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Issue #67 – Student Successes
by L. Swift and Jeff McQ
At age 29, by most people’s definition, Kellie Koford of Austin, TX was a woman on the pathway to success. With a stable 9-5 job in the healthcare industry, and a good rapport with her peers, you’d think there was plenty of room for growth and development.
But something was wrong. Kellie Koford wasn’t happy. And she certainly didn’t feel like much of a success.
You see, the backstory is that Kellie never thought of herself as a corporate type of person. Growing up with a strong, gnawing creative streak, Kellie had always dreamed of having a career in some sort of creative industry—a dream that drew her to study interior design in college and to pursue a career in that field. But after jobs in interior design went scarce during the recession, and after a failed attempt at starting her own business, the healthcare job had become the fallback position. So after five years of job security but not a lot of fulfillment, Kellie had an epiphany.
“I just kind of woke up one day,” she says, “and realized that I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life dragging myself out of bed to go to a job that I only kind of liked.”
Kellie had always had a passion for film and TV, but had zero experience in it. “It’s always been one of those things that people scare you away from,” she says. Nevertheless, desire won out over caution, and she began investigating film schools.
It turned out her answer was practically in her own backyard. After getting accepted into a program at the Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland—and balking at the $60,000-per-year price tag—she ran across the Film Connection, who paired her with mentor Christine Chen of Moth to Flame Films, a successful film and video production company in Austin.
“I went and interviewed with her,” says Kellie. “and I let her know that I had absolutely no background in the film industry at all, but that I do have a background in interior design, I’m familiar with computers and catch on pretty quickly. So she seemed to be okay with that and decided to take me on…She’s been very patient with me, which I appreciate. And she’s taught me tons already.”
In a number of ways, Kellie’s apprenticeship as proven to be a huge turning point for her. Firstly, thanks to Christine’s business model of doing everything from commercial work to music videos to features, Moth to Flame is an example of what a sustainable film business can look like (so much for “only a few get to make it.”). Secondly, just a few months into her apprenticeship, Kellie is gaining huge amounts of experience with a variety of film projects, from editing video for corporate clients to being on-set for a speech by Whole Foods co-founder John Mackey. And thirdly, her passion has even impressed Christine to the point that she bragged on Kellie during a recent interview with RRFC.
“I’m not going to lie; I started crying when my mentor mentioned my name,” says Kellie. “It really meant a lot to read that, especially since I’m the student that came in knowing ZERO about the industry.”
That’s not even the best of it. As proof positive that Kellie is no longer the student who knows “zero” about film, just fifteen weeks into her apprenticeship, she has leveraged her newfound skills into a new job doing video work and other tasks for a spiritual teacher, psychic medium and Reiki master—a job that has even enabled her to resign from her position in the healthcare industry! “My new role will allow me to do what I’ve longed to do for a while now, which is combine the spiritual/inspirational with film,” she writes in her blog. “I put in my resignation at my current job directly after my new boss offered me the position…I can already tell we’re going to make a great team. She also knows several people within the film industry, which makes for great networking.”
Now well on the path to making a living doing what she loves, Kellie feels a lot more successful than she did in the corporate world. Her advice to other apprentices? “Be a sponge,” she says. “Absorb everything that your mentor teaches you. And don’t be afraid to ask questions…There’s been times where I’ll be like, ‘I hope she’s not getting annoyed with me.’ They’re your mentor for a reason, and they are willing to help. And that’s what they’re there for, so I’d say take advantage of the time that you have with them.”
Kellie Koford’s story is a great example of what passion and drive can achieve in a film career; it’s also proof that it’s never too late to start pursuing your dreams. “A big thanks to RRFC for taking interest in their students and their mentors,” she says. “And a big thanks to the awesome Christine Chen for being patient with my newness. I’m having the time of my life learning everything so far!”
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