Daily Inspiration: Meet Uzo Opara

Today we’d like to introduce you to Uzo Opara.

Hi Uzo, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory. 
I got started on my Filmmaker journey back in college while attending Texas Tech University. I was in school for a chemical engineering degree, but I could not stop daydreaming about all of the ideas and stories that I would come up with, some of which I had already been writing out since high school. During my first year in college, I switched majors and started on my path. I learned scriptwriting, cinematography, how to operate a camera, video editing, and special effects during my years there. I also wrote and directed several short films and worked a 2-year internship at the local PBS studio. After graduating with a BA in Media & Communications, I moved home and worked for a year waiting tables, saving up for my move to Los Angeles. 

I got the notion to move to LA, because as graduation came nearer, I was struggling with the fact that I had no prospective jobs waiting for me. One of my best friends was about to move to LA to attend a music production school, and I asked him if I would be able to stay with him in LA until I found a job. He agreed and I ended up living with a cousin in Hesperia while staying the weekends on my friend’s couch. Since then, I have been meeting people, networking, surviving, growing, creating, and rediscovering myself. I am now to the point where I am launching my production company and releasing my unique works into the world! 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has NOT been a smooth road. Very much a roller coaster! 

First obstacle came after I had gotten my first job as an editor for a TV show. It was a great experience, and the pay was even better. I had developed a pretty decent relationship with the director/producer and even helped him produce some other short films and worked an award show for him. Life was getting good; I even bought a $200 pair of jeans on Rodeo Drive (I still wear these jeans, and I don’t regret my purchase one bit). The problem came once his productions started going under, and he stopped inviting me back for work. I realized I had become too reliant on him and didn’t really have any other sources of income. My money slowed down, and LA started engulfing the rest of what I had left. This taught me my first lesson of Hollywood. NEVER GET TOO COMFORTABLE!! There really is no job security. Just because the wheel isn’t broken doesn’t mean you will still have a wheel tomorrow. 

Another obstacle I faced was scheduling shoots, or more so, organizing people for a common effort. First off, one needs to understand that everyone out here is an individual with their own complex lives going on, so it’s only natural not everyone can be available when you need them to be. However, you find out soon enough that you cannot work with everyone. This went to teach me another lesson. Develop a COMPETENT and RELIABLE TEAM. Many competent people are not trying to work for free or for people they don’t know of. Many reliable people are not competent at all; in fact, many seem to be lost souls waiting to be found, and I just came by and gave them something to do. No matter what celebrity or idol or creative or whomever you look up to, they did not make it to that point by themselves. They have a TEAM!!! 

One more obstacle, because I’m tired of writing all of this. GETTING A JOB!!! Lol, still something I’m struggling with. Coming out here, many people will tell you to try getting a job in the entertainment industry by using LinkedIn or Indeed. To my experience, I have never ever ever ever ever ever never ever never never never ever never ever gotten an entertainment job through LinkedIn or Indeed. I actually have no hope for those services whatsoever. In fact, if someone tells you to use one of those services, ask them how they got their entertainment job. Every time, their answer to that question has been something along the lines of, “I used to work with this person/friend/family member back in the day, then they got an opportunity and brought me on board.” In fact, you will hear a very similar answer from almost everybody you ask who works in the industry. One guy told me that a previous employer contacted him through LinkedIn as if they couldn’t just contact him through Instagram or email. Every job I’ve had in the industry came from a freelance opportunity that turned into more work because I met someone in person who liked me and extended an opportunity to me or because I was able to get myself on set and then talked to the crew members on how I could work with them. Moral of the story, you have to go out there and GET IT FOR YOURSELF! It seems like everyone is getting laid off these days, though, so the journey continues. If anyone reading this article was able to get a genuine entertainment industry job solely by applying through LinkedIn or Indeed, I would LOVE to hear your story on how and when that happened. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a Director/Writer/Cinematographer/Editor/Photographer/Dancer/Artist. Pretty much an all-around visual artist. I specialize in Comedy, Action, and Drama. I like for my work to feel like an escape from reality, even if it is based in reality. I want people to be engaged and to also feel like they are in a cartoon world with a real-world aesthetic. I like to hit on real-world topics and issues, but I also don’t like to take myself too seriously all the time. What is life without a little fun? I am most proud of my Stay With The Shits action-comedy, the LoveShy drama web series I produced, and the live-action Yu-Gi-Oh! Comedy series I am producing as well. 

I feel what sets me apart from everyone else is that my comedy can be very relatable but also leaves you feeling confused as to how the sequence of events played out the way they did. I like when a narrative takes a hard turn but still keeps the consistent theme. I like to be serious but keep it a little cheesy. I like to be cheesy but get real serious at times. I want people to laugh and cry and be entertained by my works, and for them to maybe think a little deeper about themselves as well. But I also want them to think, “Huh? What did I just watch?”

What are your plans for the future?
I am producing more sketches and the rest of my Stay With The Shits action-comedy series. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.uzoopara.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uzoopara_/
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@wonderwallproductions

Image Credits
Zachariah Schmitt