Film Program Alum Leeron Cohen’s Success Story
After finishing a degree at Florida State, Leeron realized he wanted more out of life and wanted to excel in ways that he grew up dreaming about. He decided to turn his dream into a reality by pursuing a career in the film industry and started out by moving to Los Angeles to enroll in the Los Angeles Film School. With the help of his parents and grandmother, Leeron uprooted from Florida and “made the best decision I could have ever made for myself,” which was diving right in to the film degree program. “I learned more at LAFS than I learned studying textbooks at Florida State,” Leeron explained, as the courses here are all hands-on, and students are able to start making their own films right away. The experience he gained here gave him the skills and confidence to take on any job within the industry. Learning the ins and outs of being on set from award-winning industry professionals allowed invaluable experience, as the most important lesson he learned was that:
“The industry can be brutal; you have to be tough because of how much work, energy and time is spent on any one project.”
After graduation, Leeron pursued freelance work. He had a strong reel, used networking connections, and was trusted to work on more freelance projects. However, the need for a more stable job couldn’t be denied, so he reached out to the Career Development department, who helped him land a few interviews. Leeron expresses his gratitude:
“I want to thank the team for helping me. At first I was scared and felt pressured with the weak economy, but I didn’t give up. I kept pursuing jobs and went to interviews at companies like Sony and Warner Brothers.”
About a month and a half after graduation, he was able to get an interview with Mahalo.com (which is now Inside Studios). Currently, the company has nine shows in production and is expanding. Leeron was selected as a candidate for the Production Manager position and was quick to acclimate to the company, culture, and fast-paced environment at the studio. His day-to-day responsibilities revolve around managing all productions from beginning to end. He also has the responsibility of hiring freelancers, assisting his video team (directors, editors, DP’s and crew) to complete successful productions, and assisting his team to scout locations, provide budgets, and cast hosts for the show. Leeron thoroughly enjoys working with his colleagues, and he describes them as “Extremely talented!”
In addition to everyone’s job tasks, Leeron and his colleagues are free to share ideas for more shows. Everything he learned at LAFS is applied to his everyday job responsibilities at the studio, from knowing what equipment needs to be brought in, to running the right production processes, to making sure that all shoots are being completely efficient and successful. The former Production Manager of Mahalo.com was also a LAFS alum–he set an incredible path and structure for Leeron to follow.
The most recent show Leeron has been working on is called “Being Fat Sucks,” which is similar to the YouTube sensation “Shay Loss,” who documented his weight loss and gained a subsequent 264,862 subscribers and over 13 million hits. “Being Fat Sucks” goes above and beyond, and documents four different individuals, all with different weight loss goals and needs. The second season of the show premieres Monday, April 15th, at 1pm PST. Justin Bellow, another film program alum, is the director and co-producer.
Watch the trailer for “Being Fat Sucks” and make sure you tune in on Monday at 1pm!