Image
February 2014
Cameron Kadison
Q & A:
- What was your favorite class, who was your favorite professor, or what is your fondest memory of Hofstra?
My favorite classes were AVF 164 & 165 with Dr. Peter Gershon. It was senior year and our class had survived the intensity of AVF 44’s five-day-a-week early morning schedule and now we were all putting our knowledge to practical use. In AVF 164, I was able to learn a lot about managing a team, creating deadlines, and putting a news magazine show together both in-studio and with our teams working on field packages. AVF 165 was the first time we were allowed to get creative with our newfound production skills, and I produced a hip-hop competition show called Exposure where I spent many all-nighters with my classmates trying to piece together all aspects of the show, which ultimately put me in the hospital with pneumonia for my entire spring break. Looking back, my entire senior year was my fondest memory because I got to create awesome television shows with my best friends without having to worry about network executive notes, budgets, talent exclusivity, etc.—basically what I have to deal with in real life now! - What was your first job after graduating from Hofstra, and what was the most valuable thing you learned there?
My first job was as an executive assistant at CBS in New York City. The most valuable lesson I learned was how to work with a diverse group of personalities in a professional environment. No matter what classes you take at Hofstra, outside internships are really important because they will help ease you into real world office politics, etc. There are a lot of bad people out there and sometimes you have to learn how to work with them. - What is your field of specialty, and how did you come to work in the industry?
My job is to know what every television network is programming and what every production company does well, so I can help my clients sell their projects and strategically create opportunities for them in the current TV marketplace. I also focus on taking talent from existing television shows and helping them build out their brands through publishing, endorsements, licensing, personal appearances, and business development. - What advice would you give current Hofstra students?
Figure out your life balance now. I spent a lot of time in Dempster Hall producing TV shows and working with my classmates, but I also made sure to have a great social experience. Nobody has complete control over how their career goes after college so you might as well figure out how to balance your personal fun with the potential grind of the working world. - In one word, how would you describe Hofstra?
Well-balanced. - How has your degree helped you?
Having a single major that encompassed both television production and business has been instrumental in how I balance my relationships with my creative clients and my relationships on the business side. - What is your favorite part of your job?
Every day is so different and it keeps everything really fresh. Working with such a diverse client roster helps me dabble in so many different areas, whether it’s traditional media or trying new innovative business models in the brand world - Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Where do you see your career progressing to in the future?
Doing the same thing but on a much bigger scale. I can honestly say that I love what I do for a living, and I hope I get the opportunity to keep doing it forever.
Cameron Kadison (Video/TV & Business, B.S. ’03) is a Founding Partner of the recently launched Mortar Media in Beverly Hills, California. Mortar Media is a management and production company specializing in non-scripted television, branded content, on-camera talent and non-traditional business development. The company’s initial roster will include over 50 clients ranging from personalities, corporate brands, producers and production companies. The Mortar Media team is also currently responsible for packaging and producing projects that are in development at a variety of cable networks and digital platforms. His producer clients have been responsible for producing major reality shows like “Undercover Boss”, “Behind The Music”, “Punk’d”, “Laguna Beach”, “Housewives of OC”, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” as well as several other major broadcast and cable network series. In the talent arena he currently represents talent that is featured on NBC, Bravo, Discovery Channel, E!, TLC, MTV, VH1, OWN, Food Network, Animal Planet, Travel Channel and several other television and digital outlets.
Prior to Mortar Media, Cameron was a manager/producer and launched the Alternative department at Principato-Young Entertainment. One of the top management and production companies in the industry, Principato-Young Entertainment represents a diverse collection of actors, directors and writers, who work in a variety of dynamic film, television & digital projects. Clients include Shailene Woodley, Queen Latifah, Sean Hayes, Will Arnett, Ed Helms, Rob Riggle, John Malkovich, Viggo Mortensen, David Wain, Thomas Lennon, Ben Garant and many, many more. PYE has produced “Reno 911”,”Campus Ladies” and “Players” in TV and the “Virginity Hit” and “Hell Baby” in film. PYE currently has more than 15 films in various stages of development. PYE Writer clients have created some of the largest cultural touchstones in the media landscape, including the Oscar-winning “The Descendants,” “Night at the Museum,” “X-Men: First Class,” “Harold and Kumar,” “The Hangover” and “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”
Before joining Principato-Young, Cameron was a television packaging agent at the William Morris Agency and the Paradigm Talent Agency in the non-scripted television space. In that capacity he was focused on packaging TV pitches with production companies and negotiating television deals on behalf of talent and producers. After graduating from Hofstra, Cameron started working in the Network Sales department at CBS in New York before moving to Los Angeles and joining William Morris.
Cameron was born in Wichita, Kansas, and made his way to Hofstra after visiting Dempster Hall on “Accepted Students Day” and falling in love with the production facilities and the faculty. While at Hofstra Cameron was the general manager of HTV, president of the National Broadcasting Society chapter and executive producer of “Thursday Nite Live”. He was one of 6 national National Broadcasting Society’s “Model Chapter” presidents, won a regional and national NBS award for “Best Video Comedy Program” for Thursday Nite Live, as well as receiving the “Bob Pattison Memorial Fellowship” from the International Radio & Television Society. He credits Dr. Peter Gershon and former Dean Dr. George Back as incredible mentors that helped teach him the values of leadership, communication and not being a complete jerk.
Cameron currently lives in Venice, California, and is striving every day to not take life too seriously.