Meet Bea Qian | Cinematic Artist & Storyteller

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bea Qian and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bea, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
When I was in college, working was everything for me. I always worried about my future after school, the tuition, and getting as many part-time jobs as possible. During my senior year, my senior year film added to my importance list and had taken over my life in a big chunk. I always thought I should work as hard as I could on it, and that became like a 24/7 anxiety and work. Putting that much effort into it wasn’t mandatory, but I wanted to make it good. Hence I sacrificed my work-life balance and my mental health as well. This was not what I had wanted for my life. Throughout that time, I often felt my heartbeat raised for no reason, my body shape looked worse, and there was more acne on my skin. I’ve always wanted to transition my life into a healthier lifestyle too, but changes wouldn’t happen in one night or one day, and I had several failed attempts already. Throughout the failures I had in attempting to change my lifestyle, I learned that everything should start with small takes, I can’t rely on huge leaps and expect that I would continue doing these sudden big changes. For example, I could start working out in 30 minutes per day, with not many activities that I planned for myself during a workout. This would be much easier to work on than having a thousand tasks planned for me during one workout, making myself so exhausted that I want to rest for a week to make up for myself, which eventually leads to a never-continue fitness plan.
These days, as I’ve graduated, I have more control over my time and life for sure. I’m heading in the right direction, with guaranteed workout times every day and a healthier sleeping schedule. I think human needs a ‘clocked out’ time in mind, which was what I didn’t have in college time. We need to tell ourselves all the time about how we should treat ourselves and get ourselves away from work.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
When I had my first job, it was a huge shift from being a student to an employee. I tried to prepare myself a couple of times before I landed on my first internship – I worked on a part-time job at Walmart, and I freelanced for some projects as an artist, But they all felt different when I was doing my full-time internship. For the first few weeks of my internship, I sometimes cried after work, thinking about my lack of ability compared to other artists on the team, and how different the actual workplace felt even compared to my part-time job and freelance. During my part-time job, I didn’t feel that I was taking care of, my manager was always yelling at me for something I hadn’t been taught to do, and the work itself was draining. For the freelance jobs I had, there was not much communication with any other artists, it was only the producer whom we stayed in contact the whole time, and I didn’t get to talk to the director as well. But during the internship time, I was put into a very professional environment, I love working in such a place, but it also took time to find my spot and learn how to be there. I was reminded of the importance of visibility, as how the discussion between two or three people sometimes needs to be visible for more crew members, so we are all on the same page. And there are a lot of similar stuff to this. We tried to learn how to teamwork in college time, but overall the project experience we had in college time was not professional enough. There was never a lesson about how to respect coworkers’ work time, never a lesson about how to talk to people in higher positions. You learn this from your coworkers at work, but no one will actually teach you, you observe. I was frightened at first during the time, but I had an awesome lead and other great senior artists working with me, and they treated me with hostility and professionalism. I’ve learned a lot and was taken care of.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my friends were visiting Los Angeles and wanted a more local and Asian-themed experience, I’d introduce them to some of my favorite spots. We’d start our mornings with breakfast at Sqirl in Silver Lake for delicious, inventive dishes, or head to Din Tai Fung for amazing dumplings. We’d explore vibrant neighborhoods like Little Tokyo, Koreatown, and Thai Town, where they could savor authentic meals at Daikokuya, Kang Ho-dong Baekjeong, and Jitlada. In the afternoons, we’d visit the Japanese American National Museum or take a peaceful stroll through the gardens of the Huntington Library. For lunch, we wouldn’t miss Marugame Monzo for hand-pulled udon or Hae Jang Chon for mouthwatering Korean BBQ. Evenings would be perfect for dining at Night + Market Song for modern Thai cuisine or Majordomo for innovative Asian-American dishes. We’d cap off our nights with drinks at Bar Jackalope for a unique whiskey experience or Lock & Key for a speakeasy vibe. And we’d definitely check out the bustling Asian night markets for incredible street food and local flavors.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to shout out to my parents for their support, especially after I became an adult. It was scary when I first became an adult, the responsibilities that were handed to me, and the thought of taking care of myself and my own stuff sometimes are daunting, especially after graduation. I always thought that no one was actually ready to graduate college for the first time. There are so many things we need to worry about, and my parents, despite the distance we have between us, have helped me so much in getting my life together.

Website: https://www.beaqian.art

Instagram: @beaqian_art

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chen-q-a061511a7/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@beaqian1398

Image Credits
Art Director: Linka Guo
Associate Art Director: Doma Wang
Producer: Tracy Li
Matte Painters: Amber Wang, Rust Lu, Joe Travis, Mengyu Xu
Rigging: Patrick Chrisyanto, Claire Wu
Modelers and Texture Artists: Tracy Li, Kevin Guan, Cathy Li, Gaoge Ren, Gerile Yang, Qiudi Peng
Animation: Sooyeon Bae, Claire Wu, Astrid Long, Tracy Li
UI Design: Nic Kim, Erjie Chen
Lighting: Freya Zhao, Kandrea Zhou, Lucya Chang
Cloth Sim: Samar Mingshan Chen