By Carol Hopkins
Special to the Georgian
Kayla LaSaga never dreamed she would be working on movies such as "Breaking Dawn" and television shows like "Supernatural."
"I graduated high school loving physics and stuff and wanted to become an architect," Kayla, who is originally from Stephenville.
"But I wasn't ready to leave home and I was a little unsure if I wanted to spend so much money on university to be an architect so I actually did digital animation just to see if I liked building things with a computer."
The young woman really liked the animation aspect of filmmaking.
Following her graduation from the digital animation program at the College of the North Atlantic in Stephenville, Kayla continued her studies at Vancouver Film School.
"But when I was in film school I realized there's a whole lot more than being a producer," she said. "I learned so many different aspects, the whole editing, grips, lighting, everything - there's just so many options, and so I was like, which one do I want to take?"
Kayla was hired as an assistant editor after graduating film school. It was an intern position with minimal pay and living in downtown Vancouver was expensive. She said she would never have made it without the financial help her parents provided.
Unfortunately, the company she was working for went out of business and Kayla found herself broke and unemployed.
She was on the verge of returning to Stephenville when fate stepped in. One evening as she made her way back to her apartment, she met a woman laden with bags filled with toys and other things.
On the way to the elevator the woman chatted with Kayla and said she had just left a baby shower - one with directors and producers in attendance. The native Newfoundlander was quick to let the lady know she had graduated from film school and had recently worked as an assistant editor.
The woman, who introduced herself as Renée, encouraged Kayla and as the elevator doors were closing asked if she would like a job. When Renée received an enthusiastic response she told the Stephenville native to get her phone number from the landlord.
"It's all pretty exciting to me." - Kayla LaSaga
Kayla did and during the following months worked on the film, "Rise of the Planet of the Apes."
She has been working ever since on projects, such as the television programs "Hiccups" and "The Secret Circle" - and the film from the "Twilight" saga, "Breaking Dawn."
Production assistant
Kayla is presently employed as a production assistant on the hit television show "Supernatural."
She works mainly in the office completing such tasks as purchase orders, handling mail and answering the telephone.
"When I first started working on features and TV I never realized how crazy people can be," she said.
She related the story of fans calling attempting to find out details such as site locations and call times for actors. She said it was stressful trying to figure out which calls to put through because of the clever tricks fans can play.
In addition to office work, the production assistant has also worked on set doing many jobs, such as taking out garbage and keeping the set clean and tidy. It also means following the director and echoing orders such as for quiet on the set.
Working toward her goal of becoming a production manager means belonging to a union. She is presently a permittee of the Directors Guild of Canada, which is one of the first steps to getting into the union.
"It's like a love-hate relationship," said Kayla when asked if she had any advice for young people hoping to work in the industry.
"There are moments where I'm second-guessing myself because of the long hours. There's a lot of pressure sometimes - there's a lot of deadlines that have to be done like yesterday - make sure it's exactly what you want."
Despite the long hours the Stephenville native enjoys her job and the camaraderie she shares with coworkers. They have become like family and she also enjoys the variety of things to do in her job she said.
"It's all pretty exciting to me," said Kayla.
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