Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsey Warner.
Chelsey, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in a small town about 30 miles outside of Cleveland, and I absolutely loved it. I spent my summers role playing I was inside an Indiana Jones movie or Jurassic Park. I couldn’t wait to grow up and go out on adventures. But by the time I graduated high school and started looking into colleges, I decided to pursue a sensible degree in Ophthalmology and attended Washington & Jefferson University in Washington, PA. I made it through all of 3 semesters before I found myself living solely for my one Creative Writing class I had added on in between Physics and Organic Chemistry. So I transferred into the Cinema program at Denison University and set my mind to a career in film.
I moved out to Los Angeles 3 weeks after I graduated college and fell into the world of reality casting. I was fortunate enough to land on such juggernaut shows as Survivor and The Amazing Race and I worked on them for several years, but I always had that burning desire to work in scripted television. I got my chance when I landed my dream job as the Writers PA on ‘Black Sails’. I can’t say enough good things about the creators and writers of Black Sails, they made going to work everyday fun and I had the time of my life with them! But as the writers room was wrapping up, I was given the opportunity to fill in for a friend in Post and the rest is history! It took me all of one week to realize Post is where it’s at and I haven’t looked back since!
Has it been a smooth road?
It most definitely has not been smooth! I’ve had a very difficult time the past few years. Working in post is long hours and long days, and your team becomes your family. And I’ve had some people that I would consider family really break my heart.
But the streets of LA are paved with heartbreak. I think if you confidently said you never had any bumps along your journey I’d call you a liar! But the important thing is to never let anyone or anything defeat you. I won’t preach to you that if you try your hardest and absolute best then you’ll be sure to succeed, because sometimes that just isn’t true. But I can promise you that using the pain that comes with any sort of struggle to drive yourself forward will only ever help you, and stubbornly refusing to give up will reap more rewards than all the gold hidden in the Hollywood Hills. Stand up for yourself, never stop smiling and don’t lose yourself to the dark side of Hollywood!
So, as you know, we’re impressed with your work – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I am a Post Production Supervisor for scripted television. I specialize working in hour long dramas with heavy visual effects.
Post for a lot of people is this magical, mystical world where no one really knows what happens. So I think it is easy for it to be under appreciated and misunderstood. But I think that a co-worker of mine once said it the best, when she compared working in Post to cooking. You write your list of ingredients, go to the store to pick-up what you need, but all the magic really happens in the kitchen. Post selects the best ingredients and mixes them all up to create the delicious dish you are about to devour. And it’s all about presentation! We are the chefs. We are the last set of eyes and the last set of ears on material that (hopefully) millions of people enjoy worldwide. It’s so mind blowingly exciting, but can also be stressful as hell!
I guess what I am trying to say is that Post is much more creative than people give it credit for and arguably it can make all the difference.
Currently I am wrapping up a movie for Netflix called American Son and beginning work for the second season of The Boys for Amazon. I was lucky enough to cut my teeth working for Starz on Black Sails and Counterpart and recently had the opportunity to work on History’s alien conspiracy show Project Blue Book.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I have to admit that I never wanted to move here. The first moment I laid my eyes on the valley from the I-15 in my old Chevy, I wanted to cry. I don’t really know when that started to change, but I guess it was around the time I started going to the same taco truck on Santa Monica Blvd. after finishing another late night at the office and having them remember me and my order. (Shout out to you Ruben’s Tacos!) Or haunting the Aero weekly to watch my favorite directors introduce their own films and chasing them around the lobby to sign any scrap of paper I could find. Regardless of when it happened or what it was, I fell in love with Los Angeles and it’s a love affair that has sustained me through some of my darkest hours. Whether it’s eating until I burst in Koreatown, or meeting the ghosts of the old movie palaces downtown I can confidently say that I love it here. Sure the rent is essentially unlivable and the amount of traffic is obscene, but I love the shit out of this city.
It has taken me 7 years to really say it, but I LOVE YOU, LA!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelsey-warner-16a18358/
- Email: [email protected]
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5472633/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1
Image Credit:
Jahan Lopes
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