Antione Allen: How you doing guys today? We're gonna cover a few things on this podcast
Working Outside of the System only on Film Courage.
This first episode I'm gonna show you how I got to my second feature film but
let me give you a little background story of how I even got here. I did my first
short film called SPLIT / DECISION a few years ago. I won an award that validated
me they gave me enough energy to keep going. So I did my first feature film
called LIFE IS TOO SHORT that did amazing for me. A lot of people told me
after you do your first short film, don't do a feature, it is too much. I decided not
to listen nobody (like I usually do in my career) I just go for it. I won 25 Awards
internationally and domestically if they're really great for me and great
for building my brand. Now we're here 2019. I just wrapped up my second feature film
called LOLA. It's a female boxing film and it came out beautiful. I'm so happy
about it...but it wasn't easy.
The first thing we're going to talk about is self-care. You got to take care
yourself. You can't make all those beautiful projects if you take care of
yourself. Learn from me health is wealth.
I said to you production for my film was supposed to be January but what happened
was I always take care of myself so I got really sick, wound up catching
diabetes and almost died .Take care of your health first because if you're not
healthy you're not going nowhere. So that's one of
the most important things I want to really get into you filmmakers, take care of your
health. We can make all these beautiful projects, but if we're not here to watch
it, what's the purpose? So I got myself healthy.
I pushed production back to this summer and now I'm ready to talk about it.
When it comes to funding my feature film it was very very hard.
I went the regular route I packaged it up I went to certain people they didn't
see the vision and sometimes that's majority a lot of filmmakers and we get
mad be too upset we go to our friends what's a family we still get know and I
had to realize that while I'm getting mad for it's my vision they can't see it
they are program a lot of times if there's nothing that they feel
comfortable with they're not gonna invest in it and that's when you have to
realize you can't take nothing personal eventually what's gonna happen once they
see it and once you become success the people that said no treant beginning
once you double back around you're gonna say yes it's just part of human nature I
saved my money I put in my 401k I used that money grow grow work I work about
good job work over time do some odd jobs and I felt that majority of my film and
after I got everything together I went back to the people that told me no and
then they invested this is a this is a business a lot of times that we don't
want to learn the business side but that's gonna save you a lot of headaches
and a lot of disappointments so that's what how I got my funding for the film a
lot of times coming on pocket but we have a regular job you don't fill it
that much because you still getting your bills paid so that that being talented
and praying for this miracle person that save you that's out you want to use your
talent also have a rubber job that's my opinion that's what got me this far and
I'm on my second feature so it really work
so a lot of distributors and companies always act the same question who's in
your film who's in your film whose in your film
there are no questions I got the money to tell you who's in my phone I don't
have a big budget so what you do is a work around it you find actors or
actress they have a big name in they own community one of my actors that sent my
film is a UFC fighter the UFC is a big brand I talked to her people got high in
my film yeah I got another actress that's another she a big brand huh
community to her through solid Prairie so get people that don't have a big big
name for big in a community it really helps even if you want to get a youtuber
Florence it's a great influence somewhere there they had their own coat
falling orders that could help your film that's something that they they're gonna
teach you but you want to get that sometimes you gotta start reaching for
the top top top and look at the middle and ground and that stuff help me get
invested so when they hear I had an actress that's in the UFC I have an
actress that's on top of her V show it helps helps a conversation so you want
to put yourself in the best position so when you have though means they don't
look at you like you just came off the street so try little things here and
there and sometimes create your own community create your own families and
that's how I got the actors I got I went after actors our actresses that was big
in their own little community and it helped with the brand so if you hear
what I'm saying is create your own business plan for your film because at
the end of the day you can make the best film in the world what the marketing and
the brands are to get is gonna be hard
I have an amazing thing I was blessed to have an amazing team lion always had an
amazing team I had to get rid of a lot of people they get to team I got that's
another thing knowing your vision and knowing your value and this business
sometimes you bring people around your team they don't belong to that tribe
find the right people that connect with you together I know a lot of fun makers
have horrible stories about they cruel they slack in but you know when you hire
them when you book them on your team your gut telling you to get rid of them
but you find a work with people know when you have that good you hide
somebody especially paying them make sure they fit your team it could be a
disaster you can start off with a beautiful vision and at the end
everybody fighting on set so when I built my team I made sure for this film
I got the best they understand my vision and also most appointing I understand a
position it might be someone that could that feels like they might do something
better than you they might have a bit of voice you are the captain of your ship
so when you hire your team let them understand that and have that respect on
set and this is goes down to the bigger budgets to the lower budgets it doesn't
matter having a team for a feature and have a team for the shortage two
different things a short you can kinda like bounce around but with a feature
you really rely on your teammates in your departments so just make sure that
trust your gut and do not settle because you're afraid to open your mouth
this industry is really hard really messed up and really hard for a lot of
people and not like opportunities so for me I realized that it's no plan B it's
no plan B don't plant seeds none of that this film have to be done by any means
necessary and once you go through all those steps
and learn the busy telling y'all guys learn the business it saves you a lot of
headaches and that's pretty much how I got to my arm second feature the
internal part and trusting yourself that's the most important part cuz
sometimes when we do the projects we don't suit our gut that's why things
happen that's why cats will come and said that's why cruel things are done
crazy or money start going crazy listen to yourself
so this first first episode is really talking about to me too
I had to get here a lot of times I was doubting myself I didn't believe myself
and I realized I don't want to die oh man for regrets I wanna I wanna I wanna
see my goals I'm gonna see my congressman I want to be healthier to
see my films and see my premiere so I hope y'all learned a lot this is
answering Island working Outsiders system only on phone courage peace