Focal Point
Conversations with artists across all industries, taking a deep dive into the nuances, techniques, and philosophies of society's talent.
Focal Point
HARD Topics and Situations #42 w/ FILMMAKER Samantha Ryan
Meet Samantha, a filmmaker who after graduating from Full Sail University in 2014 with a degree in filmmaking, Samantha took a nine-year break before rediscovering her creative voice.
She shares stories from the set of "Grease Monkey" where she served as first AD, Samantha reveals the behind-the-scenes problem-solving that makes productions successful—from managing angry neighbors to maintaining positive crew dynamics. Her practical wisdom about effective leadership shines through as she discusses the importance of communication, organization, and treating crew members with respect.
Well, Sam, welcome to the podcast. I appreciate you coming on.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:Always. Yes, so I was introduced to you because you had some part in a production with Ben McLean, who I'm more familiar with on Grease Monkey, and I asked him a little bit about you. You also first AD'd, as well as partly produced, produced. Is that, is that right? Does that sound right?
Speaker 2:I would say so. On set, I was the first assistant director and an unofficial script supervisor and unit production manager, essentially bringing things along. As far as creative producing or financial producing, I I wouldn't say that specifically, but whenever something needed to be fixed, that was me Ben was focusing on exactly. Ben was working on director photography and he was a producer, along with Joe Ganey, who's the director, and so they were the head honchos, but I alleviated a lot of stress for them and took some things off of their plate, so that way they didn't have to worry about it.
Speaker 1:Gotcha Okay. Um, I saw I was uh doing a little bit of research into you and, um, I saw that you been doing this for a little bit now, but you took a break for a number of years. Um, I'm assuming it's cause you. Uh, you had a family, is that right?
Speaker 2:Yes, so I have a bachelor's in filmmaking from Full Sail University. I got that in 2014, where I did mostly directing and acting and gripping, and then I took a nine-year hiatus and realized, wow, ohio actually has a film footprint here. So I decided to.
Speaker 1:I know Everyone's surprised that there's creatives here in Ohio.
Speaker 2:Because we're the butt of the joke on the internet, sort of. But you know what superman was filmed here, among many other things. Keep coming to ohio. Uh, eenie meenie came to ohio and a good chunk of friends of mine had a lot of hands on with that one, and so I came out in about 2023, that summer I got on backstage, I got my first co-lead as an actress and then I'm like oh, now I'm hungry. So I definitely sorry Coffee machine is emptying itself.
Speaker 1:Oh no.
Speaker 2:So I got back into that co-lead and then I got a hunger for it and I've been going ham ever since 2023 with acting. I just recently got into assistant directing. I've never done it before grease monkey, if I'm being perfectly honest, um, but I've always known how to do it, just haven't put it into action until Grease Monkey. And here we are and I get to work with Ben McLean again on a feature called Secret Admirer this summer which we're really excited to shoot. It's kind of a slasher horror film and I'm really excited to work with him again. And that's what Grease Monkey was. How well can we work together? And I think we both knocked it out of the park.
Speaker 1:we worked together and I think we both knocked out of the park. How was your experience at Full Sail? Because I haven't directly talked to people who have been to Full Sail. I've seen reviews and stuff like that online.
Speaker 2:What was that like? It was a lot of fun, so it was a fast track. I did the fast track version of it, so I got a four-year degree in 20 months. We worked on military time and our schedules changed every 30 days and so things were super busy when we were ramping up for any sort of productions or learning a certain niche. But when we did production we had three days on set and then the entire month off. So instead of slacking that month, I was always on other people's productions and then I would be directing my own because I tried to fill that month up, so I wasn't so bored or getting into trouble.
Speaker 1:Oh, did you get into a lot of trouble. You got to keep yourself busy.
Speaker 2:It's college, it's college. We all kind of had fun back in the day when we were 21.
Speaker 1:So what was the main interest when it came to pursuing, you know, creativity within the film space? Was it acting, directing, writing, Like which scratched the itch?
Speaker 2:Oh, that's really hard to boil it down to one thing. So when I was in sixth grade, seventh grade, we would make little corny YouTube videos, just me and my friends, with a little dslr running around like a crazy person ben was also definitely guilty of that too I think all of us in the film industry are we picked?
Speaker 1:up, like our mom's camera that was tucked away somewhere in like an old drawer and then we just like picked it up and suddenly realized oh I'm in control now exactly, and I loved writing, I love directing, I love acting.
Speaker 2:And I remember back in school they would always ask us what do you want to be when you grow up? And I'm like, well, I keep seeing all these movies. I want to be a cop, I want to be a spy, I want to be a doctor, a firefighter. And then I realized my 118 pound self can't really do all of that. So let's be an actor, so I can do all of it without having to have anyone's actual life at stake. And I really enjoy all that type of stuff as well. And I was bullied in school for all of it and I stuck it out, and now all of my bullies look up to me, so it feels good, to say the least.
Speaker 1:I mean, you got to stick it to the man you know exactly.
Speaker 2:You know what. It's another thing that really fuels me. If somebody makes fun of me or thinks that I'm not gonna amount to anything, watch me okay when you first started getting involved with the um, getting back involved in recently into the uh, the indie film space.
Speaker 1:How did you first start plugging yourself in?
Speaker 2:I started plugging myself in simply by acting. I got onto Backstage and I realized there's a lot of different Facebook groups that have acting in it as well, and I couldn't help myself but become friends with the crew members. I'm like, oh man, I remember that. I remember what this is called and I actually auditioned for a feature film. I did not get the part, which is fine, got to be used to rejection, but in my audition tape I said, hey, I have a bachelor's in filmmaking. I've been dying to get on the crew side. Next thing, you know, I'm key grip on a feature film that made it into theaters during Christmas time and that was a load of fun and has really opened a lot of doors for me in that industry too.
Speaker 1:What production was that curiously?
Speaker 2:It was called Carol, which is a let me get this right. It is a kind of like a sequel Christian musical rendition of a Christmas Carol, and it was directed by George Johnson in like.
Speaker 1:Angola, Indiana yeah george johnson. I'm sorry that that name is like. You know, whoever it's like um that's a tongue, that's not, that's not just a tongue twister, that's like somebody punishing their child, like for just doing the noises I'm george john Johnson. That's like. That is the most American name that you could possibly you know it really, really is.
Speaker 2:But he actually directed a few things that are on streaming platforms. One of the bigger ones that he did was pursuit of freedom, of Freedom not Sound of Freedom, not to get confused, but Pursuit of Freedom, where a woman loses her children in Ukraine, and so we have the accent and everything, and I think you can watch that on Tubi. And so I'm like, okay, let me get to know this guy a little bit. And I researched some of his stuff. I was like I'm working with George Johnson, like I'm working with George Johnson.
Speaker 2:He's got quite a few features out there and he's pretty well known, at least in the Christian film industry, which is its own niche altogether, and he's been a huge help for me with plugging things in into that industry. And then the secular industry I got into with a lot of Facebook groups, a lot of networking going to mixers, got into with it's a lot of Facebook groups, a lot of networking going to mixers, making friends and and it's great because everyone accepts all of us and it's such a fun industry to be in. And so that's that. One is on Amazon, carol, the one that I was key grip on and I signed on as a PA and three days in he decided to promote me and give me an actual title and I ran the red carpet events where I got to host and essentially be the interviewer on their red carpet event.
Speaker 1:Okay, have you found yourself? Is acting still the main thing that you want to try to do or, as you have done, other things like grip, assistant, produce and branched out a little bit and trying other things? Is that still the main thing, or is there any other thing that has been seducing out a little bit and trying other things? Is that still the main thing, or is there any other thing that has been, you know, seducing you a little bit more?
Speaker 2:I would certainly say directing is probably number one, and then it would be acting, and then everything else would fall on three and below. So I AD a lot cause there is a need, a lot, a big need for ADs in Ohio, and so that's where I'm getting pulled on the most is AD and associate producing and acting. I'm represented with a couple of different agents, so that's a good way to make some money as well, and I enjoy it. It's fun. But directing is really where my heart is at. I have a lot of different stories I want to tell and I like to be in a lot of creative control when it comes to that. And it's interesting because when you're in AD you don't have much, if any, creative control. So it's good for me to be able to practice both.
Speaker 1:Okay, and your most recent one that you made was Reunion in Heaven, right?
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Can you tell me a little bit?
Speaker 1:about that, and what you did, in terms of both producing as well as just getting it off the ground, is one of the hardest things as an indie filmmaker is just being able to be like okay, cool, I have words on a page and now the actual work begins exactly getting the words on the page was super easy and then I kind of shelved it honestly and then I kept getting these like dreams and visions and I'm like, all right, all right, I hear you.
Speaker 2:So I head fronted fundraising for that and making it happen. A lot of our actors came from far enough away and it became about a $4,000 budget, just simply fundraised and the crew worked for food and gas money, the cast pretty much the same, and most of that money went towards just housing people and feeding people and props how long was the shoot?
Speaker 2:uh, we did that in about two and a half to three days and it was, I think, a 12 page script and ended up being about 15, 20 minutes long of actual if we're not counting the credits, probably about 20 minutes long and the idea behind it was I've had a lot of family members and friends that I've lost due to death, among many things, whether that be old age, disease or a choice and I felt it important to show even those ugly sides of it. We see a lot of films, specifically Christian films, that leave out the drama, leave out the ugliness, and we all have drama, we all have things inside of us that aren't pretty, and I think it's important that we show that we are all human, we're all the same, and reunions in heaven really aimed to open up that book and show that, because it showed and I know you haven't seen it, but it showed darkness, it showed mental illness and it showed mental pain and and it showed that we are all the same, we all have.
Speaker 1:I tried looking for it. Is it out yet? I couldn't find it. I watched something else of yours. I was looking for that one in particular because it was the most recent work.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so radiance in heaven is still on its festival run. We've got one more that we're waiting on, and it has won quite a few of awards as well, and it's's it's made a lot of difference in people's lives too, because it's opened up people's minds. Uh, specifically because it deals with, uh, an accident. I call it an accidental suicide.
Speaker 2:There's a lot of people, uh, that believe that if you commit suicide, you go to hell, and I simply just cannot believe that. Um, first and foremost, because it's not my call to make. I'm simply just another human, and that's why regions in heaven was so important to me, because I wanted to show people that, at the end of the day, we don't know and it's not for us to judge, and a brain is an organ that can get sick as well as any other organ we have, and I think it's important that we seek help and we understand those. And the worst, the most horrible thing actually happened. I made that film and then, the day of the premiere, after the premiere, my family waited to tell me my cousin took his life the night before, and this time he succeeded.
Speaker 2:And this was after you wrote and made the film yes, this is after I had other families, members that have taken their life on intentionally, and this particular cousin. It was intentional and my family chose not to tell me until after the premiere because it was a really big deal. I sold out three theaters in order to show Reunions in Heaven and just imagine making something so meaningful and so big and having a huge following, and it feels good to be able to have finished something of that stature. And then later that day I'm informed of that news. And that was exactly a year ago this last Sunday. Oh, goodness.
Speaker 2:And it's been. It's been hard. It's been tough because you know what, if he saw it, maybe he would have realized, like how painful it is for the people that it left behind. And I know he struggled pretty hard with his mental health and he's had a lot happen in his life and so it is not our place to condemn and I think it's important that people know that, because it's very frustrating when people say, oh, they killed themselves and now they're in hell. You know, you don't know that you don't know.
Speaker 2:We'll only know when it's our time.
Speaker 1:Why do you think some filmmakers who are in the Christian space tend to avoid either treating their films more gritty or just approaching particular topics that are of a very sensitive nature? Do you think it's?
Speaker 1:Because it seems like from my observation is that well, when it comes, particularly in the Christian space, is that there's there's I don't want to say debate? There's a lot of different, because the Scriptures don't necessarily speak very explicitly on a number of different things. But people also tend to have very staunch and hard-line views on things that they hold to. And you know, to a certain degree their identity is sort of based in their hardline stance. You know it's sort of like a, it's its own sense of moral posturing. You know in that way, do you? How do you think that filmmakers that are Christian and produce movies and stories in that particular space, do you have any critiques of how those particular filmmakers treat their subjects?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I'm really excited that the Christian film industry is changing. You have films like Nefarious that came out. That is a little bit darker and it's dealing with a gentleman who is possessed by a demon and he is in prison and his demon is just treating him like a play thing and it doesn't hide that pain. And that human that he's embodying didn't hurt someone. The demon did, I mean. Granted, again, it's a film, but it's darker. You have the Shift that just came out and Disciples of the Moonlight. Those are all films that are starting to get into the nitty gritty of darkness and I think a lot of, at least in the past, a lot of Christian filmmakers, the past a lot of Christian filmmakers. They want to show the goodness, they want to show the light. They like come over. We have cookies and that's all fine and dandy, but you're, you're, you're fine-tuning your audience to be, to be this big and you know I have so many friends in the secular world, specifically in the film industry too, because the film industry is so large, of different identities and what you believe in, and I can't. I can't do that. I've been asked to be a part of a film that was extremely condemning and pointing the finger and I had to turn it down. I can't be a part of something like that because, at the end of the day, that's not what we are called to do.
Speaker 2:And you mentioned the Bible earlier today too, and that you could take scripture in so many different ways. And yes, you can. I mean, the Bible's been rewritten by man how many times, and so you know you take it as a grain of salt and at the end of the day and I was having this conversation with a secular friend of mine and I told him I was like, look, I just have a relationship because I believe, and at the end of the day, that's what it is. And I'm not going to slap somebody with a book because it's not my place and you could read that book. But keep in mind again, it's been rewritten how many times and it's got great stories in there, it's got great lessons in there. But at the end of the day, it's my relationship with him. It's not me shoving this relationship I have down your throat. That's not okay. It's not okay and I'm called to love you and that's what I'm going to do, no matter what.
Speaker 1:What prompted you to start your company Raw Studios?
Speaker 2:So Raw Studios is actually the initials of someone that I loved, that passed away when I was 18. And he was just a couple years older than me, and you know. Again, we all have our struggles and I wanted to honor him in some way without spending $180 on a tattoo, and I wanted to honor him in some way without spending $180 on a tattoo.
Speaker 2:I decided to name my company after him and it worked well, because his initials spell raw and I like to get raw emotion. I want to see that out of my actors.
Speaker 1:I want to tell those types of stories that are raw and that's kind of how it became raw studios um what do you have any? Um, have you produced?
Speaker 2:I mean, have you written any features yet? Yes, I've actually just finished writing my first feature. It is a complete 180 from the christian world into the secular world, because what it's doing is and I'll give just a little little tidbits because it's still in the development phase, but it's attacking a particular characters and her personality is is different than most, where she's struggling with sexual addiction after being sexually assaulted it's a.
Speaker 1:It's a classic dichotomy of trying to take back the power.
Speaker 2:A little bit, yes. So it follows her and how she started, where she's at, where she's going and some of the secrets that she holds. And she has a little bit of a personality trait, as mine, to where she gives too much of herself to others and she doesn't give enough for her.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she's a people pleaser, and so a complete 180 from what I've done in the past. But again, great storyline, some good lessons in there. Storyline, some, some good lessons in there. And really what it boils down to is understanding and reading the people around us and those micro expressions that we give specifically when like for her, when she says no, is this one that you're?
Speaker 1:planning on directing yourself ideally, or or handing it off and producing yes.
Speaker 2:I mean everything's got a price tag if I'm being honest, producing. Okay. Yes, I mean everything's got a price tag if I'm being honest, but ideally I would like to direct it not me.
Speaker 1:I'm a staunch person, you know. It's like we're all staunch until we see the green.
Speaker 2:We're like yeah, somebody comes up several hundred thousand, I'm like, okay, I'll just you know, let me give you the right I'm like I'll option it.
Speaker 1:I'll test it out, you know let me see what you got.
Speaker 2:Let me see what you're offering here. I've got about 12 different script ideas, so that's the one I've finished writing.
Speaker 1:I wrote a really expensive. I feel like you always write your really expensive one and then you're like I need to do something more doable.
Speaker 2:I try my hardest to avoid that. My most expensive one is just way back here.
Speaker 1:Well, I like abstract films. You know where it's like. You can use visual effects to kind of help the metaphor along. You know, and the one that I wrote last year, it's currently at 170 pages and yeah, wow, so I I gotta figure out how to trim that down that's like.
Speaker 1:That's like a part one and a half, you know, but you know. So after I've been getting feedback on that, you know, I'm kind of thinking. Other concepts are kind of stirring in my head for like a 90 page script that you could do, you know, within a few different locations, and that's kind of, for better or worse, where indie filmmakers kind of have to start if they actually want to, you know, at least get their name out there in the first place yeah and it's kind of a dagger to the heart, because you know what that version, uh, of the more expensive one, looks like in your head and you know vainly, we think.
Speaker 2:You know it's like it's, it's, it's the next best thing since penicillin and sliced bread, you know, but um it's tough because I mean, I've got a fantasy like a family-friendly fantasy that I am dying to make, but I know to do it right I'm gonna probably need a couple million yeah, but that's also kind of um, it's, it's.
Speaker 1:It's a step in the direction of humility that I think some filmmakers and artists definitely need to kind of bite the apple a little bit in order to actually get get their foot in the door. Because we, we're confident in you know the things that we really want to produce, but you know, you know at the end of the day, you're never going to get to those if you don't have something solid that is doable in the first place. Do you think that this next script that you're wanting to do is within that range of doability?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah. So the next script that I'm wanting to make as a feature once I start actually pre-production of it, I think I can do it for this much, Of course I want to do it for, like, maybe here I want to utilize the tax incentives and things like that and get some recognizable faces. However, I know that if I don't get those things, I can still make it None for a lower budget. But at this point we're just going to see what we can manage and I've already got a pitch deck running together. I've got a line producer that is interested in putting it together for the different budget ranges. That'll work with some investors we plan to talk to.
Speaker 1:So what was your strategy when you were building your pitch deck?
Speaker 2:Simple, to the point. I want to sell me versus the story. Like the story, yes, is important in your pitch deck, but all of the research that I've done and the networking events that I've been to online classes, you name it most of them are saying like, if you're wanting to direct it, if you're wanting to get it done, investors, yeah, they might like the log line, but at the end of the day, they want to know what they, what they need to put into it, what they're going to get out of it, why you, why are, why is it going to be you that tells this story? And so, at the end of the day, they're not investing in the story completely, they're investing in me if I was a producer, what would you?
Speaker 1:you say to me to pitch your, your, your story and yourself?
Speaker 2:Oh, putting me on the spot. Well, I'm not done with that pitch deck cause I've been in development, if you take forever.
Speaker 1:don't worry, It'll be all right.
Speaker 2:I'll just start playing jeopardy music and then you know we'll, we'll turn it into a comedy thing, I think, at the end of the day, informing an investor and selling myself, pretty much saying that I'm the right person to make this film, because this film is about me, and no better person to tell this story than someone who has lived it.
Speaker 1:Well, there are also to play devil's advocate over here. There is a downside there. Some artists can become too personally attached to it that they end up having blinders and blind spots to things that maybe somebody from the outside might do. But because it is a story that you're personally invested in, it has that strength.
Speaker 2:But the the oftentimes that strength becomes the downside and I would completely agree with you, and that's why the crew that I would build is people that I trust, and I trust that they know what they're doing and can bring some of their own thoughts into it. So, for example, when I'm choosing my director of photography, I want someone to where, if I don't have it, they got it and, luckily, making a great team that is very good at what they do. They can bring their own creative juices to it and it becomes a family, becomes a working, well greased wheel, because I know that you can't do it alone.
Speaker 2:You need to have trusted people at your side and the trusted people at your side. You need to be comfortable and confident enough in them to knock those blinders off of you. And luckily I haven't been informed by anyone that I do have blinders.
Speaker 1:They're all lying because they want the job.
Speaker 2:Oh, trust me, If they're getting, if they're getting paid, I can see them lying. But if they're not getting paid, but it's not, those blinders off, no problem. But um, at the end of the day, I want to create something that everyone enjoys, and if you only see one person's creative vision and not a magnitude of trust individuals, you're not doing your job right. Why are you here?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah you know, and that's why I think it's so important that you have a great crew at your side who knows what they're doing, so you can say I don't know what I want here, but I want to feel this. Then you have your music composer over here. Say no more. You have your director of photography over here. I'm like okay, let me bump up the drama a little bit by turning down this light or making it more intense, things like that, and that's why it's so important that you have to have you still have to remain humble in this industry, because if you're not, nobody's gonna want to work with you and again, trusted individuals at your side. You don't want to step on anyone. You guys need to become a close-knit family.
Speaker 1:And you got to stretch the family part. That way you can really sell like the pizza parties at the end of the day. You know those corporate office pizza parties.
Speaker 2:Rat party.
Speaker 1:What project have you done that you learned the most lessons from? That gave you the confidence to be able to tackle and accomplish this next project that you want to do?
Speaker 2:I think it's kind of a mixture between Reunions in Heaven and working on Carol, because Carol was the first feature that I've ever worked on, ever worked on, and then reading is in heaven gave me a lot of insight when it comes to producing what to tolerate, what not to tolerate, what to bring to the table, what is expected at the table, um of people that's working around you, and then you know even grease monkey, who, um, grease monkey being one of the first things that I've ever ad'd, and seeing ben mclean, who's probably one of the best director of photography I've seen, and just just watching them work. It's been a really amazing experience and I've learned a lot. And I've also learned some things on projects that were terrible. I've been a part of some projects that were so terrible that I pretty much told myself, look, if they don't have this together, I'm going to say no from the beginning, and a big key of that is organization.
Speaker 2:And that's if I'm not a producer I'm not necessarily a key If they don't have it organized, then I know that set is going to be a struggle, struggle. And another thing to add on top of that if I, you know multiple red flags, if there's not organization and there's not good communication, and then you get on set and everyone's running around like headless chickens, like those are all just like red flags, especially like even if you say, hey, I've noticed this, and you get called out by like the producer or the director, like I've seen it as an AD before, and like, if you can't take like nice, nicely woven together constructive criticism or options to make things more organized, for you, to make things go off without a hitch, why am I even here? And I'm a, I'm the people pleaser, kind, but I also want to help people succeed in this industry. And if they don't have the humility or like the humbleness to get from a to b and they're like I'm the best, you can't say this, what do you think is?
Speaker 1:the first component. Um, that ends up showing its ugly head if it's not organized properly.
Speaker 2:The number one would be a lack of communication. If if a set has lack of communication and a lack of like treating people as equals, i'm'm already like not really interested. I don't want to.
Speaker 2:I don't want to work on something that's going to cause more stress and like I mean, yeah, we're in the film industry, there's always stress but, there's a difference between stress and I'm having anxiety when I have to message you and ask you a question like, hey, this shot doesn't make sense, or this, that and the other, and lack of communication, lack of compassion and empathy for the people that you are pulling on board not a good mix. You're just asking for some trouble.
Speaker 1:It sounds like something you've personally experienced. This. What, what situation was this that?
Speaker 2:yeah, that is coming to mind um, out of protection, I can't say too too many specifics, no I want names, I want names, that's what I want sorry and you're not getting names um, because I have let's roll some heads here I'm not a roll head type of person, but at the end of the day, if you're not going to show like compassionate empathy, I'm just not interested, and I wouldn't want my people to work for you either.
Speaker 2:I want my friends that are hungry for work to continue to get work and to better their skills, and I will recommend them all day, every day. But if you don't show me that you have those skill sets as empathy and compassion at the very least sorry, how did you get involved with Grease Monkey? I'll go ahead and finish.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Oh, you're fine. So there have been some problems in the past where I find myself stepping out of particular roles I'm hired for and coming on as a producer without getting the acknowledgement as a producer, and if I'm doing too much work and you're doing this, I never understood that, though.
Speaker 1:I never understood that, like, if the people if you're wanting to make a movie, generally the people who really want to make a movie, that's all they think about. That's all they think about. So I don't understand, like, why you would even want to be on set, you know, if that's not the thing that you actually want to be there for. And there's now, granted, play devil's advocate. Again, there ends up being downtime, especially for once, once the camera's rolling and the director and the DP are working with the actors and they're actually shooting the scene. Generally there's two or three people that help set the scene up and now they're at the truck, kind of just shooting the shit, just passing. Time ends up.
Speaker 2:The lack of readiness to be on standby in order to fix something ends up being the latency that kind of cascades later down the road into something that's much larger and I can see what you're saying, though, too, because the G&E department, for example you have to be really strong and ready and raring to work, and I've been in that department. You work really hard at the beginning, really really hard at the end, and you fine tune throughout the middle, but you still have to have that strength. You still have to be in standby, and I learned very quickly when I was working on Carol when they're shooting, when the actor and when it is action, feel free to sit down on an apple box because you're going to be tired, and that's okay. There's nothing wrong with you know. Because you're gonna be tired, and that's okay, there's nothing wrong with you know, taking a seat, eating some sour gummies and getting ready for when you need to be next.
Speaker 1:There's always one guy that's hanging around crafty like all day long.
Speaker 2:You know I I tell people I'm like you're feeding me, right? Yeah, yeah, we're gonna feed you. I'm like great, um, I have. I have some production people that like know me so well that if they can't necessarily afford some of the higher end stack which is totally fine every now and again they'll sneak me like a barbell cheese because that's like the way to my heart cheese. Um. But I learned that very quickly on carol, like the first two to three days, like I was not going to be sitting down, I was gonna be ready to go. I'm right next to the dp, like a good like five feet away. So if they need something, you need a stinger, I'm on it, run, um. But then, come day three, I was so sore and so exhausted oh yeah and the gaffer on that one.
Speaker 2:He's just like sam. It's okay to sit, just be ready to pop up at any given moment.
Speaker 1:This is not a Christopher Nolan set.
Speaker 2:Yeah. But I tell you it's okay to sit, you just don't want it. But you need to sit in a certain spot or position where you're in earshot or you have your walkie-talkie right next to you, ready and raring to go. Pa, if an actor needs a water, say you'll hear it on the headset. Hey, xyz needs a water. Pa, I got it. Say you'll hear it on the headset. Hey, xyz needs a water. Pa, you're running, like you. I mean, you need to show that work ethic, that you're ready and raring to go.
Speaker 1:But it's okay to sit, it's okay to use the bathroom all right, go ahead and tell me about your uh, your experience with grease monkey. Uh, first, how did you get involved with that?
Speaker 2:yeah. So grease, it was so much fun. And I told Ben, if you ever need AD, I'm looking into getting AD work. And I've been telling him this for a while and with him in Cincinnati I'm three hours north it's hard to make that work. And I told him I was like, but if you ever need it, if you ever need it, you know, just make me break. Even If I got to pay for a sitter gas, give me a place to sleep. Couch is fine, I don't care, I just need some AD experience. And I actually was getting somewhat of AD experience.
Speaker 2:That was so-so, I would say, because the production was a hot mess and I was telling ben about it and he's like you know what you need to. Just come on grease monkey. And I'm like great, that would be fantastic. Because I actually got hired as an ad for a feature that ben was going to be dping for. And I'm like ben, that would be great to see if we bump heads or if we get along. And so Grease Monkey was a great trial for us as to whether or not we were going to work well together or if it was going to be a hot mess. Because if it was a hot mess, that feature would be a little rough.
Speaker 2:So Grease Monkey was kind of like our trial to see how AD DP gets along and the first day I didn't want to let on. But I was a nervous wreck getting on the first day of Grease Monkey, my first real time being an AD for people who actually know what they're doing versus just people who think they do and I we were only probably about 10 minutes behind that whole day and we got every shot. We worked really well together.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's always a beautiful thing when it works out like that.
Speaker 2:I loved it and keeping the energy up taking care of problems. I don't know if anyone told you this story, but we actually had a problem on. I think it might have been day two or three, two or three. And um ben comes to me and he's like, hey, there's a problem outside. I'm like, got it, got a handle, let me go, let me figure out what's going on, because the groups are outside, the rest of us were filming inside because it was just too many bodies on inside. So we kept the grips on the outside. And I come out. There was an angry neighbor there's always one and so I'm like all right, let's get the five years of customer experience that I have and let's run with this. So I go up to her. I'm like, hey, so sorry, we're filming right now. I'm, my name is samantha, I'm essentially the manager of this film. What's going on? What can I help you with? And she was upset that there was a light streaming in her window. She wanted to go to sleep. It was being very loud.
Speaker 1:He did tell me this one time he did yeah, yeah, yeah, we were at the Winter Film Festival and it came up in conversation and she's just like, yeah, there was this one time.
Speaker 2:It's like, apparently it was a large light, it was a very large light that happened to be like blasting through, it was an HMI, like blasting through, it was a, an hmi. So it was a big boy, it was a bigger light and, yeah, he was a, he was a big guy. And so I'm like, okay, well, everyone's really hot in the house, but they're just gonna get hotter, I guess. So I look at her. I'm like here's what I'm gonna do. You two, I need you to block that light from her window so that way there's no light streaming through her window. So they grabbed a floppy, put it on c-stand lights covered. I'm like okay, sound, let me take care of the sound for you. We don't have the ac running in there, um, but you know what? It's okay, we can sweat a little bit. So I closed all the windows of the house and I did inform the producers. Um, because the actors were essentially yelling at each other and they started to do takes where they were like, instead of yell angry, they, they just got like deep angry instead. So I don't know what take is going to make the film and I'm really excited to see what they choose. But she was happier, she went to bed and all was kosher and fine. And I pretty much told her when you're outside. Keep the volume level low, we'll be fine and kosher and dandy, and we haven't had any other problems on grace monkey. That was the only one.
Speaker 2:But part of being an ad or a unit production manager of sorts, is handling problems like that. Um, something always goes wrong when you're on a film. The best way I can describe it to people who don't work in the industry is for those of us who have gotten married or been a part of weddings. When you're filming something, it's like planning however many weddings there are in a day. So like one day filming equates one wedding and you're doing it for multiple days in a row. Something always goes wrong. Somebody left the bouquets at this house. Somebody left a camera lens back home. We need to figure out the best way to alleviate that stress and that problem and that's essentially the ad's job is to quick think on their feet. How do I solve this problem quickly?
Speaker 1:what were the takeaways preferably without the producers knowing well, I mean, if the producers have to get involved, then generally there are two or three things that end up not getting solved early on, and then it just ruins the whole day.
Speaker 2:And essentially I decipher. If said problem needs to go to the director or the producer, I try to fix things without going to them, but if it's big enough you kind of have to.
Speaker 1:Like, hey, there's three cop cars out here and they want to talk to whoever's here.
Speaker 2:That would be a producer. That would definitely be a producer I probably see what the problem was first and then bring it to the producer so that way producer can mentally prepare while they make the 15 foot walk through the car in that situation is probably how I would handle that one what, what would?
Speaker 1:what do you foresee being the challenges that would end up logistically having to be solved in pre-production for your feature film that you are trying to get off the ground?
Speaker 2:Some of the problems that I foresee happening for my future.
Speaker 1:Yeah, cause now you've gotten, you know, a little bit of experience of trying to figure out how to problem solve for you know, on the set, um you, of trying to figure out how to problem solve for you know, on the set, you know logistics and dynamics, and so I'm curious exactly like how this particular experience may have shaped what you foresee being a problem in the future.
Speaker 2:Yeah, first and foremost, the hardest part and the biggest problem most of us independent filmmakers have is going to be finding the money to pay everyone. But you know we'll take that out of the equation. I would say finding multiple locations and then casting the particular film that I would be casting for requires a certain amount of intimacy that needs to be shown on film and I'm very flexible in people's boundaries. I think boundaries are very important. That's the whole point of the film is boundaries and working within people's boundaries. I'm not going to sacrifice an amazing actress because she doesn't want to show a particular body part. I'm not going to if she prompts everyone but she doesn't want to show a particular body part. Okay, let me cover up that body part for you Because at the end of the day, I want people to be comfortable. But the hard part I'm finding is when I cast for Reunions in Heaven, I had a hard time finding like the 20 to 30s age range of male so, interesting, I know.
Speaker 1:Why do you think that is?
Speaker 2:You know, I'm not sure it could be. You know, if I'm looking at it from like a stereotypical standpoint where, you know, men are supposed to be the providers and actors, I'm sorry we all broke Us. Actors don't make a lot of money and if we do it's, it's finally buying something that's not ramen noodles.
Speaker 1:Hey, sriracha and cheese go a long way.
Speaker 2:Speaking from experience, you know right, and men generally have this trait, again, generally generally have this trait to where the expectation for men is to provide an acting job doesn't necessarily scream security right, um, as well as they're, they're probably busy doing normal job type of stuff, um, and that's a stereotypical view. The other one could be there and I think this is an actor thing and, again, general. Not all of us are this way, but some of us just want to get fame gift fast, don't want to have to put in the audition work. If I put in, okay, I just need your picture, I'll probably get 300 auditions. Well, if I want to self-tape, if I want you to record you saying lines, I'll probably get 100 or less.
Speaker 1:So I'm finding and I noticed that that's a good way to filter though that's a good way to filter out the people who actually have a serious interest in it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I didn't make a lot of people self-tape if they're just giving me one line. But if I'm actually casting for someone that has a hefty amount of lines and a hefty amount of work that needs to go into it, doing a self-tape showing genuine interest is going to help me filter through. Okay, who's going to put in the work? So I am a little concerned about how many male 20 to 30 roles I have in my feature film because I don't get a whole lot of male actors coming through and auditioning. So I'm hoping that will change. I've befriended a lot of agencies in Ohio and Indiana, so I'm hoping that will help alleviate that problem. And I couldn't tell you what it is as to why I don't see a lot of those types of auditions, but I had 10, 10 for the lead role of Christian, who was a 20 to 30s male.
Speaker 1:Do you think it's about particular interest, about also what male actors like to have on their resume?
Speaker 2:Possibly. It's hard to say. I also have more female actor friends than I do male actor friends, so it's hard to say, I think just any gender in general.
Speaker 1:That's impressive, I gotta say female actors.
Speaker 2:But it's hard to say. I think a lot of us as actors get imposter syndrome. Or you know maybe I'm not good enough, or you know they don't want someone that looks like me, they don't want someone that isn't as high up in acting. And then you start to get in your head that you're not good enough and I know that's happened to me as an actor and I've seen it happen to a couple of my actor friends and it's something to where, even if you feel that way, pushing through it that's what's going to make you a great actor is to push through those thoughts, push through those feelings and sometimes you know what tap into them. If your character is nervous, your character is anxious about something, let it out do you have a particular line of communication?
Speaker 1:um, when it comes to, uh, you know, directing actors, being that you are one, because that can be a, you know, a strength as well as weakness, depending on who you are yes, so I a lot of my communication happens through email, when it comes to just basic communication, when it comes to just basic communication.
Speaker 2:When it comes to directing, I've noticed that it's different from when I was in college. In college, we actually had rehearsals and we were all centrally there, because this was Orlando, florida. Here in the Midwest, if you're not hiring someone who's local and you're hiring somebody that's hours away, you can't necessarily have in-person rehearsals.
Speaker 2:So, you're having to resort to having Zoom calls or Google Meets and going through the script, ironing it out, answering questions and then doing like a read with the other actor on a Zoom call and then ironing out the details and where your body goes and things like that when you're on set.
Speaker 2:So Reunions in Heaven. That was the first time they all met was that weekend. They we Zoomed, rehearsed maybe once or twice and then they met on set. And I noticed that happens a lot if you're not working with strictly local talent, and that's probably what's going to end up happening. For my feature as well is we're going to be meeting people for the first time and having to act out certain scenes and luckily, I mean, I've got an intimacy coordinator that's on board already and it's just a matter of ironing out those details day of and talking about it as much as you can beforehand, being available. Sometimes they would text me hey, I've got a question about this.
Speaker 2:But most of the directing, at least in pre-pro, I'm having Zoom calls. They have their script printed out. They write all over it. I do the same thing. Not all actors do it, but I do. Whole sides of my scripts are just written with buzzwords or the type of motion we want here. What are we trying to feel here? And a lot of that happens on the actor side, as far as character development goes, and then as a director, because again I want people to bring their own creative juices, I let the actor lead a lot. But if I want something to go a different way or if I want a different emotion to come through, if I want to emotions which layering is great, if an actor can layer several emotions in one scene Chef's kiss but ultimately if I want to see changes like that, that's when I'll start directing a little bit more fine-tuned, with the emotion I'm wanting to see.
Speaker 1:What have the conversations been like with having an intimacy coordinator?
Speaker 2:I'm still navigating that, if I'm being honest. So I gave her the log line and some information when it comes to the pitch deck that it's still being worked on, but what I had so far and she's super interested in that. I had some questions for her of like how it even works as an intimacy coordinator and when it comes to having those conversations about those scenes, I'm probably going to have her involved in the Zoom calls so that way they have questions when it comes to intimacy, things like that and the great thing about using an intimacy coordinator as well. I haven't used one yet, but what I have found is they help a lot with even camera angles.
Speaker 2:So it actually becomes a very important and key position with your director of photography, the director, the actors, to see, okay, what do we need to see in here? How can we protect our actors um within their boundaries and still get what we need and keep everyone safe, happy, but we're still getting what we want to visually show the audience. And so they kind of come up with different camera angles along with the DP, and that could mean using a different focal length and a lens to make it look like you're kissing someone when really you're three feet away from the other actor, which is extremely interesting, and I told her I would need a little bit of help in that fashion to make sure the realisticness is being shown on screen would help improve the indie film community to be able to actually not just get projects off the ground but also, um, just be more coherent in terms of how we collaborate, because it's very pocketed in some ways and it's not necessarily like one larger, you know, centralized identity yeah, and it's funny that you mentioned pockets, because that's very true.
Speaker 2:Every film that I've been a part of they do things differently. If it's not a crew that I've worked with before, I'm relearning how to utilize a different system. The system that I used in the past is a lot of grunt work when it comes to AD, but now recently I've been working a lot in Airtable with a feature that I'm on, and I think it's great to be working within different pockets because you learn different things. But you're right, it's pocketed. It's not one big cohesive industry. You've got Hollywood with your A-listers and your big guys that all have a particular system, whereas the indie film world has to navigate it relatively on their own and figure it out on their own, and I find that the indie world you've got a mixture of people.
Speaker 2:You've got myself and a lot of people that I surround myself with that say I want to bring in talented, great work, ethic individuals and I want my pocket to grow, and then you have your people over here. I'm the best ever. I don't need you. I have my same three people that I work with and that's the best we got and they have, they think, being on just Tubi for the rest of their life is going to be great. Me, I got HBO that I want to get on my grid here, so I want to continue to grow and you know that's a pocket that I'm not really interested in joining. Y'all can stay over there if you're going to have that type of attitude. I want to work with people who actually want things to continue to grow and get bigger and doesn't gatekeep and treat people poorly because you think you're better than them.
Speaker 1:Well, there's in terms of, just like, the Cincinnati and Columbus area. You know, a lot of business has actually been coming to the Midwest, and so this is always an interesting question.
Speaker 1:I like to ask the guests, if it seems appropriate, because I don't want to say there's a divide, but because it is the smaller ring of filmmakers, you get all the different types of filmmakers and the people that you could possibly imagine. And so you know, because the studio system, or at least just the Hollywood level of business, you know, there's a large difference between the mindsets of people who are constantly working and then people who are trying to turn a hobby into a living, you know, and those different mindsets breed different types of behaviors and personalities that not always are capable of making it into that system and then being self-sustaining you know, so, if you know, cincinnati and the Midwest are going to continue to grow, which you know are going to continue to grow, which you know a lot of us want.
Speaker 1:There's particular things that either need to evolve I don't want to say die but there's definitely some. Not every personality is suited for their own ambitions, which is a tragedy, because a lot of people they want the success and they might even have the work ethic for it, but there's particular quirks and tendencies that are not great for for long-term success. And so, you know, getting people's perspectives on the local community is something I like to do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and there's nothing wrong with being confident, like you can be confident without being arrogant, and I think that, especially like I mean I don't know the type of attitude that like Spielberg has, but if he wanted to be a jerk, it's Spielberg, he probably could.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you have the leverage.
Speaker 2:You know you got the name and the credits but like, even if you do have that to me it's not okay to have that personality trait of being arrogant. Again you can be confident, um, but unless you're spielberg, like, and even then like, if I ever get up there to be at that level, to be at spielberg well, they have a reputation to keep, though.
Speaker 1:You know, if you start being a jerk and you have that reputation, oh goodness, tmz is going to start wringing their fingers, and it's going to be, a great payday for for anyone who's reporting on that and I don't know.
Speaker 2:I just feel like, even if you are big, like if I ever get to that size, I really hope that I remain humble and that I remain like still remembering the little guy Like I. If I get that big and I'm like 60, I want to hire a protege, like I want to. I want to hire someone who's 20, who's got big dreams, like I did. And I want to like to hire someone who's 20, who's got big dreams, like I did. And I want to, like I want you to take on my legacy when I croak, like I want to. I want to be that type of person one day and I never I just never want to be a jerk, because I know what it feels like to be on the other end of that let's say you have an unlimited amount of money not unlimited.
Speaker 1:You have the money necessary in order to actually be able to do something. What project would you do?
Speaker 2:oh, my fantasy hands down.
Speaker 1:I want to do my fantasy so bad I feel like because I've been working on a fantasy since I was like 13.
Speaker 2:oh man, it's got fairies and mermaids and unicorns and a prince and like it's got all the really all the fun stuff that you'd want to see in a fantasy. Um, but like kids can watch it I mean maybe not like super young, but like kids can watch it adults will love it, like I. Just I want to make a fantasy so bad we haven't had like a really solid, good fantasy in a while and it would be like ellachanted meets Lord of the Rings and Stardust was the godfather, like all of it, just all the fatties, just into one beautiful masterpiece.
Speaker 1:It seems like in fantasy, at least the ones that get produced they tend to be way too focused on the world and the actual magical elements of it. That's been my observation, and you know the thing with, like um lord of the rings. It's very character centric, you know? Uh, I know a lot of. The other thing is a lot of these uh shows that get off the ground like a you know, netflix or amazon. They end up being like one or two seasons before they get canceled. And I haven't seen some of these shows, but from the trailers that they advertise in order to get people into it, it doesn't seem like there's no character hook for me, if that makes sense.
Speaker 2:With Lord of the Rings.
Speaker 1:It's about a hobbit who has to. It's not saving the world, it's about burying evil, you know, and a lot of the storylines that some of these fantasies get into, they just they kind of lose their way, it seems like to me yeah, and world, world building is very important, but I think character building too.
Speaker 2:Like everyone loves frodo, like we we want a character that we can relate to. We want a character that we can root for and and even if that sometimes is the villain I'm not in my case, but like the show you on Netflix, joe is a bad guy, but for some reason, every now and again, I find myself oh, maybe this will be the one, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:Maybe he turns good right.
Speaker 2:So, like we all want someone that we can root for and someone that we can understand and someone we can relate to, and that's why I think it's so important that character development is so big. I love giving my characters, even if I don't show it. I'll give the actors one, or I'll make the actors create their own. Where they create, like, what happened to this character? What, what kind of? How did this character grow up? What kind of parents did they have and why are they this way or that way? And I like breathing that type of life into our characters and I think of fantasies are starting to lose that like. I hate to. I hate to bash, but I did recently watch snow white. I'm gonna bash a little bit um character.
Speaker 2:I recently watched snow white and oh, part of my brother watched it yeah, part of it might have been like it already got so much hate to begin with, but like if you have all of it in front of a green screen, like what's the point?
Speaker 2:And then I mean I liked the little mermaid, uh, the live action. One of the little mermaid, because, one, her voice was immaculate and two, the world that they set it in. They didn't just plop her in front of a blue screen the entire time, like I mean they did, because the underwater scenes were so, let's be real there, right, but they had an actual castle. They had like they had all these things and like it didn't seem I was immersed, whereas in snow white I was not immersed at all. And I think it's important that we build that as well. I mean, lord of Lord of the Rings, you're there, you're following them on this journey. You want them to get from A to B and all the squiggle swaggles in the middle, whereas I don't really get that with fantasies nowadays, and I think we need to get back to where our roots were.
Speaker 1:Well, I think the biggest gap divide is that a lot of fantasy storytelling nowadays they're trying to make a fantasy world without an actual story basis that is rooted in archetypes and mythology, which is where a lot of the great fantasies actually come from. You know, to give an example, JRR Tolkien, when he was writing Lord of the Rings, he was a professor of mythology. He wrote like 12 friggin' languages just for funsies. You know, he had a very deep understanding in terms of what humanity's psyche is actually capable of and also where all storytelling is actually rooted in mythology. If you really want to go down that route because what stories used to be told is about, you know, these great things that may or may not have happened, because it was rooted in mystery when they were telling people these stories around the campfires, whether it be the Greek gods, or if you're in Judaism in ancient Egypt, you're talking about the fallen angels or the Nephilim or something like that.
Speaker 1:I got one of those too, there was an element of mystery to it, because maybe it happened, maybe it didn't happen, but it was fantastical. And so, like you, were able to get detached in these very fantastical ways when these stories would be passed down from generation to generation. And so a lot of these, um, storytelling, uh, storytellers, they, they, I think they forget about you know the? The basis of all fantasy is mythology, and a lot of them are just making things that remind them of things that they liked you know that's that's just my observation you know I would agree with you.
Speaker 2:My one of my favorite shows is on netflix. It's called lucifer and, yeah, you've seen it. It's. I've watched it twice and it's five seasons. And you know there is kind of rooted biblically, because you're dealing with Lucifer and fallen angels and things like that. But it's also like who murdered such and such in this episode.
Speaker 2:Same with, like I love mystery, so I zombie is another one I really really like I have a huge excitement towards zombies and vampires and mythology and things like that. And having that root and I hate to say it, but like gaslighting your audience, like we have we're not going to tell you. So I like to gaslight my audience in that way too. Like where is she going with this? And that's kind of what I did with Rings in Heaven as well. Like I have a mystery. But I think it's important to bring mystery into your audience because that's what keeps us wanting more and keeps us watching. If it's, if all of your secrets are given away at the beginning of the film, like I'm bored, I want to be curious, I want to know what happens next. And it doesn't have to be like actiony.
Speaker 1:You can do that with psychology, you can do that in the mind well, creating a mystery and then maintaining the suspense of that is a completely separate art form in and of itself, whether you're storytelling or not.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, there's actually a film I just saw recently. It's a psychological thriller but also mythology, and it was called Death of a Unicorn.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah that movie. Have you seen it? I've seen some clips from it, but I haven't you know I'm very familiar with the premise it's very good, at least I.
Speaker 2:you'll find that I don't not like a lot of things, but I really liked it because it brought in like historical things, because throughout the film she's like no, look at these tapestries that we saw when we were in Europe, yada, yada. And I'm like, yeah, tell me more. I had to know like, what are these beings here? Why are they angry? Why are they coming at these people? And, ironically enough, horror is not my niche, um, but I loved this movie.
Speaker 1:What kind of indie filmmaker are you.
Speaker 2:If you don't like horror, I mean come on I like to act in horrors, but I don't actively write horrors. I write dramas and rom-coms and fantasies. Whereas I'm a great screen queen though I get it, I get taught. Hey, you want to act in this, you know how to die and I'm like all right, let's go.
Speaker 2:I love to be dramatic yeah, so like it's hard to. I don't think there's any particular genre I don't like, except for anything that's gonna keep me like I'm. I struggle with demonic stuff. I try not to watch demonic stuff. I try not to be a big part of demonic stuff. If I'm working on it as crew or like an actress, that or that's a little bit different than watching it, cause I know it's not real. But when I'm watching something I have to watch it like two o'clock, like 2 PM, cause I struggled to sleep, I will see shadows and I'm like this is why I don't watch horrors and I will watch rom-coms all day.
Speaker 1:Well, Samantha, it's been great getting to know you. Thanks for coming on the podcast. I certainly appreciate it. Are there any final thoughts you want to leave with the audience?
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me and I'm really excited to see where all this goes and follow me on social media because you know life and whatnot. But no, no, seriously. Thanks for having me, it was a lot of fun. I don't get to talk film stuff a lot. I've got two little kids, so this is fantastic to to talk about it, not on a film set.
Speaker 1:I feel that to talk about it, not on a film set. I feel that but I don't have anything to say. No words of wisdom.
Speaker 2:No quotes from Socrates. My best words of wisdom is don't let impulsive syndrome make you take a nine-year hiatus and push through it, because you don't want to live with regrets. You're going to make mistakes, and that's okay. How else are you going to learn?
Speaker 1:have fun see, you had it in you, I knew it I was there all right.
Speaker 2:Well, thanks for coming on thank you so much for having me.