Today we’d like to introduce you to Erich Archer.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Erich. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
After earning a Film Studies degree from Connecticut College and completing an 8-week intensive Directing Workshop at the New York Film Academy I spent five years in New York City working in commercial television production, primarily as a camera operator and producer. After that I moved to Los Angeles for and worked for several large studios and networks. Eventually I moved back to my home state of Massachusetts and got involved in community media, first as a Creative Programming Director and eventually as an Executive Director. I got the Executive Director Job at Cape Ann Television in 2013 and this year we rebranded as 1623 Studios.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Right from the very beginning this has been a very difficult career track to pursue. In college, film studies wasn’t even an official major. I had to self-design it, stringing together the few classes they did offer with photography, theatre, and the like. Breaking into the industry in New York was extremely difficult. My first attempt failed and I had to move back home to earn enough money to go back and try again. Eventually I got a great job that I loved. Three years after that I decided to try freelancing. Freelancing can be brutal. When it’s good, it’s great. When it’s bad, it’s REALLY bad. There are long periods of unemployment, lots of uncertainty, and you’re always out of your comfort zone because you’re always in a new environment with new people who have different ways of doing things. You only advance when you have the courage to apply for jobs you’ve never done before and then you have to learn quickly enough on the job not to get fired. After a couple years of freelancing I decided to relocate to the west coast. It took me six months to find a production job and even though I had great experience I still had to start at the bottom again. There is intense competition in Los Angeles and the workforce is worked very hard because there is always someone willing to take your spot. Then, of course, sometimes life happens. My future wife and I were getting serious and, both being from Massachusetts, we decided to move back home to start our life together. Unfortunately for my career, that meant starting over yet again, this time in an area not known for its production industry. Fortunately, I found an opportunity in community media, which at the time, was just a way to stay in the game. It turned out to be a very happy accident though. Now I can pair my love of video production with the mission of a nonprofit, which is incredibly fulfilling. I’m also usually home for dinner, which is wonderful now that my wife and I have three young children. In retrospect, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Please tell us about 1623 Studios.
1623 Studios is a nonprofit community media center serving the Cape Ann community in Massachusetts. We specialize in video production but also offer a full spectrum of creative services from podcasting to content strategy and social media management. We also produce Emmy-winning original content.
Contact Info:
- Address: 38 Blackburn Center
- Website: www.1623studios.org
- Phone: 9782812443
- Email: info@1623studios.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1623_studios
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1623Studios/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/1623Studios
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