We were lucky to catch up with Abi Nuguid recently and have shared our conversation below.

Abi, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

The American dream that was changed by the pandemic – which turned out to be a much better path for me.

I came here to the US ten years ago to take my Master of Fine Arts in Documentary Filmmaking. I started working after – small and big projects, wearing different hats, and interacting with people from different walks of life. I’ve already established myself as a video editor and knew that, cutting and putting together the pieces to make the film is what I want to continue doing as I help tell the film’s story.

In 2020, the pandemic started and it was something that really affected almost everyone… for me, it was my job. Being in the entertainment industry, production stopped and no one really knew when we’ll be back. I tried to take on video editing gigs here and there but at the back of my head, there was always a question of security. When the short projects ended, I felt unsatisfied, unfulfilled, and afraid that I won’t have another project coming. It felt like everything was a question mark and staying at home all the time didn’t help either.

I was starting to lose hope that time but I still tried to reach out to people I knew so that I could offer my services. A friend of mine back in high school mentioned a job opening in the medical field as a coder. I didn’t have any medical background but it was an opportunity for a full time job, so I took it and was trained. I was thinking, I could always work on small projects as a video editor while I work full time at a doctor’s office.

It was a huge change in my life because I was coming from the creative world, now entering the medical world. I learned to appreciate medical coding because of the new information being introduced to me. After a few months of no film gigs, I decided that if I were to stay in the medical field then I should take the risk and study medical coding so I can pursue it and be certified — giving me more opportunities in the future.

I studied medical coding for a year and passed my CCS (Certified Coding Specialist) exam in 2022. I never looked back… my passion is still in video editing but I have learned to love and appreciate this door of opportunity that opened for me and will continue my career as a medical coder.

Abi, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Abi and I am a documentary filmmaker. My husband and I love making short films and taking photos – we turned it into a small business, called PAN Productions LA.

PAN is a combination of both our names – Phil and Abi Nuguid. We do content creation and are available for different kinds of events for photos and videos.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

I met my business partner / husband from a dating app called “Ok Cupid”.

I fulfilled my promise to my parents to finish my studies first, before getting in a relationship. The time I was “ready” to go out there and meet people, I didn’t know where to start. Relatives or family friends would introduce whoever they knew they thought would be good to know, but it just didn’t work out.

There’s this friend of mine who suggested to join the dating app. After a month of using the app and got tired of talking to people online which just didn’t really work out, I was ready to deactivate the app. In my head it was more of like a distraction and during that time, I think I was really more focused on establishing my career as a video editor.

I told myself I’ll give it til the end of the month before I deactivate the app… and before I could even do that, I got a message from Phil – my now husband and business partner. That was cupid (“Ok Cupid”) — and the rest is history.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Being knowledgeable or having a strong understanding of what one does, along with experience is amazing — but what’s also important is being able to socialize and communicate with others. It’s difficult to understand or to succeed if it’s all one way, meaning everything that’s being put out there is just one’s vision. You definitely need to know who you are serving — it’s a two way communication. It’s just like dating, you have to get to know each other, understand the needs, and grow / work together.

These kinds of relationship you build with people – the trust, the bond, and the “love” for what you do, will help you succeed in the field.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.panproductionsla.myportfolio.com

Image Credits
Phil Nuguid