Life & Work with Angela Jones of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Angela Jones.

Hi Angela, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
In1987 I moved from a small Tennessee town to Los Angeles. Not seeking fame or fortune but was open to all the possibilities the City of Angels had to offer. While in college, I met another transplant from Texas and she suggested we be extras and that literally changed everything for me. We signed up to be extras and I got to know the owner of the casting agency and he saw something in me I didn’t see myself. He hired me as a Casting Associate and I cast 8 features, commercials, music videos, and T.V. shows. Part of my job would be to go to set and sign in my extras/talent for the day when we had a large number cast, and it was there, while on set, I realized that is where I belonged. Some of my highlights from that time was I got regularly cast for a Sid and Marty Krofft- “D.C. Follies” variety show and I worked with the weekly music guests who would perform and extras were around dancing. Another memorable project that I was able to be apart of was Michael Jackson’s “Dirty Diana”. music video. I stayed in casting for awhile while I figured out my next move of how to get into Production. I left casting behind and went to work for I.T.C. Entertainment. They were, at the time, one of the largest Global Film Distributors of it’s time. But that was short lived. As I was learning more about film and how a film gets sold and distributed, Sony acquired the company and laid off my entire department. Sony only wanted the library. Next, I began working as an Associate Producer at a West L.A. Production Company producing Informercials. I worked there a couple of years, gaining more knowledge about how to produce content. From there I went into Advertising. I was Head of Production at a Venice Production Company for about 3 years. After my time there, it was time to spread my wings into new territory and I went freelance as a Production Manager. I had produced in-house but didn’t have the confidence or the contacts to be a Line Producer just yet. I loved being a Production Manager! I worked with top production companies and with A List Directors and it was within this position that I learned about equipment, budgets, crew positions and I was thriving. After 4 years, I had an opportunity to produce a music video with a rising Director-Marcos Siega. That decision changed my life and for the better. We went on to produce music videos and commercials together for 11 years. 1999, I began my journey as a Line Producer and haven’t looked back. Marcos and I produced iconic and award winning music videos that are still popular today. He is now one of the biggest Directors and Show Runners in the business and worthy of all his success. Being a Producer feeds my creative soul. I have been able to travel the world, work with incredible talent, crew, build a beautiful global community and every job is different and always continues to teach me something new with each job. I have rode many waves of changes in our industry-strikes, film to digital transitions, social media platforms, to the pandemic, and now with more strikes and a lot of uncertainty about the future of advertising with AI, state incentives and run-away-production. It’s been devastating for us all, as we all await to see what becomes of the current transitions. Our industry is a global close net family. Hollywood has been the heart of entertainment for so long and despite the current challenges, I believe we will still find our way to create memorable pieces of art. The world longs for it and we are the ones who can deliver it.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My parents did not come from Entertainment, so when I shifted my career to be in Entertainment they worried about me, especially when I went “freelance”. It has not been 100% smooth at all. I will say how privileged I feel to have come up during the times I did. From 1988 to current day, I have seen A LOT of changes in this business!!! Strikes, economic collapse, Me Too Movement, Film to Digital, shift in technology, smart phones and social media, a pandemic and run away productions. Yet, the Entertainment Industry is like a cockroach; “indestructible and can survive anything, including a nuclear blast, stems from their remarkable resilience and adaptability.” That is also how I would describe all the hard workers and vendors in this global phenomenon of a business-we call Show Business. We always find a way to tell a story!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
“Producer” has a lot of meanings in the film industry . I am specifically a Line Producer-what does that mean? My position is key to the day to day management of a project on a logistical and financial stand point. A production company represents Directors and I maintain my relationships with both. Once a job is awarded, I am hired. I receive the creative and am the main liaison between the E.P./Prod. Co / Director and the Advertising Agency / Client. The first thing I do is set in motion the casting process and location scouting (if not filming on a stage). Then crew acquisition follows. We try to connect the most talented people to the project to warrant its success, from a Cinematographer, Production Designer to Stylist team and so on. I specialize in Automotive, Comedy, Celebrities/Athletes, Food/Alcohol, Hidden Camera, Real People, and Virtual Production/Experiential. You name it, I probably have filmed it. While in Production, we have a timeline to work within and in advertising, in particular, it’s a very tight rushed schedule that is unmatched within other platforms/medias. I am known as the “Zen Producer”, mainly because of the calm sets and pleasant work environment that I try to cultivate. I learned early on in my career, it starts from the top and I take my position seriously to ensure all crew and such are treated fairly and have a good/positive work experience while under pressure. I am expected to maintain the budget, ensure delivery of said creative and be able to pivot on a dime. Communication is also a huge key to any successful shoot. And at the end of the day, our business is also Customer Service. Without the relationships and creative, there is no work. Maintaining all relationships throughout is key to the success of any project. When you have had a career be all of your adult life, I look back and feel proud of the contribution I made within this industry. I hope most of the projects I have produced, entertain, make people laugh, cry and think. My latest endeavor that I am most proud of was a project for Supercell/Hay Day game. The Director and I took a leap and approached the client and wanted to see if they needed any new webisodes for their game Hay Day. And we were thrilled when they responded with collaborating on a project together. We spent a couple of months developing a story and timeline with them for their upcoming birthday. Story was lock and we found our subjects and we were off. It was a smooth and fun production. We produced it ourselves and had a crew of 9 people in Seattle that helped us tell this heartwarming story. It was a huge sense of accomplishment and the webisode turned out great! Supercell is thrilled and it showed me that sometimes, you have to take a risk and create an opportunity yourself, if you want it to make something happen.

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I know I am lucky to still be here today, still producing. But what most people don’t know is that behind the calm, competent producer is a woman who’s also a writer, a mystic, and a mother who has rebuilt her life more than once. I’ve lived a thousand lives inside this one-from cancer survivor to single parent and I’ve learned how to turn even the hardest chapters into a story. Writing isn’t just something I do-it’s who I am now. Producing is how I make meaning in the external world. Writing is how I process the internal. And the dance between the two? That’s my magic.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://angelajonesproducer.com/
• Instagram: @jonzin @angelajonesproducer
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelajonesproducer/

Image Credits
Aengus Macneil for the black and white images of me alone.