Two years later...

And we’re back. 

Never left to be honest but the written thoughts are back. I can’t speak to the long break I took from posting in 2022, but 2023 through 2024 I’ve been working on creating a short film. 

This platform has served me well as a place to somewhat document the brushstrokes of my artistic journeys. It only makes sense to share what I learned (in various positions) while bringing this project to life. 

The next couple of posts will explore the writing, producing, and post production phases of our short film Gripped. These will be some ideas and hard lessons I learned throughout the process. I’m going to try to leave out the things that I already knew and just stick to new information and what I wish I would’ve done better. I’ll make my thoughts simple - in fact I’ll cap it to five lessons per post.

At the end of the day, creating a film is no easy feat. Truly. I’m insanely grateful that we were able to successfully make this idea come to life and allow it to be bigger than all of us involved. Hopefully through this transparency you’ll feel empowered to do the same. 

The Drive - “No Zero Days” 

The impulse to make a short film was driven by necessity. 2023 was a year littered with organized protests, the WGA/SAG both went on strike. The mystery of the severity and end of it all was similar to when we were navigating COVID-19. A couple of friends and I knew we needed to come out of all this with something. Yes, obviously participating in the strikes, fighting for our needs as actors and humans but also a project we could call our own. 

Sometimes these pauses in the industry give you an excuse to stop moving the needle forward. It’s easy to find solace in the fact that the big production companies aren’t doing work so you don’t have to either. However, that time can be a gift to explore what it is you want to create, see, and be a part of. 

We talked about various ideas for short films for years, so we decided to take advantage of the lull in auditions and go for it. That’s pretty much the only lesson of note in the genesis of this project. 

Say what you want to do out loud to people you trust and then just do it.