If you’re new here, welcome! I’m doing a series called Inflection Points, and you can catch the intro here. In the intro I told you that I had a couple of pre-engineering inflection points that I wanted to share with you before getting into the engineering story, so this is going to be one of those. When you get to a certain age, you look back and realize the gravity of how seemingly random things happen that totally change the course of your life. You can also see with more clarity what factors were within your control that came together to provide the outcome you saw.
The Setup
This particular inflection point happened when I was a junior in college as a film and video major. I went to a state school that didn’t have the best film program, but what it did have was scrappiness. All the professors in the department were local industry professionals as well. They often told us about job opportunities in the area and encouraged us to get as much professional experience as possible.
We had several film and video projects going on all the time, and all of us students would work on each other’s projects, sometimes for group credit, sometimes as a barter for each other’s services, and sometimes just to pay it forward. We also worked in the real world together often, so we all knew each other’s strengths and future career goals. We knew who wanted to be a cinematopher, who wanted to mostly produce, who was excellent at lighting, who the best writers were, and who had the best computer to handle the big ol’ video files for editing.
The Problem
My computer was certainly not one of those. I had a hand-me-down desktop computer from my grandfather that had a whopping 256MB of RAM and ran Windows Me and AOL. I don’t remember what the specs on the video lab computers at school were, but they were Macs and much better, running Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere. We also had our 2GB external drives to store our video files on. Even still, it was common for the school Macs to crash while you were trying to render the video and lose all of your editing that you spent two all-nighters on. Not having grown up with computers, I was out of my league when those issues arose. I was great at editing and absolutely loved the creative process, but the technical issues were completely Greek to me. Had I had my own (good) computer, perhaps I could have learned enough to overcome the technical divide, but I don’t think it was in the cards for me.
The First Inflection Point—My Choice
So when deciding what to specialize in, I noticed there was a huge gap in casting. (Enter: inflection point.) Everyone was getting their friends to be in their films, and none of them were actual actors. I thought, “Surely there are actors in the theater department who would love to get some actual film footage for their reels who’d be willing to work for free.” So I posted flyers in the theater department but didn’t get much traction.
It was time to go broader. I started contacting talent agencies in the area and asked them if they had any up and coming talent in need of footage that we could provide with our student films. They loved the idea. I started holding full scale auditions with talent from the area and casting our student films with amazing talent. It was such great practice for everyone involved.
Once word got around, I was soon seeing even seasoned local actors at my auditions. They would audition for our student films simply because they wanted to stay in practice and meet young talent who would soon be in the biz. I also started using local filmmakers’ studio spaces to hold auditions for more of a professional vibe. It was all coming together, and I was having a blast doing it.
The Second Inflection Point—Someone’s Voice
I wasn’t an actor, so I had very little experience with how auditions actually worked. I had one or two P.A. (production assistant) paid gigs where I watched how casting sessions worked, but that was it. I mostly just made it up as I went along. At one of my auditions, a really lovely, seasoned local actor complimented my auditions and said they were so professional and that I should meet this local casting director that he worked with a lot. I couldn’t believe it! It was happening! It also felt so good to be recognized for the hard work and to be validated that I was doing it right.
He set up the meeting, and I started interning for her immediately! Amazing! I couldn’t believe it all just fell into place. After school was over, I began working with her full-time, and soon after she made me an associate casting director.
The inflection point that gave me the boost I needed was the kind actor’s belief in me. Yes, I was a hustler and knew how to get shit done. That counts. But until someone vouched for me, I was doing it all anonymously, without recognition. You all know what it’s like when you suggest someone to work for your company. If it doesn’t work out, then you end up taking a hit politically. Well, he stuck his neck out for me because he believed in me and was willing to risk taking a hit politically with someone who could choose to cast him in projects or not.
I had my ups and downs in the casting biz. I did a lot of B-movies, horror films, commercials, reality shows, and a few films I’m proud of. But all in all, it was a tough time in my city at the time for the whole film industry. A lot of folks ended up moving away to find work elsewhere. But I do look back with fondness at my short time in that career. And the kind actor that helped me break into the biz was there the whole time! I saw him at many more auditions and film sets in my time as a casting director, and we always shared a kind smile and friendly conversation.
Conclusion / Call to Action
We often think that we need something bigger than we do. We think we need to catch the eye of a big leader like a Director or higher or maybe to hold the gaze of a mass of people. But in my story, I was just trucking along when someone who knew how to use his voice and his power saw me. I wasn’t trying to make it happen; I was being authentic because that’s all I can control—me! Are you out there slaying it but need to be vouched for? If so, keep doing great work! Make as many connections as you can. I cannot promise that someone will come along to vouch for you, but you will be doing all you can to make the opportunities more likely.
What about you with the voice and the power? Do you see someone hustling and slaying that could use your voice and power? Do you believe in them? Is the risk to your political capital low if you vouch for them? Then do it! It might be all they need to get over the hump and cause a life changing inflection point. And, wow, maybe they’ll have an awesome story to tell about you one day.