“You get to a point where you’ve outgrown the challenges,” says Philip Agnello, promo producer at Accessible Media Inc. in Toronto. He’s referring to his motivations on applying to and getting into PromaxBDA’s Executive Mentorship program.

As we discovered in our chat, Phillip has excelled at Accessible Media largely due to his ambition. Daily Brief Contributing Editor Kareem Taylor got a chance to chat with Phillip where he talks how he went from editing audio to cutting promos, and the moments that led him to seek professional mentorship.

DAILY BRIEF: How did you get this job?

AGNELLO: This specific job came when I was working as a producer for an audio only channel, which is owned by the same company. They asked me to start writing spots for television, and then they didn’t have enough people to cut those spots. So I said ‘Sure, I’ll edit them too!’ Next thing you know, I’m a promo producer.

It morphed from audio into something else.

I went to college for record production and music industry business. I graduated and got this job as a producer for an audio only broadcaster. We would record people reading newspaper and magazine articles and broadcast them over cable.

How did you go from producing audio to building up those other skills?

You see an opportunity and you say ‘If we did this, we could be better.’ That’s how it happend. I’ve got to edit this video and I’ve never edited a video, so what do I do? I’m going to watch videos and tutorials. I already know how to put together promos because I was doing audio promotions. We used to run described versions of movies without the picture, we would run just the audio of movies with the description track. I just added in the video component.

What does your day to day look like?

This week I’m working on a few different spots. I’ve got an episodic for a new show called Mindset Go. It’s about people trying to lose weight and get healthier. And then they pair them up with a Canadian paralympian, to inspire them. And I’m working on a generic for a mini series called The Kennedys.

You’re a mentee in PromaxBDA’s Executive Mentorship program. Who’s your mentor and what’s that been like?

My mentor is April Carty-Sipp. She’s amazing and fantastic. I got involved because I feel like I’m at a point in my career where I want to take the next step forward. All my career, I’ve always looked for challenges. You get to a point where you’ve outgrown the challenges that are available and you want to find something more. I found out about the mentorship program and it sounded like the perfect thing for me to get that guidance and get somebody who I trust. Someone I could gain insight in a way that would be difficult to come across in an organic way. Me and April do a phone call every two to three weeks, and we’re on the phone for about an hour and a half. She’s in Washington and I’m in Toronto, so we haven’t been able to physically get together. But we always talk on the phone and stay connected that way.

For more of Taylor’s chat with Agnello, listen here:

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Executive Mentorship Program Applications Close March 30. Apply Now

Tags: accessible media philip agnello promaxbda mentorship the daily brief podcast


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