Accelerate Your Legacy
Accelerate Your Legacy
85. Small Films, Big Lessons: My Journey as a Filmmaker
In this episode, host Laura Sexton addresses a listener's question about filmmaking and shares personal experiences from producing a short film called "Shortbreads" on a $7,000 budget. The episode delves into the challenges and creative solutions involved in independent filmmaking, highlighting the importance of budgeting and resourcefulness. The host also emphasizes the broader lesson that cash flow impacts the scale and quality of any project, whether in film production or personal dreams.
In this episode we’ll discuss:
. Challenges and Resourcefulness in Low-Budget Filmmaking
. Impact of Cash Flow on Achieving Dreams
. Personal and Professional Legacy
ShortBreads - short film by Laura Sexton
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Hello and welcome to the Accelerate Your Legacy podcast. I'm Laura Sexton, your trusted financial coach and money mindset specialist. Join me as we explore the world of money and money mindset while also paving the way for a lasting legacy that extends far beyond money. Together we'll eliminate stress, amplify freedom, and ensure you stop paying for your past so you can start saving for your future. If you're seeking peace in your finances, more margin in your budget, and a legacy that inspires generations to come, you're in the right place. Hey, Accelerators! Today is another one of those podcasts that are coming from somebody who asked a question. So, I wanted to do this specifically for that person but also because I think that you might enjoy learning a little bit about a little bit of something that maybe you don't know about. So, Hollywood is notorious for its big, Budget movies, you know, these giant Marvel films and action adventure movies, Star Wars. These movies cost so much money to make. Summer blockbusters started back in 1975 with Jaws. Steven Spielberg created this movie about a shark that you never see, which makes it even scarier. And you know, the reason you don't see Bruce in most of the movie is because the mechanical shark didn't. Work, it kept breaking down. So they were like, well, we'll just use the fin and it actually made it scarier because you couldn't see it. Terrifying. Absolutely. Terrifying. I that's part of the reason why I'm scared of the ocean, but small films are what keep the industry interesting. Small films are anything that's made on less than a 1Million dollar budget. Thinking about that, it's insane. I made a film called Shortbreads, and maybe I can find a link and put it in the show notes. That would be interesting. I made a film for 7, 000. It is a very short film, very little dialogue. It is my favorite passion piece that I've ever created. But it was a 7, 000 movie. Imagine what it would be like to have a 1, 000, 000 dollar budget that you have to be in charge of that. There's so many moving parts. That's why you see multiple producers on most movies, but only 1 director. Is the directors in charge of what's right in front of your eyeballs and working with a camera operator. The film industry can be it can be interesting. Right so I wanted to talk about when I produced my 1st film, the things that I had to keep my eye on as a producer. I was the producer. I was the writer of the film. I starred in the film. I had my hand in many different hats. And so I just thought it would be fun to talk about today. What kind of things are we actually spending our money on? My short film was called Shortbreads. It was about my journey as a Girl Scout and, moving up in the ranks and eventually one day having my own Girl Scout, which is now true. I have a little girl in brownies, and I have a little girl in daisies, which is just, oh, Wildest dreams, they're coming true and it's very exciting. And so the 1st thing I had to do was obviously write the script. I wanted to find a director and I found a producing partner as well. Somebody that was going to come alongside. She didn't put any money into the film, but she helped keep me and the schedule on track and then we had to find actors, which was really cute and it was very much a progression kind of seeing people, how you grow right? You get older and and that kind of thing. So it was really fun to find people that fit the different levels and and growing up. I was in charge of wardrobe, which I don't know if you know this, but Girl Scouts have uniforms and you can't use their uniforms unless you were sanctioned by them and that cost a whole lot of money. I was not going to do that. So I had to make up similar to, but not quite a Girl Scout uniform. And then I had Boy Scouts and the same thing. I wasn't going to pay both of them to be able to use their uniforms and very short clips of this film. So I had to create my own uniforms and create my own things. I was in charge of craft services, which means I had to supply food for any of the actors at any of the times that they were going to be in my care. If we're going to go through a certain amount of hours, there had to be food provided. I am a part of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. I have to make sure that I'm following all of those rules. So there has to be snacks on set. There has to be water and there has to be actual substantive food, if we go past a certain period of time, I was in charge of props. I had to make sure that I had Girl Scout cookie boxes, which. Let me tell you, not a problem. I will buy them anytime, every time, whatever you want, like bring me all the cookies. I was in charge of hair and makeup. I had to bring somebody in to make sure that it looked good on the camera. I was in charge of finding the director of photography who had his own camera equipment, or I had to purchase or rent camera equipment. I had to make sure that I had locations. Most locations in Los Angeles charge you for using them. 95 percent of the time, they're going to charge you and charge you a lot. So I had to be very creative about the locations that I chose and the places that we were operating. I have friends with big kitchens. We operated in their kitchens. I had friends that had cute little courtyards outside their apartments. We used it very quickly without their landlords knowing. We just had to be really strategic. We recorded on a beach and as long as there are fewer than 15 people, you can record legally on a beach. So I had to be really smart and think about all of these things. I only had 7, 000 dollars and I still had to pay for editing, which actually was 1 of my biggest expenses was the editing because I had an issue with the director of photography and the quality of the video was not what I had expected from this person. And so I had to pay extra for the editing. So why am I talking about this on this podcast? 1st of all, someone asked me, and I absolutely love talking about my time in the entertainment industry. I had the best life. I made plenty of money working as a background actor as, you know, I, I worked at a restaurant. I worked as a background actor and I worked as a stand in and I made plenty of money doing that. Had I been smart at that time. I would have been much further along in my financial journey, but I was young and I was dumb and I didn't know any better. And so I spent a lot of that money on things that had no real monetary value. Secondly, this is my legacy. This is what I'm leaving behind. I will forever have an IMDB page. I will, I will forever have been on these shows and been a part of this industry. It's a decade of my life that I had contributed to the entertainment industry and I love it. And one day I will go back to it. And one day they're going to need a grandma on a set and I will go back and I will get to act again because I just love it. But the third thing is, no matter what we do in life, the scale can be affected by cash flow. It does not matter what your dream is. If your dream is to make a motion picture, you can do it for 7, 000, but how much more fun would it have been if I had had 70, 000 to do it? How much more fun would it have been if I had 700, 000 to do it? I could have done so much bigger. I could have done so much more. My ministry work that I do giving back, I have missionary partners that I give money to. I wish I could give them more. I would give them so much more. Any philanthropy that you could do is affected by your cash flow. It could be bigger if I had more money coming in. It could be bigger if that was a higher, you know, priority on my list. And I wish it was, our tithe is the 1st thing we do every month. Everything else trickles down after that. My friends that are missionaries overseas, I want to give them more. And one day I will be able to. Growing a business, growing a family, it's all affected by cashflow. The size and the quality of this film production was affected because of cashflow. If I had been smarter leading up to it, I could have saved up more of my money. I had plenty of money that I spent on nothing all the time. We get to choose what we do with our money. We get to choose what we do with our life. And you can think of any dream that you might have, and money touches it in some way. Money makes it easier or harder for you in some way. You need to stop paying for your past so you can start saving for your future. If I did not have 1, 500 of student loan payments and credit card payments every month when I was doing this film, I could have put an extra 1, 500 per month into savings for this film. I didn't know any better and it may be that you're in a place where you're like, I don't know how I would ever be able to get out of this hole that I'm in. I have clients that I was working with and when we 1st got started, they were behind on their mortgage behind on 1 of their car payments and behind on 7 credit cards and by the time we got done with our first session. We had a plan for them to get caught up on everything in six weeks. We had a plan. We knew what we were going to do and we focused in and we got it done. Your money is a tool to help your dreams come true. Your money is a tool to help you develop the life that you want to live. So if your money feels like it's holding you back and it's completely impossible right now, it's not. Reach out to me and let's set up a meeting. I will help you. Some sort of master plan in place is tailor made just to you. It's going to help you reach your ultimate dreams. If your ultimate dream is to, is to create a feature film, I'm your girl. If your ultimate dream is to grow your family, I am your girl. If your ultimate dream Is to establish a legacy that you can leave to future generations. There's no one else that you should talk to. I am your girl and I am here for you. If you can think of any future topics, this is a topic I would not have come up on my own. I would not have come up with this as something to talk about on this podcast on my own. Somebody asked me about it and asked if I would do a podcast about it. If you have something that you would like to hear about, if you have a pressing question and you're like, I'm not quite ready for coaching, but I would love to hear you talk about this on the podcast, please reach out to me. Let me know what it is. Hello at accelerate your legacy or Instagram at accelerate your legacy. I am there for you. Please let me know if there are any future guests or topics that you would like to hear about because I want to make this podcast what you want to hear. All right, my friends, that's it for this week. Go out and make a difference. Thank you for investing your time with us today on the Accelerate Your Legacy podcast. Remember, your legacy isn't just measured in dollars and cents, but in the tools, habits, mindset, and reputation you leave behind. Don't just listen to the show, but take action on what you've learned. Share this wisdom with a friend who can benefit and help us spread the word by rating and reviewing the podcast. For questions or encouragement, reach out to me on Instagram at Accelerate Your Legacy or explore the resources listed in the show notes. I will be back with you next week. Until then, build your legacy with intention.