Lights, Camera, Connection: Erin McGoff’s Advice on Life and Filmmaking

From documentary filmmaking, directing, podcasting, and content creation, SOC alumna Erin McGoff has done it all. In this week's episode, McGoff explains the importance of networking and connecting with professors, offers insights into the documentary industry, and discusses her journey with "Advice with Erin" - which has been featured by FOX, the New York Times, CNBC, and Fortune. She emphasizes the importance of living a full life with a healthy work-life balance.

After transferring to American University, Erin immersed herself in the Film & Media Arts program. The relationships she built during her professors' office hours were pivotal. "I learned great things in class, but getting access to the professors was actually what made the largest impact in my life." In her senior year, she made her documentary, This Little Land of Mines, earning her a Pulitzer Center fellowship - an opportunity professor Bill Gentile encouraged her to pursue.

In creating her debut feature documentary, she learned a lot about the industry. Her advice? Try not to get disheartened. "For This Little Land of Mines, I ran, like, three crowdfunding campaigns. I applied to hundreds of grants. I stayed up until 4 a.m. all the time."

Giving work/life advice began when she was an undergrad, when she would sit in The Dav and help peers with their resumes. When she took her advice to TikTok, her content was initially about working in film, but after demand for general career advice grew, McGoff pivoted and now has over 5 million subscribers on social media. She has her own production company, Gray Films, where she does her freelance work and content creation for "Advice with Erin," where she teaches the "hidden curriculum of adulthood."

How to beat burnout? McGoff said, "I'm going to tell you one thing that I've consistently seen work over and over and over again. And nobody believes me unless they've done it. Get a hobby." Decentering work and improving job satisfaction can make all the difference - build work around your lifestyle, not your lifestyle around work.

For anyone grappling with decision paralysis, she offers this wisdom, "I think there's a misconception that clarity creates movement…but it's almost never the case. Movement will create clarity." Whether it's figuring out where to work, how to work, or what hobby to try, her recommendation is to just start doing something.

What's next? Her ultimate goal is to grow her production company to the point where she can fund her own projects, and also identify and support other productions. Financial independence is something that McGoff prioritizes and encourages all young people to do the same. "Follow your passion for sure, but don't like, go broke, you know, just trying to be a full time documentary filmmaker, [you could try] a corporate job for a year or two and do gigs on the side. There's nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with making money."