Author: Ayelette Robinson

I’ve noticed a pattern since moving to Los Angeles: it’s nearly impossible to sustain friendships. I know I’m not the only one who experiences this because I’ve talked to several people about this challenge and everyone agrees it exists. To be clear, making friends in LA is easy. You meet at a networking event, through a friend, or on a project that you’re both working on. You become fast BFFs. But over months, sometimes weeks, communication evaporates and soon you find yourself being invited to the occasional show or the annual birthday outing but not being sought after to share…

In this final installment of The Industry Newbie series, I am going to review the key principles that you should know about marketing, distribution, and press for your project. Please note that as with post-production, these are not my areas of expertise. However, I am including these topics in this series because it is important to be aware that in many cases your project does not end with the completion of the film deliverables. You have created the project for a reason—to show to industry contacts as a sample of your acting/directing/writing/producing work, to build an audience for your next…

Congratulations, you’ve completed your film shoot! Now what? In this installment of the Industry Newbie series, I’ll give an overview of the post-production process. Let me start by saying that post-production is not my area of deep expertise and many articles have been written on this topic that go into far more detail than I will go into here. My goal is to help you understand the key steps and terminology involved so that you can ask for more detail and resources where you need, and so that you have a foundation for meaningful conversations with your post-production team. What…

In this Industry Newbie installment, we are finally arriving at the Production stage of a project. For many people this is the most exciting part of the journey because you finally get to see your project getting made! Whether it took you weeks or months to get here, this is the moment when you get to lift the story off the page and bring it to life. How do you make the days run as smoothly as possible so you get to focus on the story? Here are a few tips. Schedule The more complete, accurate, and specific your shooting…

So far in the Industry Newbie series I have covered all the key pieces of development and pre-production except for one: casting. If you are an actor like I am, this is probably the piece you are most excited to tackle. But whether or not you are an actor, if you have never been on the casting director’s side of the table, there are a few tips and resources you should know about to make your casting process run smoothly. When should you start casting? You want to begin the casting process after, but as soon as, you know your…

In this installment of the Industry Newbie series, I’m going to continue talking about pre-production. There are a lot of steps during this stage, so the topic requires a few posts. If you need a refresher on any of the prior steps, click here. Once you have reserved your locations and equipment rental, set your schedule, begun your SAG-AFTRA paperwork, and found your crew (whew!) there are still more steps. Plan Your Food (Craft Services or Crafty) Craft services, or crafty, includes two components: Meals that are served during designated mealtimes Snacks and beverages that are available throughout the shoot…

In this installment of the Industry Newbie series, I’m going to discuss some of the pre-production steps you need to know in order to get your project off to a good start. If you’ve gotten to this point, you know the type and budget range of the project you want to create, you have a script, and you have your key crew. If you need a refresher on any of these, go to my Author page on the site to pull up my discussions on these topics. You’ve Got Your Script. Now What? Each time you get your project closer…

Last month in the Industry Newbie series I gave some guidance on how to choose the format and the budget that are right for your first project. Once you have made those choices, the next steps are to decide your lane(s), get your script, and find your key crew. Decide Your Lane(s)… For This First Project If you are like many Hollywood creatives, you are a multi-hyphenate, an actor-writer, an actor-producer, a writer-director-producer, etc. Celebrate this – it is absolutely amazing! But just for your first project, I highly recommend using only one, and at most two, of your skills.…

In my first Industry Newbie article, I spoke about owning where you are in your career, giving yourself permission not to know everything, and setting yourself up for success by choosing a project that lets you fail. Once you have those things down, it is time to find your first project. And that is what I will talk about today: discovering which project is the right first one for you. Please note that my experience is in narrative fiction. If your focus is documentaries, I recommend consulting with an experienced documentarian who can advise you on any additional factors to…

“My name is Ayelette Robinson and I am an actor and producer.” It took me a while to make that statement confidently, and although I have been acting for a few years now, I still consider myself a newbie in the filmmaking industry. I live in LA where filmmaker resources are everywhere. That’s a good thing, right? Well, yes. But it is also frightening because being a new filmmaker in LA is like being a very tiny fish new to the Pacific Ocean. Sure, you can find lots of food, water, flora, and friends, but how are you supposed to…