We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Carla Roda. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Carla below.

Carla, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

When I came to Los Angeles I had one goal, to be able to earn a full time living doing what I love most which is editing. I spend the first years working hard doing projects at a low rate to be able to get myself known and make contacts a long the way. I was working long hours on multiple projects to get as much experience as possible. Luckly after a few years I met someone who gave me the opportunity to edit my first feature documentary and that credit in my resume started opening a lot of doors for me. I started getting contact by producers and directors that saw that movie and new opportunities with higher rates started to come. And finally a big project came my way and that was the moment I knew I made it and I was able to do one job at a time and be able to live my life with that salary alone. That being said being a freelancer is hard but the key is to strategize your months to always have a project line up.

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 was born into an artistic family. I was surrounded by theater and cinema from an early age. Growing up was a constant live performance at each family reunion. I considered myself lucky to have had a support system which perfectly understood the struggles of being an artist, especially when I decided to travel 6,214 miles to live her dream of being a filmmaker in Hollywood.

I taught myself on how to edit with Final Cut 7. As the years went by, I discovered new editing softwares and the rest is history. For me, editing is almost like directing, another path that I would like to explore.

I think what sets myself a part from others is that I’m able to bring my European vision as well as my knowledge for different languages which opens me the possibility to edit more projects. Also the fact that I have a major in journalism helps me when crafting stories. But I think what I’m most proud is that through the years I have been able to meet the most amazing and talented people that has help me be who I am. Editing, specially documentary editing is a team work so having the right people by your side is what makes every project a success.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is when a project is done and the clients are happy and I’m able to see my work projected on a festival or on a network. Seeing the audience faces while watching what I edit is the best sensation. And once on a while I received an email after someone has seen one of my projects and reading those words motivates me to keep going.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

After 4 months of editing one of my feature documentaries, and spending lots of times going back and forth with producers and directors on the direction of the project, the network decided to switch the way the story was being told completely. At that moment I had two options, one was to quit as the project was completely changing or stay and adapt myself to the new story direction. I decided to “rewire” and take into the challenge to erase from my brain what I had done up to that point and start from scratch with the new direction of the movie. I think that experience taught me to be stronger and not give up when things don’t turn the way you expect.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tabatafilms.com
• Other: Imdb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4605761/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk