Transcript: Working in Tech vs Movie Business
Read the full transcript of The Startup Project episode with Marius Ciocirlan, Managing Director of Techstars Seattle. Marius shares his personal story of choosing a career in tech over the film industry, contrasting the rigid, hierarchical structure of Hollywood with the fast-paced, ambition-driven world of startups. He discusses why tech offered a clearer path to success and how he plans to eventually return to his passion for film.
2023-04-02
Host: So I was like, you know, working at Samsung, making videos and then also like working on sets like reality TV shows and stuff like that.
Host: While at the same time doing a startup and uh learning UX design.
Host: So I had to make a decision, I couldn't do both.
Host: And the reason I decided to go into tech, I remember having this kind of conversation with my significant other, is that in film, it's a very traditional career path, meaning in order to become a cinematographer or a director or a producer, you have to pay your dues.
Host: Like, there is very strict rules about what certain people could do on a set and what they can't do.
Host: Like, I've been told in my position as a production assistant was like, you are not allowed to move that equipment.
Host: You're not allowed to move that chair because the union, you don't belong to that union.
Host: So it's actually like a safety regulation or it was a very traditional kind of career path.
Host: And I realized that like, I was not going to reach my dream of becoming a cinematographer or a director well into my 40s, probably 50s.
Host: And it was going to take a long time where in tech, it was actually the complete opposite.
Host: The younger you were, the more respect you got and almost the more opportunities you received.
Host: So my goal was always like, I really enjoy tech and it seems like doors are just really opening, people are just much more supportive.
Host: If you have big ambitions, you don't have to like wait in line and wait your turn, you could just act on those ambitions.
Host: Uh so it just felt like a much friendlier community and just more embracing.
Host: So uh went towards tech and I I always planned like at some point in my career, I'll make it in tech and then I'll come back at an older age into film and I'll be a producer and I'll fund my own films or uh documentaries or whatever whatever that might be.