Brian Parrales Spotlight

2016 Film & Digital Media (B.S.) Graduate

What Are You Doing Now?

I am an assistant location manager for TV/film productions.

I was an office production assistant for The Walking Dead where I was introduced to a location manager who decided to give me a shot. I fell right into the logistical aspect for the department and just kept doing it.

On a typical day in your position, what do you do?

On a typical day, I work with a certain location and put all of the logistical pieces together for the production. I secure contracts for locations, file film permits, and find a place to have my crew eat, store stage equipment, and park.

What special advice would you give someone entering your field of work?

I would tell everyone to work in as many different departments as they can. One may think they wanted to do sound, but then realize that they want to be a grip or a scenic after working in that department.

If you were in the position to hire new graduates, what would you look for in them?

I would look for ambition to learn the department and a friendly demeanor. Further, I would say that networking on-set is just as important as networking off-set, especially if one is in a crunch and needs help from a different department.

Was there anything specific that you learned while attending UNG that has been especially beneficial in your career?

I think the most beneficial thing that I learned was to always try to make more and more films in whatever capacity. It helped with meeting more and more people in the industry and allowed me to get my foot into the door.