Meet Stuart Ferreyra

I started my career in the entertainment industry in 1992 at the age of 18 after leaving medical school. Yes, I could have been a doctor by age 24. My mother still talks about it once in a while...

To be honest, I had no idea what to do. I was looking for something - anything. One day, I heard about someone "making" commercials and I was intrigued. I went to the best school in Lima (I was born in Los Angeles but grew up in Peru) and got transfered.

From that point on, it has been a blast. On my second year in Communications, I figured out a way to work as a roadie and sound engineer assistant. The hard work paid off when I landed a job as the lead sound engineer at one of the best concert houses in town.

Soon after that I graduated and was already touring with several A-class South American rock bands. I also produced a variety of small TV shows for Peru's national television network on my free time,

By 1995, at age 22 I was living the rock star lifestyle, but I still was in Peru and I wanted out. So I decided to get my American passport, sell everything I owned and move to Los Angeles.

When I arrived, I did not speak any English, had $350, a suitcase and a promise to myself to work hard to become successful. For the first few years I worked installing floors, cleaning carpets, studying English at night, and riding a bicycle rain or shine.

In 1997, I got a duplication job loading and unloading VHS decks. After months of bugging my boss to give me a chance to edit, he finally agreed. I did great and became a junior editor. That is where I met

Marc Cabaniss.

In 2001, Marc and I decided to go on our own with no money, no clients, nothing. We didn't think about how it could be done. We just did it.

An Avid system was way out of our league, so we went for the cheapest system to put together: a Mac, a couple of monitors, FCP v.1, an Aurora Igniter card, and a small one room office in West Los Angeles. The plan was to keep our full time jobs and build the business on the weekends.

We signed our lease in early September 2001. A few days later, New York was attacked, the whole industry just stopped. Marc and I were laid off. There were no jobs and now we had office expenses on top of our own. The next two years were really tough.

We had to adjust to the market. Somehow, there was a soaring demand for DVD authoring. So we got DVD Studio Pro. v1.5 and bought a used DLT drive with our last savings. We scored 1 project and worked so well that it turned into a few years of work and our change of luck.

Since then our business has grown substantially, especially for a couple of guys who started with nothing in a very difficult period for everyone in this country.

Today, our company has a strong niche with independent filmmakers and producers for both the English and Spanish markets. We specialized in online, color correction, finishing and mastering. Our professional work has contributed to many of our clients' award wining projects such as the acclaimed Spirits Awards (LA), Tribeca (NY) and France's International Film Festivals. We have also provided services to shows for the History Channel, PBS, MTV and HDnet.

And me? Well, I am co-owner and senior colorist for Timecode Multimedia. I am involved in the development of digital content for the company and also work as a contract colorist and online editor in Southern California and soon through out South America.

I can't complain. My determination to take risks even in the most difficult times keeps paying off.

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