Meet Aysia Bell

Today we’d like to introduce you to Aysia Bell.

Aysia, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am a Seattle, WA native and graduated from Garfield High School whose alumni include Quincey Jones and Jimi Hendrix. The decision of going to college didn’t come easily to me, and I decided to take a gap year between 2006-2006. Within that year, I found myself completely consumed and blinded in a toxic relationship with a boy who was attending the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

Against the wishes of everyone I loved, I enrolled at UNLV and moved to Sin City, with no friends or family and unsure of what I would study. A communications degree seemed safe, so that became my declared major. However, the university was now offering two different types of communication paths, either interpersonal communication or the hands-on technical fields of broadcast tv, PR, Advertising, etc.

And so I went the hands-on route declaring my concentration in Journalism and Media Studies, with a minor in entertainment management. The relationship I was in ended rather quickly, as every warning and red flag came to life in the form of physical, verbal and emotional abuse. Once I was single I was determined to not only finish school but find my own social circle and provide for myself the best I could.

College was a challenge… I was in the party capitol of the world, I was young and single and making lifelong friendships. There was so much to see and do, it was often hard to focus on school. However, as a student there comes a time when you get tunnel vision, you see the end in sight and everything revolves around the end goal – graduation!

By the time of my graduation in 2010, I was the senior producer of the schools live webcast, working three jobs, and starting to think of my next move. would I stay in Vegas, move back to Seattle, or make the move to Los Angeles to get my foot in the door of “the business.” Moving to LA seemed like the best next step… by that time my mom and stepdad had moved there, and my very best friend Leah lived there and was just signed to Epic Records.

I had my degree in hand and started applying to any entertainment intern, assistant, coordinator position I could find. While on the job search, I was able to navigate the production assistant life. A small 3rd party production company who produced live TV events brought me on for projects that would last anywhere from two weeks to two days.

I bought my own camera and computer and was able to capture friends in the music business and edit behind the scenes clips for them to use. I wanted to learn everything, how the cameras worked, what did it take to edit even 1 minute of footage, etc. Before I knew it four years in LA passed, and I still did not have a full-time job! I was 26, still single and ready to move up in my field.

In early August 2014, I landed an interview for a receptionist position at a Nickelodeon office in Hollywood. This was it, my foot was officially in the door! I knew if I was hired by a company such as Nick, I would find my way. I would be able to see first hand how shows were produced, how crews were managed, and most importantly how it felt to work Mon-Fri and get paid regularly!

I was quickly promoted from receptionist to the executive assistant of the Sr. Vice President of Production. My boss was a fast-talking production expert, with a very busy schedule. I became the gatekeeper for her day to day calendar, with important responsibilities of my own. After about a year and a half, it was time for my annual review, and my boss asked what I wanted to do next.

And I knew the answer, I wanted to be on set. I wanted to be as close to the show units as I could get. And so, in Feb 2016 I was assigned to join the production crew of an upcoming pilot as the Assistant Production Office Coordinator. This was on a trial basis, as my boss told my replacement if I hated production, I could have my job back.

The APOC position came with another decision… to join a labor union or not? What did that even mean, how much did it cost, and what were the benefits? I can’t say I loved every laborious day of that pilot… it was hard, it was dirty, and I was so new to it all.

But on the last night of shooting it all came together… we had an energetic audience, and my best friends Leah and Cristina came to support me. That night I knew I could do this, I was made to be a TV producer. So, I continued on to join a pilot right after that. And then was welcomed on to the crew of one of Nickelodeon’s most successful shows “The Thundermans” which was in its 4th and final season.

I worked 26 episodes, on the world famous Paramount Studios lot. Coming to work every day was a dream. I asked lots of questions, I made myself visible and showed special care and attention to the day to day demands that come with physical production. The PA’s now reported to me, and I had a whole crew in part, relying on me being good at my job.

I was starting to connect the dots of all the positions it took to produce TV, I was understanding the language of production, all while working 60+ hours a week. By the start of 2018 Life felt good, I was in a positive and supportive relationship for the last three years. My friends were all thriving in their own fields, from lawyers to hairstylists.

We were all in our early 30’s, and a tight-knit group most of us remaining friends since high school. On January 31st, 2018, everything would change. Leah, my best friend, and her boyfriend were in a tragic fatal car accident. Both of them – gone. My world stopped, completely. Everything that I knew to be true became surreal as I began to process that my life would never be the same again. I was living in a nightmare that I could not wake up from.

We quickly began to make arrangements, and within a weeks time, I had to return back to work. Nothing felt right without them. By this time, I had transitioned back to the network side of Nickelodeon, and the West Cost Production Coordinator. The work became mundane, day in and day out. I was missing the run and gun atmosphere of production but wasn’t sure I was ready for the work I knew it would take out of me.

In February 2018, Nick announced that it picked up “Cousins for Life,” a buddy comedy centered on 12-year-old cousins Stuart and Ivy, best friends who come from very different backgrounds and learn to navigate life under one roof with their families. The producer for Cousins needed a Production Coordinator and courted me for the job.

Every bit of my life began to transition, quickly. I was in the early stages of grief and had to make the decision once again to leave my desk job and return to the trenches of production. After making my pro’s and con’s list, I gave the network my 2-weeks notice and joined the Cousins team for what would be 19 episodes with the best team I could ever ask for. I quickly realized the weight my new position held, there is not a single, movie, tv show, commercial without a POC.

When I would tell people I was coordinating now, they knew it was not a position to take lightly. We have now completed the first season of Cousins, and I feel more solid than ever in this field. Unsure of what comes next, I am focused on helping my peers bring their own creative visions and ideas to life with my own production expertise.

Great, 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?
I’d say the biggest challenge along the way is having to make the decisions of what jobs to take and turn down. This is probably the only business industry where you can give less than a weeks notice to take another, possibly longer gig.

So many times, I’ve had to leave a gig earlier than expected and have been SO nervous to let people down, or I’ve had PA’s leave with two days notice, having to find a good reliable replacement for them.

We’d love to hear more about what you do.
As a freelance production coordinator, I am responsible for managing the production office staff (APOC, Production Secretary, PA’s). I handle crew start the paperwork, and make sure call sheets, memos, schedules are sent to the appropriate people.

My approach to my position is to always be available to help, while also knowing when to say ‘no.’ The production office is the hub for information on any production, it must function smoothly and efficiently and bend to the needs of the show.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I had to unexpectedly fill in for my associate producer, who is my direct boss. It was a huge episode, with lots of moving parts. I stepped in and became the associate producer for that episode, which went very smoothly! It is also always a very proud moment seeing your name in the credits knowing what it takes to produce 22 minutes of kids tv!

Since Leah has passed, we have started a music scholarship in her honor and awarded a USC student $10,000 last year. Throughout her career she was always recording, even after her contract with Epic fell through. One of her managers had the idea to compile the best music we could find of Leah’s and put out an EP for what would have been her 32nd birthday.

With her mother’s blessing, we procured five fully produced songs, including one produced by Pharrell Williams, along with artwork and released the “Love to the Moon” EP on September 7th. The EP is available on all streaming platforms.

Contact Info:

• Email: AYSIA.BELL@GMAIL.COM
• Instagram: @aysiabell
• Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aysiabell/

Image Credit:
Erica Daniels, Seattle, WA

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