Even before lighting television scenes and traveling the world on film crews, Charles Butler was used to little sleep. He would finish his overnight security shift, rush to classes at Santa Monica College, film football practices for the Corsairs in the evening, then stay up editing footage or studying in the computer lab.
“I look back now and don’t even know how I did it,” says Charles, who was the first in his family to graduate from college. But he credits SMC with the support and training that enabled him to pursue his career as a lighting technician on such TV shows as Keeping Up With the Kardashians and Total Divas.
Cross-Country Journey
Charles grew up in the small town of Bonneau, South Carolina, where, he says, “everybody knows everybody.” After working as a brick mason and running his own business, he moved to Los Angeles in 2000. He gave himself five years to find success.
“If I couldn’t find something that felt right, I’d go back home,” he recalls thinking. “But once I got here, I saw people from every background working together and making things happen.” He fell in love with the city’s diversity and vibrancy.
At first, Charles tried modeling and background acting, appearing on television shows such as House, JAG and NCIS. When that work slowed down, he took jobs in nightclub security and later worked overnight shifts at a hotel near Los Angeles International Airport.
Back then, sports broadcasting appealed to him as a career path. One day, riding the bus past Fox Sports studios, he suddenly thought: Why not? So he tried there, as well as at NFL Network, for an internship. “Just have one of your professors call us,” they said.
The only problem was that Charles wasn’t enrolled in college.
Finding Direction
Never one to let obstacles stand for long, Charles came to SMC. Even before enrolling, he offered to help film Corsair football practices. Then, after a couple of rocky starts with placement testing, he became a student.
“SMC’s Counseling Center changed everything for me,” he says. “They helped me figure out what I wanted and how to get there.”
At the age of 35 and attending college for the first time, Charles admits that it wasn’t always easy. “I had to relearn how to be a student,” he says. “But the people at SMC didn’t give up on me. They kept pushing me, and that made me push myself.”
Academic counseling led him to meet Professor Frank Dawson, who later served as dean of SMC’s Center for Media and Design Campus. Charles also met director and Professor Salvador Carrasco, SMC Film Production Program faculty lead.
“I went in thinking I wanted to be a sports broadcaster,” Charles says. “Then I met those professors, and I realized there was a whole world behind the camera I didn’t even know about.”
Making the Dream Real
Between his studies, filming football and his night job, Charles maintained a schedule that even younger students might find daunting. “There were times I was sleeping in my car because I didn’t have time to go home,” he says. “I would shower in the locker room, go to class, go to work and do it all over again.”
Despite the long commute from his home in Torrance — often involving multiple buses and a train — he stayed at SMC even when other colleges were closer.
“SMC’s professors really care,” Charles notes.
He even stayed an extra year to take production courses after Salvador launched the full-fledged film production curriculum.
“He taught us to look at film from different cultural perspectives, to understand why something feels real or doesn’t,” Charles says of Salvador. “I still use that on set today.”
From College to Career
Charles graduated from SMC in 2012, becoming the person in his family to earn a college degree. His proud parents watched the ceremony on a livestream from South Carolina.
“When I walked across that stage, I waved to the camera so my parents could see me,” he says. “Professor Dawson jumped up, gave me a hug and told me, ‘I knew you could do it.’ I’ll never forget that.”
An unexpected opportunity helped launch his career. A neighbor who worked on a reality television production noticed Charles coming home late from school and asked what he was studying.
“That’s how I got my first job on a set,” he says. “In this industry, it really is about who you know — but you have to be ready when the opportunity comes.” That means having talent, knowing the craft and keeping the discipline to meet creative challenges over long workdays.
“When you’ve been working all night, going to school all day and still finishing your assignments, a 12-hour day on a film set doesn’t scare you,” he says. “SMC prepared me for that.”
Charles plans to transition to producing. As his career advances, he also finds time to mentor new generations of aspiring TV and film personnel. Among the knowledge he shares is that success starts with work ethic and the right support.
“Santa Monica College gives you that support,” Charles says. “I’m proud to be a Corsair, and I’ll always help when the college calls.”
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SMC in Focus Volume XII, Issue 2
It Was Destiny
A chance encounter in a Sherman Oaks mall put graduating Interaction Design student Harmony Simpson back on track. Read Article
In her Shoes
The daughter of Cuban immigrants—and a first-gen high school & college graduate—SMC’s new(ish) VP of Student Success on resilience, her life’s turning points, and what keeps her centered. Read Article
Fashioning Futures
Rails founder Jeff Abrams brings scholarship support and industry insights to SMC students as they pattern careers in fashion. Read Article
Frieze Frame
SMC showed up in force at Frieze Los Angeles, where 22 student interns engaged with top galleries and collectors, established artists (including four SMC alum) and 32,000 visitors at this world-class art fair. Read Article
Bragging Rights
Applied classical voice students win top awards. IxD grads receive offers from the best schools. An aquaculture instructor dives deep into kelp conservation. Read Article
Lighting the Way
Santa Monica College widened the lens for Charles Butler, helping him go from modeling and background acting to success behind the scenes of hit reality shows. Read Article