« As for me, if you want, from the moment someone asks me to do something, I try to make sure I enjoy it. »
Actually, I'm going to ask you to tell me a little bit about your life journey, your path since, let's say, you started making waves as an adult. So, what would you like to tell me about your journey, from when you began until today, what you've done, what you've achieved, and what you'd like to accomplish, etc.
I'll start by simply asking who you are and what you're doing at the moment ?
"I am Jeremy Puig. Currently, I'm doing an apprenticeship in audiovisual production. Right now, I’m working at a company in Bordeaux. The company, in short, is one that raises funds for startups. It’s a platform quite similar to Kickstarter, except instead of donations, it’s more about investment. So I’m in audiovisual, which you might say isn’t exactly related to the company itself. Actually, it makes sense because this company needs a lot of videos. So, they created their own creative department where we do video work, we have graphic designers, and we also have a community manager. We create all the videos for social networks. Or sometimes, like yesterday, we were on-site at a farm where they were doing aquaponics; basically, they had fish in ponds that provided nutrients to lettuce. This is a project we’ll be raising funds for soon. So we go on-site, film, and edit. So, essentially, I'm an editor at this company.
That's what I’m doing today."
Ok, nice. How long have you been doing this ?
"I've been with this company since… Well, this is my second year in the apprenticeship, and I was hired on October 28th of last year."
How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking ?
"It's very indiscreet, but I'll tell you anyway. I'm 22. 22 tomorrow."
Oh, so you started an apprenticeship at 22. That's cool; it gives you time for what comes next.
"Yeah, actually, I started at 20, if I'm not mistaken."
If it's your second year of apprenticeship, then yes, technically.
"Yeah, that's true. You're very perceptive."
Do you have a childhood dream ?
"Ah, I had several, yes. But for a long time, the main one was to be an entomologist since I was really little. That's a biologist who studies insects. And I know that's not necessarily something that everyone dreams of, but for me, that's what I wanted to do because my dad would make me watch a lot of documentaries. And I'm still fascinated by the animal world, especially insects, which have an exoskeleton. So, logically, compared to us, they are completely different. I see all the complexity of a single individual, but also the complexity of colonies of certain insects; how they interact with each other, how they function, how they manage to coordinate with each other, and all of that while being so small—it's something that fascinated me as a child. And for a long time, I wanted to do that."
Okay, I knew that existed, but I didn't know the term entomologist. So, do you plan to try to get back to that one day or not ?
"Well, if you don't mind, I'd rather move forward in terms of my journey, because that way you'll see roughly how I'd like to get back to it. But the answer is yes."
That works for me.
"So, there was a time when I wanted to be an astronaut, and then I saw *Gravity*, and that kind of... I put that aside; it’s a bit dangerous after all. So, I wanted to be an entomologist. Then it changed a bit in high school when one of my teachers, my homeroom teacher, kind of, not crushed my dream, but brought me back to reality about how research jobs are already quite difficult to access and, on top of that, are very precarious. So, that kind of turned me off.
Even though I had attended a few conferences by entomologists, they explained to me that most of them today actually do it alongside their main job. So, I would have liked to go more into marine biology because I'm from the Eastern Pyrenees. I don't know if you're familiar with that area."
A little bit, yes.
"And so, at the high school in Canet-en-Roussillon, which is next to the port, we had classes with specialties in marine biology. I really enjoyed it. All the speakers who came to class were super interesting. We even went to an aquarium where we weighed the corals and observed their growth curve increasing. That was really amazing. It makes sense to do that today because coral reefs have been heavily affected by climate change and also by ocean acidification. Today, there are people whose job is just to replant corals and restore local marine biodiversity."
I know that well because it's something I was also interested in, especially... I don't know if you know the Nausicaa aquarium in Boulogne-sur-Mer ?
"It sounds familiar."
It's the largest coral breeding facility in France. They breed corals and then replant them in the sea.
"Oh yeah, but typically, I liked that, you see. And well, the first time was in the first year of the scientific stream (back when there was the old Baccalaureate), and we had a workshop with the biology teacher, where we essentially made a fake radio show, and we went to the radio club to record ourselves. It was disastrous, by the way, what we did that day. But that's where I discovered radio. At least, the microphones and Audacity. (that was the software used at that time). It's an audio editing software."
We used it in English in middle school.
"Yeah, well, that was exactly it, it was really for school, you see. And that's where I discovered that, and I asked the librarian if I could do some editing, because I liked it. He showed me a bit of how it worked, gave me some keys to the room, and I literally stayed there all afternoon; I left at the last possible moment so I wouldn't miss my bus. And then I thought, okay, there's something here, I like this. After that, I looked on Parcoursup for how to get into radio or journalism. I was accepted in Saint-Étienne, in an engineering school. It was a program at the telecom school in Saint-Étienne, specialized in journalism and web design.
I kind of strayed from my original dream of entomology, but the advantage of journalism is that you can touch on just about anything. I thought, okay, maybe there will be a way to get back to that. So, I did this year, which was really cool because it was the first year where all the courses really made sense together. At the end, we had an internship.
That was great because you feel like you're making progress, and you're not doing something where you’re out of touch, and you really feel like you're advancing a lot. After that, I wanted to go into journalism alternance in Montpellier. I took some exams, and that was my first failure, actually; I missed them. You needed at least 100 points out of 200, and I got 94, something like that. I lost time on some tests; I just couldn't write...
I worked for a year, first at McDonald's. So I entered the professional world starting with McDonald's, a completely survival job. At the same time, I was getting my driver's license, and then I worked in a semi-gastronomic restaurant. I enjoyed it, and it paid well too. I liked it, but not as much as what I originally wanted to do."
Yes, it wasn't a passionate job.
"Exactly. You can make a passion out of it. For me, as long as someone asks me to do something, I try to make sure I enjoy it, so I don't see it as a chore. But at some point, it can't last forever. And so, I told you I was going to do an internship for Saint-Étienne, particularly in two different radio stations, one called 100% Radio and the other called Littoral FM. And when I quit in the middle of summer because I was yelled at for no reason—there were other things too, but when I threw in the towel, I went back to the radio where I had done my internship, Littoral FM, and I literally spent all my days there from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., sometimes even until 8 p.m."
Sorry, what was the name of your internship, excuse me ?
"There were two. The first was at 100% Radio, and the second, the more important one, was at Littoral FM."
"Littoral FM?"
"Yes."
Okay, that works. Because with the phone, I couldn't hear very well.
"So, let's go back to the moment I quit my job, and at that point, I thought, okay, I'm going to go back to the radio, because I had always kept in touch with the boss. Plus, it was during the employees' vacation, and I was going to the radio almost every day, watching how things worked. I even sorted through all the equipment that was a bit messy, and every time there was something I didn't know, I would ask the boss; what is this, what does it do? And he saw that I was interested, so he took me once to a transmitter, where he showed me how it worked, and it’s super impressive when you see a single transmitter broadcasting on different frequencies, and all the equipment he has—I loved it.
So when he saw that I was really interested, that it had been two or three weeks now, and that I wasn’t even looking for a job, I was just there to see how it worked, he said, listen, if you find an apprenticeship, if you find a school, I'll take you as an apprentice. So, I looked for a school, and I found one in the department, and on top of that, the guy in charge of the audiovisual section knew one of the radio hosts a bit. So it was a done deal! I landed an interview to see if I had the skills to, let's say, directly enter the apprenticeship, because normally there are two years required, and they had just opened a new section for apprenticeships where you can go directly in. Instead of only doing the last year as an apprentice, you do two.
They saw that my profile matched what they were doing, and they took me on as an apprentice at Littoral FM in video.
I might have been able to join the radio in another school, but in the meantime, I had bought a drone when I was working in the restaurant, and I really enjoyed that. That's when I thought, okay, radio is really cool. Because we can get sounds, we can cover all kinds of different topics, but video has the added element of visuals, and we can convey a lot more messages. Sure, it has a lot more constraints than sound, but that's when I realized it made sense.
When I was a kid, I watched a lot of documentaries, and the thought that maybe I could create them makes sense! So that's why I got into audiovisual work.
I wasn't hosting shows, but I was involved in production; that's when you’re behind the mixing desk. You adjust the volumes, and at the same time, you monitor the music that needs to play, the ads too—they have to air at the right time—and you guide the hosts a bit, so that was cool. At the same time, I was trying to set up a web TV with motorized cameras because the boss, you see, is also the founder of the radio, and he had always tried to add something extra. And so, seeing that I was interested and tinkering with everything, he gave me free rein.
Then came the moment when I felt like I wasn't progressing much. And that's when I made the decision to leave, so after about a year. So here I am in Bordeaux since October 28."
Okay. That sounds great. It's a really rich journey, honestly, I'm impressed. I truly love that about interviewing people: you get to hear fascinating stories, and I have no doubt about the diversity among people. I find it incredibly interesting. Have you had any particularly impactful encounters, ones that really marked you or even changed your life path ?
"Yes, I’ve actually had several. There’s the boss of that radio station who initially agreed to take me on as an intern, and in the end, he kind of took me under his wing and taught me a lot of things that I wouldn’t have learned even in classes, whether it was about running a business or how to sign contracts. It’s silly, but even things like table etiquette, because it’s a profession where he dealt a lot with relationships, you know? He taught me things about maintaining relationships that I wouldn't have learned otherwise. So that’s one encounter that I think had a significant impact on me.
There’s also a painter I met. I encountered him at a concert while volunteering because, you see, my dad was part of several associations: one that collects waste, another that helps migrants integrate, particularly into the professional world, ensuring their paperwork is in order, and another called WELCOME, and one more called SOS Méditerranée, which is a bit more well-known, an NGO. I was there for a concert to raise funds, and that's where we met this contemporary artist, and we quickly became friends. I was able to create my first documentary, so to speak, my first portrait. That was a defining moment for me because it made me realize that this is what I wanted to do—follow someone in their profession or daily life, film that, and express it as I perceived it. He also gave me a ton of advice since he has much more experience. He’s 67 and taught me a lot, and he introduced me to people in the journalism field, which was incredibly enriching."
Is there a value you would like to transmit ? If there’s one value that’s important to you, what would it be ?
"I would say sincerity, in this case, because when we film something with the intention of sharing it, we make choices. A frame is a limited space; it’s a rectangle, or a square, or even a portrait. And now, with social media, it's certainly a constraint, but more importantly, it's a choice: what are you going to include in that frame? Depending on what you film, you have the choice to show or hide certain things, and how you perceive it will influence the reality you present.
An example I could give is during protests. Just the choice of the photo or the angle can create the impression that it's police beating protesters, or conversely, that it's protesters attacking police. For me, it’s important to be sincere because we all have opinions, but there is still a reality. And for me, journalism, documentaries, what I want to do, is fundamentally about conveying things as I see them, without overly biasing or pushing a particular opinion."
What is your best memory so far in your journey ? What has really impacted you positively ? What would you like to talk about ?
"I have several, but recently, one memory that really stood out was being a student jury member for the European Short Film Festival in Bordeaux. It was such a rewarding experience because I love going to the movies and watching films. Being immersed in that environment, being able to talk to... there was a professional jury, and having the opportunity to speak with actors who are truly in the film industry was amazing. Plus, being invited to watch short films that were almost phenomenal in quality really impacted me. It was a fantastic experience, and that’s where I made great connections with people I’m even meeting again tonight.
Honestly, it was really cool."
Do you have a particular anecdote to share ? An experience that marked you or one that you would like to share ?
"A particular anecdote ?"
It can be completely unrelated to your journey...
"I'll go back a bit to the previous question; there's something else that I really liked. That is to say, several times in my journey—sorry, I'm going back again—I faced moments where I wasn't exactly at a dead end, but kind of. I had to make decisions and sometimes take turns at 80° or 180°. There were many moments when I made decisions, and it was too late to change. So I went for it wholeheartedly. When I changed jobs to come to Bordeaux, I arrived here not knowing the city, only two people I met a couple of weeks before. I didn't know where I would be sleeping in three days; I had just booked one or two Airbnbs.
When I first arrived in Bordeaux and saw the city at sunset, I felt really good. I thought to myself that this was a new horizon, and all the anxieties I had before, at the moment I had to make the decision, just disappeared. I thought, 'Wow, this is really cool."
Your current self, what life goal do you have ? What are you aiming for ?
"For today ?"
Yes. In who you are today, what are you aiming for in your future ?
"What I aim for is to get my diploma, why not. It’s not super important; you might not have to include that, but it’s mainly to stay in Bordeaux. It’s possible where I am doing my apprenticeship because what I’m doing is pretty cool, I like it. And what I would really like is to deepen my skills so that I can be much more at ease when I need to move on or, in any case, not start from scratch, but... I don’t know how to explain it..."
With your words.
"I would say I'm still lacking a bit of self-confidence, especially in my work. I find it hard to evaluate the quality of my work. One of my goals is precisely that. So, it involves technique; I need to be more in-depth in what I do. But really, my main objective is to be able to assess the quality of my work at its true value."
If you had to say something to your past self from 5-10 years ago, what would you tell him ?
"Keep going. Don’t look back and listen to yourself."
And what is your dream today ?
"I think it's a bit cheesy, but to be happy and to keep being happy."
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