He’s already got the travel part down.
Vella was selected for a summer internship with The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation in Los Angeles. And he recently returned from a two-week trip to Mexico on a Blues Cruise, where he filmed a documentary on jazz musicians who play cruise ships.
“I still feel like I’m on the ship every morning I wake up,” he said.
The prestigious internship with the Emmy Foundation came after Vella won a pair of regional Emmys in the categories of Photography Non-News and Lighting Non-Studio.
The photography award came from a video he shot of a musician in Anderson, Ind., and the lighting award was for a black-and-white film noir piece centered on an old house.
Both videos, along with all of his other work, can be found on his joevella.com website.
“Joe is self-taught and an independent learner, a truly bright young professional,” said Betsy Pike, one of Vella’s professors at Ball State. “He’s an extremely adaptable individual, which helps him work in production.”
Derek Hammer, the owner of Hammer Lighting and Grip, agreed with that assessment after offering Vella an internship in the summer of 2009.
“One of the things that impressed me about Joe was how fast he picked up on things and how well he seemed to adapt to the way we do things here,” Hammer said.
“Something that speaks volumes about Joe is how comfortable I felt taking him out on jobs with me. Most interns don’t get a whole lot of experience outside the warehouse environment here.
“Joe has that ability to look at the problems and challenges in front of him and adapt to them,” Hammer added. “We’ve had few interns that were as adaptable as Joe Vella.”
Vella said he would like to focus the beginning of his career in the commercial industry.
“I’d like to do that for five to 10 years, get in the union and then move on to TV shows and movies and bigger productions,” he said.
Given his passion for filmmaking, it should come as no surprise he has his career in focus.
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