Today we’d like to introduce you to Cindy Wu.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Cindy. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Fall 2012, I came to the United States for my college. Studying at NYU with a major of Applied Psychology was what I was aspired to do. I was hoping it would be not only the tool for me to understand my autistic sister better but also something I personally want to pursue. Yet, soon I realized my love for my sister shouldn’t be the reason to stay in the field. I started to direct my focus more towards field internships than researches, like most of my classmates.
Luckily I got the HR recruiting internship at Warner Music Group in my Freshman summer, where my duty was to hire all the next semester interns. From that four months internship, I learned that Psychology and HR, might not be something I should stay in, and I definitely want to work in entertainment business.
Because of my love for management and organization, under the recommendation of a family friend who is in the film business, I attended the NYFA summer program for producing in my sophomore summer. It was very informative and thorough, even though we didn’t do anything hands-on. This experience confirms my desire to head into this industry. However, I still wasn’t brave enough to switch major. What I did was adding Art History as my minor so I felt more connected to the ‘artsy world’.
I’ve also done a journalist internship in Phoenix Television, the broadcast company. But the true turning point for my career and study is the internship I took in my junior summer. Wanted to expand my Chinese connection in New York (there are only a couple of Chinese student from my major..), I started interning at ICN, a Chinese broadcast company that has offices in NY, LA, and China. I started as a tiny intern whose job is to add subtitles for their interview programs. Because it’s a small office, I could hear all the conversations and knew all the staff, I slowly started to do more than subtitles. Not long after that, the president of ICN and the project manager appreciated all my help and recognized my talent. With the recommendation of my direct superior, I was named the project coordinator for the 6-months multi-events Chinese Qipao festival who will be working directly under the president.
My duties included creating schedules for each office and department throughout the whole festival; establishing effective communication as a liaison between employees in New York, Los Angeles, and China; Follow-up with managers, employees, clients, performers, and third parties/venders to ensure that all projects are delivered on-time, within scope and within budget, and serving as an English and Chinese translator for clients, performers, and third parties vendors.
It was a huge responsibility for me, but I never felt this way about any internship before. I wanted to go to work everyday, kept thinking about work even at home. Free labor had never been more satisfying. After that best summer, I realized this type of work that requires communication, organization, and strategical planning is what I love doing. With my previous experience and internships, I decided that film producing is what I should pursue. Therefore I started preparing for graduate film schools. Without any proper film education, I decided to spend my senior summer doing a film production class in Tisch at NYU.
After graduation at NYU, I came to USC for MFA. It is very different from NYU and the academic environment I was used to. Everyone is extremely energetic and passionate about what they want to do. All my peers are very talented and come with their visions. It was a relief to learn that I wasn’t the only one with a Psychology background. Being one of the few who wanted to produce, the job considered less creative and interesting, I was able to work on many projects and learn my skills. After that, it was endless producing jobs and projects. It was mentally and physically challenging, but for the first time, similar to my ICN internship, I had THE feeling that I’m doing the right thing. Sleep deprive was not a problem anymore. Spending time with a group of friends who share your passion is dreamy.
In the meantime, I have the privilege to intern for KMI, Kathy Morgan International. It is an independent foreign sales company, and Kathy Morgan has been in the field for several decades. I’ve been working for them since 2016 and attended 3 AFM (American Film Market), and 2 Cannes Film Festival. Working as a sales agent provided me with crucial knowledge regarding what to do after a film is done. It is the important for a producer to know how to market/sell your films.
Now I am towards the end of my education, and it’s time to embark on a different kind of adventure in the industry.
Has it been a smooth road?
All in all, it’s been a smooth road, with many unexpected turns. Several years ago, I would never thought I will be in California, that I will be working as a producer in film, and that I will still be at school at 25.
My family has been extremely supportive throughout the process, and actually my father couldn’t wait for me to get out of Psychology. He saw right through me and knew from the beginning that it wasn’t something I enjoy doing.
One of the challenges would be that I need to learn more about the field and catch up with the others FAST. But I think it’s something one must and should do. It only benefits yourself, so no complaining there.
Being as a producer made me realize all is about problem-solving and human relations. We need to love solving all kinds of problem in the process, no matter if it’s the truck broke down, or the toilet is broken on set. We are the liaisons among all departments and people. Happy crew means happy set, which means better production and experience.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am a producer. Many of my past experience have been short films. Now I try to add more commercials and music videos to my portfolio. Most of the time I function as the producer or anything in that department. My specialty is my background as an international from China. I am bilingual and have production experience in China, which requires much more endurance in general. My autistic sister has made me extremely patient with different people.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
LA is THE city for entertainment: films, TV, and all that. The whole city has the entertainment vide built-in. The environment has made collaboration easier and production smoother. If you are or want to be in the business, this is the place to be.
Coming from a city where maximum commute for me has been 30 mins, LA traffic is really something. Living in South Pasadena, I had to lose an hour each way to traffic. Now that I am better at driving, I can listen to podcast and news on my commute.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cindydididididi/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cindy.wu.129142
Image Credit:
Manfong Leong, Bill Kommers, Hark Xu
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