SCAD is the perfect place to meet not only talented people, but also people who are well-connected in creative industries. Former photography student Mia Rose Harvey got herself hired full-time at Rite Media Group after a fellow classmate introduced her to the company, where she excelled as an intern and became one of their most valuable members.
Recently, Harvey was a part of the production company that worked on Russ and Lil Baby’s music video for the song “UGLY,” where she worked as a PA. She said her experience was mostly positive, although hectic, as it was part of her job to write up the daily, which was essentially a detailed report about the exact time when every individual activity happened. Harvey and her crew also had to ensure that everyone on set was happy, that no complaints were ever raised, and every request, no matter how difficult, was fulfilled.
At one point during the production, the talent requested a $600 bottle of tequila that was expected to appear in his hand almost immediately, and Harvey’s team delivered as promised. Another challenge was the unauthorized appearance of random strangers on set who wanted to see the stars of the video. As everyone in the crew had been tested for COVID-19 before shooting, these newcomers had to be removed immediately by the production company.
The rest of the shoot was straightforward, and according to Harvey, being able to work alongside the camera department, a well-established director, and more extras than ever before in her career, let her acquire a priceless amount of knowledge.
At Rite Media Group, Harvey is being trained to be a director’s assistant, and after that her next goal is to apply for the Director’s Guild of America for a two-year training program in New York City. This selection process is highly competitive, but Harvey has demonstrated exemplar skills in her position, and thinks she would be an excellent trainee at the DGA.
Harvey said she is working nonstop in the name of all creatives who have doubted themselves before, determined to keep creating and seize every opportunity that comes her way, to show other young artists that it is possible to thrive in their fields. That they too can be a part of the big production companies, and perhaps start their own, to work with their favorite musicians and push back against the false notion that there isn’t room for new artists in the creative industries.
