We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Marc Spencer Tejada. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Marc Spencer below.
Marc Spencer, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
I wouldn’t necessarily categorize creativity as something is alive since that means the other is possible as well. I would like to think of creativity as a muscle and muscles like all things in life require rest and recovery. To maintain that creative muscle and for it to have the stamina to push through those long days where we’re challenged to be creative for hours, days, or even weeks at a time, I keep the core influences close by, all the while keeping my mind open to new experiences. I allow new avenues of thinking/creativity to revitalize and rejuvenate that muscle I like to call creativity. I think we all benefit from connecting and speaking about our creativity to one another as it not only replenishes but also reframes what I understand about my own avenue of creativity.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Hello! My name is Marc Spencer Tejada, I am a filmmaker/cinematographer based in the bay area. After graduating college last year at Long Beach State with a screenwriting degree, I made a switch to work on set as a grip and electric swing but now have focused on cinematography as I make my way back home. Ever since coming home, I’ve been focusing on my craft and meeting new filmmakers around the bay area with the help of close friends back home.
I’d say the most exciting part of the career path I chose is the ability to really put my head down with likeminded individuals and create something that is bigger than all of us. I primarily focus on the image and lighting of whichever video project I am on, so that means bringing on a team of talented individuals that can help me elevate the project further than if I was alone. There is truly something special about creating an image that captivates the audiences eye. Even from a young age, I had a knack of images and using my imagination to produce stories from said images. I would watch the city of Manila come alive before my eyes as I snapped photos of people passing by outside the window of the apartment I stayed with my family.
I am still very much early in the journey of finding my voice in the grand scheme of this creative space but I am truly excited to find myself amongst this new generation of creatives coming up. I feel blessed to be able to have some kind of artistic voice within this sea of media and I hope to one day inspire the same audiences that my role models once inspired.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I’d say the three most important qualities within my journey was keeping a level head while pressure began to build, leaving the ego at the doorstep, and understanding that your journey isn’t supposed to be a carbon copy as someone else’s.
Keeping a level head while pressure begins to build I think is self-explanatory. It just means to remind yourself that although things are going to get tough, you are in this position for a reason and it shouldn’t deter you from the challenge; rather you should feel excited that you have an opportunity to prove yourself to no one else but yourself. There’s been countless times where I felt like I wasn’t ready for the opportunity ahead of me and some times it would be true but it didn’t stop me from diving in head first and experiencing it myself.
The second quality would be to leave the ego at the doorstep, this simply means once you head into that meeting, job, or opportunity, your ego has no place in a room that is meant for you to grow. At least my ego isn’t meant for that. There will be times where you will be tested by someone telling you, you’re not good enough or you don’t belong there, maybe you’re telling yourself that which is why you must leave the ego by the doorstep. Do not let it distract you from what you’re there for. To finish a job, to meet new people, to experience new things.
Your journey isn’t a carbon copy of someone else’s. This speaks on imposter syndrome a bit and it’s just not suited for an artist or creative that truly wants to develop their craft or curate their taste. It is quite common for many of us creatives to look over our shoulder and find someone else working with their favorite brand, artist, or creative then compare ourselves to them thinking that we aren’t good enough or capable of doing those things. That sort of thinking only hinders our ability to develop our own voice and creates this cynical void that steals the joy of creativity. Your journey is yours and yours alone. No one can tell you what you must or mustn’t do to find the success you’re looking for.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
I think the most impactful thing my parents have done for me is truly finding the strength within themselves to understand that working in another country to provide for my siblings and I is what would be best for the family. I don’t think I can say I grew up without parents, however, I think it was more of I had to relearn and adjust to either my mother or father whenever they’d be gone for years and come back for a period of time then up and leave again. That was something that I didn’t really know how to navigate as a child. It’s really affected the way I view relationships and what it means to be around. I understand now that I’ve become an adult that it was no way their fault. It was simply the happenings of life that it had to be that way but nonetheless I appreciate the sacrifices they have made for my siblings and I.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tejada.myportfolio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tejadamarcs/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@marcspencertejada
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