James Fasino
Broadcast engineer
Capricorn Media Consultants (my own)
Milestones
My road in life has taken me all over.
After the death of my dad at 16, I dropped out of H.S.
I joined the US Navy and volunteered to attend Submarine School where i also earned my GED, on a whim.
Attended college nights and weekends under the GI Bill while working days for 9 years to earn my BA.
I started part time at the local cable company.
I took a full time night job at the Meadowlands Sports Complex, and so worked 2 full time jobs.
I did this for 9 years while also building a freelance business in sports, news & entertainment.
One of my clients was the United Nations and they offered me a staff position which I accepted.
After 15 years I left the UN, but I was offered a freelance position with NBC News.
Education
GED
Passaic High School
Passaic High School
Career
Broadcast engineer
Currently a free-lance TV / video cameraman & writer
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Television
Journalism
Being Creative
Day to Day
I am currently semi-retired and work from home using my computers to cultivate work for my new business and that of my friend's full service production company. We both have over 25 years experience in the field and met on a shoot then decided to conspire to build our businesses together. A typical shoot requires meeting with producers, directors and talent, setting up production equipment, running cables and testing out everything. Then we work together as a team to produce the product.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for college students
Although I attended a four year college, I wouldn't recommend it to those who wish to work on the technical side of the industry in that it fails far short in preparing one to be a broadcast engineer. The curriculum tends toward the more creative side for those pursuing careers as directors or producers. I would recommend a school such as The School of Visual Arts in NYC because it gives one much more "hands on" experience; they bring their students out into the field to conduct actual shoots.
Recommended Education
My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Society in General:
"An adjunct professor told us we had better love working in TV because we wouldn't make money at it. But I did immediately shooting social events and eventually made a 6 figure income working in NYC. And, that teacher went on to work at Disney World."
Challenges I Overcame
Father's death
