We were lucky to catch up with Rebecca Baliko recently and have shared our conversation below.

Rebecca, appreciate you joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Attitude really is everything when it comes to personal success. If you believe you can do it, then you will. It just takes action and perseverance to achieve your goals from there. Unfortunately, a lot of people simply give up before they even try: the risk seems too great, the obstacles too challenging, the barrier insurmountable. This is all only a problem of perception, however. There are countless times in life when something seems impossible, but that is just because it is new and difficult to comprehend how success is possible. Every mountain seems difficult to climb when you’re standing at the base; but if you push aside that discouragement and keep moving forward, you will eventually find yourself at the summit.

I have seen this success in action demonstrated through the lives of my immigrant family, who not only had the courage to cross an ocean and start new in a foreign country (without even knowing the native language), but also went on to establish their own profitable family businesses. Although it is easier to stay inside your comfort zone, it is only by confronting challenges that you unlock your true potential. A state of comfort will not motivate you to make the necessary changes for growth. As Mohamed Ali once stated, “If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough.”

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.

I’m based out of Los Angeles, California, and work as a First Assistant Camera in the film industry. Most of my work comes from independent projects and commercials, but I am slowly working towards doing more narrative feature films. The role of the First Assistant Camera on set is chiefly assisting the Director of Photography with preparing the camera equipment for each setup, as well as organizing the rest of the camera team. During rehearsals and takes, my specific job is pulling focus – keeping the subject sharp as they (or the camera – or both) move around in the scene. Although it is one of the most unforgiving jobs on set, it also one of the most rewarding, since the sheer amount of technical procedures can make executing even a “simple” setup successfully quite a big accomplishment. Efficiently getting through all of the scenes and wrapping with a happy DP makes every day on set feel rewarding.

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

In our industry, relationships and how you treat others is just about as important as your actual skillset. So, although there are still some unsavory characters in “show biz,” most of the people in production are genuinely decent individuals with great down-to-earth humor. Everyone knows it’s going to be a long, hard day, and so (for the most part) each crew member pitches in to make it a good time. Plus, we are all in this crazy industry because it is what we love doing, and that shared passion often creates an immediate bond with the complete strangers you find yourself working with for the next 12hrs. No matter what background you come from, you will always have film in common – and since the film industry is so unique in how it operates, even just sharing the understanding of “film life” is often enough to become friends. It truly is the people in it that make it such a fun, creative industry; and I owe a lot of my developing career to the help of the incredible mentors and friends (some who were there from the very beginning) that I am blessed to work alongside on a regular basis.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I definitely underestimated the importance of social media up front – in some ways, it can be more important than even a phone number or email. Social media (particularly Instagram) is a huge way for professionals in the film industry to stay connected, since it acts as an easy portfolio for sharing your work and current projects (at least, whatever is not currently under a NDA). It is also a very convenient way to find others in your industry, since you can check out mutual contacts, follow businesses related to your field (like camera rental houses or manufacturers like ‘ARRI’), and stay up-to-date on news and business trends. Although the bulk of my jobs are from friends in the industry, I have had a surprising amount of gigs come directly from Instagram connections – and I definitely use it regularly to keep up with the work of people I do know.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bbcoin/
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9617088/