Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Emilie PESANTE. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Emilie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights 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?

It’s never easy to start a career as freelance. When I arrived in LA, I spent the first two years between France and Los Angeles because it was hard to work on Americans’ shows. My resume is impressive, but I didn’t know nobody. I had to make connexons by calling people again and again until they accept to grab a coffee with me. Then I had to work harder than anybody else to prove them that they can trust me. The journey was long but I never gave up. You have to be persistent and not be discouraged. I started to work on a new streaming channel. I learnt a lot because it’s not the same way to work in the U.S and in France. I met people who now call me to work with them on other shows. Through word, to mouth, I gained recognition in the industry and I started to be hired on many famous shows who received awards like “The morning show” aired on Apple TV, or “The young and the restless” aired on CBS.

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

I’m Emilie PESANTE, a french Cinematographer living in Los Angeles since 6 years. I studied at an Audiovisual school, then at a journalism school in France. At 22, I moved from Marseille (south of France) to Paris to try to work on TV.
It wasn’t easy because I didn’t know nobody. I started to work for free as a Camera Operator on reports, documentaries. Then I started to be hired on many famous french programs who received record ratings with millions of viewers.
In 2010, I started to work as Director on documentaries for two Huge shows. They were both aired in France, Switzerland and Belgium. Then I worked as a Correspondent for a press agency in London. My videos were broadcasted on 400 channels all over the world. I had a very good career but when I was 30, I wanted a new adventure and I moved to Sydney, Australia, for a year.
When I came back to France, I wanted to move somewhere else. I always had in my mind the dream to live in U.S. I did my visa and I moved to Los Angeles. Some of my friends or family didn’t understand why I left again whereas I had a career in Paris, but I wanted to realize my dreams.
Like in Paris, I started to meet people, make connexons, work for cheap and I started to work as Camera Operator on Fox Soul. It s a new live interactive streaming channel dedicated to the African American culture. I work on three daily shows for many months.
Thanks to this work, I met producers who called me back to work on new shows and my career in the U.S started. I worked on game shows like “you bet your life with Jay Leno” , “The price is right”, “Pictionary” hosted by Jerry O’Connell, but also on “The morning show” with Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, on “The young and the restless” and may other shows. It took a few years to reach my goal but with a lof of work and perseverance, I succeed.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

It has never been easy to work in Freelance. The beginning is always hard because you have to make connexons and it’s the hardest/longest part.
You have to accept that you can’t have work hand on a plate. You have to work hard, be perseverant, don’t give up, believe in yourself, and at some point your work borne fruits.
The journey is long but when you succeed, you feel like if you won the Olympic games because you know where you come from, how hard was your journey, but you can be proud of yourself.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

my goal was just to succeed. I worked hard to build my connexions and prove that I work well. Espacially as female. In France it’s commun to work with female camera operator. In LA they were surprised at the begining, but I showed them that i’m able to work as good as them and i always bring something different, probably my french touch.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ep2video/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilie-pesante-2a236b9b/