I moved to L.A. to write, act, and direct straight out of high school. I had a clumsy start, which is to say, I floundered for a decade without any traction. It’s not even that I was waiting for a handout—I actually did write, direct, produce, and star in a feature. My big mistake was thinking that was enough.
Over ten years, I acted in some music videos, a few indies, and cut and recut my own film. My movie was standard indie fare—micro budget and primarily restricted to one location—but it took my blood, sweat, and tears, and I was determined for it to be my calling card.
I submitted rough cuts to the major festivals too early, we had no name actors in it, and, ultimately, it went nowhere. Even when I ran out of money, I spent years trying to better the cut, thinking it would amount to something. It was during that process working with professional editors that I learned to edit. And though I’d gained a new skill, all that work with no payoff was exhausting. I was so burnt out that I decided I would only focus on acting and stop pursuing my other creative avenues.
After several years of self-submitting to auditions and not working on any of my own new projects, a fellow student approached me in
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