A hard working AC who stands her ground and stays a lady

Interview with Elvira Garcia, Camera assistant.

Q:  Where are you from?
Elvira:  From the 951..lol just kidding Santa Ana California in Orange County.

Q:  What made you want to study TV & film production?
Elvira:  I was torn between these careers: A medical tech, an attorney, and a videographer.   I wanted to change lives.  I volunteered in a hospital for 1 year prior to deciding I just could not watch people die.  So I just scratched that idea out.  Then I looked into law but decided that I could not stand the politics behind the criminal justice system.  As a videographer I felt like I could record events that impacted the world.  Or make a video that could start a ripple of change in the world.  Sometimes it's confusing because although I am affecting the world, it's not always in a positive light.

Q:  How did you pick the college you attended?
Elvira: When I was a senior in high school. I was in a video production program.  I was considering making it a career.  One day we had a really boring pep assembly and after that our high school had a career day.  So I walked around and found a school that would help me find my dream job.  :)  The school representative gave me a cookies and I was sold :).  He got my info and although I applied to other schools I decided to visit the campus.  It was actually just a building.  It turned out that the Art Institute is a private school and was very tiny and perfect for me... because I don't like big crowds.

Q:  Did you go to school, for this career?
Elvira: Yeah and now I'm in debt and school taught me slim to none of the skills I use on set.

Q:  How did you get into camera assisting?
Elvira: In film school I worked on a lot of projects for free.  Eventually they started paying and one day I day-played on a project as a P.A.  It turned out to be a reality show.  I was working for those guys for 3 months, because of that 1 day playing job.  Whoo!
But I always respected the camera department the most.  Because I loaded and in film, the camera department is the most respected.  So I got a chance one day to A.C., and have been doing it now for 3 years.

Q:  What does a typical day on the job entails?
Elvira: A regular shift is 12 hours long. I prep the camera together in the morning before my operator gets there. I clean it and label tapes and prepare all the gear that we will use that day. I try to anticipate and prepare for what's coming next . I also try to make my operators day as comfortable as possible. I make sure him/her are well hydrated and get snacks and I try to take the camera off his shoulder when him/her are not shooting. The cameras weigh around 30 pounds and after a while their shoulders get really sore.

Q:  What jobs did you do before you were an AC? (Camera Assistant)
Elvira: I PA'ed on film projects like the 'Glamour Reel Moments'.  Directors took stories from Glamour magazine and turned them into fun shorts, to raise money for charity.  I worked with Rita Wilson, she directed a short with Chaning Tatum before he got all hot and famous.  :)  I worked on reality shows like The shot, and Pussycat Dolls.  I also shot documentaries about immigration issues for KCAL 9 and Channel 2 news.  (Well it was more like stock footage really).  I exaggerated a little.  I loaded for a company that did a lot of music videos.

One day I worked with a really sexist 2nd A.C. and he made me realize that I'm most likely to turn down a job if I'm not treated like a human being.  It's tough being a woman working in a male dominated industry. I guess the hardest adjustment a girl needs to make in order to keep working is not let people bring down her self worth. There are a lot of cruel people that are very competitive, who enjoy watching you make a mistake so they can have the green light to talk down to you and make you feel little.  This makes themfeel more manly. There are people that don't want to compete with a girl and it's true we are living in 2010 but racism and sexism still exist and some times you walk on set and your the only girl. It's a little uncomfortable some times especially your first few shows. You feel like people are judging you.

Some times you want to dress up not to impress any one but just so you can feel girlie because clothes are a big part of a girls character and they affect her mood, but as a woman some times you feel that if you wear something too feminine your crew won't look at you as an equal. When I started working in the industry there were many women before me that paved the road and so it was easier for me to get work and stay constantly working. There's a theory out there about girls moving up faster than dudes. I can't prove or disprove this theory I guess it's how hard you work and who you know. I will say that when unemployment comes around it hits every one equally, man or woman.  The women that decided to break the mold had to be very strong and had to desensitize themselves to some of the humour and conversations, that existed on set.  Now, the days the girls that don't want to participate in conversations about balls and shit are sometimes viewed by their peers are boring, or stuck up.  Although I don't expect the princess treatment on set, it would be a breath of fresh air if guys stopped farting loudly in front of their female co-workers.  There's not that many girls on set, so if they would just hold it until she walked away, a girl wouldn't be desensitized.  Even though times have changed and it's easier for women in the industry. Those that do work are definitely strong and are not easily offended.  Let's not cross over into the boys side.  Let's keep our lady ways!

Q:  What's the hardest part about being a woman in the industry?
Elvira: When you are on that time of the month and you don't get enough bathroom breaks. :( Yeah it's gross but it's the truth. One time I had to hold my liquids for 2 hours! We were shooting out in a field in the middle of a residential area. We had to get the last scene and planes just kept flying over and delaying our shoot  I couldn't even pop a squat for  fear the residential kids would see me, it was pretty horrible.

Q:  What places have you traveled for work?
Elivra:  I have been to a lot of nice places like the Caribbean, Hawaii, and Africa.  This summer I toured with a band in Tijuana Mexico.  I have also been to not so cool places.

Q:  What do you do on your day off?
Elivra:  When I'm not working let me tell you... it sucks.  I freak out because I'm still not used to the unemployment gaps.  But it gives me time to have 'ME' time.  Because set hours are 12 hour days and it can pull you away from having a life.  Haha.. so some times you feel torn.  I'm a full-time babysitter by choice.  I enjoy wathcing people's lives change in positive ways.  So I'm all about tutoring and keeping my little neighborhood buddies off drugs and street crimes.  You can really mold the life of a kid.  I really like to put in my 2 cents and let a kid grow up with knowledge I passed onto him/her.

I also like to get pampered and get my nails and hair done.  I get a lot of massages and I work out religiously.  I take a dance class on tuesdays at 8pm and I also take a 'get toned' boot camp class at my gym.  Also I cook every meal I eat.  I have a passion for cooking.  Except for some reason the only dish that I can't make is fried chicken.  It's hard to get just crunchy enough.

Q:  What do you do on your time off?
When I'm not working I babysit my lil' niece. I also tutor little neighborhood buddies of mine, I don't want to watch kids grow up in violent or neglected homes. I take a belly dancing class and a hip hop class on Thursdays at my local gym. I also cook a lot every thing I eat actually :)

Q: What's the worst worst set experience?
I was working on a music video as a loader and my second A.C was an ass. He kept be belittling me all day and after one of the mags jammed he yelled to me that I was worthless. At the end of the day we had to fill out our start paperwork so I was trying to leave on a good note and I brought him his packet and he slapped it out of my hands. He must have been going through a divorce or some thing.. but whatever, I will never work with him again.

Q:  What's your best set Experience?
I got to go to Africa on this show and before my day started I played in the ocean and I had plantains for breakfast every morning. I made friends with some of the local girls and at the end of the show one of the girls braided my hair African style.  It was cool.

Q:  How has the industry  changed you?
Working in reality t.v. gives you both the best and worst experiences, how it changes you depends on the angle you view your  situations. If you are an optimistic  person then your view on most all of the experiences that are provided to you are happy and amazing. Experiences like traveling, and dining at some of the best restaurants in the world or waking up on a different continent shooting a time lapse of the sun rising. On the flip side if you are a pessimistic person you are the person that's always complaining on set . You are the person that's complaining about the crafty, or that motel six you had to sleep in.

Your experience of the job is mostly all bad and you don't see the opportunities placed in front of you. Working in reality has made me more appreciative of the things I have. I'm happy we get crafty even If I don't always like to snack on it. I don't mind lugging cases of gear through the airports because at the end of the day I'm getting the experience of traveling the world and to be honest traveling frequently on my own is something that I couldn't do at this
point in my life. These are all experiences that shape me into the person I'm growing into.

Q:  What is your pet peeve on set?
When other crew deliberately sabotages your work. That ain't cool.

Q:  Favorite Crafty food?
Chocolate milk :)