Campus Celebrity: Paula Tan

Paula is a dedicated and essential member of the Video Production club who also holds a strong passion for the TV industry. When she’s not passionately working towards her dreams, she can be found exercising her artistic side doing DIY projects. Her passion and background is inspiring for me and anybody else who is pursuing a career in film/TV production. With an infectious smile and upbeat personality, I introduce to you, Paula Tan.

Hometown: Woodlynne, NJ

Year: Sophomore

Major: Television and Digital Media with a concentration of Television Production

HCM: Why did you choose your major?

PT: In high school, I took TV production classes for four years. Since middle school, I had always been interested in photography and taking videos of me and my friends having fun, so taking these classes just made sense. My freshmen year I also joined the Television Production club, which got me super involved and interested in the field itself. I then became a critical member of the daily morning news show we put on, went out to record school events, and worked on numerous film sets. After four years of being completely absorbed in the world of TV and film, it was second nature to choose this as my major.

HCM: What are some of your hobbies?

PT: I’ve been really into crafts lately, if anyone came into my dorm room they’d be able to tell! My walls are covered in canvas paintings I made over the summer, different posters, and other DIY decor that I found on Pinterest. I thought it would be really nice to have decorations that didn’t cost much money (especially on a college student budget) so I figured why not make some myself! But other than that, if I’m not doing something for the club or catching up on studying, you can probably find me hanging out with my friends or playing Pokemon or something.

HCM: What’s the best part of being in the video production club?

PT: I think my favorite part of being a part of the video production club is the friendships I’ve made and the experience I’ve gotten. It’s cool because you get to meet people and also work with those people doing the thing you’ve both grown to love! There are so many opportunities to work on each other’s projects, work on stuff together, or just help one another in general. It’s definitely a good way to network and to create connections for the future, while having fun at the same time. I think the best part of it is being able to learn the stuff that you can’t or don’t learn in classrooms from the senior members of the club who are very knowledgable in their major. For example, I’m a TV production major but we do have various senior members who are film majors. Through the club, they have taught me things that I would have never know before and things that have ultimately benefitted me.

HCM: What does the role of video coordinator for the club entail?

PT: As video coordinator, I’m in charge of two separate sections. There’s the non-narrative section, that includes any documentaries that the club produces and also our new web series, “The Reel Crew”. The other section deals with working with other organizations on campus and filming any events that they want us to, and thus producing a highlight video for them. I pretty much oversee these things and make sure that club members are getting involved in both aspects!

HCM: A lot of people aren’t aware of the club’s web series “The Reel Crew” Can you provide more information on it?

PT: “The Reel Crew” is a web series that the club started producing last semester. It’s sort of like the TV show “The Office” but about the Video Production Club at a university. It’s written by members, directed and produced by members, edited by members, and about the members themselves! “The Reel Crew” is a fictitious documentary style comedy about the club. You can find all of our episodes on our Youtube page (MSU Video Production Club). It’s awesome to see everyone working together on this project, it’s come a long way in just a semester and I’m really pumped to see how this season turns out!

HCM: What does the Video Production Club hope to achieve this year?

PT: We hope to keep a steady active membership this year and really get new members involved. We want to become more involved with the campus community to make ourselves known. And we hope to improve as an organization as a whole and move up to a class II by the end of this year!

HCM: Where do you see yourself 10 years down the road?

PT: In 10 years, I’ll probably be settled down with a family of my own, hopefully working in the city working for a major network or television show! But as long as I have my family, a dog or two, and a happy and healthy marriage, I’ll be more than satisfied with whatever the world hands me.

HCM: What keeps you motivated to pursue your dreams?

PT: Honestly, I just want to be happy. The fact that I can’t imagine happily doing anything other than working in TV and film for the rest of my life is what’s motivating me to keep pursuing these dreams and plans I have.

HCM: Do you have a quote that you live by?

PT: “You mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling” – Tom Hardy as Eames, Inception

HCM: If you could have dinner with three people, living or dead, who would they be and why?

PT: Three people? Okay:

•  My grandparents. Particularly my grandfather on my mom’s side. I always grew up in a musical household, my mom sang to me all the time and my brother and I eventually learned how to play some instruments. Music was a big part of my life growing up, and my mom always tells me “You get your talent from Tatay” (which means “Grandfather” in Tagalog). Apparently, he was the one who sat down and taught her how to play the guitar and who she got her musical ear from. I never got to meet him before he passed away, and I think it would be nice to sit down and have a nice conversation with him.
• John Krasinski. I’m just a really big fan of his. I’d be interested to learn about what it was like to go from being an aspiring actor to becoming a well-known face of sitcom television, a producer, a director, and a screenwriter as well.
• J.K. Rowling. I grew up reading Harry Potter and engulfed myself in the world of witchcraft and wizardry whenever I had a chance to crack open an HP novel. I would love to just explore her mind and find out how she came up with the whole idea and how much it took for her to plan out the entire story.

HCM: What is your definition of happiness?

PT: My definition of happiness is when I wake up before my alarm and realize I still have 2 hours to sleep, or when I get an medium iced coffee when I ordered a small, or when my boyfriend looks at me and smiles and he gets wrinkles by his eyes, or when I find out that I still have a week to study for that exam I thought was this morning – little things like these all add up to my happiness. I find it hard to try and rely my happiness on huge life-changing events, but instead I appreciate all of the little things.

HCM: Anything else you’d like our readers to know?

PT: As college students, we usually get caught up in the people around us or the stress of classes or a bunch of distractions! It makes sense since there’s so much going on, but I just want to remind everyone to remember to take a few hours a day (or a week, if your schedule is as busy as mine!) to yourself, just to relax and catch up on your thoughts. It’s a little harder to do when at school, but it’s definitely healthy!

Check out Paula on “The Reel Crew”

To find out how you can be a part of the show, attend a Video Production Club meeting every Wednesday at 3:00pm in Room 135 of Calcia Hall!

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