Communication Alumna Polishes Stories for TV

Laramie native Bianca Coca (B.A. ’16) took an early interest in film, and that interest never waned. For Coca, it was the storytelling that drew her in and the world-building that kept her.

“When I was really young, I struggled with reading a lot, so I found my stories through film,” she says. “Still, to this day, my favorite place on the planet is the Regal Fox Theater in Laramie.”

Coca knew she wanted to help make films and was hesitant to choose the University of Wyoming, her hometown college.

“As you know, in Wyoming, there is no film industry,” she says.

But UW proved a fortunate choice. While an undergraduate in the Department of Communication and Journalism, Coca took on all the production gigs she could, making podcasts and crafting stories from footage of UW sporting events.

“They let you be creative,” she says. “It sparked my interest in post-production, because that’s where you get to put the final touches on the story—in editing.”

Following graduation, Coca moved to the only logical next place, Los Angeles, and started a master’s program in film editing while also scouring for work.

“But it’s so hard to find an entry-level position in the entertainment industry,” she says. “So, I took an internship at a small production company at Universal, and that’s when I learned

I didn’t want to be involved in production at all. It was a bunch of men with egos, and I did not like it at all.”

After six months of the unpaid internship, Coca was nearly ready to throw in the towel and head home. But heeding the lifelong advice of her very Catholic mother, Coca went to church. She met a deacon there who worked at CBS. One introduction led to another, and Coca landed a job—paid, this time—as a receptionist at Wild Woods Picture and Sound.

It was not long before she advanced into her current role as project manager.

“It happened pretty quickly, but I learn pretty fast,” Coca says.

Working on reality shows such as Very Cavallari, Project Runway and The Best Thing

I Ever Ate, Coca works with others to polish the stories people see when they turn on the TV or stream their favorite show.

Coca does sound mixing, color correcting, voiceover recording and audio dialogue replacement—all to ensure that every episode is ready for the network it is being sent to.

Hollywood is a long way from Wyoming, but Coca’s home state is never far from her thoughts.

“If I had grown up in L.A. or in a big city, I don’t think I would have been the same kind of person or had the same kind of drive,” she says. “People here can tell I have a small-town vibe.

It’s shaped who I am, and I see it in other people I meet from Wyoming.”