“I have always loved the diversity of cultures and traditions on my travels, now 24i´s environment provides it to me.”
Patrik Muszka, Marketing video editor about his Back to the Future story
We’re sitting in the imaginary DeLorean in a pilot episode of the series Back to the Future with our new creative soul, passionate video editor and Marketing Graduate Patrik Muszka, to take us on a journey to the challenges of his past, present passions, and future visions.
Past
Patrik, many people from Slovakia move to Brno for their studies and then stay here for work, but this wasn’t your story, so what brought you here?
Actually, the city itself brought me here. I´ve known since my childhood that I would like to live somewhere abroad, and even though there’s not so much difference between Slovakia and the Czech Republic, it still counts. I visited Brno a few years ago with my friends and I fell in love with the city atmosphere at that time. Of course, nowadays every city is in sleep mode, let’s say, because of the pandemic, but hopefully soon it will get back to normal and I will enjoy it even more.
When did you realize you wanted to make videos, was it a coincidence or has it always been your dream?
I would say both, coincidence and my dream as well. I´ve loved video clips and movies since I can remember. I enjoyed taking videos with my very first phone, which was of a really poor quality. Of course, technologies are improving really fast, so my videos were becoming more and more watchable. Time passed and then I tried to focus a bit more on taking pictures, but then because of my studies and the opportunities at my school studio I turned back to my “roots” and I continued taking videos.
You have quite a lot of experience from projects and training all over Europe, can you think of some highlights?
During my studies I did some work creating promotional videos for a highly anticipated movie. The highlight was attending the big film premiere in Slovakia. I got to the ceremony and aside from the interview with the director, producer and cast we made a cool documentary movie with my friends.
Which country had the strongest impact on you and your work so far?
I think it’s not about the country but more about the people who inspire and motivate me. I actually met a lot of people at the movie festival in Karlovy Vary, but I am also very motivated thanks to my friends from Slovakia. On the other hand, I also got some nice experience from shooting simple summary videos from projects and volunteering in Greece and Turkey.
How did you find out about 24i and what was the key moment you realized you want to start your career with us?
I found it on a career site and it already got my attention with a very creative description. The key was the opportunity that 24i offered for freshly graduated people who are not very experienced. I´ve seen so many nice job opportunities but of course the main condition is not the diploma but at least 2-3 years of working experience. I am pretty sure 24i will give me all kinds of experience that I need and more.
Present
Now that you are in the Marketing team, what will be your main focus?
The marketing team in 24i is full of really amazing and experienced people, and my main focus will be to get inspiration from them and learn the techniques which are useful in communication with clients. I´ve been in the company for a short time but I’ve already learned so much not only from the marketing team but also from the people working in different fields.
What do you appreciate the most so far in 24i?
I really like how friendly the colleagues are. 24i has more than 200 employees but it still maintains a family idyll. On the other hand, I really like the diversity of my colleagues. They are from all over the world and it’s really nice to not just learn from them about the company flow, but also about different cultures and traditions. I enjoyed this most about my travels, and now the 24i´s environment provides it.
What do you think will be the most challenging part of your work and how do you plan to deal with it?
From my previous experience I was more of a camera guy who edited videos from the real-life footage and nowadays the situation limits us. So the challenge for me will be to recreate this footage with animation, which I had an experience with as well, but not too much. Actually, I am very open to challenges because that’s how we can develop not only our professional qualities, but also personal ones.
Future
The graduate program ends in two years, where do you see yourself after this period? What should be your key accomplishments by then?
My key accomplishments are to get to know the company as much as possible and to show them that they have chosen well. At the moment I think I would be really grateful if my colleagues and the company were satisfied with my work and wanted to continue to work with me. So let’s hope for the best. On the other hand, I would like to enjoy these two years as much as possible and get to know as many new people as possible.
Are you also planning to combine making videos with traveling in the future?
I already want a future where we could easily travel again. Of course, I’d like to use every opportunity to shoot videos and make memories in this way. Hopefully I will have a chance to visit the other offices where I can film a lot of interviews and introduction videos.
Would you encourage other students to join the program? What do you think are the main advantages?
I would definitely encourage everybody to be a participant in every type of program. Of course, “future is bright” is more professionally related, which is a very good start for the people who can’t gain any experiences during their studies. Especially nowadays the opportunities are very limited so we should take every chance to learn something new. In my opinion the main advantages about this program are the values which the company is built on. They are constantly innovative, creative, ambitious, and especially they take good care of the daily satisfaction of the employees.
