Today we’d like to introduce you to Oliver Konteh.
Oliver, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
It all started when I was ten years old. Since I can remember I was in love with watching tv and film. Almost to the point where my dad called the tv guide my bible. I loved watching stories and trying to understand people through the characters that were developed. It wasn’t until college when one summer I stumbled on the set of Sex in the City in NYC and was mesmerized by what I was witnessing. During that time I was also a student athlete and after college I was fortunate enough again to continue my profession in Europe and as luck would have it I had a game one week in Cannes, France during the Cannes film festival. Having two days off I was able to explore something that was jaw-dropping for me. At that moment I knew what I wanted to do, I knew that soccer wasn’t going to be forever. When my career in soccer ended I dabbled a bit starting off in Reality TV, one thing led to another and the next step for me was to move out west from Ohio to Los Angeles.
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?
The road in the biz as they call it, is not easy. There are many roadblocks and speed bumps. As a freelancer, there are going to be great times filled with work and pleasure. Then there are those down times when finding work almost seems impossible and you don’t know how long it will last. At that point, you have to realize that you have to grind it out in order to make it in this business. Jobs will come and go as will contacts and promises or leads into further jobs and there are chances that all of them will fall through but you have to keep going.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
Entering the business you start off as a Production Assistant and try to find your niche or where exactly you want to move up. I eventually want to be a showrunner but I’ve done everything from Coordinating, Associate Producing to Producing. Each job category is different in some ways from the other but yet similar in what needs to be done. None of them are easy and it takes the right attitude and works to get the job done correctly. What separates me from others is my work ethic which I’ve instilled from playing sports and my education and what strongly separates me is my attitude. I will always bring a smile and positive attitude and team/crew motivation to set. I understand that we’re all in this together and no matter how tired or annoyed with each other I will always bring the right energy to provide fuel and encourage each other in the right way to get the best out of each other to get what’s needed and having everyone at the end feel good about it.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory from childhood is just being with family and the support that I have received throughout my journey of this trip called life. Being an only child while my parents both came from extremely large families, I never felt alone and always had the support needed and wasn’t spoiled in the process.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 6148596232
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oliverkonteh/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oliverkonteh
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/forzarevilo
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