Welcome back for another dose of Self-Producing tips from actors who are out there making it happen for themselves. The emails I’ve received after last week’s installment have shown me that you guys are hungry for this sort of information, so I am very grateful to these amazing actors for sharing their journeys with us all. Inspiring stuff! Let’s get right to it.

From Angelina Hong

I produced and starred in a short film that was created for a 72-Hour Film Shootout. It was sponsored by MTV World and the Asian American Film Lab in NYC. It was a national competition where each team had 72 hours to write, shoot, and edit a short film based on a common theme.

I had become friends with a director/producer I had worked with on another film and I asked her if she wanted to participate in the competition. She agreed and we assembled a top-notch cast and crew of friends who were willing to work for free.

We had an absolute blast. We brainstormed ideas, our writer cranked out a great script overnight, and we shot for one day. We actually wrapped early (around 5pm) because my director was that efficient and amazing! We even had a film crew shooting us for a potential reality show about filmmakers. It was surreal! 🙂

To make a long story short, our film was awarded “Best Story” in the competition and screened at the Asian American International Film Festival in NYC. Thanks to the unexpected success of our film, I was also able to get an actor/producer credit on IMDb as well. It was so much fun. I wish I could crank out films like that on a monthly basis!

Re: financial cost — less than $200. All we had to pay for was the entry fee and yummy food for our cast and crew. 🙂 Just writing to you about my experience has me all fired up. I am going to find a way to participate in another filmmaking contest this year! It is such a thrill!

From John Charles Meyer

I spent my childhood on community theatre stages in Ohio. I gave up acting when I got to college because I figured that no one in his right mind would try to make a living as an actor. I was a cynical 18-year-old. I spent my twenties working for a Washington DC agency which produced commercials for national democratic candidates, and frittered away my earnings during the off-seasons by touring the country with a rock band. I was an idiotic 24-year-old. When my employer switched to a non-linear editing system in the mid-’90s, I taught myself the Avid so that I could cut music videos for my band. This proved to be a fortuitous motivation, as it led to five years of work as a video editor, and the financial stability to make a life-altering leap to Los Angeles. I’m an optimistic 35-year old. Selah!

I have now been in this town for two and a half years, and have produced three web series alongside (brilliant/struggling) writer/director friends of mine who needed help with production logistics and editing. In all three cases, it has been equal parts circumstance, opportunity, labor of love, hair-pulling insanity, and fun. While none have made any money (yet), all three have been well-received and two of them are still in perpetual production mode.

What have been the most valuable lessons?

1. Nothing in the production world ever takes less than twice the amount of time you expect it to.
2. That said, things do get easier. The first episode of my first series took 15 months from first shot to finished five-minute episode. The third episode of my third series took two weeks.
3. If you want it done right, do it yourself. It’s great to have help from friends, but you don’t want something with your name on it to be less than exactly what you want it to be. And when you’re “the friend” on the other side of that equation, you sometimes have to swallow some pride and remember that you have less at stake when yours is not the top name on the bill.
4. Working with a zero budget may mean that you’ll have to be more diligent or creative or tenacious, but it does not mean that you can’t have a polished, compelling story.
5. You can make a single apartment look like a lot of different locations.
6. If you’re on good terms with your employer, you can make a bar or restaurant scene look like a million bucks.
7. When shooting without permits, it’s good to have a plan for when cops/homeless people/nut jobs/landlords/neighbors interrupt.
8. Lousy sound recording will sink your production faster than any other mistake.
9. Videotape is cheap.
10. Brevity is king.

To be sure, my primary goals and motivations in this town revolve around my childhood love of acting. To date, I have booked three features, two cable network shows, two plays, and more than a dozen shorts. But I devote a lot of my time and energy to my friends’ projects in the hope that we can all someday jump to that next tier together. I’m an enormous believer in the notion that I’ll learn more by doing something than by asking someone else about it (and I’ll be infinitely happier with myself than if I were to spend the day in front of the TV), so I get myself out on as many sets as will have me.

I hope to have the chance to audition for you one of these days. In the meantime, I’ll continue reading your columns (and watching your Facebook videos, which I just discovered). Thanks for your insights, advice, and sense of humor.

From Michael John

I certainly enjoy your videos! I learn something every time. To learn about producing and film production, I went to the UCLA Continuing Education Program. That was an excellent program and not too expensive. I really liked the program and would highly recommend it.

From Andy Wolf

Well, I’ve been producing for just about ten years now, everything from television pilots to features to shorts. I have a feature that has been in three festivals, having won four awards total, and we just got a tiny bit more distribution, which is great. That’s Dreammaker and the writer/director and I are partnering together on at least three more of her scripts, have interest from Adam Sandler’s producer as well as Tim Allen, and we just got one of them to Hugh Grant. So good things!

My short The Dead Detective got into its first festival and won “People’s Choice” which is great, out of 55 films, from ten countries. 🙂 I’m submitting to more — Aspen is already in, waiting to hear (March!) and I’ll be sending it out again soon. I have one pilot that I shot a “presentation” for (18 minutes) and am very proud of. We actually sold it to a cable network back in 2001, but then Sept. 11th happened, and they wouldn’t touch comedy after that. I have another that I’d like to start pitching around as well. And a third television pilot that we’re shooting a “pitch trailer” for by April.

Right now, I’m producing a feature documentary on BRCA-1, the breast cancer gene. We’ve already shot ten hours of footage and should be finishing the investor’s trailer tonight. Composer is hard at work right now and when he’s done we’ll take the music to the editor. Very exciting (obviously, that last project has no role in it for me… hee hee). It’s such an important message and story, and I fell in love with it, the subject, and everything about it. Just knew I had to help bring it to life. We have meetings with investors and distribution companies already, so it may be all set in stone by the time you run the article on self-producing. Think good thoughts!

As for how I got started, of course I’m an actor. But I’ve always been in production as well. And went to Northwestern University for theatre and film. Started out helping friends’ projects as a PA and then in 1999, a friend introduced me to Richard Hatch (Battlestar Galactica) and he was doing a trailer for a new series and asked me for a headshot. When he called me and offered me an Under-5, I offered my skills in production, and he made me the 2nd 2nd AD in charge of the extras. On that set, I proved myself competent, and moved up through the ranks to UPM when it was all said and done.

It’s taken off since then. I’m still acting, but also puppeteering, singing, producing, directing, ADing, script supervising, and more. (Sometimes all at once on a film, like Dreammaker, I was the line producer, AD, scripty, and one of the main actors.) 🙂 As for The Dead Detective — that’s my film noir spoof short — I’m not acting in it (okay, we all got cameos, but that doesn’t count). I produced it, co-directed, co-wrote, and co-EP’d it. I don’t have an ego, and knew that this film would be better served with a cast that didn’t include any of the production team. 🙂

From Meagan Flynn

I just read the first of the self-producing column and it couldn’t have been more timely. I just wrapped this weekend on the pilot episode of the web series I am co-producing here in Kansas City. (It’s a parody of Bravo’s shows called The unReal Housewives of Kansas City.) I just had to add the most important thing I am learning in this process.

Don’t be afraid to ask and don’t sell yourself and your project short! The worst thing someone can say to a request is no, which is too short of a word to be that scary.

If you have a good plan (key key key!), a good script, and a great attitude and work ethic you may be amazed at who is willing to come on board even for little or no money. We had such an amazing cast and crew this weekend who donated their time. There were certain actors and crew members that I had thought, “No way are these guys going to want to work on this little project. They are all busy working actors/directors, etc.” But we asked anyway and they all came on board, and because of this I know the project is going to be great.

So that’s my advice. It’s short, but I think important: Ask the best people you possibly can because you never know who will say yes!

From Kyle Keller

The amazing power of self-producing is that it will show the world and the industry what you can do. The amazing risk of self-production is that it will show the world and the industry what you can do. Never will you be so far out on a limb than when you’re doing it yourself. If your project requires you to do something that isn’t your forte, your weaknesses will be on display as much as your strengths. You won’t necessarily have a director, producer, editor, DP, designer, etc., covering your back and making sure you’re at your best. And yet, it’s something every actor should do.

Why? Because the harsh reality in this town is that you’re expected to be able to fly solo. Yes, in the high-budget world of A-list film and television there will be all those people who’ve got your back, but any actor who needs those people covering their backs are actors who are slowing down the production and raising the cost of production. Every producer wants you to be able to walk onto the set having not only done your own homework (memorizing the lines, making strong playable choices, etc.), but also to have done everyone else’s homework.

You need to know enough about directing to have correctly analyzed the style of the piece and to have made your choices appropriately. You need to be able to understand your role as part of the bigger picture. You need to be able to give the right performance without expecting a director to coax it out of you. If you’ve needed to direct a few times, you’ve got that tool set.

You need to know enough about photography to know what the DP is doing and why, so that you can help rather than hinder the DP’s work. An actor who can’t stay in their light or on their mark, or who moves around too much in a close-up or too little in a long shot, or isn’t consistent between rehearsal and performance is going to require more takes, and therefore cost the production money. If you’ve had to shoot a few times, you’ll get that intuitively. The same is true for an actor who has edited. You’ll get the importance of continuity and consistency. Or an actor who has done design. And on down the list. In short, if you’ve self-produced, and done it well, every producer and casting director knows that you’ve got the skill set to deliver with as little “maintenance” as possible.

So, how do you actually do it? It’s easy to say, “go produce something,” but not everyone has had the luxury of having taken a bunch of film classes in college. Well, here’s a few easy steps to follow.

Step 1: Check your ego at the door. This, of course, is oxymoronic because a certain amount of ego is required for self-producing to even have crossed your mind. The difference between an actor who says, “I can’t get work, I must suck,” and moves back to Dubuque and the actor who says, “I can’t get work, dammit, screw you all, I’m going to self-produce,” and then does so is — let’s be honest — largely ego. I don’t like to use the word “confidence” because you can walk into a very successful self-production with almost zero confidence. In fact, in many ways it’s helpful to do so (but more on that later). The ego you need to check is the one that says that you can and should know everything. The ego you need to check is the one that says you can do things as well as the experts in that field. The ego you need to check is the one that tells you that you need glory for everything you do.

A lot of self-production is trial and error. You will make mistakes. You will do things that out-and-out suck. You’ve got to be able to take criticism (and scathing comments on your YouTube page) and be open to making your work better. You’ve also got to be able to lift up those who decide to help you along the way, letting them shine on their own rather than expecting them to bask in your reflected glory. If you’re a diva, your self-production has failed before it has even begun.

Step 2: Honestly assess your capabilities. I mean this technologically as well as artistically. If you’re really good at comedy and your available equipment consists of your laptop’s built-in camera and microphone, attempting to make The Bourne Identity would be, well, stupid. However, a really funny vlog that millions of people tune into every week will get you noticed. Take the time to learn how to use that built-in camera (and the editing software that probably shipped with your computer), and you’re all set.

Technological sophistication is not required for a successful self-production. We can all see the difference between a video shot with a consumer camcorder and one shot with the latest 4k digital cinema camera. However, if the storytelling is good, we don’t care. That doesn’t mean you can be lazy — the visual is a vitally important part of the storytelling — but we’ll all forgive you for staying within your budget and your capabilities. What is required is good storytelling.

Step 3: Develop a project that’s right for you and only you. It’s very tempting to look at the popularity of Fred and conclude that you should deliver monologues too close to the camera with your voice processed to sound squeaky. Guess what? He’s already done that. If you do it, it will just remind us of him. The reason he’s been so successful (though it remains to be seen if he will endure) is because what he’s doing is uniquely him. That came out of his brain, and uses his unique skills.

So start by assessing what’s unique about you. What have you got that no one else does? (Or, more accurately, that no one else attempting to do what you’re attempting to do does.) The “special skills” section of your resumé is a great place to start. If it’s unique enough to belong in that list, it’s probably unique enough to merit being the basis of your project.

If you’re truly at a loss, true friends can help. Unless you come from a family as brutally honest as mine (and most people don’t), family is less useful because, let’s be honest, your mom will think you’re special no matter what. Most friends will also only be of marginal use. But people who know you well and know you trust them enough to be honest with you can point out your uniqueness. Oftentimes this will sound like a character flaw. If it really bothered them they wouldn’t be your friends. Listen to what they have to say. Sadly, I can’t give you any more specific advice than that, because I don’t know you well enough to know what’s unique about you. Just remember, don’t follow the herd. Lead it.

Step 4: Make something awful. Folks, I’ve got bad news for you. No one strikes gold with the first rock they kick over. Expecting your first, or even your second, or for that matter your twentieth production to take the Internet by storm is just ego (and see Step 1 for that). Here’s where it’s helpful to walk in with no confidence. Treat every production as an experiment. Have an idea? Try it! See how it works! The answer will probably be that it won’t. But if you haven’t invested much in it emotionally or financially, it doesn’t matter. When you watch it (and yes, you must watch it), you’ll have other ideas. You’ll see something that does work, even if it’s not what you intended. And that will give you more ideas.

Step 5: Repeat. And as you have those new ideas, you’ll find yourself intuitively going back to Step 1. (Well, you’ll intuitively go back to Step 3, but I’m telling you to force yourself back to Step 1 instead.) Re-check your ego. Re-assess your abilities. Develop something else. Shoot it, not worrying about whether or not it sucks. At some point, you’ll discover you’ve failed miserably at Step 4. You’ll have made something that doesn’t suck. And that’s when you’ve pulled off your first self-production.

From Stacey Jackson

I’m currently working on my third self-produced short and I’m having a blast! I started self-producing because I wanted to open more doors and that just wasn’t going to happen without a better reel. I needed to lower my “risk factor” by showing industry professionals that I could do certain types of roles and do them well. I had been self-submitting and auditioning for some time, but when I booked something I ran into a number of obstacles:

1. Getting tape in a timely manner or getting a final product at all.
2. Getting a product that looked and sounded professional.
3. Getting cast in scene meaty enough and age-appropriate enough to put on my reel.

I decided to take matters into my own hands and emailed several writer friends to see if they’d be on board to write a two- or three-page scene to shoot or if they had something in their back pocket already. Let me just say, right now, that rallying creative people for little-to-no money can be difficult. Two months later, I was no closer to finding a scene or a collaborative group. Out of desperation, I sat down at my computer and started writing a scene. And then another one. Material starting pouring out of me. I sent it to friends for feedback and received a lot of confidence-boosting support. I realized that I already had the tools I needed to create a fully-realized script, I just needed practice. I think most actors have an innate understanding of character development, story, and arc. For me, writing was a natural progression of my art.

I aligned myself with actor-friendly directors who were eager to practice. One was a recent graduate of USC film school and the other an accomplished actor looking to expand into directing. Eventually, I was able to track down friends or friends of friends who were willing to let us use their camera and lighting and/or sound equipment so that the project could move forward without much out-of-pocket expense.

Self-producing for any medium is a great learning experience. Whether it’s for YouTube, Funny Or Die, a reel, or an indie film, they all have their merits. Personally, I didn’t want to skimp on details. I wanted my projects to look and feel like they could actually play on television or realistically play like a hot indie film. Basically, I didn’t want it to look like a student film (no offense). By incorporating master shots (as opposed to talking heads so often seen in low-budget projects), hiring a director of photography, scouting for the perfect location, and enlisting a tried and true editor, I was able to elevate the professionalism of my projects.

The hardest part is working on a minimal budget. When you’re self-producing and counting on favors, there is a lot of negotiating of time and adjusting to various commitment levels. Good camera equipment can be difficult to come by, paid gigs always trump free gigs, and getting a full crew to commit to the same day when the equipment is free and the location is available can be a scheduling nightmare. I also learned early on that I didn’t want to pull teeth to get somebody excited about a project. I wanted to work with people who said, “Hell yes! Let’s do this thing,” and then really commit to it.

The role of producer requires an enormous amount of time and responsibility. Most of the time it goes beyond that title: I’m acting as producer, writer, actor, production coordinator, location scout, craft services, wardrobe, makeup, set dresser, etc. Ay yi yi yi. It’s a lot of work and there is a definite learning curve. I’m constantly learning about the technical aspects. Six months ago I had no idea what P2 cards were! My solution is to surround myself with people who are more knowledgeable than I am and to ask a lot of questions.

I can’t stress enough how satisfying it is to take charge of my own career — or at least one aspect of it. I get to practice, my friends get to practice, I meet new people, and am constantly exploring new avenues. Who knows? Maybe this is a pre-cursor to my first feature. Or maybe I’ll discover that writing is my true passion. Either way, I’m creating opportunities, rather than waiting for waiting for them.

Back to Bon

Dude. I’m so freakin’ inspired by this series that I am actually meeting with a producer this week to discuss developing a project together! How ’bout that? You already know about The New Business Model. Now, with the low cost of equipment and the “let’s put on a show” spirit of your industry-savvy friends, it’s the best time to dust off that idea you’ve been toying with — but not putting into action — for years. Move up a tier. Create your work, create your work, create your work.

Why do I think this is so important? Dangit, it’s the key to the only “true” shortcut in this industry. Show the industry what you’re capable of. Build your audience as you refine your brand. And learn the true power of producing so that you better understand every step of the process as you continue to work as an actor. No, you may not turn into a power-producer. You may only make one that first project and learn enough to know that you really want to let others do the heavy lifting from here on out. But I can promise you that the experience will be one you never forget. And because it could be something that lands you on our radar faster than the ol’ “submit, workshop, and pray” routine, it’s something you’ve just gotta try for yourself.

Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!

Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/000984.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.