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

Rachel, appreciate you joining us today. Do you take vacations? Why or why not?

I unfortunately don’t get much of a chance to take many (if any) vacations longer than a weekend trip. Working freelance doesn’t offer much of a chance for any vacation plans. So my vacations are spur of the moment trips on extended holiday weekends someplace within a couple hour drive.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Rachel Allen. I work as a Visual Effects Production Manager working on feature films and television shows. I have a BA in Film Production from Cal State University Northridge, and an MFA in Photography from The Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Working in visual effects sort of stumbled in my lap, and come to find out I really liked it and was pretty good at it.

Working as a freelance VFX PM involves a lot of logistics and working with a team to help the creative vision come to life from prep, production to post and seeing the final product on screen. It involves not just the creative aspect, but the technical, budgets, time, vendors, to name a few. Being successful in this industry involves a lot of hard work, dedication, but most importantly you need to be a very organized person. one of the aspects of being a VFX PM you oversee the day to day logistics in making sure everything is running smooth and on time, as well as being able to work on the fly.

One of my personal strengths is my ability to make sense out of chaos, to keep “the train moving” though organization and a cohesive structure between all team members. I see my team as a group of people all working together as a family, helping each other work together as one with the same goal to help the creatives make the best possible feature.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

The hardest part was getting into this industry, and it all starts someplace, but achieving your goals doesn’t come overnight Success is not simply handed to you. I’m thankful to have learned from my parents to have a strong work ethic, dedication, determination, and to never give up. Nobody owes me anything and if I want to be successful i have work hard at it. Working in a team environment I have learned that it’s vital to “play well in the sandbox” It this work ethic that has helped me build my carrier over the years.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

It’s sometimes hard to loose the bigger picture of “why did I want to do this”. Working tireless, sometimes grueling hours day in and day out you can sometimes loose that fire and drive that made me want to do this in the first place. Seeing the final product on the big screen and being able to sit back after the show has wrapped and see what my team and i were able to accomplish has always been that one thing for me that keeps the fire going, I try to take a step back and see everything from outside the box, to have the ability to take a 2 month vacation trip and decompress and reflect on everything. To me this is the most rewarding aspect.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rjallen.com
• Instagram: rjallenphoto
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/racheljallen/

Image Credits
i don’t have any images that represent my brand and story as a vfx production manager.