Professional Profile: Steven Goldmann,
Director and Co-Owner, The Collective
Most of Steven Goldman's early life in Canada revolved around film
and music, from the television commercials he acted in as a child, to the
mobile sound system he operated as a teenage disc jockey. The proceeds
from both financed his entry into the film school at New York University.
During a summer job working at the United Nations for UNICEF, he
began directing and editing short instructional films. Through contacts
made at the time, he landed work as an assistant manager on some
episodes of Tales of the Dark Side, and as an apprentice editor on Home of
the Brave: A Film by Laurie Anderson. Following work for an editing facility
on a series of toy commercials, he was hired by an advertising agency to
direct projects for Milton Bradley, Franklin Mint, and others.
It took several false starts,
but Goldman finally landed a
job as a director at a startup
video production company.
After doing some pop and
country projects, he began to
make a name for himself as a
director of heavy metal bands.
When the demand for that
music declined, so did the
demand for his services, until
all he could find was the occa-
sional job editing television
commercials. "It was one of
those crazy tailspins that life
can take. I was practically out
of work. It was a very low
point in my career," recalls
Goldmann. Then a series of
phone calls turned his career
around.
The first call came from a New York company that had seen his work
and wanted to hire him as a director. When he got to the firm's office, he
received another telephone call from a Montreal production company
that wanted to represent him. Minutes later, he got a third call from
Cynthia Biederman, a former colleague who was now working at Scene
Three, a Nashville-based film production company. Biederman had a
project she wanted him to direct. The year that started without much
promise ended with Goldman being named Country Music Television's
What do you like
least about your job?
"The hardest part, over
the long haul, is that
it's hard to grow and
stay fresh."
--Steven Goldmann
What do you love most
about your job?
"I love what I do. I love coming up with
ideas. I love reading and writing. I love
people, so I love that my job allows me to
be around a lot of people. I love being on the
set. I love editing; I love being in the editing
room and seeing it all come together. I've
got a job that allows every side of my person-
ality to shine."--Steven Goldmann
VOICES OF
EXPERIENCE
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