Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Messer Jackson.
Hi Laura, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’m a Deep South storyteller with a global perspective. I was born and raised on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, came to UT Austin to earn my Masters in Creative Advertising (Copywriting), stayed in Austin’s ad agency scene for about a decade, spent a few expat years making commercials in Berlin, then moved back to Austin a couple of years ago to pursue narrative filmmaking. From live storytelling to writing screenplays, and directing my own short films to helping friends make theirs, my drive to tell stories has always been fueled by my affinity for making people laugh. I’m inspired to write every time I find an absurd moment in everyday life. I have two hobbies and they are to travel as much as possible and to sit still in movie theaters.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Writing is necessarily an individual pursuit. And a constant one. But, working in advertising has never fully satisfied the itch. So, I have my day job as an ad agency freelancer where I build brands, create campaigns, and lead commercial productions, then I have my other outlets. But as much as writing screenplays and directing them requires a great deal of independent focus and discipline, none of it works without community. You have to show up for the people who you want to show up for you. You feel the pull to go off-grid to write and edit and read and watch movies, but it just won’t work. So, I balance my commitments to myself with my commitments to my community.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a Creative Director/Copywriter and a Writer/Director. Professionally, I’ve spent about 14 years working in ad agencies and global brands. I started screenwriting about 7 years ago. After moving back to the U.S. from Germany a few years ago, I became a freelancer so that I could continue working in advertising while simultaneously pursuing narrative directing. As a freelancer, I depend almost exclusively on my network and reputation to find work. My success in advertising has given me the freedom to pursue my more creative endeavors. So, three years ago, I was accepted into the Austin Film Society/Austin Public film initiative called Creative Careers. In that program, I learned all of the technical aspects of production and filmmaking that I needed to make the leap from advertising Creative Director to film Director. I’ve found that my commercial production experience makes me a stronger Director, and that my screenwriting and directing experience have made me a stronger Copywriter. Today, my goal is to bridge advertising and filmmaking in order to become a commercial director. And after that, like any good emerging director, my dream is to make movies and win shiny statues for them.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
The most valuable thing you can have as a working creative is a point of view. You’ll have to be flexible, nice to work with, disciplined, resilient, curious, and smart, sure. But what will matter most to anyone you ever work with, and most especially yourself, will be having your own perspective. It gives you confidence, which keeps you eager and humble. It gives you insights in the moments when you’ll have to start over. And it assures you that everyone else you’re working with has their own perspective, which leads to respect, even in the face of disagreement or misalignment.
Bonus: you have to have a love for the process. You have to fall head-over-heels for the dirty work. The rough drafts, false starts, monotony, defeat, embarrassment, epiphanies, and problem-solving. And trust your gut when it tells you to beware the folks who only want short cuts.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.stronglywordedwoman.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/messyjackson/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauramesserjackson/?isSelfProfile=true
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/threearugulasalads/
