American Idol has dominated the past decade of pop culture, becoming a national phenomenon and helping to influence both the television and music industries. The show has obviously spawned a list of successful artists, from Kelly Clarkson to Daughtry, but it has also been a jumping-off point for a number of people working behind the scenes on the massive hit.
This includes Film graduate Rodney Aquino, who has worked as a production assistant on the past two seasons of Idol. He first heard about the job opening from his career development advisor at Full Sail, and jumped at the opportunity to take a role on the series. “They asked if I could do it, and I was like ‘Heck yeah,’” he says. “It’s one of the biggest shows out there, so I knew it had to be good for my career. I was really excited to work on it.”
As a production assistant, Rodney was responsible for coordinating the hordes of contestants who flocked to the show’s Florida casting sessions for seasons eight and nine. Held over two weeks, these auditions brought out nearly 20,000 people each year, each hoping to catch a big break.
“My job is to basically take care of everyone, which means making sure they’re all doing okay on water, and that they’re where they need to be at the right time,” he says. “We were there from about 4:30 in the morning through the rest of day, getting everyone shuffled inside. Out of the thousands of people that show up there’s only about 70 that get through to see Randy, Kara, Ellen, and Simon. It’s a pretty fascinating thing to be a part of.”
Being a production assistant has been an important step in a lot of artist’s careers, since you’ll often be working back and forth between the different departments on set – whether it’s the talent, camera crew, set designers, or grips. During his time on Idol, Rodney stepped in to help out wherever he could, making the experience a great opportunity to network with different artists.
“It was such a great experience working with the people on it,” he says. “Meeting the producers, people from record labels, then the rest of the production crew – you’re getting paid, and you’re networking at the same time. You can have both feet in the door by the end of a shoot. Everyone knows who you are, and before you know it you’re getting hired to work on another project, and it just snowballs from there. There’s always room to grow and excel as a PA.”
Coming off the ninth season of American Idol (which saw the farewell of judge Simon Cowell), Rodney is making the most of the connections he made on the series, and has begun working on a number of his own independent projects. An aspiring writer and director himself, he and a colleague recently partnered to develop their own production company, Left Digital Media, and in only a few months have established a number of film and video clients, and are also developing an original TV pilot for a Florida-based crime drama.
“The company has taken off really quickly, and this is why I love film so much – just being there and coming up with creative ideas,” he says. “Right now we’re most excited about the pilot. It’s going to be an investigation show, but with a different twist than the usual cop drama. We’ve got the state of Florida and some well known actors involved in it, so we’re really trying to make it take off.
“Working in film, you really learn as you progress. It takes steps to get where you want to go, and you have to be a hard worker. Being a PA was the best training for what I’m starting to do now. I learned so much working on set, and it’s only going to help me with my own projects. I’m really excited about this next stage of my career.”
