We recently connected with Victoria Sanchez and have shared our conversation below.
Victoria, appreciate you joining us today. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?
In a position where you are viewed as the “Covid Police,” it can be difficult to find joy. This is how I felt working as a Set Monitor, or Covid Production Assistant, on a children’s sitcom. I was vocal with my boss about my discontent for the job and my desire to not return to it after one and a half years. Instead of being grateful for the opportunity and finding joy in the good aspects of the job, my unfortunate choice of words led to my unemployment for the next nine months.
If there is any wisdom I can impart that I learned from past positions, as well as through my relationship with God, it is to always approach each position with a heart posture of service and to work without complaint. Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.” I have learned that despite how I may feel about a job, I must always serve my employers faithfully and sincerely because the real person I’m serving through my work is Jesus and it is the least I can do to thank Him for providing me with the opportunity. After those nine months, I was able to get a brief position working five weeks on a television feature, but another nine months of unemployment followed until I landed my current role on another sitcom.
After two nine-month periods spent at home, I see working in a very different light. My job is not glamorous, but I am so grateful for the opportunity and I am ecstatic to be on set socializing with the cast and crew. More importantly, I am happy to be doing the Lord’s work because He placed me in the entertainment industry for a reason. I will never take another job for granted again.
When you learn to have a heart for service in your jobs, learn to also carry this over to your entrepreneurial pursuits. As you posture yourself to serve your clients willingly, faithfully, and sincerely, it will be evident through the work you do for them and in your communications with them. Show up early. Leave later than everyone else. If you are told to take five steps, take ten instead. Do great work even when no one is looking. This shift in your work ethic will elevate your business to new levels. If it is written in the Bible, it will not fail.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I knew at the age of three that I wanted to work in the entertainment industry. The first thing my mother would do every day after returning home was turn on the television. Watching her, I have always done the same. I found this platform to be a source of study for me well before I knew that it was going to be the subject I chose to focus my higher education in. My father was a photographer in college and is a bit of a cinephile like myself. I think that having both of these role models in my life helped influence my love for film and television, as well as photography.
I identified early in my college journey that I want to be the one who creates a film’s visuals. As a cinematographer, I would be the one responsible for taking a story from the script to the screen. So, in 2019, I graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film Production, with an emphasis in cinematography. The summer after I graduated, I was blessed to be accepted as an Academy Gold Rising Intern with The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, as well as an Intern with Panavision. Through those internships, I went on to work as a set production assistant with The Rec League on various commercials. Over the last five years by the grace of God, I have also worked diligently as a Director of Photography, camera operator, camera assistant, grip, set monitor, and background actor on a variety of feature films, short films, television shows, and music videos.
I also started Victoria Sanchez Photography, a small photography business. Previously, I focused my work on portraits, family photos, graduations, and headshots, but I plan on rebranding my business to feature documentary-style photography, specifically centered around couples. You can find my work on Instagram @photosbyvsanchez.
Working in film and television can be very time consuming, often working longer than twelve hours per day. Also, the times of unemployment between each job can be stressful on both the mind and the wallet. I wanted to devise a solution for busy creatives working in film, television, and photography to develop an online platform that could help elevate their chances of landing their next job. I decided to create an online business selling digital templates allowing these creatives to streamline their workflow and produce an entire website amongst other things in a matter of days or even just one day. Currently, I sell website and bio link templates, but I am planning on expanding to business cards, social media templates, shot lists, etc. in the near future. You can find my shop @TheAuteursDesigns on Etsy.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
The primary force directing me to continue and progress in both the entertainment industry and in the graphic design world is God. He is the one that instilled within me the desire to work in the film and television industries at the early age of three and He is the one that gave me a purpose within those spaces. I will bring light and encouragement to the masses through the projects I produce. I will spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. There are things I have to achieve here and I will not stop until the Lord’s work is done.
God is also the driving force behind my photography. He gave me this talent and equipped me with the skillset and equipment to produce beautiful images. He created this planet that makes up the backdrop for all of my images, as well as all the people in them. He is the author of our stories and it is a joy to document them.
The other mission driving my work is the heart posture of service and the desire to help others. I know from personal experience how difficult it can be to find the time for your personal life while working in the entertainment industry. You’re often spending so much time on set that you miss out on time to spend with family and friends, time to update your online profiles, and time for self-care and rest. Then when the job ends, it can be incredibly tough to find your next gig. It’s all about who you know and it can be difficult to meet other professionals in the industry outside of the set and networking events. I really want to help those who are in the same situation as me advance their careers by increasing their visibility through an online presence while also making the time for what matters most.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative and an artist is being able to create art for the world to see. I have always loved the moving image and narrative production. Watching films is a way for the audience to see life through someone else’s perspective or in someone else’s world. It is a filmmaker’s responsibility to provide those worlds and address the infinite possibilities of perception that the mind can create. As a director and cinematographer, I try to find the deeper meaning in that world to creatively portray it to an audience. I look for how the relationships between framing, light, wardrobe, and production design can be symbolically communicated to best describe that world. I believe it’s about taking something that we all know to be true and enhancing it to incorporate all aspects of the human imagination. It is a privilege to be able to be a part of it.
I want to create content that means something. Not only stories that entertain, but also the ones that make you sit on the edge of your seat and make you think. I have to tell the stories that exemplify the gospel. I want to inspire, encourage, and bring light to the world through my work. As a daughter of God, it is my duty to spread the Good News and I plan to do just that through my work in the future. I want to tell the stories that need to be told and work on the projects that portray everyone, both in front of and behind the camera. This is especially important to me as an Afro-Latina cinematographer. There aren’t many of us in this industry and I hope to see more in the future.
As a graphic designer and business owner, the most rewarding aspect of my job is that I get to help and serve others. If I can help streamline a professional’s workflow so that they have more time for themselves, their families, and their hobbies, while also increasing their online visibility and thus, their chances of landing their next job, then it is worth all the work.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: photosbyvsanchez
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-sanchez-264579121/
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheAuteursDesigns
Image Credits
Victoria Sanchez Photography