We were lucky to catch up with Jennifer Bertling recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jennifer, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I credit my introduction to the arts to my mum’s influence. She was an avid movie buff, a lover of musicals and very active in our local community theater. I would tag along with her as a child, spending time backstage, watching rehearsals and running lines with actors who, let’s face it, were probably just trying to give me something to do while my mum was onstage but that kind of exposure ignited a lifelong love of storytelling and artistic expression.

I knew two things for certain – I loved the theater and I hated being onstage, but lucky for me there was a whole world backstage that I would begin to immerse myself in would volunteer in any kind of stage management role I could find. I am the daughter of a military logistician and from a very young age I was taught the skills needed to manage the life cycle of a project. I had a very strong left brain/right brain balance and found myself well suited for management and organizational roles but my heart and soul were filled by working directly with artists, having creative influence and being hands on for a project.

I didn’t have the spontaneous career inspiration I thought I would get in University so I was pretty aimless for several years after I graduated. Fed up one day I literally sat down with a piece of paper, determined to choose my career path which started with asking myself questions like…what do I love doing?…what fulfills me?…what motivates me? and I thought back to my theater days. Knowing a professional role in the theater is an incredibly competitive and challenging opportunity to get, TV and Film production came to mind as a path that could provide me with what I loved about the theater and my skills would be similarly applicable.

I applied and was accepted to a 2 year radio and television broadcasting program but the idea of more time in school (and more student loans) didn’t appeal to me so I made the choice (on a bit of a whim) to move from Halifax, NS to Toronto, ON (Canada) and work my way into the industry.

I took a serving job in Toronto and in my spare time I spoke to anyone with ties to the industry with my main intention being that I would come out of each coffee meeting with the contact of another person I could speak to. I was bold and determined without being a pest, taking every single opportunity I could and eventually a contact of a contact of a contact worked with the VP of Factual Production for eOne, and he needed an Executive Assistant.

He gave me my first full-time industry job, promoted me to Production Coordinator a year later and Production Manager a year after that. I began my career at eOne not knowing what an invoice was and within a few years I was managing million dollar sets and truly epic shoots. I got to learn the trade by working in production offices and on sets. I’m a fast, visual and tactile learner so this hands on approach worked very well for me even if the absence of a film school background made me feel like a bit of an outsider.

It’s now almost 15 years later, I’ve relocated to and have found my home in LA and the projects I produce end up on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Youtube, Tiktok, Instagram and broadcast television.

I can’t say I would have done anything differently because each step has brought me to where I am today, and I’m so grateful for that. But I recognize the value in having mapped out a career path before jumping into a formal post secondary education and do I wonder how a film degree would have served me in place of a Bachelors of Art.

My advice is to be as specific as possible about what you want to do, talk to everyone you can who knows anything about it and say yes to every opportunity until you get a foot in the door.

Jennifer, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I currently work in branded digital content for a toy company. I produce both animated and live action feature length films, episodic series, broadcast television commercials, paid social ads, and social platform based videos.

The last 5 years of my career have been exclusively in the branded content space. I love the challenge of creative product driven storytelling and aspire to include surprise, beauty, humor and/or social commentary in my spots whenever I can. Specifically working in the children’s content space means I have the privilege and responsibility having influence in the media children are consuming. Positive messaging, diversity, inclusion, equality, authentic voices and safety are always in the forefront of my mind when I’m producing content with kids and for kids.

Additionally, I also partner with brands to create dog UGC (user generated content) videos with my beloved rescue Chihuahua mix, Milly. She’s a adorable and well behaved and paired with my production and branded content background, it made sense to move into the UGC space and we’re always looking for new brands to partner with!

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

On an individual level (and personal note) I am a massive fan and supporter of free public art. Access to affordable art is critical and in my opinion, LA does a good job at providing access to its creative ecosystem. Pay what you can (PWYC) theater tickets, free museums, galleries and cultural and community festivals are just a few ways people can experience art in LA on any budget. My call to action for anyone who will listen is that we as a creative community need to support these endeavors by showing up, purchasing art directly from artists, supporting exhibitions, performances, and local arts events and sharing/engaging with artists work on social media.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull: Shares insights from Pixar’s president on fostering creativity and managing a creative organization.

Abstract: The Art of Design (Netflix): Profiles creative thinkers across various disciplines and explores their processes.

In the Blink of an Eye: A Perspective on Film Editing” by Walter Murch: Explores the art and craft of film editing, offering insights into the importance of rhythm, pace, and storytelling through editing.

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron: A guide to discovering and recovering your creative self through exercises and reflections.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.millythechi.com
• Instagram: @jennnybert / @milly_thechi
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennbertling/
• Other: TikTok – @milly_thechi