We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Celeste Marquez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Celeste, 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?

Being able to do creative work full-time has been incredibly rewarding, but it took a lot of hard work to get to this point. I truly started on the bottom of the totem pole and worked my way up. My passion for the entertainment industry began in middle school. This lead me to pursue film school all through high school and college, balancing unpaid gigs, internships, and networking to sharpen my skills. After graduation, I hustled for every video editing job I could find until landing my first full-time Junior Video Editor position. By this time, I had already spent four years in my career, making lateral moves. However, through perseverance and dedication, I earned a promotion and eventually secured a position at Getty Images.

Knowing what I know now, I would have taken it slower at school to be able to do more internships. Once I got into the work force, I realized experience in the field outweighs any schooling. Although slowly working my way up the ladder was not the “dream” I always imagined, it eventually got me to where I’m at today, working full-time as a video editor at a job I love.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Currently, I work as a Video Editor at Getty Images, where I’m granted backstage access to the glitz and glam of Hollywood red carpets, award shows and movie premieres.

My role comes with its share of pressure, especially when faced with tight deadlines. But the exhilaration of being part of these events outweighs the stress. One standout experience includes my recent work at the Vanity Fair Oscar Afterparty.

In past positions, I’ve worked on all aspects of post-production, including sound design, assembly editing, graphics, and special effects for Youtube channels, day time talk shows, and children’s television. The journey of a video editor has led me down interesting and unexpected paths, a career that younger me could only have dreamed of.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I am a chronic over thinker and only recently had I discovered the term “analysis paralysis”. I used to believe I had to conduct hours of research before starting any project, which often led to procrastination or even abandoning the project altogether.

Now don’t get me wrong – I firmly believe in doing your own research to be prepared and informed. For an analytical person like myself, this approach can alleviate any stress and anxieties I might have along the journey. However, I’ve also learned that there’s a limit to how much preparation you can do before you simply need to take action. Sometimes, you have to jump in and figure things out as you go.

For type A people like myself, this can feel daunting. But I’ve realized that the most successful people are often those who take the initiative and learn as they go. They start with a plan, take action, and adjust their approach based on what they learn along the way.

There’s no single “right way” to do things. There are plenty of wrong ways and some better ways, but no amount of research is going to tell you which one is going to work for you. You have to be willing to experiment, take risks, and learn from both successes and failures.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

My favorite part about being a creative is that my work truly fuels me. An editor’s job is to take all the mismatched puzzle pieces and weaving them together to form a cohesive picture. On the outside, working on an edit can seem tedious and repetitive but that is where I thrive. I enjoy the process of transforming individual elements into a unified vision through my editing, music selections, sound design, and special effects, and witnessing a project come to life.

I always believe that your finest work comes from a project you are truly passionate about. I’ve found that the dedication and love poured into a project is reflected in the final product. Not everyone can say they genuinely love what they do, and every day I count myself fortunate to be one of those people.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://celestemarquez.myportfolio.com
• Instagram: celesteatbest
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/celeste-marquez-842191156/

Image Credits

Celeste Marquez