Author: The Reel Women

#question for @lyvimar: What do you collect, if anything? #answer: I collect a few things, mostly collecting objects that feature or represent things I like, like toys, stickers and clothing. My biggest collection is from the video game “The Last of Us”, where I have figures, signed books and prints, even hard to find promotional items. I especially like buying things that support things I like, like the DVD or book or a t-shirt. #collections #TheLastofUs #film #movies #stories #independentfilm #documentary #television #TV #media #art #editing #writing #producing #collaboration #storytelling #FilmEquality #womeninfilm #womendirect #betterhollywood #thereelwomen #bosslady #ladyboss #girlboss #picoftheday #instagood #inspiration #tvlover #tvnerd #craft

#question for @lyvimar: What advice do you have for other women in the industry? #answer: I would say never be afraid to share what is on your mind. I think there are many occasions where we want to be nice or we don’t want to get in someone’s face or have someone get upset with what we have to say but I think there are things that we still need to change in this industry for women and the only way we can do it is by being vocal ourselves and encouraging other people to be vocal and hold their own thoughts and opinions as important. ‘Cause I have definitely had a lot of uncomfortable moments where I have spoken to other artists, writers or directors and been like, “hey, you need more representation of women” or “I don’t think this should be the only thing” and it has been difficult when they have come back and are like, “it’s fine” or “it doesn’t matter”. They don’t see the issue like I see it. And I’ve had moments where I’ve spoken out and I have not had the support of the women around me because they don’t want to cause any scene and I’ve felt very alone so I think it would definitely help if everybody worked together and we all joined and supported each other and shared our own thoughts as well. #advice #neverbeafraid #film #movies #stories #independentfilm #documentary #television #TV #media #art #editing #writing #producing #collaboration #storytelling #FilmEquality #womeninfilm #womendirect #betterhollywood #thereelwomen #bosslady #ladyboss #girlboss #picoftheday #instagood #inspiration #tvlover #tvnerd #craft http://ow.ly/i/fM5pC

#question for @lyvimar: What is a successful moment in your career so far? #answer: Success is really hard to define. I think there have been a few times in my life where I felt like, this is it, this is my successful moment, everything is going to be downhill from here, everything is going to be amazing. And then it turned out that moment wasn’t as big as I thought it was or I didn’t take as full of an advantage of it that I should have. So I think a successful moment is difficult for me to think of ‘cause I could say it was when I won a student Emmy but then right after I don’t think I took advantage of the connections I’ve made or in reaching out to those people so it kind of just fell off. But I can still think of small successful things like that Emmy helped me get into grad school which then helped me get an internship at Dreamworks Animation which then helped me get my job. So I’d say there isn’t one defining moment that changed everything and it felt like, “this is my career now” but I can see how that successful moment led to other smaller successful moments that have led my career to where it is now which maybe isn’t as far as I’d want it to be but I think it’s still a pretty good one. #success #emmy #dreamworks #animation #career #film #movies #stories #independentfilm #documentary #television #TV #media #art #editing #writing #producing #collaboration #storytelling #FilmEquality #womeninfilm #womendirect #betterhollywood #thereelwomen #bosslady #ladyboss #girlboss #picoftheday #instagood #inspiration http://ow.ly/i/fM5mh

#question for @lyvimar: What is your biggest concern with the future? #answer: I think a lot about where things are moving socially in terms of how certain things have affected certain people in the past and where we are in working towards fixing that or addressing it, kinda with the Blacklives matter movement and with all the civil rights issues. And I think about it on a smaller scale in the film industry, too, where there is more diversity in some areas but things are still very closed off in others. And you still see that old mentality eeking through in some casting decisions like the Matt Damon issue that came out with that TV show. So, I’m concerned about things progressing and changing because they still need to change. We’re not done changing. Sometimes I see things that feel scary, feel like they can stop that change, stop that progression but then there are other times that I see how forward a lot of other things have moved. So I’m very hopeful but also I’m frustrated with how slow things change. #blacklivesmatter #film #movies #stories #independentfilm #documentary #television #TV #ladyboss #ladybosses #bosslady #girlboss #bossgirl #media #art #editing #writing #producing #collaboration #storytelling #FilmEquality #womeninfilm #womendirect #betterhollywood #thereelwomen http://ow.ly/i/fM5kA

#question for @lyvimar: What’s a defining moment in your life? #answer: In my life and in storytelling in general, reading “Ella Enchanted”. My grandma had actually bought it for my younger sister. My younger sister had no interest in reading it because she thought the cover was boring. I didn’t have a new book to read so I thought let me give this book a try. From the first pages I was absolutely captivated and in love, not only with the story and the characters but with the fact that this author Gail Carson Levine had taken a fairytale, a story that I knew so well and had changed it and had given it different context and had made it her own and in some ways that opened up my mind to how different things could be, to how different stories could be. Not just grabbing one story and telling it a different way but how different people would tell different stories. I definitely have read that book a lot and have recommended it to a lot of people. It’s a book that changed my view of storytelling and of life in general in terms of how to approach things and finding your own way to do things. #ellaenchanted #book #books #fairytale #film #movies #stories #independentfilm #documentary #ladyboss #girlboss #womeninbusiness #bossbabe #boss #womenempoweringwomen #inspiration #goldenglobes #television #TV #media #art #editing #writing #producing #collaboration #storytelling #FilmEquality #womeninfilm #womendirect #betterhollywood #thereelwomen http://ow.ly/i/fM5aS

#question for @lyvimar: Why did you decide to work in this industry? #answer: When I was very young, we couldn’t afford cable. Every other weekend my dad would take us to Blockbuster and we’d rent a couple movies or sometimes four. It was always this event, it was a connection. So we would go, we’d pick a movie, we’d watch it, we’d take it back and we’d often talk about the movie, whether we liked it. Some people would like it, some people would hate it. This became our routine for awhile. I remember we started renting the same ones over and over. I think there was a whole month where my sister and I rented “Strictly Ballroom” over and over. We just loved it. There was something so captivating about what these movies did for our family and did for my siblings and I and how they affected us that I started thinking about stories and thinking about how they are presented and what that could be. So from there, when I was in high school, I got to play with the first iMovie that they released on a mac and I really liked the process of making our own silly little films with my friends and putting them together and editing them. Actually, I think the first time I tried to edit a movie was on a VHS player where I’d play it, record it on a VHS tape, rewind, find the new take, record it back on. Putting it together and getting to watch it and show it to people, it was really fun. So from there I thought, well, I want to go to film school, I want to pursue this thing. It was the only thing I felt that much interest in. And from there I went to BYU (Brigham Young University) and got to try editing, got to try writing, got to try producing and loved everything about it and loved the connection and the collaboration and the people and definitely felt like I wanted to keep pursuing it. #blockbuster #routine #strictlyballroom #family #siblings #iMovie #mac #vhs #connection #PuertoRico #film #movies #stories #independentfilm #documentary #television #TV #media #art #editing #writing #producing #collaboration #storytelling #FilmEquality #womeninfilm #womendirect #betterhollywood #thereelwomen http://ow.ly/i/fM4Y6

#question for Vera: If people want to find out more about you, where can they find you on social media? #answer from Vera: I don’t think that’s the best way to learn about me, to be honest, but here you go: instagram: vwestside twitter: @meyer_vera #thereelwomen #film #television #media #beautiful http://ow.ly/i/fDcCJ

#question for Vera: What, if anything, do you collect? #answer from Vera: Nothing really. I think too many things weigh a person down. #thereelwomen #life #love #collections #film #television #media @vwestside http://ow.ly/i/fF4WI

#question for Vera: What advice do you have for other women in the industry? #answer from Vera: I don’t think it’s gender specific. Working hard and being able to work with other people. The more successful you become, the more it will become about being able to deal with others and less about your hard skills. Having a support system; you can’t climb this mountain alone. Just keep hanging on, and you’ll make it in the end. Sounds overly simple, I know. But I believe this is the foundation to professional success. #thereelwomen #film #television #media #workinghard #supportsystem #hangingon #success http://ow.ly/i/fDcsD

#question for Vera: What is your biggest concern with the future? #answer from Vera: Success. Achievement. Being able to accomplish the things I’ve set out to accomplish. I think that’s pretty standard. Looking back and seeing how far I’ve come to help keep things in perspective serves as a counter balance. #thereelwomen #future #success #achievement #perspective #counterbalance #film #television @vwestside @meyer_vera http://ow.ly/i/fDcfO