When Daniel Gold graduated from the Film & Media Program at Queen’s nearly ten years ago, his dream was clear—but how to get there wasn’t.
The Journal caught up with Gold to chat about the trajectory of his career as the supervising producer of the television show Working Moms.
“It’s definitely not easy for anyone in film because there are so many different paths,” Gold said. “I jumped onto a job after graduating where I was a [Production Assistant] on film sets […] that made me feel really confident in understanding the entire landscape.”
The first set Gold found himself on was on The Amazing Race Canada, a job he said he got through a connection from a Queen’s alum.
While Gold always knew he wanted to write for the screen, he didn’t have the contacts in the writers’ room to get him exposure into that side of the film and entertainment world. He had to put himself out there to realize his creative aspirations.
“By being on sets, I was able to sort of make friends and schmooze and bother people. That’s the best possible advice I can give: to be as forward and friendly with the people around you as you can.”
Gold dedicated days of his week to working on site and on his craft, a juggle he described as “necessary” while he made friends with the writers on sets of projects. It led to one of his acquaintances thinking of him for a script coordinator position on Working Moms.
“That is the entry level position into a TV writers’ room: the person who organizes all the notes and thoughts being thrown around during meetings for people to follow thereafter,” he said.
Technical-focused jobs that still allow the creative people to create are what entry level jobs in the industry comprise of, according to Gold.
“I became a junior story editor, sort of an entry level writer, then a story editor to eventually supervising producer,” Gold said, referring to his transitions into a variety of writer positions with varying seniority.
His job entails mapping out the show to script writing to budget allocating. The creative process of storytelling varies from ideation to execution—the production team must adapt and pivot to do what is possible within the scope of the project’s resources.
“It’s our job to be like ‘well hold on, that may not be the best thing for the story we’re trying to tell,’ we keep our eye on the story first and foremost.”
However, when Gold had his first opportunity to chat with someone in the industry, he received a warning to stay clear of the career path he had so long dreamed of.
“I got off the phone and I was feeling a little dejected, but I also felt ‘well there’s nothing else I want to do so I just need to ignore that guy’s advice—I have no choice,’” he explained.
“I think that the people who are cut out to [work in this industry] are the ones who hear that advice and ignore it.”
Gold urged those with a passion for storytelling through film and TV to stay optimistic in the gruelling job market.
“As for advice for students graduating in film: work with those around you and build those connections, but also find people ahead of you and hear their perspectives to fast track your knowledge of the landscape.”
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