Caroline Jannace ’19
Caroline Jannace ’19 is an Emmy Award-winning television tech and the owner of a production company, Reel Life Ethnos.
Jannace has worked in television, theatre, dance, live events, concerts, and televised sports television for ten years, beginning in 2014 as a stagehand, then in stage management and directing, robotic camera operation, video engineering, and in lighting as a designer, programmer (ETC Eos), electrician, and lighting director/board op.
Jannace has been nominated for four Emmy Awards by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for work at MLB and NBC Sports Networks, winning her first Emmy for work on the Super Bowl LVI Pregame Show with NBC as a Lighting Director.
While at Purchase, Jannace volunteered with Assemblywoman Taylor Darling’s office while completing her senior project on education inequality, which led to a position as her Media Specialist, where she creates informational content for New York States’ 18th Assembly District.
Jannace owns a production company, Reel Life Ethnos, dedicated to working with independent artists and small businesses.
Caroline’s Purchase Experience In Her Own Words
I came into Purchase knowing I wanted to work in the entertainment industry. I had signed up for the Intro to Social and Cultural Anthropology course with no idea of what I would be learning but an open mind. I never expected this one class to have such a large influence on me and my future work.
In high school, I began my career working behind the scenes in Live Events and Production, and I knew I wanted to make movies, but every film program I looked into was centered around telling fictional stories. I was determined to tell Real Life stories and desperately was looking for opportunities to understand culture and how humans consume media to effectively tell these stories in an effective manner.
Upon completing my Intro to Anthropology course and seeing the various ways ethnographic work can be done, I felt it aligned with what I was looking for and I declared a double major in Media Studies and Anthropology. The flexibility of both programs was a major influence in my decision where my professors all listened to my academic and career goals and helped me achieve them through courses that related to what I was interested in.
Coming from the world of theatre, which is such a humanistic art and understanding humans culturally and socially really helped me in finding my purpose in the art I create. My Anthropology and Media Studies courses guided me in developing the framework to understand human connection and culture which has been pivotal in the type of work I am looking to do.
I always struggled with writing and this program allowed me to use my filmmaking skills often for projects including my Senior Thesis, a short film titled “American Dream: State of Failure.” This project was heavily influenced by my upbringing on Long Island, one of the most segregated places still today in the United States and with massive inequality in education.
Through my fieldwork I met Taylor Darling (formerly Taylor Raynor) who was campaigning to take over a 30 year incumbent in the NYS Assembly’s 18th District. Taylor was an integral part of my fieldwork and being present in the community I was working with.
Upon completing my thesis, I continued to volunteer with Taylor and the 18th District, creating videos and graphics to help bridge the gap of information in the community. After 3 years of volunteering, my work has led me to working with her team officially as their Media Specialist. My courses in Media Studies have been extremely helpful in the marketing aspect of this job and I am often influenced in my video work by ethnographic films.
Additionally, I have started my own production company Reel Life Ethnographies, which is dedicated to telling truthful stories and offering a platform to others.
Throughout college, I had continued my freelancing work in the entertainment industry. I was offered positions in television that I wouldn’t have been able to take without the support of the Anthro/MS department in helping me achieve my goals of graduating in 3 years.
The opportunities that came for me because of the flexibility of my majors have been extremely rewarding, most recently I have had the opportunity to win my first Emmy award for my work with NBC Sports which I wouldn’t have been able to achieve without the support of the Anthropology department.
Current employment as of 2022:
Freelance Lighting Director for MLB, NHL, & NBC Sports Networks; Media Specialist for NYS Assemblywoman Taylor Darling