In Hollywood there’s an adage that if you can’t get work- do it yourself. Nothing is handed to you in Hollywood. Success is the result of hard work and diligent consistency. Some actors make the mistaken notion that once they land an agent or manger their career will just coast – nothing can be further than the truth.
An actor must be continually working on their career regardless if they have an agent or not. I’ve always believed that we should take charge of our career. Sometimes an actor can feel helpless waiting by the phone to ring. But the creative process is an interesting animal. As we focus on our craft we build more confidence in our ability to be more in control of the path we take. Making your own movie is one way to do this. I asked one of my clients Aylia Colwell to share her 5 positive and negative experiences in making her own movie. I was impressed by her resolve that I thought it might help other actors that wanted to be in control of their career. As you will see the experience is very rewarding but there will challenges that go along with it.
5 Positive Things of Making Your Own Movie
1. It gave me an opportunity to remind myself why I do what I do. It’s easy to get bogged down with how discouraging being an artist of any kind is, and I don’t ever want to forget why I’m fighting. Getting out there and just playing reminded me of that. I’m good at this, and I like it!
2. You have the freedom to do whatever it is you want. If I want to play a cowboy, I just make a movie where I’m a cowboy. I have an obsession with Beethoven, so I made a movie where I travel back in time to meet and fall in love with Beethoven (now available on YouTube haha). Now I’m finding myself hard pressed to find meaty female roles, so I gave myself one in Fishbowl.
3. At the end of the day, it’s something that I’m really proud to say I was a part of. I think Fishbowl is a really quality film, and I’m very proud to have that in my back pocket to show people that I meet when I’m networking.
4. I gained an enormous amount of experience. I learned things I could never get from a classroom or a set run by someone else. There’s something very satisfying about being in charge of a movie set, and it provided invaluable life lessons about managing people, time and money, creative negotiations, and collaborating with a team that you get to choose, and therefore you respect. Plus, as a casting director, I got to experience what it’s like from the other side of the table, which has helped me grow as an auditioner.
5. I have so much footage from that movie! I could make two full reels, comedic and dramatic, using only footage from Fishbowl, and it would be totally professional, well-rounded and look amazing.
5 Not So Positive Things of Making Your Own Movie
1. It costs a lot of money. Of course money would be the problem; it was a struggle for us during the entire shoot, and even now continues to be a huge setback. You can only take out so many loans and ask friends and family for donations.
2. There is so much red tape. Bureaucracy, paperwork, unions, contracts, payroll, etc. I had no idea what I was doing, but I learned to ask questions, and I made a lot of mistakes. And I’ll tell you one thing, I won’t ever make those mistakes again.
3. When you make a movie, you want people to love it like you do. But, like a child, no one will love your baby like you love your baby. You have to be prepared to face criticism and (even worse) indifference. But I made this movie for me, and I have been met with overwhelming positive feedback from friends and family and even strangers who have become friends because of it! But it’s hard to have it be turned down from festivals who just don’t understand. 😉
4. It takes time. Especially when you’re working on a budget, if you want things done well, it might mean they’ll take a little longer since you can’t afford to pay people to give it their undivided attention.
5. There’s always going to be stress involved, and it will test your relationships with those closest to you during the most difficult steps. But in this way, it has strengthened my relationship with those who went through it with me.
For more information on the film visit Fishbowl The Movie.
