Viviana Franco - Event Coordinator & Photographer

Viviana Franco is a 24 yo freelance photographer and event coordinator, and she is here today to share her story with us!

@viviana.ttl on Instagram

“I am 24 years old and grew up in Houston, Texas. I am from a Colombian background and moved to Miami at the age of 11. I have always been a lover of music, but everything that has happened to me has been by chance. Maybe this isn’t the best answer (laughs), but event production wasn’t really something I was looking forward to doing. I used to go to festivals and concerts by myself, and that forced me to meet people. I started networking and got to meet a girl who has her own online magazine named Sound Bite Magazine; I also met the marketing team of the Okeechobee Arts Festival and III Points while attending those events. From that point on, something just clicked inside of me and I offered to help, so I started working with the marketing directors of these events and that’s how it all began. I ended up studying this in college, and just over a year ago I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a focus on Marketing and Social Media Analytics at FIU (Florida International University) here in Miami.

Photography also happened very randomly for me. Veronica, the founder of SBM, was organizing events in all of South Florida by herself and asked me if I had a camera to take pictures during the shows. I told her I didn’t take pictures, but I was going to figure it out. So I literally went to Best Buy and bought a camera! It was a Sony Alpha 6000 and I’ve now been using it for 3 years. Initially the pictures were terrible (laughs), but I kept on practicing, going around to different venues and requesting shows. The last show I did was last February and I actually had the chance to write an article about it as well.”

What do you love about live event?

“I love the feeling you get from a live performance, it’s art happening in front of you. The scene, the lights, the suspense and the emotion. I especially love live jams where musicians purely express themselves on that moment. It’s so captivating to me. It’s just incredible and beautiful to see and hear people’s art. Just a while ago I got to learn a bit more about electronic music culture thanks to my cousin Gioia, who is now studying Sound Engineering in Amsterdam, and she shifted my thought about DJing and producing. Honestly, I used to think it wasn’t anything special, you know, making music on a computer and turning records. But I learned that it is a craft, same as live performances, and began to respect it. To be honest, taking pictures during DJ sets in clubs is very difficult because of the lighting and large monitors in the way so I definitely enjoy taking live band performance pictures more in the end.

I feel that the performing arts scene here in Miami is not as saturated as perhaps L.A or New York, but still very saturated. Everyone here comes from such a diverse background, so there is of course a lot of competition, but a lot of opportunity as well. It’s possible. There is a lot going on here, from punk to salsa to indie bands, experimental, electronic music, you name it. It’s extremely diverse.”

What is your advice to someone who would like to become an event producer?

“My advice to someone thinking of going into event production is to push yourself and to get out of your comfort zone. I would seem as this outgoing and sure person, but I am the opposite for the most part. I learned that even though I know that I am shy and not a really talkative person, I can get what I want by simply believing in my capabilities and overcoming inner challenges. People are way nicer than you think they are. You just have to go with it and put yourself in that position, talk to strangers and start a conversation. Things happen when you are uncomfortable and being nice to everyone you meet is my motto now.

Taking care of myself has always been a bit of a challenge for me. I feel that if I pause to figure things out, I miss the chance to work on things. But I love to read, do yoga, watch documentaries, go to the gym and exercise. It feels good. I genuinely believe that by just saying you went to the gym it makes you feel better about yourself, it does something to your psyche if you know what I mean.

For the future, I’m still not quite sure what my plans are since it’s been hard to find my footing in the music industry, but I definitely want to continue working on the marketing and event production side of things and putting together massive creative events.”

On Instagram: @viviana.ttl