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Issue #96

Weekly Newsletter

by L. Swift and Jeff McQ

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Student Successes


When Jimi and Brian get you learning on the job, you’re able to get real-world training that fills in the gaps of what you can learn on your own. Read below about an already-successful club DJ who came to the Recording Connection to hone her production skills, and now has plans to produce her own music (along with a touring gig in China!).

Student Successes Student Successes

Recording Connection student Heather Crawford develops her DJ skills, lands gig in Shanghai

 
RC mentor Doug Boulware and apprentice Heather Crawford

RC mentor Doug Boulware and apprentice Heather Crawford

  By the time she discovered the Recording Connection, Heather Crawford had already spent several years making a name for herself in the Los Angeles music scene as a club DJ, under the moniker “DJ Zienna.”   “I’ve always loved music—it’s something that’s always been a part of my soul,” she says. “I had some friends that are into DJing, and so I just started messing around on the equipment, fell in love with it. I saved up my money to be able to purchase the equipment, and I actually trained myself via YouTube, just a lot of practice and dedication for about a year.”   A born go-getter, Heather began managing herself and booking a number of gigs, from a radio show with Bishop Don Juan to a Hollywood residency to a slot at the Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas. But at the same time, as a self-taught DJ, she was aware of her own limitations and of a growing desire to start producing her own music. That’s when she found the Recording Connection.   “I was doing some research online,” she says, “and it looked to me as the most accredited school, and there were a lot of very good reviews.”   Heather was placed as an apprentice with Recording Connection mentor Doug Boulware at The Abstract Recording Studios in Los Angeles, CA.   “My mentor has been absolutely amazing, helping me understand musical concepts and be comfortable in the studio,” says Heather. “The way that the class/studio is setup is more than I could have asked for. I thought it would be more of a class situation, but being in the studio and being able to physically, hands-on work on things and see how things are run…I’m a very hands-on learner. Once I see, I can physically do it, I can grasp the concept behind it better. The studio environment was perfect for understanding because that’s what you’re going to be working in.”  
Control Room in The Abstract LA

Control Room in The Abstract LA

Even with her prior experience, Heather admits it was a bit of a learning curve at first. “From the beginning point I thought it was too much for me to understand,” she says. “And then once I actually started going through the program, I understood that I can do it and it is a possibility to follow whatever dreams you have. It’s just sitting down and getting the knowledge behind what you’re doing.”   Now that she’s gaining that knowledge, Heather is already starting to put it to work in her studies. “I love going in the studio,” she says. “My favorite moment is actually sitting down, putting my mixes that I’ve completed on the speakers and going through them, and watching [Doug] say, ‘Okay, this sounds good, but this is how we’re going to manipulate the sound’ and be able to look at his talent and then take my talent and make them into something creative and beautiful. It’s very exciting.”   Meanwhile, Heather continues to move forward with her career as DJ Zienna. She just landed an overseas gig in Shanghai, China, scheduled for next April. “I’m so excited,” she says. “That’s what I’ve been wanting to do my whole life is to be able to travel overseas, so with what I’m doing it’s obviously…I’m able to do it now and get paid to do it, so it’s beautiful.”   As she finishes up her apprenticeship, Heather also has plans to put her newfound skills to good use. “One of the main reasons I got into the producing and engineering [is] because I have a passion and a love for music,” she says. “I want to personally work on my own music, and now I have the capability of being able to do that. The first step after graduating is me coming up with my own music.”   When Heather discovered the Recording Connection, she’d already built a level of success for herself, but with the on-the-job training she’s receiving, she’s now poised to take it to a whole new level. “It’s been a great opportunity for me,” says Heather. “It’s one thing to love something and have a passion for it, but when you have the knowledge behind it and you can combine them, the opportunities are endless.”    
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Mentor News
Mentor News
 

NUGGETS OF TRUTH: Film Connection mentor Sebastian Triscari on going “PLACES” in your career

    With more than 40 years in the business, Film Connection mentor Sebastian Triscari represents the consummate professional when it comes to production. His experience ranges from working for New York’s CBS affiliate station atop the World Trade Center to launching a new TV station in Juneau, Alaska, and in his time he’s produced more than 4000 television commercials alone. Since settling in central Pennsylvania in 1993, Sebastian has built his production company Triscari into the region’s leading go-to company for film and video production.   Needless to say, Sebastian brings a wealth of wisdom to the Film Connection students he teaches, so it should come as no surprise that during a recent conversation with RRFC, he shared some key insights as to his own success, and what he tries to impart to others—including the acronym PLACES he coined to help his team recall the core values of his company. The best nuggets of that conversation have been mined for you below.  
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  Film mentor Sebastian Triscari ON WHY HE CHOSE TO SET UP HIS FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY IN CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA INSTEAD OF NEW YORK OR LOS ANGELES:   “I decided early on what was important to me was family. And I at that point could have gone to New York or L.A. or a lot of different places, but I was smart enough, and because my roots are in technology and engineering, I understood that in the very near future, it wouldn’t matter where you are in the world—that you would be able to, if you’re talented and you have the right goals and the right skill set, you could work anywhere in the country and develop programs and things that people would pay you for, and you’d be able to have a good living…I settled on a piece of property here in Central Pennsylvania, and I must be successful because I bought the building next to me there, so I own the block right now.”   ON WHAT HIS COMPANY OFFERS TO CLIENTS:   “It’s all about helping people tell their stories…My main passion is in video production, telling stories, creating emotions. We’re visual, kinesthetic, or auditory learners, and I happened to be dyslexic and have ADD, so the visual medium is one I really love because I learn and I process information that way…As visual creatures, this is a very powerful way to help people.”   ON THE IMPORTANCE OF SURROUNDING YOURSELF WITH A GOOD TEAM:   “The success, I think, in building any company, particularly in this industry, is finding the right people. I’m very fortunate, my wife, Dr. Jacqueline Triscari, has a Ph.D. in Adult Education. So what we do is we hire the right people. We surround ourselves with people who complement my skill set in particular and don’t have a lot of redundancy. In a small company, you can’t afford to have too much redundancy, you really need different skill sets. But that’s the secret sauce, find the right people, be passionate about what you’re doing.   ON THE ADVANTAGES OF MENTORING:   “The idea of working with a mentor…I wish when I started my career, I would have been able to access somebody like myself who has 40 years of experience in the industry and who could help me to navigate through ‘Don’t waste your time on this’ or ‘This is really important.’ You don’t know what you don’t know, and you think with what you know. So…the Film Connection certainly is a great framework to learn.”   BRAGGING ON MICHELINA FRISS, ONE OF HIS APPRENTICES:   “She’s doing a fantastic job. I’m really proud…we’re working on her project right now. She came up with an idea which is around boardwalk communities and the communities that stand there on a year round basis…  
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