Samantha Mauney Aiken: Filmmaker, producer and dialect coach in Cleveland, Ohio.

Thanks for responding. I am a sociolinguist by training. I'm familiar with most varieties of American English. I have taught college classes to foreigners trying to mitigate their accent. My question is about how to break into the market, or how to find people searching for these services.

If you have not tried them, you might get information from SAG or Backstage.

One way would be to offer conservatory classes at SAG-AFTRA events for a minimum price to show people what you can do to help them. I go to such events and pay 10-15 dollars...20 or 30 people show up, and maybe from there you get a few clients and they talk about you to others. I've worked with a dialect coach and it's very personal. You have to get a good fit so you feel free to do the work. Sell your personality at these events, too. Good-luck.

Thrift stores are the best option. Some cast will provide their own wardrobe without being asked. Amazon has some good cheap options that will arrive quickly, but I avoid them for ethical reasons if there are other avenues available.

Another option is to find stores to sponsor your film for a credit. You have to return items dry cleaned or buy them if they get damaged. One example was when I did it for a low budget feature when I needed to wardrobe a wedding scene. I went to a bridal shop and they loaned me all of the bridesmaids dresses and the jewelry for a film credit. The actresses wore their own shoes. I learned NOT to take my own clothes and shoes on set to loan because my original wedding shoes got stolen from that same film even though they were not used in the shoot. so be wise to have a guard for the wardrobe at all times if you are borrowing or renting items. Theater companies rent too btw.

Kim- I've considered local product placement sponsors but not wardrobe sponsorship. That's a great idea!

Do you need child actors? Check my page

Good luck and I look forward to updates on your work!

Hey, aspiring , new up and coming Filmmaker, trying to connect with other

Black filmmakers, students and professional..

The Ursa Mini is an interesting camera at the price point. Consider the $1500 viewfinder as an absolute necessity. BlackMagic has a reputation for great innovation and awful fabrication. The reason many of us don’t use their products is because they used to break, the mini HDMI out plug on the Pocket Cinema Camera that is mounted on the board and not the chassis is a perfect example. Cheaper to replace the camera than repair it. Don’t know if the 4.6 Mini is any different or not. Proven workhorse cameras from Arri and Sony are dead reliable with only rare problems. With the daily cost of shooting. cameras that don’t fail is a major consideration. The images I’ve seen have been ok. Nothing special. but ok. The lack of an OLPF (Optical Low Pass Filter) on a camera with a sensor pixel count that is different than the delivery standards is potentially problematic. The anti-aliasing qualities of OLPFs is one of many reasons to have them. With 4.6K pixels across, the resize to delivery specifications could be another aliasing source. The lack of an OLPF also hugely increases the likelihood of moire issues in the image. The camera lacks internal ND filters so it might need IRND or Hot Mirror filters to deal with infrared saturation. The camera does not have a global shutter, and the rolling shutter would also increase the aliasing. This is seemingly a B or C level camera. If it fills the needs of a given production better than any of the other choices out there then it is certainly at an attractive price. Choosing it would depend upon test results and I have not yet had a production that I thought would benefit from it so have not tested it. Other than price there is nothing about this camera that stands out as better than other cameras. Cameras should be chosen for many reasons, price is only one of them and most certainly not the most important.

@Andrew - Your response embodies everything I love about this community. You gave me (and others, I would think) much to consider. If this is a "B or C" camera, what would you consider A in this price range either to purchase or rent?

Sorry, confusing terminology on my part. Shouldn’t write these notes during a conference call :-) I meant a B or C level camera, not a B or C camera on a given production. We all have our own ranking systems, for me the top or A level go to cameras are the Alexa, Sony F55, Sony F65, and the Panasonic V35. Spectacular images from very rugged stable cameras. In the $5000 price range there are no A level cameras. Lower pricing means you give up things.

If you are writing your own script take as long as you need.

@Jody. Yeah, I have been hired as an extra writer for a major magazine. I very much understand the concept of meeting up with deadlines. Even though you are a super expert in it, the feeling is not the same with the inspiration and passion one has for a project. Writing for inspiration should model a career. I cant really become a professional if im not touching people's lives. Yeah, writers must pay their bills doing what they love. I'm not discouraging anyone from getting a job. But my point is my point, we should be more. "Writer on demand..." I would like to quote Dan Maxx in his comment on a different lounge discussion. "Writers are like nails. Wake up and be a hammer". I think that comment rocks!!

I watched Focus over the break, Dan. Cliche City. Your post made me laugh, man.

I'll pass this along. Let me know if you're looking for crew!

thanks!

We've got a romantic comedy here: www.mysweetaffair.com Twitter: @Affair_Movie It features an Asian male romantic lead!

Darren - I'm sure you've been inundated ;-) but what budget levels or genres are you looking for? I'd love to discuss some possibilities with you! ;-)

Search for other production companies that do similar work, contact them. If yours brings resources, they'll talk to you.

Thanks for the suggestions. Most of my gigs are non-paying at the moment, which is part of the issue in finding crew, but that may change soon. Finding talent for free isn't an issue, but the messaging system for Breakdown Services/Actor's Access is difficult to use. I'll try Mandy for crew and check out the other websites listed.

Hey Tony! I live about 5 hours from Chicago, but I'm willing to travel for the right opportunities. Currently looking for AD or producer positions. I also know a ton of actors who travel that way all the time, so let me know if you're looking for new faces!

Thanks for dropping a line Samantha. I sent you a message.

Looked into Gigmasters, for videographer or banquet server it's okay. For film industry jobs it's a waste of time.

The post isn't about Gigmasters. It was just used as a point of comparison.

Yeah, I got that. My point is all these things that sound too to be true, usually are.

Congrats Samantha!

Passion plays a role, but perhaps more importantly, be the absolute BEST at what you do. You can make $0 being an indie director or big bucks as a producer working for a major studio if you cut your teeth on some quality projects first

That's kind of a vague question. If you're doing it for the money, our suggestion would be to be as proficient as you can in your chosen field so they can make you...you know... a lot of money... there can be money in all of the things you mentioned above if you know where to go & have the right connections If you're kind of like us and do it more because you like the work, we pick & choose things we want to work on...sometimes paid..sometimes because we believe in something... to each their own but to answer your question: in all of them and none of them (creative industry nd all that jazz..)

From my prospective... and this is simply a technology innovation entrepreneur who has not been in the business but a short time - I would say the HUGE money is still in the hands of the large distribution "houses" and networks. I mean.. they can buy your work on the cheap - and you end up paying agents, lawyers, etc, etc while you sign away creative control and watch them monetize it 500% over what they paid.... www.akyumen.com & AkyumenTV is attempting to change the model and distribute the $$$ to the filmmaker and empower them to be more inclined to keep creative control over their work while securing non-binding global distribution and continued back end $$.

If the shoot is done by a Canadian producer, they can't hire you unless you have a skill that they can't find in a local citizen. So you're not likely to be able to get a PA job. If it's a production company from the states that just happens to be shooting in Canada you may have an easier time, although they're also more likely to bring crew they know. 5 hours may not be far to drive, but you don't want to have a 10 hour commute on top of a 14+ hour day (if you do the math, some days you won't even make it home before you have to turn back around, and then there's the whole sleep thing...) I suppose you could volunteer, but it would have to be on a production that doesn't have the budget to pay for crew in the first place, since even if you worked for free on a big production you would still be taking away work from a Canadian. But if you're going to work on something that small, you're better off finding a small production where you live.

Good luck.... They are free to come here to grab our work but not the other way around.