Rebekah Hardwicke ’19

Film & Media Arts

Biography

After leaving Taylor University, I returned to Light Iron, the same company where I had interned during my semester at Taylor's Los Angeles program. I was hired as a freelance engineer until a new position was created for me in the Dailies department. In this role, I built and managed equipment shipping all over the world for our operators to process footage on. However, within a few months, the Director of Dailies left for a new job, and COVID hit. These changes allowed my responsibilities and impact in the department to grow, culminating in helping create a secure way that a dailies operator could log in from their house to a system in another country and have real-time playback. After about two years at Light Iron, I moved to New York to work as an Assistant Engineer for Jigsaw Productions, a documentary company led by Alex Gibney. Next, I was offered the opportunity to apply for the Disney Studios Production Technology Workflow Technical Director position. I landed the role with a focus on Disney live-action, Twentieth Century Studios and Searchlight features. My transition was incredibly smooth as my current boss previously served as the Vice President at Light Iron. I am now working on researching and documenting all the tools our group can offer Productions and how to best provide them.

What were some of your most valuable experiences at Taylor?

My semester in LA allowed me to take advantage of connections in the industry that would have taken months or years to make without this opportunity. I also interned at Light Iron, which became a stepping stone for my work post-college. Learning post-production applications, such as Avid Media Composer and DaVinci Resolve on campus, were also instrumental and taught me how to learn complex software quickly and efficiently. I would also recommend film history. Truthfully, if you don't love movies, you shouldn't be in the business, and that class helped expand my film vocabulary and appreciation.

How did your classes or interactions with professors at Taylor impact your growth?

I moved from Texas to Indiana for school, but I never felt like I didn't have a home thanks to the open arms of my professors. John and Kathy always made sure we were welcome to their house and a part of their lives, and we made them a part of ours. After I came back from my semester in Los Angeles, Josh Taylor let me pick his brain for hours about technology and allowed me to help prepare the new mobile trailer for multi-camera productions. I recommend taking film classes in areas you don’t think you’ll pursue. Even if there are classes you "know" will never apply to you, try to make it fun! If you're taking it, you might as well enjoy it. Some of the skills you learn will come into play later down the road. And, surprise surprise, turns out things you "know" in college don't always come true. I took the documentary class never thinking I would be involved in one, but I ended up being an assistant engineer on a variety of projects.

How can Taylor graduates use their unique Taylor education and its liberal arts foundational core as an asset in your discipline?

One of the most valuable courses I took, and one I recommend everyone take, is Personal Finance. If anything, I wish I added another course in finance and investing. I was a member of the Ethics Team, which helped with my public speaking and analytical analysis of complex issues. I was also able to study abroad in Ireland, and that love of adventure and learned flexibility still aids me to this day. Not everyone can pick up and move to NYC when an opportunity strikes...in the middle of a pandemic...not knowing where they are going to live...you get the idea.

What advice or encouragement could you provide for Taylor students in your vocational discipline?

I always thought Taylor did a great job of not limiting people's relationships with students in the same grade. Take advantage and build relationships with your classmates in the film department and in your dorms. Truthfully, I already knew I was going to return to Light Iron and start my career there, but what I didn't know was how much I would miss my college friends when I did so. Looking back, I wish I had spent more time with my friends that last year and had taken a step back from my need to get out of college and the intense focus I put on my final film projects. It’s easy to just make things about yourself, but everyone is going through their own stressors as well, particularly in Senior year. My other advice? Read books and watch movies. When covering a movie in film history class? Watch it. Covering how to write a screenplay? Read additional books on it. Eat, drink, and sleep that stuff into your bone marrow. But remember, at the end of the day, it’s all about your attitude and who you know. If I could become an engineer with no training, anyone could do it. The Post-Production community is a small incestuous community. Foster and build those relationships, and if you're halfway decent at your job and people like working with you, more opportunities will follow.