Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jordan Beecham. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jordan, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
Personally in my journey there was this beginning phase that was shrouded in ignorance. All I knew is that I wanted to be a storyboard artist. I knew the profession of storyboarding involved drawing and I loved to draw. When I first thought about becoming a storyboard artist I had heard about things like working long hours and needing to live in Los Angeles, those obstacles caused me to put that dream on pause. When it came time to revisit that particular career path after gaining experience in the professional world in other roles I did not realize the quality of work required to be successful. I had not practiced my sketching, I was not seasoned in the areas of figure drawing perspective drawing, shot composition. My thoughts were I want to be a storyboard artist how do storyboard artists get work. As time went on and I developed my skills then came the fear am I good enough to do the job will I get fired. Those questions plagued my mind for some time. Having made mistakes before in other roles, I realized the best thing I could do was to just get my feet wet and start working. There is no training like actually doing the job. Experience is a great teacher and has helped my confidence grow. There are still times that I think can I pull this off, I just put my head down and do the work, make decisions and live with the outcomes.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am a Storyboard Artist the bulk of my experience is in advertising. I attended Savannah College of Art and Design where I studied Sequential Art. In my major I learned about composition, anatomy, figure drawing perspective drawing, and page layouts. My major was designed to prepare students to work in comic books or storyboarding. Another passion of mine besides making art was storytelling at first in the form of animation and comic books later on graduating to live action films. Naturally I gravitated toward storyboarding. After college I gained some life experience working on film sets and in different industries. In 2019 I moved to Atlanta to pursue a career in film at that time still unsure of what role in film I was aiming at. In 2021 I was a PA in the set decoration department which had some need for artwork in various forms. Any chance I got I would help the art department with asset creation. I was looking at the crew list one day and saw the role of storyboard artist with a persons contact information on it. Some time later I reached out asking all kinds of questions including how they got their start. From there I found a mentor and went into a drawing boot camp of my design. My job is in large part remote. I work with producers and directors to come up with a vision for their commercial. Most of the time the script is in place but a shot list needs to be made. Some times I get to design the sequence, other times the director has a clear vision for the project. Once meetings are had I sit down, and draw the shots design the characters come up with the environments. After the drawings are made using digital software I then present them to the director/producer, and sometimes creative director. Many times revisions need to be made till everything is as it should be. Basically that is the process of creating storyboards.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
If I were to list 3 qualities/skills that impacted my journey they would be 1.Being observant/being a good listener. 2. Risk taking 3. Perseverance.
Being observant is very important in terms of being able to pick up information being given to you in most part this also includes being able to read the room. Knowing if the opportunity is right or potentially a waste of time; knowing whether the client wants detailed illustration or bare bone clear sketches.
Risk Taking, by going into the arts you are taking a risk these roles are not like being a plumber there is no clear blue print that guarantees success. Making the decision to dedicate years of time to working toward something that might not work out for any number of reasons some know and some that come along during the process of becoming professional.
Perseverance, is needed if you are going to take risks. The decision to do something hard or creative hardly ever pays off right away. You will hear no’s that just means you are knocking on the wrong door. The right door comes along you may just have to walk a long time to find it.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
Tony Liberatore – Tony is a veteran storyboard artist who has worked on some of the biggest movies ever made. Without Tony I would not know what skills to develop. He helped me come up with a plan, and he critiqued my work until It got to a level that was good enough to do the job. I know what is expected of a storyboard artist when doing the job thanks to him sharing his experience. He did not know me yet he gave me his time and helped me learn the path I would not be to this level without him. For that I will always be grateful. There were times of frustration and just hearing that I was not the only one to go through that frustration; to hear about his imposter syndrome gave me reassurance that how I was feeling was natural.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jordanbeecham.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/storyboarderatl/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-beecham-1458b3a7/
Image Credits
The first few images are from an indie film call Predecessor of Phantoms, A page from the short film BZRK and a frame from an LG commercial for a new fridge.
