Robin’s backstory
Everyone who has a career in film, breaks into the business somehow, someway. Storytellers dream of directing or writing a film, for some it’s a passion for sports or a documentary that just has to be made. It all starts somewhere for everybody in film. Here’s my story…
My sister Susan is 13 months older. They call that Irish twins. We grew up in the Carson Valley east of Lake Tahoe, California. After graduating from Douglas High School in 1977, I moved up to the North Coast to Arcata, California and went to Humboldt State University.
Lumber Mill, Northern California
I had to support myself, so I landed a job in, of all things, a lumber mill. Much to my surprise, I found myself putting on a yellow hard hat, heavy work gloves and hard soled boots and standing on a dry sorter chain pulling lumber at Simpson Timber Lumber Company in the Arcata Bottoms, 1978. Timber was big business back in the 70’s and the work was rough, dirty and dangerous. I was young, inexperienced and had no idea what I was doing.
Photo of swing shift “Crew”. My mentor, Richard on the left. Simpson Timber, Arcata Bottoms 1977
first mentor
Working the tedious hours on the chain, I found myself complaining about this lack of direction to my co-worker Richard Stull. Richard was working his way through school. Smart and determined, he appeared to have a clear path ahead of him. Meanwhile, I was lost.
Photo at lunch time with co-worker. Dry sorter building in background, Simpson Timber, Arcata Bottoms, 1977
We had plenty of time to talk, and talk we did in this mind-numbing job. A good conversation was always a thing of value and looking back, I consider Richard to be my first mentor.
Even though I wasn’t in a classroom, this was the beginning of my true learning experience. Richard went onto become a professor at Humboldt State University and now works as a Writer, Performer, and an expert at training international clients to work on their intonations and accents. A storyteller by trade.
He inspired me to follow my dreams to find what I really wanted to do. Don’t ever underestimate the power that mentors can have in your life and, if you’re lucky, there will be more than one.
first step
One day, we made a date to go out to the beach for a meeting. I packed a lunch for two and we spent a few hours, with paper and pen (no cell phones then), sitting in the sand, making three lists.
List #1: Who was I really? Was I outgoing or shy? Did I like structure or freedom? This first list took the most time, the most exploration. List #2: What jobs pertained to my preferred choices? We could see immediately that the media (print, radio or television) was something that attracted me. Those types of jobs were accessible, even in a small town such as Eureka and I might be able to get a job in a local TV or radio station. List #3: This was the most important list, the action list. What could I do tomorrow to get a job in the media? My next day off, I cleaned up my resume and went out to the local radio and TV stations, in person, to apply for work. Much to my surprise within 3 days I had a job in the media!
first job in tV
I immediately quit the mill (with all my fingers intact), took a pay cut and went on the first day of my new job. I was full of hope and excitement and had no idea that this would be my doorway into a 30-year career. The job I landed was at the local ABC station, KVIQ Television, right on Broadway, the main drag in Eureka. I became a Traffic Coordinator, which is how the station made money, by booking the commercials. The orders would come in from sales, I would code the order and insert the code for the commercials into a big book (by hand).
Photo of the television station, KVIQ TV, Eureka, California
Photo of Robin in her first job at KVIQ TV in Local Traffic.
The book went to Master Control which ran the commercials on the air. This position was key in teaching me how a television station made money. I was tied to a desk, which I didn’t really want but I knew I had to pay my dues. And pay I did. I worked in that desk job for two years before I got my first big break. I made that break happen when I went to the Supervisor for Master Control, we had become friends, and I explained I wanted off the desk. He suggested I take a look at my local PBS Station…..and the break came.
Public Television Stations are a great way to break into the industry. Volunteer!
first tech job
That break was as a job as a Master Control Operator (Board Op) at the local PBS Station, KEET TV. A Board Operator runs the commercials at Master Control. And the PBS station was perfect for someone with no experience. There’s a great place for anyone trying to get into the industry, try your local PBS Station. I ran these 60-second breaks once every half hour to every hour (Public Television doesn’t really have commercials). It wasn’t exciting, but since I had no former technical training, it was kind of my pre-school for tech. I learned how to read a scope, how a video signal works, videotape formats, pre-record times, satellite windows, all kinds of processes and equipment. I also enrolled and started taking classes at College of the Redwoods in Television Production. Those classes were so helpful.
Don’t burn your bridges
In less than a year I returned to KVIQ (no sour grapes) as a Board Operator (same job, different station). But this position was much more tech heavy with lots of commercial breaks and a live news show at 6p and 11p (in the 80’s the broadcast news was never repeated like they do now. It was live. And when it was over, it was done). Over the years, I was promoted to Technical Director and then Promotion Director in this department.
Eventually, after volunteering on the weekends and learning to run the video camera I got a position as a News Camera Videographer/Editor, one of the first women news photographers in the 1980’s. This was in the days when we shot video tape on 3/4” recording machines and the camera had a separate record deck. I worked all over the county where I got a sense of the people and the issues. It was fascinating, challenging, interesting and just plain fun. Every day was different and as I walked in each morning, I had no idea where I’d be going or who I would meet. One day at a crime scene and the next in a helicopter filming the harvesting of timber. It was local news.
Photo of the floor of 1984 Democratic Convention, San Francisco, California. Flags waving and people cheering.
A real high point was when we were assigned to the 1984 Democratic Convention, held in San Francisco. Mark Finnegan was our local reporter with Gary Hart and Jesse Jackson running on the Democratic Ticket. We snagged an interview with Peter Jennings in the ABC booth overlooking the convention floor. I remember my audio feed went dead 5 minutes before the interview. It was terrifying! I just tried to stay calm and concentrate on finding the problem. Then, bam! There it was! I solved it, well it seemed to solve itself (gear). Talk about stress! I was 24 years old and thought I had really made it to the big time!
Time for Change
K Street Mall Iconic Sculpture, Sacramento
In 1989, after 13 wonderful years in Humboldt County, I decided to leave. The North Coast is a wonderful place to live but there was another city I really wanted to explore, San Francisco. But even after all my experience in Eureka, I felt I didn’t have what it took to be successful in the Bay Area market. I needed to find a mid-level market where I could learn to grow in my craft. I decided to move to Sacramento, California and get some experience in a mid-level market first before freelancing in the Bay Area. It was in Sacramento that I started my own business and became a Freelance Film Production Assistant. Breaking in as a PA was the perfect solution. I worked for 3 years as a PA and had all kinds of adventures and experiences. I worked sports and corporate jobs, government jobs, jobs for production companies, television stations and all kinds of different clients. There was enough work to keep me in business and I learned about how to become a viable crew member on any team.
the big break
Photo of the crew on an Amtrak Commercial, including the Director Randy Bond, Director of Photography, Landy Hardy and the rest of the members of the team. Spectrum Films 1995
One day out of the blue I got a call from Spectrum Films, they were looking for a new Location Scout. I was interested as I loved being out of the office so the locations department was perfect for me! I started working with their producer, Pam Hinojosa, and she showed me the ropes.
A great Producer, Pam from Spectrum Films
Final destination san francisco
This was the experience I needed to move up to larger markets. I loved working with this tight team of professionals, and they all mentored me to be a better producer. I worked with Spectrum for quite a few years and then in 1996 I was able to relocate my business to San Francisco, where I live now. This city has exceeded my expectation of a lifestyle. I’ve become an open water swimmer, found some wonderful friends and I work with some of the finest professionals in the industry, right here in my own backyard.
China Beach Sunset, San Francisco, CA
