branding. Pallen reviewed business cards and resumes that students had made. He had some wise words to share too.

"According to him, making relationships depends on small acts like responding to messages and approaching others with genuine conversations, as those are much better ways to build a network than to hand out business cards."

This session was attended by students from film, music production, business and a few instructors themselves. When a student asked Pallen what he looked for in a candidate while hiring, he responded, “maybe I will look at the resume, but mainly I will look at the works. When a company is hiring employees, they are looking to fill a position immediately not 6 months down the line, so we like to see that you are ready to take the position.” He went on to advice, “get all your works on your portfolio, but also be mindful that it reflects on your capabilities.“

Just among those two Green Room sessions, some valuable insights were being passed on to the students. Those who have already been through the stage where students are right now stepped in to help carve pathways and in the process built and left a legacy for students to pick up on. The students likewise picked up on the on everything the mentors had to give out and left the rooms with a shine in their eyes hoping to be on the other side of the room in the future, continuing with the legacy those mentors have created.