{"id":128016,"date":"2020-10-13T16:44:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-13T22:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=128016"},"modified":"2025-02-20T16:24:53","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T23:24:53","slug":"breathing-life-into-hit-tv-shows-andrew-carter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=128016","title":{"rendered":"Breathing life into hit TV shows | Andrew Carter \u201918"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Andrew Carter ’18 has loved cinema ever since he was a child. But it wasn\u2019t until he transferred to UCCS that he realized making movie magic could be his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since graduating with his Bachelor of Communications in Digital Filmmaking & Media Arts in 2018, he has been putting his degree to use in different video production jobs. Recently, he has helped bring multiple hit TV series to life, including \u201cChicago PD\u201d and \u201cChicago Med.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carter first began toying with video production by joining his high school audio-video crew, where he was introduced to properly operating a camera and capturing content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t really like being told what to do,\u201d Carter says, with a laugh. \u201cTo be able to film whatever you want, within reason, and do okay \u2014 I fell in love with it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After high school, however, Carter drifted away from film. He just didn\u2019t know if he could become a cameraman on a big-time TV show or create a silver screen blockbuster. Instead he focused on his second passion of teaching and enrolled in Pikes Peak Community College (PPCC) to become a science teacher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I was asking myself in high school, I would have thought I was crazy, because I was terrible at math and definitely didn\u2019t care about science,\u201d Carter says. \u201cIt was kind of \u2026 self-exploration. Then at some point I said, \u2018Maybe I can be a teacher later in life?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that, Carter decided it was time to stop simply watching films and try his hand at making them. To fulfill his passion, he transferred from PPCC to UCCS, only to dive into film and media arts classes within this Communications track.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During his first class, Carter was panicking. What if he made the wrong choice? What if he wasn\u2019t fit for film? But, soon, UCCS Communications Professor Matt Morgan re-established Carter\u2019s confidence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe was the first teacher I ever had a class with,\u201d Carter recalls. \u201cI remember getting into his classroom and being absolutely terrified. Within the first week, I felt like it was the absolute right choice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the right professors and practical experience, Carter quickly learned essential video production skills that would help him later on. In one hands-on production class, Carter was part of a staff that helped produce the UCCS school web series \u201cThe Bluffs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou spend the entire semester working as a team to film this show,\u201d Carter says. \u201cYou have a tight schedule and you have people with things going on, just like a real set. That was probably the closest thing I got to the real world at UCCS.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before Carter graduated, Professor Morgan encouraged him to seek video production opportunities wherever possible. And after doing a few jobs in and outside of Colorado, including working with Dr. Oz to profile athletes at Colorado Springs\u2019 Olympic Training Center, Carter set his sights on Chicago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLike a lot of people, I thought that Hollywood was the only destination other than New York,\u201d Carter explains. \u201cBut as I started doing more research, having spent time in LA, I thought it wasn\u2019t the very first step for someone who wasn\u2019t as experienced.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hollywood, Carter explains, isn\u2019t the only place with a booming film and television industry. New York, Atlanta, New Orleans and Chicago also host many studio lots and sets that produce beloved shows and films. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In July of last year, Carter landed in Chicago and quickly began working on HBO\u2019s \u201cBatwoman.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI showed up with \u2014 not a whole lot, other than a work ethic and knocked around,\u201d Carter remembers. \u201cIn about a couple of weeks I was getting professional experience on big sets, for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Carter\u2019s role didn\u2019t have to do anything with a camera or dolly. Instead, he was tasked with lighting a few cars on fire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey were already meant to be set on fire,\u201d Carter says, with a laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the beauty of working in film and television, Carter notes. With so much content being created come thousands of jobs for countless behind-the-scenes production workers who help light up the screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are a lot of job opportunities \u2014 you can either find them, or make them yourself,\u201d Carter says. \u201cIn filmmaking, you can do anything from sound, to set decor, to craft services. There are so many jobs on so many sets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While making it in show business comes down to having a willingness to work, it helps to know people. Carter got hired on \u201cChicago PD\u201d and later became a Dolly Grip on \u201cChicago Med\u201d after asking a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend for a reference. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On \u201cChicago Med,\u201d which is a three-camera production filmed on multiple TV sets, Carter\u2019s role as a Dolly Grip is to work with the First and Second Assistant Camera Operators and the main Camera Operator to move, frame, and focus the camera, capturing key shots. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great thing to do because you\u2019re really involved with it,\u201d Carter says. \u201cWhen I\u2019m working on the dolly I can say, \u2018Hey, let\u2019s move it this way or you should try that.\u2019 It gets filmed and ends up on TV, so it\u2019s cool to be able to see that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually, Carter wants to give LA a shot, where he hopes to write, direct and produce one of his own creations, like a series or film. For a kid who grew up watching awe-inspiring classics from Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, it would be a dream come true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for now, Carter is happy to be learning so much on \u201cChicago Med\u201d because it has a culture of support that has helped him grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn \u2018Chicago Med,\u2019 there are a lot of people there to support you and who want to see you do well,\u201d Carter concludes. \u201cWhen you do well, they do well, and the show does well. It comes from a really genuine place, from leadership down \u2014 it really reminds me of UCCS.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Carter could, he might give a \u201cBest Of\u201d award to UCCS and the professors who have helped him along the way, making his dreams come true, just like in the movies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Andrew Carter ’18 has loved cinema ever since he was a child. But it wasn\u2019t until he transferred to UCCS that he realized making movie magic could be his career. (More)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":128017,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1,427],"tags":[370,369,414,86],"class_list":["post-128016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-alumni-stories","tag-alumni","tag-alumni-success","tag-arts-sciences","tag-college-of-letters-arts-and-sciences"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/andrew-carter-ss.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1mBpJ-xiM","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=128016"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":162230,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128016\/revisions\/162230"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/128017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=128016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=128016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=128016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}