Film and Media Major Already Building On-Set Career

ATLANTA — With a hammer and a drill, Jona Brazil Young has already — quite literally — begun building the career she’ll enjoy after graduation.

A native of Grand Rapids, Mich., Young moved to Atlanta with plans of joining Georgia’s multibillion-dollar entertainment industry after college. Having worked behind the scenes in theater while in high school, she discovered a way to make her mark without having to perform in front of an audience or a camera.

“I don’t like being in front of the camera, but I like taking my camera and pointing it at other people,” she said.

At 20 years old, Young is the youngest of five siblings and is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Film and Media a year early — at the same time an older brother is graduating from Northern Michigan University.

Intently focused on finishing her degree, Young still found time while at Georgia State to build her resume in film and television, working a number of off-camera jobs for productions filming in and around Atlanta. Networking with classmates and taking advantage of opportunities presented by faculty, she’s earned credits as assistant art director, producer, behind-the-scenes photographer and production assistant. (Because of non-disclosure agreements she had to sign, Young is not able to reveal details about many of the productions, including their titles.)

Jona Young works to frame a set during a Georgia Film Academy class.

She’s also been able to hone in on her passion for hands-on work, earning certification in film and television production through the Georgia Film Academy (GFA) and specializing in set construction. She’s even returned, after three semesters as a student, to work as a GFA teaching assistant.

For one GFA class project, she and a group decided to reconstruct the look of Dana Barrett’s apartment from the 1984 “Ghostbusters” movie.

“I like the manual labor involved,” she said. “We put a faucet in. We put outlets in. We connected a water line. We put some wires in so that one of the outlets can work and run a blender. We put baseboards in. It’s an actual kitchen.”

Getting so plugged in to the Georgia film and television industry has meant Young has even had to turn down some opportunities so she can finish what she started and earn her degree this spring.

After graduation, she plans to pursue more production opportunities and internships, or teaching assistant roles.

“I’m grateful to be getting a degree because it’s helped me learn the more technical side of things,” Young said. “And one of the big things Georgia State has been able to give me is the connections to the people I know now, in part because it’s located in downtown Atlanta. I live with a bunch of people now who go to school in the Atlanta University Center, and we’ve been able to help each other with different projects because our schools are so close.”