We were lucky to catch up with Mariana Silva recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Mariana thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Everyone has crazy stuff happen to them, but often small business owners and creatives, artists and others who are doing something off the beaten path are often hit with things (positive or negative) that are so out there, so unpredictable and unexpected. Can you share a crazy story from your journey?

I have so many crazy and interesting stories that had happened at work! But if I had to pick, then I choose the time that I had to look for the most expensive food in LA. I was working on a commercial for a brand of water that comes in cans as a set dresser and we had to find the most expensive, random food in LA. That food we had to make it into a drink and served it in a generic can to the actors in the commercial. It was sort of a social experiment for what I was told. Even when they describe what I will be doing on set, I wasn’t quite sure what my role was. I just went with it. To give you some context, we gave the actors two drinks while they were blindfolded. One from the brand water and one crafted by us. The actors didn’t know what they were drinking. It was a whole adventure buying the most expensive caviar, looking for squid ink, truffle sauce among other stuff, and then mixing them into drinks. We would seal the mix in a fresh can and have them open and drink it, all while blindfolded. I remember thinking to myself, this is really not part of my job description, but it was still very fun to see the reactions and creating the drinks. It was one of my most interesting times at work.

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

Of course, my name is Mariana Silva. I’m from Colombia, and I moved to the U.S. to pursue a career in Film. I went to school here in the U.S., to Cal State Long Beach where I got my B.A. in Film and Electronic Arts. After I graduated, I started working in a lot of students films and small projects that people recommended me. While working on different projects I got to learn more about the art department in film, got experience and connections and thanks to all of that I was able to build the beginning for my career in film. I currently work for the art department on film sets as a freelancer. My jobs and roles vary from project to project, all within the art department. I sometimes work as a set dresser, art director, set decorator, prop master or production designer. I’m still working on getting more opportunities, experience and connections. I feel proud and grateful for the journey I have so far in the film industry and I look forwards to where my career takes me.

Also, to give more context, as part of the art department we are in charge of the overall look and design of the story of a film, commercial, music video, episode. We either build a set from scratch according to the story or we dressed a location with props and furniture according to the story/script. It is an incredible place to grow creatively. I love working with a team and seeing the finished product.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I think being able to see your efforts and creative work come to life. Most artist doubt of their creative abilities, but once your creation come life on screen and everything works perfectly for the story, it’s very rewarding and a moment of pride. Working in my field is a lot of team work, so being able to also share those moments with a lot of peers and friends is an incredible experience. It can be tiresome and stressful at times, since you have to deal with a lot of things at the same time, and sometimes it is a lot of logistics when it comes to building a set or dressing a location. But once you get that final result and see what the team accomplished is a very rewarding experience. Just hearing everyone say good job, or the set looks amazing, and then seeing all my coworkers proud of the work is a heartfelt feeling.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish that when I was student I knew how to start my career earlier on, even while studying. I wasn’t aware that as a student, we were welcome on sets and other film projects. I was always in the belief that I couldn’t start my career until I graduated or had a degree. So that would be a resource I wish I knew earlier in my creative journey. I really hope that if there are students reading this article and they want to pursue a career in film, they can start it as a student, building connections, portfolio and getting experience. I also wish I had a mentor during my student years, someone to guide me and tell me more about the industry, or advice on how to get in. I know for some it can be frightening not knowing how to get in or how to approach it, but there are many ways and you can start to work on all of that as a student. Start by joining film sets as Production assistant, and getting into a lot of other student films from other schools. Also, join film groups, clubs, and attend film events, or film festival.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://go4marianasg.wixsite.com/art-department
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marianasgrh/