We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rachel Tash a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Rachel , appreciate you joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?
yes, I’ve been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work. I attended film school and learned filmmaking from various angles, by studying, picking up a camera, making a short film, learning how to edit, screenwriting class and such. It was in film school that I learned the basics and then built upon those as I started my career. There really is no fast track in entertainment no matter what side of the business you are in. You need to start at the bottom, put in the hours, work hard and then you will start to move up.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Rachel is an award-winning producer based in Los Angeles. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Oscars, as well as a member of the Producer’s Guild of America for over 14 years.
Rachel has 24 years experience in the entertainment industry, both on the studio side and agency side. She is a proven success in creative campaigns, strategy, digital, branding and marketing.
Most recently a Senior Vice President of Global Theatrical Marketing at Sony Pictures Entertainment. Rachel has overseen worldwide marketing campaigns for The Women King, Spider-Man Far From Home, Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse, Hotel Transylvania 3, Zombieland, Inferno, Venom and many others while at Sony.
Rachel’s marketing campaign helped Spider-Man Far From Home become the highest grossing Sony film of all time, reaching a record breaking box office total of $1.2 billion dollars.
Her marketing campaign for Spider-Verse was pivotal in helping Sony win the 2019 Oscar for Best Animated Feature film.
Previously she was a Senior Vice President Marketing Consultant for Lionsgate. Where she oversaw the domestic theatrical campaigns for La La Land, The Shack, John Wick 2 & The Power Rangers.
She helped Lionsgate win multiple Oscars and numerous awards for La La Land.
The La La Land Campaign also won the 2017 Clio Grand Award at the Clio Entertainment Awards, the highest award given at the show.
Previously working at Walt Disney Studios as a Domestic Creative Marketing Executive, she worked on several tent pole campaigns including the relaunch of Star Wars, Cinderella, Oz The Great And Powerful & Maleficent.
Rachel also ran The Walt Disney Company’s in-house theatrical trailer department for over three years working on dozens of campaigns for the studio.
Prior to running Disney’s in-house trailer department.
Rachel was recruited to help brand, market & launch The CW network. Where she created and executed innovative, 360 media campaigns that combined on-air and digital marketing which raised awareness for the new network.
Rachel has produced the feature films, Letter To The American Church, Into The Air, several commercials for Uber Freight, Methods and G Living as well as prime time network pieces for The CW.
I got into the business for my love of filmmaking and wanting to tell a story that would entertain an audience.
I am most proud of helping Sony win an Oscar for the film Spider-man into the spider-verse. I am also extremely proud to be a huge part of the highest grossing Sony film of all time Spider-Man Far From Home as well as being accepted into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Oscars.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
There is so much work that goes into a film, commercial or marketing campaign. Most people don’t realize years are spent and they just dismiss or move on. It takes thousands of people across a variety of jobs and disciplines to create a film or visual piece or work. In today’s society we are very quick to move on and dismiss something.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I would say effecting culture. I had so many opportunities to use music in films and then to see the song that was used become a global hit and for kids to sing it and for the song to be recognized and associated forever. I also always loved seeing a film poster I created on a giant billboard as I drove across town or show up on a marketing package in Target or on a flyer mailed to my house. It was very gratifying to know I had such a massive impact on the culture and to see my work go far and wide across the globe.
Contact Info:
- Website: racheltash.com
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-tash-b9a7154/
