By VICTORIA CHUNG

Q: What is your profession and how long have you been working?

A: Currently, I am the digital video production teacher at Redlands East Valley High School.

Q: Where have you worked?

A: I have had a business, Impact Filmworks, which I used to transfer dailies for television shows, most notably “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Q: How long did you work there for?

A: I had my business for about seven years.

Q: What did you do before that?

A: I worked in television and film industry doing mostly editing and color correction.

Q: Where did you get your education?

A: I went to Cal State University of Fullerton and majored in radio, TV and film. I loved my time in college. It was awesome.

Q: Did you always want to become a teacher?

A: I kind of always thought that I would eventually teach in some form or fashion, but I didn’t know if it would be in the high school level or college level. I started out teaching business because I had my own. When I found out about this position here I was pretty excited because this is what I do. I love doing video and film. I love it.

Q: What is the hardest part of your job?

A: I really like teaching but it is a much tougher job than I had ever imagined. The hardest part probably figuring out how to get my message across so that students can get the knowledge. I’m new to teaching; I’m learning too. I’m learning how to get the knowledge across to the kids. I have it up [in my mind] and I’ve been doing this for so long that sometimes I take it for granted that they might know certain things and I have to learn how to slow down. That is the hardest thing for me because I need to learn how to slow down and put the information out there slower.

Q: What about your business? What was the hardest part of that job?

A: I never had time for myself. I always had to cater to my clients needs because there was nobody other than me and my business partner to get the work done. If the producers called, they needed something like a shot, we had to go on a moment’s notice.

Q: What do you enjoy the most about your job?

A: I enjoy seeing kids when they get it; when they understand it. I love seeing them create work that they’re proud. It’s so satisfying. I had a kid the other day who came up to me and told me that “I did it myself.” I love seeing them make their own thing.
Q: What’s the biggest misconception about your job?

A: That it’s easy. My wife is also a teacher and I used to tell her, before I started teaching, that she could not be tired from hanging out with a bunch of kids all day. That’s one of the biggest misconceptions about this occupation; that it’s easy. It’s satisfying but not easy.

Q: Do you have any advice for high school students?

A: Always start with a positive attitude. Anything that you want to do; believe that you can do it. If you start out negative, you’re already going to be defeated. Start out positive no matter what you do. Believe that you can do anything that you set out to do. Believe in yourself.

Q: What is your favorite location in Redlands?

A: Redlands East Valley and MOD Pizza.

Q: What do you do in your free time?

A: I ride dirt bikes. I go to my house in Lake Havasu and take my boat out. I play guitar. I’ve been playing since i was 12 and been in and out of bands. Dirt biking boating skiing, guitar and  movies, obviously. Hang out with the family. I do all these activities with the family. Mountain biking, camping. Family stuff.

Q: What did you have to do to get where you are now?

A: In the industry, I started out as an intern. I basically worked for college credit for about three months. They asked me if I wanted to stay on but they couldn’t pay me so I worked for free for about three or four months. Then finally, they felt bad and paid me five dollars per hour.

Eventually, I trained on my own. I learned how to edit and color grade. I was an assistant at first, assistant editor, and I colored. I trained and worked my way up to learn how to how to do color grading myself and editing myself. A little bit of shooting. A lot of self-teaching after college.

Q: How was it working on the set of “Grey’s Anatomy?”

A: It was amazing. Working with the people who worked on “Grey’s” were like family to me because I had worked with some of the producers on another show called “The Practice” and when I got called to work on “Grey,” it was like good friends asking me to work on it. There were a lot of perks, you get to go to after parties, shows, Christmas parties. You get to meet the actors and actresses. All of them were awesome. Sandra Oh is a sweetheart. She is just the absolute best and the nicest person you will ever meet.