Nina Lopez Collado has a lot to celebrate. Since graduating from Full Sail University in 2007, she’s served as producer and guest director on shows like: The Mentalist, Supernatural, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Countless small things, Perry Masonand NeversFor these accomplishments, Nina was recently inducted into the Full Sail Hall of Fame, and has even more exciting work ahead of her: she is directing an episode for the second season of HBO’s Emmy Award winning series. The Last of UsNina’s passion for television and eagerness to learn the ins and outs of production helped her earn her current credits.
Nina loved watching TV as a child. The length of the stories appealed to her (“I spent 24 hours per season with these characters and really related to them”) and she decided to pursue a college education with a focus on television. Studying Film and Television at Full Sail allowed her to find her creative expression and learn the fundamentals of production. After graduating, Nina moved to Los Angeles and became an assistant to producer-director Chris Long.
Gain experience in the field
In 2007, Nina was working with Chris on FX. mud There, she played an additional role on set and gained new production knowledge.
“Whenever Chris was directing, I was in charge of production,” she says, “so I was in all the department meetings and [location] While the scouts were away, I was on set cutting the film with the editors, finding all the drive-bys and inserts and all the things that were missing as we were cutting the film.”
Nina follows Chris mentalistShe “learned television from the ground up” over the course of 150 episodes. She closely watched the show’s directors, worked on the edit, oversaw the color timing, and checked the final mix of each episode, among other things. By season four, she was a producer, and in season seven, she directed her first TV show, Byzantium.
While she was enrolled mentalistNina has also directed short films and attended the Warner Bros. Television Directors Workshop, where she guest directed several episodes. Supernatural Credited as director and producer Countless small thingsFinally, her dream network came along. HBO contacted her and Nevers.
Partnering with HBO
“My whole career, it’s been my goal to work for HBO. HBO is the best in television. They always had the best shows growing up for me,” Nina says.
He got his start in the industry by directing a few episodes. Nevers More opportunities arose at HBO, where network executives tapped her to direct a crime drama. Perry MasonFinally, Nina got a call about her next big opportunity. The Last of Us.
“I [the producers for The Last of Us] It seems like it was a very good meeting, but everyone The Last of UsSo I didn’t have high expectations. A few weeks went by. I was convinced. It wasn’t going to happen. Then all of a sudden I got a call from my manager and he said:The Last of Us “They called me and said they wanted you to do an episode,” Nina says.
“So now I’m going there to direct an episode, and it feels like a dream come true. This is a groundbreaking video game turned into a really great TV show with really great actors, and I get to be a part of it. It’s another groundbreaking hit.” [in my career].”
Future outlook
While Nina has achieved many of the professional goals she dreamed of when she first got into the industry, she still has work to do: She wants to direct an entire TV series and produce a feature film. Meanwhile, Nina is celebrating her alma mater’s Hall of Fame induction and emphasizing the importance of hard work to the next generation of industry professionals.
“want [Full Sail] “I want my students to know that I shouldn’t be here right now,” Nina said at the Full Sail Hall of Fame induction ceremony. “No one in their right mind would come into my class, point at me and say, ‘That girl over there. She’s going to be successful.’ But I kept trying, I kept dreaming, I kept moving forward, and with a lot of hard work and a lot of luck, I’m here today.”
