Today we’d like to introduce you to Valentina Alonzo.
Hi Valentina, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I grew up in Chula Vista, California, with my mom, dad, and younger brother. I am fortunate enough to have known what I wanted to do with my life at an early age. I had no nepo baby associations or even influence from my family to go into the industry. My parents, who had once worked at the now-extinct American Film Technologies in Tijuana, told me they didn’t care what I chose as a career. They just wanted me happy. The only love that I have ever known was movies and thanks to my parents, I grew up with obscure quoting and influences from movies like Clueless, She’s All That, and The Lost Boys. Not exactly critically acclaimed films, but cult classics that have impacted my life in more ways than I can tell. I took my passion for filmmaking with me through my entire schooling process. I studied film production at Southwestern Community College, and that’s where I really honed in on my skills for coordinating and producing. My goal was to always exceed my own expectations of what I thought I could get out of an experience. With school, I went beyond the classroom, working for professors, doing internships, grading papers, and getting my first-ever PA gig that allowed me more opportunities. I eventually went onto Cal State Northridge and continued my path into producing, but, of course, putting on multiple hats to make a buck here and there. I was an Editor, a Production Assistant, Production Designer, Gaffer, Trash Taker Outer, you name it. The pandemic unfortunately cut my in-person education short and I went back home with my tail between my legs. At least I can now say I did my whole senior documentary thesis in the middle of a pandemic with only a two-man crew, me being one of them. I eventually graduated with a bachelor’s degree from my living room couch with a white claw in hand and a dream for a better future. Because of the pandemic, everything was put on hold, and so was my search for THAT FILM JOB. So, in the meantime, I did what I could: some sporadic freelance gigs in my hometown, a weird job at the local amusement park, a miserable job converting VHS tapes to DVDs, etc. It took a lot of time and a lot of random gigs, but eventually, my weird and broad resume was taken of interest. I became a Postproduction Assistant for a trailer agency called Clever Caboose and have worked my way up to my position now as Production Coordinator. I have been fortunate enough to find this company who has treated me very well and I can honestly say I love my work. After all the work I have done to get here in this industry, I finally feel like it is paying off. I ended up finally moving back to LA last month, and I now get to work remotely from my apartment. To think this all started from Clueless quotes…
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t think it’s ever a smooth road, and that’s what younger people or students should expect when they want to go into this industry. Expect competition, financial hardship, and rejections, and expect to fail once or twice. That’s not to say you won’t get to where you want; you just have to have a lot of drive to get there. I have had to deal with a lot of rejections for some very prestigious jobs that I just wasn’t as qualified for. I also dealt with the inconsistency that comes with freelancing. One minute, you will be very busy, and the next minute, you will have no gigs for weeks or even months. If you are not in LA like I was, it can be a lot harder, too. I also believe my situation was a little different because of the pandemic. I was stuck in a kind of purgatory where no one was working. In that sense, I didn’t feel alone, but it was still so debilitating. I also just had no choice but to get a job outside of my passion. I was a college graduate who needed something to keep me going, so the amusement park job was a saving grace in a sense. It made me realize that I could never work a job like this for the rest of my life and be happy. I just had to channel it in a more positive direction, and it put me at a higher motivation to get to where I needed to be.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a producer and coordinator specifically for trailers and sales promos. A lot of people don’t really know what it takes to make a trailer. It takes a lot of thought and exploration to get a good concept for a movie we are trying to portray at its best. At the end of the day, we are trying to elevate this film, and I take pride in doing just that. It involves a lot of legalities and approvals from multiple people and clients. I’m also just a creative at heart, with my job and with my personal projects. I am very music-oriented, so when I hear a song that I like, I imagine a whole storyboard of how to convey that song in a visual form. I have done this with a few of my personal projects, all for the love of creating. I don’t care for winning awards I just want to create things for me. I let go of the restrictions I learned in school about filmmaking and have fun. Along the way I have developed my own voice and have my own style of visual storytelling. Many projects I do are based on narrations, and I tell stories about what I know, which is my life and what happens in it. This also challenges me to create something visually interesting and entertaining.
Any big plans?
I will continue to do more personal projects, and I would also like to get into directing, so I will see where that takes me. I am always open to create and collaborate with like-minded filmmakers. My end goal is to become a professor to guide and mentor student filmmakers, so I plan on going back to school next year to get my master’s. I have an appreciation for educators who go above and beyond to help their students achieve their goals, and I want to be that person for them as well.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valentinaalonzo/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valentina-alonzo-955b341b0/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@valentinaalonzo3608/videos
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FU-RJiltxk
Image Credits
Matai Jones
