#PeopleFirst Friday: Brook Horn
From a young age, creativity has flowed through the veins of Brook Horn, which would make sense, given her title of Senior Director of Creative (and Business Development).
“In middle school and into high school, I got really into videography and shooting skit-style videos,” Horn recalled. “A friend of mine would come over with her aunt’s camcorder, and we would come up with skits, videos, fake commercials, and lip syncing. It was basically TikTok before TikTok and YouTube before there was a YouTube.”
Developing a sense of visually what looked good on camera, the skill of how to edit and a passion for creating stories with video, Horn pursued a degree in Broadcasting and Communications from East Tennessee State University, landing an internship with a local news affiliate in Bristol, Virginia after graduation. While she enjoyed the coursework, local news didn’t ultimately prove to be her calling.
“I had an awesome experience learning the different facets of broadcasting in college, from news and being behind the camera, to operating the switcher, to even being in front of the camera a few times. I had to try to do weather in front a green screen, which did not go well,” Horn said with a laugh. “My passion was behind the camera and creating shows or stories, whatever those are.
“I didn’t end up enjoying the local news part of it as much because it wasn’t as creative,” she continued. “I got to work with a few reporters who covered feature stories that were more ‘fun,’ and told the people aspect, which I liked. But I was eventually moved into a producer role which didn’t allow me to do anything creative other than write, which wasn’t where my passion was.”
Following her stint in local news, Horn landed an internship with Motor Racing Network in 2002, working on the then brand-new Winston Cup Vision, which Horn lovingly referred to as “traveling circus of screens.”
“They needed a producer, because someone else had backed out,” she said. “They told me, ‘Hey, you already graduated. You were producing for the news. Let’s put you in this role.’ So, I traveled 38 weekends a year on the circuit and sat in a truck, and played commercials, music videos, and eventually coordinated with JHE on using our camera to show pre-race ceremonies on the screen. That’s kind of how I got into the NASCAR production world.”
Horn’s innate creativity that started with a VHS camcorder has continued into her years at CSM Production, where she is consistently tasked at coming up with new and exciting ideas for clients.
“It’s this undefinable thing that you want to make something cool. The medium isn’t even important. It’s just this drive to create something,” Horn said. “Brainstorming with clients and taking bits and pieces of what’s important to them and bringing that to life in a creative way has become one of my absolutely favorite parts of my job.”