February 16, 2023 • 53 mins
Erica Duffy joins us on this episode of The Walkie Check to talk everything related to gear, managing your mental health, the film festival circuit, producing, and beyond. The perfect dialogue for your morning coffee or even just a daily dose of inspiration as you close out your work day.
Host: Layne Marie Williams
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Layne Marie (00:10):
Hello and welcome to the Walkie Check.
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power.
(00:34):
Hello and welcome to anotherepisode of the Walkie Check.
Today we're here with the onethe only Erica Duffy.
Since moving to Chicago eightyears ago, entrepreneur and
production powerhouse Erica hasfounded and grown Camera
Ambassador.
Erica's newest endeavor isserving as the executive
director of the Midwest FilmFestival.
(00:55):
She is passionate about buildingrelationships and fostering
community and feels fortunate tohave many avenues to accomplish
this.
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Erica Duffy (02:18):
Go for Erica Duffy.
What an intro, thank you so muchLayne Marie.
Thank you so much for having me.
I'm a fan of the podcast, soit's so wonderful to be in the
hot seat now and being able tosit down and talk with you in
this way.
Layne Marie (02:32):
Aw, well.
It's it's such a thrill for metoo, I'm like covered and
goosebumps just because I loveyou so much, and uh you know,
any opportunity to elevate youand the work that you're doing,
like sign me up.
Erica Duffy (02:46):
Thank you.
I love it.
I'm here for this.
Layne Marie (02:49):
We're going to talk about a lot of things today.
But I think from my point ofview for the filmmakers that are
maybe aspiring or even moreveteran, being able to pick your
brain about you know, the insand outs of running a camera and
gear and rental house.
Plus, now you're also theexecutive director at the
(03:09):
Midwest Film Festival.
So you're an expert in what it'slike to be behind the scenes of
the film festival submissionprocess.
And I think that being able totalk about those things will be
super cool for our listeners.
Erica Duffy (03:26):
Yeah, absolutely.
I always love sharing anyinformation and knowledge that I
can.
And I absolutely love, you know,passing that along and paying it
forward because I didn't have atraditional, you know,
background going to film schooland getting into the industry.
I'm very self taught as well asthere was many people that paved
the way for me and mentored meto the place that I am now.
(03:47):
So I always love paying thatforward and back and I'm so
excited to get into some ofthese topics.
Layne Marie (03:52):
So starting with camera ambassador and all that
it is.
It's a camera grip, electricrental house, and it's also a
bran.
When I think of cameraambassador, I immediately like
see the orange Lotus logo.
Everything about the cameraambassador is truly artists
friendly, and I feel like I cansay that firsthand from all of
the experiences I've had andworking with you and the teams
(04:15):
that you've managed along theway.
What initially inspire you tocreate your own company?
Erica Duffy (04:20):
Kind of touching on the first thing that you
mentioned just to you know, incase there are people listening
who don't fully know who cameraambassador is, like you said we
do carry you know, and we're avery kind of typical rental
house on in one light that wehave, you know, cameras, ARRI's,
REDs.
We have vintage lenses, we alsohave grip trucks and expendables
we have a lot to offer to ourrental clients.
But something that is differentabout camera investor that's
always been very important to meis our community work that we're
doing.
And I kinda have to remindmyself a lot that we are still a
rental house because sometimesmy passions and working with
artists and working withfilmmakers and fulfilling that
side of my passion on thecommunity side gets away from
me.
And I had to remind myself like,okay, don't forget, at the end
of the day, like we do stillrent cameras.
Because we do a lot of otherthings too, such as classes,
gear demos, we do sponsorships,we have an annual grant that we
do.
I think in all of those things,it's really rooted in that
everybody is invited here, andeverybody is welcome here, the
rental house can be anintimidating space.
And we've always really tried tomake it that there's an access
point to that gear and to thathigher end equipment to elevate
your production no matter whoyou are, where you're from, you
know, what level or skill setyour in.
So that's just- I wanted to kindof touch on that really quick,
since you did mention that.
But to answer your question infull, I never really intended to
do what I've done.
It wasn't like I sat down at acollege or even you know,
earlier, I meet a lot offilmmakers who knew they wanted
to do what they're doing nowwhen they were in like high
school or middle school.
And it definitely wasn't thatfor me, I fell into a lot of
this.
And I've always really been veryopen to whatever has come to me
and not saying that I knowexactly how to do things or what
I'm doing and being open to theopportunities that come and
being open to the potential ofsomething that I didn't plan
being what the next step shouldbe.
I actually have a background innon film, I went to school for a
non film degree and then workedin camera equipment sales first,
and I really really loved it, Iwas doing a lot of the operation
stuff, the business side of itwas something that I was really
passionate about, but there wasa side of it that I burnt out
from really quickly because itwas very transactional.
And there wasn't a lot of, youknow, I'd ship a camera, and I
never got to find out what wascreated with that camera.
And that was like a huge,missing step for me.
So when I came to Chicago, andthe idea of doing rentals was
presented, it was something thatreally interested me because it
was the technical side, thebusiness side that I really,
really love that behind thescenes operations that you
mentioned, that I'm reallyinvolved in in multiple
different avenues.
But then I also got topersonally be able to know the
creator, build a relationshipwith the creator, and then see
the incredible work that is theoutcome of using those tools.
Layne Marie (07:09):
That's a really good way to put I feel like the
energy that you have in thiscommunity.
And I feel it I sense it.
I've collaborated with you a lotalong the way.
And it's just super cool to getto chat about it today.
Speaking of which, so we toucheda little bit on the tech side of
things and, you know, youmentioned working at a camera
(07:31):
house and how that kind of likefirst piqued your interest.
When looking at these tools,what do you feel like is the
most significant piece of advicethat you would give people
picking these tools up for thevery first time?
Erica Duffy (07:48):
I think that there is a little bit of a
misconception in the industrythat you know, you rent the most
expensive camera and you'regoing to have the best project.
And I think that's a very naivethought.
And of course, high end tools dodeliver high end quality of
picture, potentially.
But it really goes back to twothings, in my opinion: one, is
(08:09):
the person behind those tools.
Like how are you choosing yoursettings, you know, are you
shooting, you know, thecombination of what you're
using.
And then the second part of itis the right tool for the job.
The right tool isn't always themost expensive tool, if you're
going for something that's, youknow, really moody and vintagey
and you pick a lens that's superclean, that expensive lens isn't
(08:32):
going to tell the story andtranslate to your audience, the
vision that you had when youwere writing and designing that
project.
So being you know, consciousthat picking the tools for the
job for that specific job.
And then being realistic in thatlike, if your story isn't good,
and you don't have talentedcreators utilizing the tools,
(08:52):
even if you rent the mostexpensive thing, it's not going
to come out good.
You know, and this might becounterintuitive from someone
who owns a camera rental housebecause obviously I would love
you to rent the most expensivething.
I always encourage people not tofall into that mentality because
it doesn't always serve theproject.
Layne Marie (09:08):
Absolutely.
And I think it's also importantto grow over time, you know,
like it's okay to start withsomething a little bit more
standard.
I mean, the first well- I used acamcorder when I was a preteen,
my mom's camcorder, and mademovies with that but didn't
think of a career path in thatcertainly not not in Alabama.
(09:29):
But picked up a camera againafter I graduated from art
school, and that was a CanonPowershot and I've been obsessed
and in love ever since you knowand now I now I shoot on the
fancy fancies.
So it's important to grow asyour career progresses like
you've got time to shoot on thebig fancy stuff.
Erica Duffy (09:51):
A lot of it too is like what is when you're looking
at like cameras like what is theform factor of your camera like
some people might you know, lookat Canon and think that Canon or
Sony maybe isn't as you know, ina teir as like an ARRI or RED
and something.
But you know what, in mypersonal opinion, the best
camera to shoot like aconference or something that's
run and gun is a Canon becauseof the form factor of that.
(10:12):
So there's all these additionalthings too that when you look at
the way that the manufacturerbuilt that camera, they also
built it with different thingsin mind, too.
And so really looking at and nothaving those misconceptions of
like, if it's not this or this,then it's not right for my
project, looking at what thatspec of that piece of technology
is, in regards to what you'reshooting, because maybe you're
(10:34):
shooting a conference thisweekend, and you're shooting
Canon.
And then in two weeks, you'reshooting, you know, a music
video, and you really want to goRED.
And so not always being tied tolike I only shoot one particular
type of brand too, because thedifferent brands offer different
tools that I think are reallybeneficial to tap into that and
when deciding what you're goingto shoot on as well.
Layne Marie (10:54):
Well and another thing that I wanted to touch on
today too Erica was renting froma camera house or a rental
facility of any kind can bedaunting for let's say like a
first time filmmaker, do youhave any like do's or dont's or
warnings for those that want tomake that email or phone call
(11:15):
for the first time?
Erica Duffy (11:17):
Building a relationship with a rental house
is one of the most beneficialthings that you can do in your
career.
Because even if you end upowning gear, at some point, the
chances are that you'll alwayshave what you need every single
job as well.
So even if you're not renting asfrequently, or maybe you are
just starting off, and you're astudent, and you might only have
one project a year or somethinglike that, that relationship is
something that I think can bereally, really valuable.
For us, we've always reallytried to change the culture
around rental houses, because ithas been something that has
historically been a daunting orintimidating space.
There's been a little bit of Ithink gatekeeping in the
industry around it where like,if you don't know what a prep
is, then a prep is not for you.
But how was he supposed tolearn?
You know, there are all kinds ofdifferent film programs.
And a lot of I mean, this issomething I personally love
about the industry.
And it's also because it'spartly how I came up, is there's
plenty of filmmakers who neverwent to film school either.
So how are you supposed to learnhow to rent an order or to put
an order in or to do a prep orhow to properly check your
equipment, if you don't do it?
Like there's no other way toreally learn it.
So for me, at camera ambassador,I've always really put a lot of
emphasis on that educationalcomponent.
We offer free gear demos toanybody.
It doesn't matter if you're astudent or a veteran, you can
come in, you have to schedule itso we make sure we have tax in
the gear that we're looking foravailable so you can come in
before you even selected theequipment you want to use
because maybe you're trying todecide between a couple
different options, you want totalk to a tech about those
options, you can schedule that,that's free of charge.
We've also implemented someadditional things.
And I've mentioned this beforeabout a prep.
So a prep, in case anyone who'slistening, they don't know what
it is, essentially someone fromyour team typically it's an AC
or might be your DP or anoperator will come into the
rental shop.
We have a really welcomingenvironment here with snacks and
coffee a TV that we playdifferent movies on music, we
have like just a lot of things.
And we have puppies.
Yes, of course, how did I missthe puppies.
And so you come into the space,when you are picking up your
equipment.
Instead of just coming inputting everything in your car
driving way, we actually haveall the gear that you're going
to be renting and set out sothat you can build the
equipment.
And what happens in this isthere's frequently I would say
there's one in 30 preps thatdon't have this happen.
So it's very frequent that whenyou do the prep, you find out,
Oh, I need a longer HDMI cable.
Oh, I totally forgot to addbatteries.
And we aren't shooting wherethere's AC power.
So we need batteries.
There's things that when youactually are physically touching
and seeing the equipment thatyou've selected, that you
remember that you realize thatyou need for your shoot, and
you're finding that out whenyou're still at the rental
house, and you're finding thatout before you get on set, which
could ultimately save you a lotof money because you weren't
finding this out when you knowyou're paying your actors and
you're paying your crew andyou're suddenly losing your day
and your time because you haveto run back and grab something.
And we do something calledPolaroid Prep here where we
actually enter everybody whodoes a prep each month into a
drawing and win a CameraAmbassador gift card.
So we've done additional thingsthat like are just like one more
incentive to try to encouragepeople to do these things that
may seem overwhelming orintimidating.
And you know, just askquestions.
We have a lot of information onour website as well.
We have a more tab that inaddition to all the gear that we
offer that has a fax section,there's a student section that
breaks down the you know therental process it talks about
when you want to put an order inwhat the steps are, when you
contact us then we contact youback, when an order's considered
book versus just a quote.
We have all of those resourcesavailable on our website.
But we're always available toanswer any questions you can
call us or email us and we'rehappy to help in any way shape
or form.
Layne Marie (14:53):
So along those lines, the community builders
grant let's also talk aboutfunding for said projects.
This is an opportunity thatcamera ambassador also provides
for filmmakers.
It's been alive and well for acouple of years now.
Right, Erica?
How long?
Erica Duffy (15:12):
We just finished up our fourth grant cycle.
So four years now, wow, seemsmind blowing and I cannot
believe that we've been doing itthis long.
I think pandemic timesdefinitely, like those years
don't count in my brain.
So I'm like, oh, yeah, it's onlybeen two years.
But it really, you know, we didcontinue doing it through the
pandemic.
And next year is our fifth year,and we already are in pre
production on our grant cyclefor 2023.
And really figuring out, youknow, for year five, what
changes were going to make.
And I can't give any specificsyet, but I will tell you that
it's going to be bigger andbetter than it's ever been
before.
But kind of getting to yourquestion about film funding,
there could be a whole podcastjust on that.
Yes.
To any filmmakers out there,it's so hard and challenging no
matter who you know and howtalented you are, it's probably
the hardest thing in my opinionto get that money to get your
project made.
So for a couple years after weopened, I would get contacted
from different organizations,different groups of filmmakers,
and they were asking aboutsponsorship or funding.
You know, Chicago is still verymuch an up and coming film city.
We are, you know, growing leapsand bounds from where we were
when I started eight years agoto where we are now it's so
incredible, and I'm so proud ofthe work that's happening here.
But one of the things that Ithink that we really have the
opportunity here in the Midwestto retain filmmakers who are
talented to stay here, insteadof going to the coast is
creating more opportunities forfilm funding.
And there are a couple otherorganizations here in Chicago
that offer grants and otherfunding opportunities, which I
think is so awesome.
But we wanted to establishsomething here at camera
ambassador that was an annualthing so that people knew every
single year, there was anotheropportunity for them to
collaborate with us, apply forthis grant we offer and help get
their project made.
This past year, we did expandthis year, which I was really
proud of.
And the grant film fund is a$5,000 rental credit and a$5,000
cash prize.
So it's a$10,000 grant.
It's been incredible.
It's been so much fun.
And once I kind of got over whenI was first trying to design
like how do you do a grant.
And this is a little bit of whatI was talking about in the
beginning where I've always beenreally open and really
transparent that I don't alwaysknow how to do everything, so I
put it out into the world ofwell, if I want to do a grant,
what do I do, and I just kind ofcame to this place of if we are
self funding, and we're notusing you know, public funding
or something like that, we canmake it up, we can make up our
own rules like you don't have tobe a not for profit to decide as
a for profit organization thatyou're going to allocate a
certain amount of your fundsinto giving back to the
community.
So once we realize that kind ofit seems obvious now, but it
took me a few years to get thereand talking to other people and
mentors about this problem thatI thought we had.
We launched and it's been justso cool to see these now.
There's been three short filmsthat have all been completed of
this, and all of them have goneon to win festivals.
And I think for me, it's beenpersonally so gratifying, really
building the relationship witheach of these winners because we
see them, you know, they shootand they edit and we're involved
in the whole process.
And it's just been just sowonderful to see the talent here
in Chicago, and one of therequirements is that you have to
shoot in the Midwest, which hasbeen awesome to see kind of that
full circle of you know,identifying a problem and
something that you know, we cancontribute to help find a
solution to and then it actuallyworking.
And then there being amazingprojects that are traveling
literally the world and gettingrecognition back for Chicago.
Layne Marie (18:38):
Yes.
Love that.
Any past winners, you want toshout out that we should tell
our listeners to go take a peekat?
Erica Duffy (18:45):
Yeah, oh my gosh, I love promoting filmmakers and
projects.
So our year one was a projectcalled Patois and it's from
director Andre Muir and producerZach Moore.
They are an incredible duo, andthat project is so gorgeous.
In the second year, it was aproject called Zero Mile Mark
with Link Wolfe.
Also just very incredible.
(19:07):
There's a whole component ofthat project that is about
mental health and differentprograms that address mental
health.
It is a narrative but then thespin on it is that it's a
horror.
So that was a really, reallyinteresting project.
The next project that we had wasfrom director, writer producer
Sean Raju, and it's called ANickname.
I don't believe Zero Mile Markor a nickname are out in like
(19:29):
the world, so if you google thisto watch it you can't find them
online to watch them yet.
They're still in their festivalcircuit.
But they do have websites andsocial presence.
So definitely check out thoseprojects so you can be aware of
when they are going to beavailable.
And then we have been thisyear's project as well, which is
hasn't even shot yet.
So you'll have to stay tuned formore information on that.
Layne Marie (19:51):
Ooo that's so cool.
I love that.
Yeah, you know, again, in the inthe funding vein, I think the
submission process for thisparticular grant, it's very
filmmaker friendly.
Whereas like there's a lot ofgrants out there that I feel
like you really have to havealmost a scholarly skill set in
order to be able to make itthrough all of their questions.
(20:16):
And the thing is, is it's likefor filmmakers, when you're
raising money from let's say,investors or whatever company
you're working with, it's verymuch a pitch- like know your
logline, know your synopsis, beable to talk about it in a way
that's like professional, butalso inviting and casual.
And any references when you canpoint to visual lookbooks, or
(20:39):
pitch decks, that sort of thing.
And a couple of like, add miniproduction questions and that
sort of thing and knowing yourplan.
And that's really all you need.
So I think like, that's onegreat thing about the community
builders grant is even if youdon't necessarily have all of
those tools doing this grantapplication will make it so.
Erica Duffy (21:02):
Yeah, we've had a lot of feedback from applicants
who were able to use ourapplication process as a way to
help formulate their project,there was questions that we
asked that they hadn't evenconsidered yet I've had numerous
people give me feedback thatthey were projects that didn't
win, but they were so gratefulthat they went through the
application process, because itmade their project that much
better.
(21:22):
And it led to whatever the nextthing that they needed that
polished materials to be able topresent to.
And we try to make it reallyaccessible, just like everything
else that we do here.
And one of our ethos indesigning everything that we do
at camera ambassador, whetherit's on the equipment rental
side or on the community aspectside, is we try to design it
from the filmmakers perspective.
So putting ourselves in theirshoes of what is their
(21:44):
experience when they're goingthrough this instead of from
maybe like- okay, well as abusiness, how do we want to
generate revenue?
Or how do we want to market?
(22:41):
Or how do we want to whatever wetry to put ourselves in the
shoes of the people that we'retrying to reach.
And I know that it sounds likebasic or intuitive, of course,
everybody's doing that.
But the rental space and thefilmmaking space, the grant
space, all of these arenaswithin this industry are very
historic.
And there's a lot of things thatare done, just because that's
the way they've always beendone.
(23:01):
And so for me, when I say this,I am sure some listeners are
like, well, obviously, you'retrying to design it from the
client or the filmmakers mind.
But that's not how a lot ofbusinesses in this industry
operate.
They just do things because theywere always done that way.
Yeah.
And I've really tried toinnovate processes and innovate
the ways that filmmakers areinteracting, whether it's with a
rental shop, or with a grantapplication, and things like
that, and been very conscious ofthat all along.
And I think that something thatI'm very grateful for is that I
had never worked at anotherrental house before I founded
camera ambassador.
And at first I had a little bitof an insecurity about that and
felt like maybe I wasn'tequipped to do this.
But I soon realized that itactually was like a superpower
for me, because I didn't havethese biases, or these ideas in
my mind of this is how you'resupposed to do it.
Instead, I was more curious andmore inquisitive and was able to
design things in a way with afresh perspective that actually
served the filmmaker in adifferent way.
Layne Marie (23:13):
Yeah, I love that.
I think there are a lot ofstructures within the film
industry in particular, that areinherently toxic.
And my hope is that we cancontinue to do away with an
aspects of it that are harmfulto ourselves and to others.
So I think making things morefunctional with the well being
of others in mind is verysignificant.
Erica Duffy (23:40):
It's easy to fall into those things because the
set environment is such anintense environment, and you're
working at your best and yourworst.
And sometimes it's easier tojust kind of give in to certain
things that maybe other peoplethink should be done that way,
you know, over time there's somany things that are unhealthy
about the industry.
(24:01):
But I think that the more youcan surround yourself and decide
that you're going to be aleader, even when it's hard.
Whether you're a filmmaker orbusiness working in this
industry it is a slow change.
And I can definitely say from myown personal experience watching
the industry and I- you know, Idon't have a lot of experience
working on sets or working withfilm crews in Los Angeles or New
(24:22):
York, other parts of thecountry.
I'm really very dedicated to theMidwestern filmmaker here.
But I can say that I've reallyseen a drastic change and I
think Chicago is at theforefront of healthy change,
diversity, equity, equality, allthese things that are on a
grander national scale.
Chicago has been aware of thesethings for a very long time and
working towards them.
And I don't think I could havedone as a woman in this space in
a rental house.
There's very few women runrental houses and there's very
few women that even work inrental houses in the country.
I think if I tried to have donewhat I've done in Chicago in one
of the other big cities in thecountry, I would have struggled
so hard, I don't know if I wouldhave been able to do it.
So I'm really grateful forChicago and I think that we're
paving ways that are becomingstandards.
And it is slow, but I do see ithappening, and it's just
exciting to see people startingto adapt to those healthy
changes.
Layne Marie (25:18):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Oh, my heart.
So, within all of that, we'vealso got the work that you do
with the Midwest Film Festival.
You're the executive director.
Let's chat about that.
There's a lot to dive intothere.
Yeah.
How did you find yourself inthis position, and how are you
(25:39):
liking it so far?
Erica Duffy (25:41):
Everything we've talked about so far on the
podcast today has all been aboutmy work and in relation to
working with the filmmaker,mostly in pre production.
So you know, the gear lists andcoordinating equipment, even
funding with the grant,workshops and classes.
Like you learn how to use thegear in pre-pro, you're not
necessarily- you're not learninghow to use it when you're
(26:02):
editing.
So a lot of my work has beenfocused in the pre production
space.
And even though I'm veryinvolved and promote a lot of
projects, as they come tocompletion, I love to go to
screenings and things like that.
It was really exciting for mewhen an opportunity came up with
Midwest Film Festival, which isformerly been known as Midwest
Independent Film Festival tobecome involved there because
the film festival is almost theother end of the process.
(26:25):
I would say formal distribution,like in a theater or on video on
demand or streaming or somethinglike that would probably be like
the end-end, but the filmfestival circuit is either just
before that are happening intandem with that.
So it was something that wasexciting for me to be able to
hop on to the other side of theprocess.
And there's so much celebrationin Film Festival work, it's so
fulfilling for me to be theperson and have the great
privilege to tell a filmmaker,they have been selected as
official selection into afestival.
I feel like I'm like a celebrityin that moment because of the
excitement and the joy and theachievement that they feel in
that process.
So I got involved originally, Iwas on the board of directors
there.
And then when an opportunitycame up to join as the executive
director, I sat down with myteam here at camera ambassador,
we had a pretty big meeting,because it was going to mean a
pretty big shift for me, becauseI was taking on, you know,
another very big role that wasgoing to require a lot of time
of me.
And I'm so grateful for the teamat came ambassador, because
everybody was really supportiveof the idea and my passions of
wanting to get involved with it.
And it has been a whirlwind.
I can say that for sure.
I think it's been similar withregards to my work at camera
ambassador, where it's been alot of experimentation and not
just saying"Well, this is how afilm festival runs.
And this is how you do it".
But instead saying"how should wedo it", and not being afraid to
be very publicly open to thefact that we are experimenting,
and that we might do things thatwe don't like or the community
doesn't like and we're going tochange them then.
We're going to try something,see the feedback that we receive
and see how it works, and thenadapt to that.
I joined in November, inNovember of 2019, and part of my
requirement with the board ofdirectors of coming on in this
fashion was that I felt like thefestival did need to have a
total rebrand to really look atthese things that we've been
talking about of you know, maybepotentially unhealthy ways that
industry has run or festivalcircuits have run, the way its
selection process happens, theway communication with
filmmakers happen, and reallylook at the ways that we can
grow and improve.
The board was so receptive tothis, we have an incredible
group of people that are behindthe scenes at Midwest Film
Festival.
So we shut down for a couple ofmonths and you know, got a new
website, we dropped the name asI mentioned before.
We were, at that point, we were19 years old.
So for 19 years, nearly we'doperated as Midwest Independent
Film Festival.
So we dropped the independent,we still are supporting
independent filmmakers.
But it was just a slightvariation, so people could
recognize in our name that weare making changes, taking
feedback and growing and we gota new website.
I think I mentioned that.
And then we relaunched inFebruary of 2020 with an
incredible full day long incollaboration with the Chicago
Film Office film fair.
And we sold out it was 400people came out and it was just
such a celebration of what youcan do as an organization even
that has such old historic tiesto the community.
When you can take a pause andsay we want to look inward and
we want to see what we can do toserve our community better and
take the time required toactually ask those questions and
look inward and not have youknow ego or judgment of self in
those ways.
And then see the community comeout in support it.
It was great and then of courseeveryone knows in March of 2020,
the whole world shutdown.
So I you know really it was justlike I have no- I had no idea
what we were doing.
It was like nobody know whatyeah, no one in the festival
space knew what they're doingbecause the festival is so run
on in person events.
That's what festivals are you,go and you network, and you meet
distributors, and you meet otherfilmmakers, and you watch other
films, like that is what you do.
So it was definitely like a hugechallenge for me.
But I really enjoyed having tobecome creative and having to
innovate.
We really relied on thefilmmakers.
So we had already, you know, hadcertain filmmakers who were
selected as official selectionfilmmakers.
So we reached out to them andsaid, you know, what do you
want?
Do you want us to wait?
Do you want us to do somethingvirtual do like what would best
serve you and your goals withyour film?
And being in this festival?
Yeah, it was, it's crazy.
I can't I think back, I'm like,Whoa, that was a lot.
Layne Marie (30:42):
That was a lot, and it's still a lot tbh.
But you know, I definitely,y'all really evolved during that
time and you even did cutethings like have the drive-in
screenings.
Yeah.
That was, you know, really greatalong the way and something that
should just be a regular thingin life anyways.
(31:05):
Especially in LA it's verypopular here.
I haven't done it as- done itthat much.
I really need to to change that.
But it just seems like such acool way to go see movies
because that's how it used to bedone, you know?
Erica Duffy (31:19):
Yeah we had one project that I can think of in
particular that the filmmakeractually had shot it, written
it, the whole thing.
They were imagining it at adrive-in.
Aw.
And this was like far beforedrive-ins became, you know,
popular again.
And this was something that alot of people started doing that
was like part of their goal andthey hadn't figured it out when
(31:40):
distribution came along, howthey were gonna do this drive-in
thing.
But that was part of like theirwhole plan from the beginning.
So it was really cool to just beable to see that during the
pandemic the artists really wereso, it was so cool to see what
was happening because artistshave just such an innate need to
crete.
Like when they can't create, itlike crushes them, it like makes
(32:03):
them antsy, like they're notable to like function as
themselves.
So it forced them to look at,"well I can't create how I've
always created, but I must stillcreate so how can I create"?
And all these really cool waysof connecting and creating were
invented.
Like new things that no one hadever done before came out of
(32:24):
that.
And I think that's one of thesilver linings.
And for us, we did some otherthings.
Like we had a music night wherewe showcased films that had a
really strong musical componentor like a really beautiful
score, like something that stuckout about it with music.
But we decided to take it onestep further and we actually had
one of the videos that wereplaying as one of the official
selections had a band and weasked the band if they wanted to
(32:46):
come and play at the drive-in.
So we had like an opener andlive music and it was in October
of 2020 and at that point thatwas like the first live music
that I had seen since likeJanuary 2020.
And it just felt so good to justhear live music and then
following, you know, it then gotdark and then we played all
(33:07):
these films.
And so just like doing thingsthat like maybe some point in
our history of 20 years, I'm notsure.
They had a musical live musicact at some point, but I never
knew of it.
And it was just cool to see,even as an organization, these
cool new things pop out of, wellhow do we connect now that we
aren't able to connect in thesame way?
Layne Marie (33:28):
So Cool.
So innovative.
You're such a renaissance woman.
With the film festival side ofthings, running the circuit can
be pretty demoralizing forfilmmakers as well as incredibly
exciting.
Do you have any words of wisdomthat you would impart on a
filmmaker that is dealing with alot of rejection?
Erica Duffy (33:48):
Yeah, so I've talked about this on a couple of
different panels or you know,guest speaking things that I've
done that something I personallydidn't know as a producer and as
a filmmaker myself with thefestival circuit is that
programming is so much morethan,"is your film good?" We
have watched films that I justfell in love with.
It was one of my most favoritethings I've ever watched.
(34:10):
But there wasn't a spot with theprogramming that it fit in.
Right.
And I remind people of thatfrequently because if you think
about the festival circuit as awhole, there is all types of
genre specific festivals.
So, you know, you might have afilm or a project that's really
good, but it doesn't fit intothe genre of what they're
looking for.
You might have a film that theyabsolutely love that your film
(34:34):
is 28 minutes long and they onlyhave 19 minutes of time.
Yep, yep.
So even if they wanted to, theyare out of time.
So I like to remind people notto measure the success of your
film solely on does it get in,because there's a lot of factors
outside of"is this quality, isthis good storytelling, is this
(34:55):
production design good, youknow, is the acting good".
All those components that likewe measure as good or not, those
things sometimes don't make anydifference, so reminding
filmmakers of that.
And then the other thing that Ireally like to remind people of
is that even if you aren'tselected as an official
selection, people are stillwatching your work and you're
(35:16):
now on their radar.
So maybe it's not this project,maybe it's the next one, or
maybe it's the one after that,or maybe you say you're a DP,
maybe the next project you DPwith a whole different set of,
you know, director and othercrew mates your name was in
their lap.
Like this isn't like a computergenerated thing.
This is real humans behind thesefestivals that, you know, and I
(35:39):
can only truly speak for MidwestFilm Festival, but we watch
every single film that'ssubmitted to us in full.
We review all of them, weanalyze all of them, we give
notes to each other.
We have, you know, sessionswhere we talk about the films
together and even if there's afilm that isn't selected in
official selection, we now havethat name, that creator is in
(36:00):
our wheelhouse now.
And that is something that youdon't know the outcome of what
positive impact on your nextproject or your future projects
or your career that thatsubmission even is going to
impact.
Layne Marie (36:12):
For those that do feel discouraged from
rejections, just know that it'sa, it's a part of it.
Absolutely.
So while hearing no and youknow, especially like if you're
doing the film festival circuitfor the very first time- yeah,
those no's are just as valuableas the yeses and also the film
festival circuit is not the endall be all.
(36:34):
And I say that with lots oflove.
Yeah.
Yeah, absolutely.
It's, you know, they're like,you know, the most important
thing is getting your work seen.
So put it out there and that'sone way to do it.
Erica Duffy (36:45):
And the other thing too that I always remind
filmmakers is, and this is oneof my most favorite things about
filmmaking too, filmmaking issubjective.
Mm-hmm.
One person can watch it andabsolutely love it and another
person watches it and absolutelyhates it.
You know, like we attach thesethings of like good or bad or
you know, right or wrong or thisor that.
(37:08):
But like at the end of the daythat's what's cool about this is
that it's subjective.
And as you know, someone who isin the position I am at Midwest
Film Festival, I do get to seeevery single screener's feedback
and I'll watch a film and I'lloftentimes I'll watch it before
reading anything cuz I wanna beable to have my own thoughts and
opinions on it without seeingwhat other people said about it
(37:28):
first.
But I'll go then and read ourscreeners feedback and it'll be
like one project will get a onefrom someone and someone else
gives it a 10.
And it's like how are these twodifferent opinions so vastly the
different end of the spectrumswith it.
So there's another component ofit with the festival circuit
where I know it can be reallychallenging to get those denials
(37:49):
and it's exhausting and it canalso be expensive.
And it's really hard becausemost films that are making a
festival circuit are your baby.
You've poured so much love,sweat and tears into it that it
can be devastating and hurtfuland discouraging to get those
nos.
But remind yourself that it'ssubjective.
If you're not getting into thatfestival or there's people that
(38:09):
are watching it that aren'tliking it, there's someone else
out there that's gonna watch it,that's gonna love it and there's
another festival out therethat's gonna watch it and wanna
be involved with it.
So it may just be that you're inthe wrong circle of people that
are watching it.
Actually I think Layne Marie,you gave me this advice a long
time ago when I was asking youcause I've, you know, watched
you have a lot of success in thefilm festival circuit and you
(38:33):
know, we've done a couple panelstogether even at Midwest Film
Festival where you spoke and Iremember you, this is something
I've never forgotten is you toldme to really do my research on
festivals.
What is the demographic ofaudience that attends that
festival?
Because you might have a filmthat just isn't the type of work
that they're looking to programthere.
So looking into the differentfestivals, the people that would
(38:54):
be attending it to find out ifyour work is even something
that, you know, maybe they'veplayed films like that in the
past or if it is a genrefestival, tapping into that kind
of thing too.
And I also remember that advicecuz I don't think it is
necessarily healthy and the mostbeneficial way for a filmmaker
just to like play the numbersgame a submit to a hundred
festivals so you can get into10.
Like instead be intentional andpick 20 film festivals that you
(39:18):
think are festivals that wouldreally be interested in your
work- target those ones.
Layne Marie (39:22):
Yeah.
And it really can get expensive.
So yeah.
You know, planning ahead of timelike okay, I'm gonna set aside
500 bucks or I'm gonna set aside$40 and then I'm gonna get a
bunch of discounts and waiversand I'm gonna cold email
everybody and their mama.
Whatever it is you gotta do,there are ways to do it.
(39:42):
There's not any one way toaccomplish getting your film
seen.
And you know, I think thebiggest thing too, I feel like,
especially for first timefilmmakers, there's a little bit
of like a scarcity mindset,which I totally understand and I
have that at times too.
But just trust that you'll keepmaking stuff.
If it's not this one, maybe it'sthe next or you know, maybe the
(40:05):
film that you shelfed for awhile is gonna have a life later
in your career.
Anything is possible, like we'vebeen talking about.
Just, just stay open to thedifferent ways that your work
can be found.
Erica Duffy (40:17):
I always think about too, and this is something
I try to practice with anyproject that I sign onto and
anytime I talk to a filmmakerwho's in that beginning phase of
pre-production, setting goals ofwhy you're making this project.
Because I think that there canbe such a wide answer to that
question.
And when you directly thinkabout it in relation to like the
(40:40):
festival circuit, filmmakers canget to that point in the process
and become discouraged or um,feel like their films a failure.
But if you were intentional fromthe get go of why you wanted to
create that specific project, ormaybe you're a crew member of
why you signed onto thatproject, the answers can vary.
It can be like maybe you'resigning onto that project cuz
you have some bills to pay ormaybe you're signing onto that
(41:02):
project cuz you love that scriptor maybe you're signing onto
that project cause you reallywanna get into Sundance.
Like there's a really widevariety of answers to that.
You know, I think of someprojects that I've done, the
reason I signed onto it is cuz Ireally wanted to work with that
creator.
So I've myself gotten intosituations where I've been
potentially discouraged becauseit wasn't performing in the way
in the distribution process thatI would hope.
(41:23):
But then I have to remind myselfthe whole reason I did this is
cause I really wanted to workwith that director and I got to
work with that director and nowI have a really strong
relationship with them and I,you know, know, have built that
comradery with them.
And so like who cares if it'sdoing well in distribution?
Like, you know, being realisticwith yourself and reminding
yourself why you chose thatspecific project and not getting
(41:45):
swept away by like the standardsof how, you know, society or our
industry measures the success ofa project because that is
different for every singleperson.
Layne Marie (41:53):
Yeah.
I wanted to also touch onself-care, and wellbeing, and
you know, practicing mindfulnes,and all those, all those
buzzwords that we love to taponto regardless of whether or
not they're buzzwords becausethey are meaningful and
beneficial.
And as much as we love ourcareers, and working in film,
(42:17):
and the people and the tech, andall these new things, how do you
stay sane?
Erica Duffy (42:22):
Oh man, I don't always, no.
Just to be totally transparent.
I think I've gotten better at itover the years, definitely later
in my career.
I mean, not that I'm not farinto my career, but I would say
from like the first, you know,year to like year four or five
even, I would really justoverextend myself.
(42:45):
I would always deliver though.
So that was what was kind of forme personally, what I think I
really struggled with and Ithink there's a lot of
producers, particularly theproducer role types in this
industry, who can relate to thatbecause we are like really
resilient and I think you haveto be resilient to be a
producer.
So when you like take on toomuch, it all still happens.
It all still works out.
(43:06):
And for the most part, everybodyfrom the outside thinks you're
just crushing it and it's allhappening.
But from the inside, you know,it can be really isolating and
exhausting and almost feel likea betrayal of self because at
the point when you signed ontoit, you totally felt like it was
feasible or else you reallywouldn't have.
(43:27):
But then some point in the thickof it, there's a moment like,
what am I doing?
So I just wanna say that firstbecause I've had so many people
just say like, how do you do itall and how are you doing this
and all this stuff.
And the reality is, like Istruggle just like anybody else
I've, you know, sit on my showerfloor and cry just like
everybody else.
Like I struggle in the same wayswith mental health, work-life
(43:50):
balance as I think most peopledo.
But for me, I've tried to givemyself permission that it
doesn't look the same for me asit does for everybody else.
And like celebrating thosethings for myself.
So like a good example for me isI have no problem and I don't
burn out from working six orseven days a week.
For me personally, it's not anissue.
(44:10):
I don't need the weekend.
That's just not how I function.
But what I do need is I needthree to four weeks that I don't
work because it takes me one totwo weeks just to even get to
the point where I can relax.
So if I try to take likeweekends off, it doesn't
actually help me decompress andtake care of myself.
Whereas if I, you know, can setup this schedule for myself
(44:33):
where I'm pushing through thatbusier times, but then I take
off a month, I then have thattime to refuel.
Then I also know that I havethat time coming to take care of
myself and have the time to likedecompress so then I can
actually relax and take care ofmy mental health.
I remember when I first kind ofhad this ethos and I talked to
my family or I'd talk to my momand she'd be like"you're working
(44:55):
too much.
Like you're working seven days aweek for months on end.
Like this is crazy".
Mm-hmm.
or like,"I'm worried about you"kind of mentality.
Once I was able to really ownthat and like show myself that
like even though maybe otherpeople aren't used to this
mentality of thinking this iswhat works for me and owning it,
mm-hmm, that I've fully beenable to take advantage of that.
(45:15):
Like there are things that are,for me, that's the way that I
function and the way that I'mable to take care of myself and
just kind of leaning into thatmaybe it's not a societal norm
or even an industry norm, butthat is what's norm for me and
actually allows me to take careof myself.
Layne Marie (45:31):
Yeah.
I think you touched on a lot ofreally important things there.
Even just figuring out like whatis the schedule that works best
for you and knowing that it'snot necessarily gonna look like
your best friends or yourfrenemy at work.
You know, like you'll find whatthat looks like for you.
Like for me, I'm still kind offiguring it out, but because of
(45:53):
the nature of our career pathand the film industry, it's kind
of like in small spurts for me.
Like I'm sort of on a staycationright now, but I'm popping on to
do this podcast interview today,and then tomorrow I'm popping on
to do another podcast interview,and then that's it for the week.
I mean, there's a coupleconversations still happening
here and there, but I'm tryingto set a boundary with myself
(46:16):
that I just finished a reallybig shoot, I'm really exhausted
and uh, I've earned the right tochill for a second.
And I think that's a bigmisconception and also struggle
for artists and entrepreneurs isthat we're always on.
And that's true to a certainextent, but at the same time I
(46:37):
think it's that much moreimportant to go on that vacation
for four weeks like Erica wasjust saying.
Like, take that time becauseain't nobody gonna give it to
you.
Erica Duffy (46:45):
You know, that it's also like there's this mentality
that, you know, you're gonna dothat.
Like you're gonna take off thisspurt or I'm gonna take off this
chunk of time and like we'regonna miss out on something.
Ugh.
But the reality is even if youdid miss out on something, if
you hadn't taken that time offto refuel and rest, you weren't
gonna be able to do that in theway that you wanted to show up
(47:07):
for yourself or show up for theother people that you're working
with.
So reminding yourself that likeyou have to take care of
yourself in order to then beable to go on and be successful.
But the reality is, is like if Imiss one of those because I'm
taking care of myself, somethingbetter is waiting for me.
Yeah.
That I'm prepared for and I'mready for.
And it actually wasn't a miss,it was actually exactly how it
(47:31):
was supposed to be.
And you know, as I kind ofstarted this whole interview
talking about that, I've reallybeen open to not thinking that I
have the whole plan and I haveit all figured out, but rather
being open to whatever's gonnacome to me.
I'm sure there's things thatI've missed out on, but because
I had availability, cause Ididn't take those other things
(47:51):
that maybe I missed out on,those were the things that
really were meant for me.
Yeah.
And changing your mindset andyour internal dialogue, cuz
that's the biggest enemy is likethis internal dialogue.
Whereas I can shift that focusand even something that you kind
of alluded to was like that Ideserve this time off.
Mm-hmm.
Like I earned this time off.
Giving yourself that permissionslip.
(48:13):
Mm-hmm.
Is going to make a big impactfulchange, cause if you can change
it internally for yourself,that's only going to like spread
out and like bleed from yourexistence in a positive way.
Layne Marie (48:24):
Yeah, absolutely.
It's like radiance starts firstwithin, you know?
Absolutely.
Like, you can't extend it out ifyou don't have it within
yourself, and so finding thosepractices that help bring that
out, whatever that is, you know.
I know I've found that to bevery important in the things
that I do.
(48:44):
And now that I have those tools,they're not just cameras and
lenses and you know, terra decksand fancy lights.
It's the tools that you yourselfutilize in order to function at
your best every day.
And maybe sometimes that best isnot as best as it could have
been.
And that's okay too.
Thanks for going there.
I mean, you know, this issupposed to be a holistic talk
(49:05):
with creatives, so we love it.
We could talk about it all dayevery day we do.
But you know, there's so muchmore to it.
And uh, at the end of the day,we're all just people.
Mm-hmm.
Um, I feel like that's a reallyimportant aspect of this project
that I want to make sure isalways there because I do think
in social media it can get sohighlight reel, so career
(49:30):
focused, so image based, thatwe're missing the elements that
make it human.
And that's what keeps us fromtruly connecting with one
another and having empathy foreach other.
Erica Duffy (49:41):
I think the more that like you can allow yourself
to be vulnerable, what I havefound is when you do that and
let your walls down, suddenlyother people feel that they can
too.
And then they'll confide in youand be vulnerable back to you
and then suddenly it's actuallyserving you, cause you're like,
oh wow, I'm not alone in feelinglike this, or I don't have to
(50:05):
just kind of keep this allbottled up, like there are other
people feeling like this.
And sometimes if you can be thefirst person to acknowledge that
and put yourself out there, thatattracts other people to know
that they're safe to be there inthat space with you.
And it's really beautiful whenyou let yourself do that.
At the end of the day, if itisn't the connection and the
(50:25):
people, you know, what else elseis there?
Like that's at the core ofeverything, even in
storytelling.
Like we're developingcharacters, we're talking about
people and their stories and whothey are, and it's an imitation
of art, it's an imitation oflife.
So yeah, I definitely think thatthat is so cool, that part of
this podcast, you're leaninginto that and it is an important
part.
And that's, I think one of thethings too of just like these
(50:46):
are things that are slowlychanging in the industry.
I don't think there was apodcast 20 years ago talking
about emotions and struggle ofmental health, of working in the
film industry.
Like that just didn't existbefore.
You just buckled up your shoesand you went to work and you got
it done and you didn't talkabout those things.
And so I think it's really coolthat this podcast is a platform
for that because it'sexponential, the impact that it
(51:07):
can have.
Layne Marie (51:08):
Yeah, I hope so.
I really hope so.
Well, Erica, this has been anabsolute delight.
I could literally talk to youall day, and this podcast
interview would be like fourhours long.
Someday we'll have to do a parttwo.
Thank you so much for yourenergy, your time.
I feel like you really expandedon some important topics that I
(51:29):
know will be really helpful forfilmmakers of all backgrounds,
so thank you for that.
Absolutely.
Yes, absolutely.
Thank you so much for having meon.
And to anyone listening, my dooris always open.
You can email me@ericacameraambassador.com.
My Instagram is@hello.erica.dufffy.
You can find me on our CameraAmbassador website as well.
(51:51):
But please reach out.
One of my most favorite thingsthat I do as part of my work is
build bridges, whatever thatlooks like.
I keep a crew Rolodex.
I'm constantly getting asked for, um, recommendations for
different set roles.
I love kind of thinking throughall the different little
moments, or I heard someone saythey're looking for this or
doing this, and then suddenly Imeet someone else who's doing
that and connecting those people.
(52:12):
So I just wanna encourage, ifyou're listening and you have
just a sparkle of inclination toreach out and there's something
that you wanna talk about,collaborate about, I am always
here and I would absolutely loveto connect with you.
This episode of the Walkie Checkis sponsored by Camera
Ambassador, a one-stop shopcarrying everything from cameras
(52:32):
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Thanks so much for joining us onthis episode of The Walkie Check
(53:15):
.
Be sure to give us a like andfollow on Instagram and Facebook
at the walkie check and atLegacy Marie Pictures.
Also special, special thanks toour executive producers,
Noisefloor LTD, and we lookforward to the next episode.
Hello and welcome to the Walkie Check.
Hey folks, welcome to the WalkieCheck.
I'm Layne Marie Williams, a filmdirector in Los Angeles,
California.
We're super excited to beworking with our friends at
Noisefloor to bring you the mostcreative and talented people out
there to share theirexperiences, knowledge and
power.
(00:34):
Hello and welcome to anotherepisode of the Walkie Check.
Today we're here with the onethe only Erica Duffy.
Since moving to Chicago eightyears ago, entrepreneur and
production powerhouse Erica hasfounded and grown Camera
Ambassador.
Erica's newest endeavor isserving as the executive
director of the Midwest FilmFestival.
(00:55):
She is passionate about buildingrelationships and fostering
community and feels fortunate tohave many avenues to accomplish
this.
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Erica Duffy (02:18):
Go for Erica Duffy.
What an intro, thank you so muchLayne Marie.
Thank you so much for having me.
I'm a fan of the podcast, soit's so wonderful to be in the
hot seat now and being able tosit down and talk with you in
this way.
Layne Marie (02:32):
Aw, well.
It's it's such a thrill for metoo, I'm like covered and
goosebumps just because I loveyou so much, and uh you know,
any opportunity to elevate youand the work that you're doing,
like sign me up.
Erica Duffy (02:46):
Thank you.
I love it.
I'm here for this.
Layne Marie (02:49):
We're going to talk about a lot of things today.
But I think from my point ofview for the filmmakers that are
maybe aspiring or even moreveteran, being able to pick your
brain about you know, the insand outs of running a camera and
gear and rental house.
Plus, now you're also theexecutive director at the
(03:09):
Midwest Film Festival.
So you're an expert in what it'slike to be behind the scenes of
the film festival submissionprocess.
And I think that being able totalk about those things will be
super cool for our listeners.
Erica Duffy (03:26):
Yeah, absolutely.
I always love sharing anyinformation and knowledge that I
can.
And I absolutely love, you know,passing that along and paying it
forward because I didn't have atraditional, you know,
background going to film schooland getting into the industry.
I'm very self taught as well asthere was many people that paved
the way for me and mentored meto the place that I am now.
(03:47):
So I always love paying thatforward and back and I'm so
excited to get into some ofthese topics.
Layne Marie (03:52):
So starting with camera ambassador and all that
it is.
It's a camera grip, electricrental house, and it's also a
bran.
When I think of cameraambassador, I immediately like
see the orange Lotus logo.
Everything about the cameraambassador is truly artists
friendly, and I feel like I cansay that firsthand from all of
the experiences I've had andworking with you and the teams
(04:15):
that you've managed along theway.
What initially inspire you tocreate your own company?
Erica Duffy (04:20):
Kind of touching on the first thing that you
mentioned just to you know, incase there are people listening
who don't fully know who cameraambassador is, like you said we
do carry you know, and we're avery kind of typical rental
house on in one light that wehave, you know, cameras, ARRI's,
REDs.
We have vintage lenses, we alsohave grip trucks and expendables
we have a lot to offer to ourrental clients.
But something that is differentabout camera investor that's
always been very important to meis our community work that we're
doing.
And I kinda have to remindmyself a lot that we are still a
rental house because sometimesmy passions and working with
artists and working withfilmmakers and fulfilling that
side of my passion on thecommunity side gets away from
me.
And I had to remind myself like,okay, don't forget, at the end
of the day, like we do stillrent cameras.
Because we do a lot of otherthings too, such as classes,
gear demos, we do sponsorships,we have an annual grant that we
do.
I think in all of those things,it's really rooted in that
everybody is invited here, andeverybody is welcome here, the
rental house can be anintimidating space.
And we've always really tried tomake it that there's an access
point to that gear and to thathigher end equipment to elevate
your production no matter whoyou are, where you're from, you
know, what level or skill setyour in.
So that's just- I wanted to kindof touch on that really quick,
since you did mention that.
But to answer your question infull, I never really intended to
do what I've done.
It wasn't like I sat down at acollege or even you know,
earlier, I meet a lot offilmmakers who knew they wanted
to do what they're doing nowwhen they were in like high
school or middle school.
And it definitely wasn't thatfor me, I fell into a lot of
this.
And I've always really been veryopen to whatever has come to me
and not saying that I knowexactly how to do things or what
I'm doing and being open to theopportunities that come and
being open to the potential ofsomething that I didn't plan
being what the next step shouldbe.
I actually have a background innon film, I went to school for a
non film degree and then workedin camera equipment sales first,
and I really really loved it, Iwas doing a lot of the operation
stuff, the business side of itwas something that I was really
passionate about, but there wasa side of it that I burnt out
from really quickly because itwas very transactional.
And there wasn't a lot of, youknow, I'd ship a camera, and I
never got to find out what wascreated with that camera.
And that was like a huge,missing step for me.
So when I came to Chicago, andthe idea of doing rentals was
presented, it was something thatreally interested me because it
was the technical side, thebusiness side that I really,
really love that behind thescenes operations that you
mentioned, that I'm reallyinvolved in in multiple
different avenues.
But then I also got topersonally be able to know the
creator, build a relationshipwith the creator, and then see
the incredible work that is theoutcome of using those tools.
Layne Marie (07:09):
That's a really good way to put I feel like the
energy that you have in thiscommunity.
And I feel it I sense it.
I've collaborated with you a lotalong the way.
And it's just super cool to getto chat about it today.
Speaking of which, so we toucheda little bit on the tech side of
things and, you know, youmentioned working at a camera
(07:31):
house and how that kind of likefirst piqued your interest.
When looking at these tools,what do you feel like is the
most significant piece of advicethat you would give people
picking these tools up for thevery first time?
Erica Duffy (07:48):
I think that there is a little bit of a
misconception in the industrythat you know, you rent the most
expensive camera and you'regoing to have the best project.
And I think that's a very naivethought.
And of course, high end tools dodeliver high end quality of
picture, potentially.
But it really goes back to twothings, in my opinion: one, is
(08:09):
the person behind those tools.
Like how are you choosing yoursettings, you know, are you
shooting, you know, thecombination of what you're
using.
And then the second part of itis the right tool for the job.
The right tool isn't always themost expensive tool, if you're
going for something that's, youknow, really moody and vintagey
and you pick a lens that's superclean, that expensive lens isn't
(08:32):
going to tell the story andtranslate to your audience, the
vision that you had when youwere writing and designing that
project.
So being you know, consciousthat picking the tools for the
job for that specific job.
And then being realistic in thatlike, if your story isn't good,
and you don't have talentedcreators utilizing the tools,
(08:52):
even if you rent the mostexpensive thing, it's not going
to come out good.
You know, and this might becounterintuitive from someone
who owns a camera rental housebecause obviously I would love
you to rent the most expensivething.
I always encourage people not tofall into that mentality because
it doesn't always serve theproject.
Layne Marie (09:08):
Absolutely.
And I think it's also importantto grow over time, you know,
like it's okay to start withsomething a little bit more
standard.
I mean, the first well- I used acamcorder when I was a preteen,
my mom's camcorder, and mademovies with that but didn't
think of a career path in thatcertainly not not in Alabama.
(09:29):
But picked up a camera againafter I graduated from art
school, and that was a CanonPowershot and I've been obsessed
and in love ever since you knowand now I now I shoot on the
fancy fancies.
So it's important to grow asyour career progresses like
you've got time to shoot on thebig fancy stuff.
Erica Duffy (09:51):
A lot of it too is like what is when you're looking
at like cameras like what is theform factor of your camera like
some people might you know, lookat Canon and think that Canon or
Sony maybe isn't as you know, ina teir as like an ARRI or RED
and something.
But you know what, in mypersonal opinion, the best
camera to shoot like aconference or something that's
run and gun is a Canon becauseof the form factor of that.
(10:12):
So there's all these additionalthings too that when you look at
the way that the manufacturerbuilt that camera, they also
built it with different thingsin mind, too.
And so really looking at and nothaving those misconceptions of
like, if it's not this or this,then it's not right for my
project, looking at what thatspec of that piece of technology
is, in regards to what you'reshooting, because maybe you're
(10:34):
shooting a conference thisweekend, and you're shooting
Canon.
And then in two weeks, you'reshooting, you know, a music
video, and you really want to goRED.
And so not always being tied tolike I only shoot one particular
type of brand too, because thedifferent brands offer different
tools that I think are reallybeneficial to tap into that and
when deciding what you're goingto shoot on as well.
Layne Marie (10:54):
Well and another thing that I wanted to touch on
today too Erica was renting froma camera house or a rental
facility of any kind can bedaunting for let's say like a
first time filmmaker, do youhave any like do's or dont's or
warnings for those that want tomake that email or phone call
(11:15):
for the first time?
Erica Duffy (11:17):
Building a relationship with a rental house
is one of the most beneficialthings that you can do in your
career.
Because even if you end upowning gear, at some point, the
chances are that you'll alwayshave what you need every single
job as well.
So even if you're not renting asfrequently, or maybe you are
just starting off, and you're astudent, and you might only have
one project a year or somethinglike that, that relationship is
something that I think can bereally, really valuable.
For us, we've always reallytried to change the culture
around rental houses, because ithas been something that has
historically been a daunting orintimidating space.
There's been a little bit of Ithink gatekeeping in the
industry around it where like,if you don't know what a prep
is, then a prep is not for you.
But how was he supposed tolearn?
You know, there are all kinds ofdifferent film programs.
And a lot of I mean, this issomething I personally love
about the industry.
And it's also because it'spartly how I came up, is there's
plenty of filmmakers who neverwent to film school either.
So how are you supposed to learnhow to rent an order or to put
an order in or to do a prep orhow to properly check your
equipment, if you don't do it?
Like there's no other way toreally learn it.
So for me, at camera ambassador,I've always really put a lot of
emphasis on that educationalcomponent.
We offer free gear demos toanybody.
It doesn't matter if you're astudent or a veteran, you can
come in, you have to schedule itso we make sure we have tax in
the gear that we're looking foravailable so you can come in
before you even selected theequipment you want to use
because maybe you're trying todecide between a couple
different options, you want totalk to a tech about those
options, you can schedule that,that's free of charge.
We've also implemented someadditional things.
And I've mentioned this beforeabout a prep.
So a prep, in case anyone who'slistening, they don't know what
it is, essentially someone fromyour team typically it's an AC
or might be your DP or anoperator will come into the
rental shop.
We have a really welcomingenvironment here with snacks and
coffee a TV that we playdifferent movies on music, we
have like just a lot of things.
And we have puppies.
Yes, of course, how did I missthe puppies.
And so you come into the space,when you are picking up your
equipment.
Instead of just coming inputting everything in your car
driving way, we actually haveall the gear that you're going
to be renting and set out sothat you can build the
equipment.
And what happens in this isthere's frequently I would say
there's one in 30 preps thatdon't have this happen.
So it's very frequent that whenyou do the prep, you find out,
Oh, I need a longer HDMI cable.
Oh, I totally forgot to addbatteries.
And we aren't shooting wherethere's AC power.
So we need batteries.
There's things that when youactually are physically touching
and seeing the equipment thatyou've selected, that you
remember that you realize thatyou need for your shoot, and
you're finding that out whenyou're still at the rental
house, and you're finding thatout before you get on set, which
could ultimately save you a lotof money because you weren't
finding this out when you knowyou're paying your actors and
you're paying your crew andyou're suddenly losing your day
and your time because you haveto run back and grab something.
And we do something calledPolaroid Prep here where we
actually enter everybody whodoes a prep each month into a
drawing and win a CameraAmbassador gift card.
So we've done additional thingsthat like are just like one more
incentive to try to encouragepeople to do these things that
may seem overwhelming orintimidating.
And you know, just askquestions.
We have a lot of information onour website as well.
We have a more tab that inaddition to all the gear that we
offer that has a fax section,there's a student section that
breaks down the you know therental process it talks about
when you want to put an order inwhat the steps are, when you
contact us then we contact youback, when an order's considered
book versus just a quote.
We have all of those resourcesavailable on our website.
But we're always available toanswer any questions you can
call us or email us and we'rehappy to help in any way shape
or form.
Layne Marie (14:53):
So along those lines, the community builders
grant let's also talk aboutfunding for said projects.
This is an opportunity thatcamera ambassador also provides
for filmmakers.
It's been alive and well for acouple of years now.
Right, Erica?
How long?
Erica Duffy (15:12):
We just finished up our fourth grant cycle.
So four years now, wow, seemsmind blowing and I cannot
believe that we've been doing itthis long.
I think pandemic timesdefinitely, like those years
don't count in my brain.
So I'm like, oh, yeah, it's onlybeen two years.
But it really, you know, we didcontinue doing it through the
pandemic.
And next year is our fifth year,and we already are in pre
production on our grant cyclefor 2023.
And really figuring out, youknow, for year five, what
changes were going to make.
And I can't give any specificsyet, but I will tell you that
it's going to be bigger andbetter than it's ever been
before.
But kind of getting to yourquestion about film funding,
there could be a whole podcastjust on that.
Yes.
To any filmmakers out there,it's so hard and challenging no
matter who you know and howtalented you are, it's probably
the hardest thing in my opinionto get that money to get your
project made.
So for a couple years after weopened, I would get contacted
from different organizations,different groups of filmmakers,
and they were asking aboutsponsorship or funding.
You know, Chicago is still verymuch an up and coming film city.
We are, you know, growing leapsand bounds from where we were
when I started eight years agoto where we are now it's so
incredible, and I'm so proud ofthe work that's happening here.
But one of the things that Ithink that we really have the
opportunity here in the Midwestto retain filmmakers who are
talented to stay here, insteadof going to the coast is
creating more opportunities forfilm funding.
And there are a couple otherorganizations here in Chicago
that offer grants and otherfunding opportunities, which I
think is so awesome.
But we wanted to establishsomething here at camera
ambassador that was an annualthing so that people knew every
single year, there was anotheropportunity for them to
collaborate with us, apply forthis grant we offer and help get
their project made.
This past year, we did expandthis year, which I was really
proud of.
And the grant film fund is a$5,000 rental credit and a$5,000
cash prize.
So it's a$10,000 grant.
It's been incredible.
It's been so much fun.
And once I kind of got over whenI was first trying to design
like how do you do a grant.
And this is a little bit of whatI was talking about in the
beginning where I've always beenreally open and really
transparent that I don't alwaysknow how to do everything, so I
put it out into the world ofwell, if I want to do a grant,
what do I do, and I just kind ofcame to this place of if we are
self funding, and we're notusing you know, public funding
or something like that, we canmake it up, we can make up our
own rules like you don't have tobe a not for profit to decide as
a for profit organization thatyou're going to allocate a
certain amount of your fundsinto giving back to the
community.
So once we realize that kind ofit seems obvious now, but it
took me a few years to get thereand talking to other people and
mentors about this problem thatI thought we had.
We launched and it's been justso cool to see these now.
There's been three short filmsthat have all been completed of
this, and all of them have goneon to win festivals.
And I think for me, it's beenpersonally so gratifying, really
building the relationship witheach of these winners because we
see them, you know, they shootand they edit and we're involved
in the whole process.
And it's just been just sowonderful to see the talent here
in Chicago, and one of therequirements is that you have to
shoot in the Midwest, which hasbeen awesome to see kind of that
full circle of you know,identifying a problem and
something that you know, we cancontribute to help find a
solution to and then it actuallyworking.
And then there being amazingprojects that are traveling
literally the world and gettingrecognition back for Chicago.
Layne Marie (18:38):
Yes.
Love that.
Any past winners, you want toshout out that we should tell
our listeners to go take a peekat?
Erica Duffy (18:45):
Yeah, oh my gosh, I love promoting filmmakers and
projects.
So our year one was a projectcalled Patois and it's from
director Andre Muir and producerZach Moore.
They are an incredible duo, andthat project is so gorgeous.
In the second year, it was aproject called Zero Mile Mark
with Link Wolfe.
Also just very incredible.
(19:07):
There's a whole component ofthat project that is about
mental health and differentprograms that address mental
health.
It is a narrative but then thespin on it is that it's a
horror.
So that was a really, reallyinteresting project.
The next project that we had wasfrom director, writer producer
Sean Raju, and it's called ANickname.
I don't believe Zero Mile Markor a nickname are out in like
(19:29):
the world, so if you google thisto watch it you can't find them
online to watch them yet.
They're still in their festivalcircuit.
But they do have websites andsocial presence.
So definitely check out thoseprojects so you can be aware of
when they are going to beavailable.
And then we have been thisyear's project as well, which is
hasn't even shot yet.
So you'll have to stay tuned formore information on that.
Layne Marie (19:51):
Ooo that's so cool.
I love that.
Yeah, you know, again, in the inthe funding vein, I think the
submission process for thisparticular grant, it's very
filmmaker friendly.
Whereas like there's a lot ofgrants out there that I feel
like you really have to havealmost a scholarly skill set in
order to be able to make itthrough all of their questions.
(20:16):
And the thing is, is it's likefor filmmakers, when you're
raising money from let's say,investors or whatever company
you're working with, it's verymuch a pitch- like know your
logline, know your synopsis, beable to talk about it in a way
that's like professional, butalso inviting and casual.
And any references when you canpoint to visual lookbooks, or
(20:39):
pitch decks, that sort of thing.
And a couple of like, add miniproduction questions and that
sort of thing and knowing yourplan.
And that's really all you need.
So I think like, that's onegreat thing about the community
builders grant is even if youdon't necessarily have all of
those tools doing this grantapplication will make it so.
Erica Duffy (21:02):
Yeah, we've had a lot of feedback from applicants
who were able to use ourapplication process as a way to
help formulate their project,there was questions that we
asked that they hadn't evenconsidered yet I've had numerous
people give me feedback thatthey were projects that didn't
win, but they were so gratefulthat they went through the
application process, because itmade their project that much
better.
(21:22):
And it led to whatever the nextthing that they needed that
polished materials to be able topresent to.
And we try to make it reallyaccessible, just like everything
else that we do here.
And one of our ethos indesigning everything that we do
at camera ambassador, whetherit's on the equipment rental
side or on the community aspectside, is we try to design it
from the filmmakers perspective.
So putting ourselves in theirshoes of what is their
(21:44):
experience when they're goingthrough this instead of from
maybe like- okay, well as abusiness, how do we want to
generate revenue?
Or how do we want to market?
(22:41):
Or how do we want to whatever wetry to put ourselves in the
shoes of the people that we'retrying to reach.
And I know that it sounds likebasic or intuitive, of course,
everybody's doing that.
But the rental space and thefilmmaking space, the grant
space, all of these arenaswithin this industry are very
historic.
And there's a lot of things thatare done, just because that's
the way they've always beendone.
(23:01):
And so for me, when I say this,I am sure some listeners are
like, well, obviously, you'retrying to design it from the
client or the filmmakers mind.
But that's not how a lot ofbusinesses in this industry
operate.
They just do things because theywere always done that way.
Yeah.
And I've really tried toinnovate processes and innovate
the ways that filmmakers areinteracting, whether it's with a
rental shop, or with a grantapplication, and things like
that, and been very conscious ofthat all along.
And I think that something thatI'm very grateful for is that I
had never worked at anotherrental house before I founded
camera ambassador.
And at first I had a little bitof an insecurity about that and
felt like maybe I wasn'tequipped to do this.
But I soon realized that itactually was like a superpower
for me, because I didn't havethese biases, or these ideas in
my mind of this is how you'resupposed to do it.
Instead, I was more curious andmore inquisitive and was able to
design things in a way with afresh perspective that actually
served the filmmaker in adifferent way.
Layne Marie (23:13):
Yeah, I love that.
I think there are a lot ofstructures within the film
industry in particular, that areinherently toxic.
And my hope is that we cancontinue to do away with an
aspects of it that are harmfulto ourselves and to others.
So I think making things morefunctional with the well being
of others in mind is verysignificant.
Erica Duffy (23:40):
It's easy to fall into those things because the
set environment is such anintense environment, and you're
working at your best and yourworst.
And sometimes it's easier tojust kind of give in to certain
things that maybe other peoplethink should be done that way,
you know, over time there's somany things that are unhealthy
about the industry.
(24:01):
But I think that the more youcan surround yourself and decide
that you're going to be aleader, even when it's hard.
Whether you're a filmmaker orbusiness working in this
industry it is a slow change.
And I can definitely say from myown personal experience watching
the industry and I- you know, Idon't have a lot of experience
working on sets or working withfilm crews in Los Angeles or New
(24:22):
York, other parts of thecountry.
I'm really very dedicated to theMidwestern filmmaker here.
But I can say that I've reallyseen a drastic change and I
think Chicago is at theforefront of healthy change,
diversity, equity, equality, allthese things that are on a
grander national scale.
Chicago has been aware of thesethings for a very long time and
working towards them.
And I don't think I could havedone as a woman in this space in
a rental house.
There's very few women runrental houses and there's very
few women that even work inrental houses in the country.
I think if I tried to have donewhat I've done in Chicago in one
of the other big cities in thecountry, I would have struggled
so hard, I don't know if I wouldhave been able to do it.
So I'm really grateful forChicago and I think that we're
paving ways that are becomingstandards.
And it is slow, but I do see ithappening, and it's just
exciting to see people startingto adapt to those healthy
changes.
Layne Marie (25:18):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Oh, my heart.
So, within all of that, we'vealso got the work that you do
with the Midwest Film Festival.
You're the executive director.
Let's chat about that.
There's a lot to dive intothere.
Yeah.
How did you find yourself inthis position, and how are you
(25:39):
liking it so far?
Erica Duffy (25:41):
Everything we've talked about so far on the
podcast today has all been aboutmy work and in relation to
working with the filmmaker,mostly in pre production.
So you know, the gear lists andcoordinating equipment, even
funding with the grant,workshops and classes.
Like you learn how to use thegear in pre-pro, you're not
necessarily- you're not learninghow to use it when you're
(26:02):
editing.
So a lot of my work has beenfocused in the pre production
space.
And even though I'm veryinvolved and promote a lot of
projects, as they come tocompletion, I love to go to
screenings and things like that.
It was really exciting for mewhen an opportunity came up with
Midwest Film Festival, which isformerly been known as Midwest
Independent Film Festival tobecome involved there because
the film festival is almost theother end of the process.
(26:25):
I would say formal distribution,like in a theater or on video on
demand or streaming or somethinglike that would probably be like
the end-end, but the filmfestival circuit is either just
before that are happening intandem with that.
So it was something that wasexciting for me to be able to
hop on to the other side of theprocess.
And there's so much celebrationin Film Festival work, it's so
fulfilling for me to be theperson and have the great
privilege to tell a filmmaker,they have been selected as
official selection into afestival.
I feel like I'm like a celebrityin that moment because of the
excitement and the joy and theachievement that they feel in
that process.
So I got involved originally, Iwas on the board of directors
there.
And then when an opportunitycame up to join as the executive
director, I sat down with myteam here at camera ambassador,
we had a pretty big meeting,because it was going to mean a
pretty big shift for me, becauseI was taking on, you know,
another very big role that wasgoing to require a lot of time
of me.
And I'm so grateful for the teamat came ambassador, because
everybody was really supportiveof the idea and my passions of
wanting to get involved with it.
And it has been a whirlwind.
I can say that for sure.
I think it's been similar withregards to my work at camera
ambassador, where it's been alot of experimentation and not
just saying"Well, this is how afilm festival runs.
And this is how you do it".
But instead saying"how should wedo it", and not being afraid to
be very publicly open to thefact that we are experimenting,
and that we might do things thatwe don't like or the community
doesn't like and we're going tochange them then.
We're going to try something,see the feedback that we receive
and see how it works, and thenadapt to that.
I joined in November, inNovember of 2019, and part of my
requirement with the board ofdirectors of coming on in this
fashion was that I felt like thefestival did need to have a
total rebrand to really look atthese things that we've been
talking about of you know, maybepotentially unhealthy ways that
industry has run or festivalcircuits have run, the way its
selection process happens, theway communication with
filmmakers happen, and reallylook at the ways that we can
grow and improve.
The board was so receptive tothis, we have an incredible
group of people that are behindthe scenes at Midwest Film
Festival.
So we shut down for a couple ofmonths and you know, got a new
website, we dropped the name asI mentioned before.
We were, at that point, we were19 years old.
So for 19 years, nearly we'doperated as Midwest Independent
Film Festival.
So we dropped the independent,we still are supporting
independent filmmakers.
But it was just a slightvariation, so people could
recognize in our name that weare making changes, taking
feedback and growing and we gota new website.
I think I mentioned that.
And then we relaunched inFebruary of 2020 with an
incredible full day long incollaboration with the Chicago
Film Office film fair.
And we sold out it was 400people came out and it was just
such a celebration of what youcan do as an organization even
that has such old historic tiesto the community.
When you can take a pause andsay we want to look inward and
we want to see what we can do toserve our community better and
take the time required toactually ask those questions and
look inward and not have youknow ego or judgment of self in
those ways.
And then see the community comeout in support it.
It was great and then of courseeveryone knows in March of 2020,
the whole world shutdown.
So I you know really it was justlike I have no- I had no idea
what we were doing.
It was like nobody know whatyeah, no one in the festival
space knew what they're doingbecause the festival is so run
on in person events.
That's what festivals are you,go and you network, and you meet
distributors, and you meet otherfilmmakers, and you watch other
films, like that is what you do.
So it was definitely like a hugechallenge for me.
But I really enjoyed having tobecome creative and having to
innovate.
We really relied on thefilmmakers.
So we had already, you know, hadcertain filmmakers who were
selected as official selectionfilmmakers.
So we reached out to them andsaid, you know, what do you
want?
Do you want us to wait?
Do you want us to do somethingvirtual do like what would best
serve you and your goals withyour film?
And being in this festival?
Yeah, it was, it's crazy.
I can't I think back, I'm like,Whoa, that was a lot.
Layne Marie (30:42):
That was a lot, and it's still a lot tbh.
But you know, I definitely,y'all really evolved during that
time and you even did cutethings like have the drive-in
screenings.
Yeah.
That was, you know, really greatalong the way and something that
should just be a regular thingin life anyways.
(31:05):
Especially in LA it's verypopular here.
I haven't done it as- done itthat much.
I really need to to change that.
But it just seems like such acool way to go see movies
because that's how it used to bedone, you know?
Erica Duffy (31:19):
Yeah we had one project that I can think of in
particular that the filmmakeractually had shot it, written
it, the whole thing.
They were imagining it at adrive-in.
Aw.
And this was like far beforedrive-ins became, you know,
popular again.
And this was something that alot of people started doing that
was like part of their goal andthey hadn't figured it out when
(31:40):
distribution came along, howthey were gonna do this drive-in
thing.
But that was part of like theirwhole plan from the beginning.
So it was really cool to just beable to see that during the
pandemic the artists really wereso, it was so cool to see what
was happening because artistshave just such an innate need to
crete.
Like when they can't create, itlike crushes them, it like makes
(32:03):
them antsy, like they're notable to like function as
themselves.
So it forced them to look at,"well I can't create how I've
always created, but I must stillcreate so how can I create"?
And all these really cool waysof connecting and creating were
invented.
Like new things that no one hadever done before came out of
(32:24):
that.
And I think that's one of thesilver linings.
And for us, we did some otherthings.
Like we had a music night wherewe showcased films that had a
really strong musical componentor like a really beautiful
score, like something that stuckout about it with music.
But we decided to take it onestep further and we actually had
one of the videos that wereplaying as one of the official
selections had a band and weasked the band if they wanted to
(32:46):
come and play at the drive-in.
So we had like an opener andlive music and it was in October
of 2020 and at that point thatwas like the first live music
that I had seen since likeJanuary 2020.
And it just felt so good to justhear live music and then
following, you know, it then gotdark and then we played all
(33:07):
these films.
And so just like doing thingsthat like maybe some point in
our history of 20 years, I'm notsure.
They had a musical live musicact at some point, but I never
knew of it.
And it was just cool to see,even as an organization, these
cool new things pop out of, wellhow do we connect now that we
aren't able to connect in thesame way?
Layne Marie (33:28):
So Cool.
So innovative.
You're such a renaissance woman.
With the film festival side ofthings, running the circuit can
be pretty demoralizing forfilmmakers as well as incredibly
exciting.
Do you have any words of wisdomthat you would impart on a
filmmaker that is dealing with alot of rejection?
Erica Duffy (33:48):
Yeah, so I've talked about this on a couple of
different panels or you know,guest speaking things that I've
done that something I personallydidn't know as a producer and as
a filmmaker myself with thefestival circuit is that
programming is so much morethan,"is your film good?" We
have watched films that I justfell in love with.
It was one of my most favoritethings I've ever watched.
(34:10):
But there wasn't a spot with theprogramming that it fit in.
Right.
And I remind people of thatfrequently because if you think
about the festival circuit as awhole, there is all types of
genre specific festivals.
So, you know, you might have afilm or a project that's really
good, but it doesn't fit intothe genre of what they're
looking for.
You might have a film that theyabsolutely love that your film
(34:34):
is 28 minutes long and they onlyhave 19 minutes of time.
Yep, yep.
So even if they wanted to, theyare out of time.
So I like to remind people notto measure the success of your
film solely on does it get in,because there's a lot of factors
outside of"is this quality, isthis good storytelling, is this
(34:55):
production design good, youknow, is the acting good".
All those components that likewe measure as good or not, those
things sometimes don't make anydifference, so reminding
filmmakers of that.
And then the other thing that Ireally like to remind people of
is that even if you aren'tselected as an official
selection, people are stillwatching your work and you're
(35:16):
now on their radar.
So maybe it's not this project,maybe it's the next one, or
maybe it's the one after that,or maybe you say you're a DP,
maybe the next project you DPwith a whole different set of,
you know, director and othercrew mates your name was in
their lap.
Like this isn't like a computergenerated thing.
This is real humans behind thesefestivals that, you know, and I
(35:39):
can only truly speak for MidwestFilm Festival, but we watch
every single film that'ssubmitted to us in full.
We review all of them, weanalyze all of them, we give
notes to each other.
We have, you know, sessionswhere we talk about the films
together and even if there's afilm that isn't selected in
official selection, we now havethat name, that creator is in
(36:00):
our wheelhouse now.
And that is something that youdon't know the outcome of what
positive impact on your nextproject or your future projects
or your career that thatsubmission even is going to
impact.
Layne Marie (36:12):
For those that do feel discouraged from
rejections, just know that it'sa, it's a part of it.
Absolutely.
So while hearing no and youknow, especially like if you're
doing the film festival circuitfor the very first time- yeah,
those no's are just as valuableas the yeses and also the film
festival circuit is not the endall be all.
(36:34):
And I say that with lots oflove.
Yeah.
Yeah, absolutely.
It's, you know, they're like,you know, the most important
thing is getting your work seen.
So put it out there and that'sone way to do it.
Erica Duffy (36:45):
And the other thing too that I always remind
filmmakers is, and this is oneof my most favorite things about
filmmaking too, filmmaking issubjective.
Mm-hmm.
One person can watch it andabsolutely love it and another
person watches it and absolutelyhates it.
You know, like we attach thesethings of like good or bad or
you know, right or wrong or thisor that.
(37:08):
But like at the end of the daythat's what's cool about this is
that it's subjective.
And as you know, someone who isin the position I am at Midwest
Film Festival, I do get to seeevery single screener's feedback
and I'll watch a film and I'lloftentimes I'll watch it before
reading anything cuz I wanna beable to have my own thoughts and
opinions on it without seeingwhat other people said about it
(37:28):
first.
But I'll go then and read ourscreeners feedback and it'll be
like one project will get a onefrom someone and someone else
gives it a 10.
And it's like how are these twodifferent opinions so vastly the
different end of the spectrumswith it.
So there's another component ofit with the festival circuit
where I know it can be reallychallenging to get those denials
(37:49):
and it's exhausting and it canalso be expensive.
And it's really hard becausemost films that are making a
festival circuit are your baby.
You've poured so much love,sweat and tears into it that it
can be devastating and hurtfuland discouraging to get those
nos.
But remind yourself that it'ssubjective.
If you're not getting into thatfestival or there's people that
(38:09):
are watching it that aren'tliking it, there's someone else
out there that's gonna watch it,that's gonna love it and there's
another festival out therethat's gonna watch it and wanna
be involved with it.
So it may just be that you're inthe wrong circle of people that
are watching it.
Actually I think Layne Marie,you gave me this advice a long
time ago when I was asking youcause I've, you know, watched
you have a lot of success in thefilm festival circuit and you
(38:33):
know, we've done a couple panelstogether even at Midwest Film
Festival where you spoke and Iremember you, this is something
I've never forgotten is you toldme to really do my research on
festivals.
What is the demographic ofaudience that attends that
festival?
Because you might have a filmthat just isn't the type of work
that they're looking to programthere.
So looking into the differentfestivals, the people that would
(38:54):
be attending it to find out ifyour work is even something
that, you know, maybe they'veplayed films like that in the
past or if it is a genrefestival, tapping into that kind
of thing too.
And I also remember that advicecuz I don't think it is
necessarily healthy and the mostbeneficial way for a filmmaker
just to like play the numbersgame a submit to a hundred
festivals so you can get into10.
Like instead be intentional andpick 20 film festivals that you
(39:18):
think are festivals that wouldreally be interested in your
work- target those ones.
Layne Marie (39:22):
Yeah.
And it really can get expensive.
So yeah.
You know, planning ahead of timelike okay, I'm gonna set aside
500 bucks or I'm gonna set aside$40 and then I'm gonna get a
bunch of discounts and waiversand I'm gonna cold email
everybody and their mama.
Whatever it is you gotta do,there are ways to do it.
(39:42):
There's not any one way toaccomplish getting your film
seen.
And you know, I think thebiggest thing too, I feel like,
especially for first timefilmmakers, there's a little bit
of like a scarcity mindset,which I totally understand and I
have that at times too.
But just trust that you'll keepmaking stuff.
If it's not this one, maybe it'sthe next or you know, maybe the
(40:05):
film that you shelfed for awhile is gonna have a life later
in your career.
Anything is possible, like we'vebeen talking about.
Just, just stay open to thedifferent ways that your work
can be found.
Erica Duffy (40:17):
I always think about too, and this is something
I try to practice with anyproject that I sign onto and
anytime I talk to a filmmakerwho's in that beginning phase of
pre-production, setting goals ofwhy you're making this project.
Because I think that there canbe such a wide answer to that
question.
And when you directly thinkabout it in relation to like the
(40:40):
festival circuit, filmmakers canget to that point in the process
and become discouraged or um,feel like their films a failure.
But if you were intentional fromthe get go of why you wanted to
create that specific project, ormaybe you're a crew member of
why you signed onto thatproject, the answers can vary.
It can be like maybe you'resigning onto that project cuz
you have some bills to pay ormaybe you're signing onto that
(41:02):
project cuz you love that scriptor maybe you're signing onto
that project cause you reallywanna get into Sundance.
Like there's a really widevariety of answers to that.
You know, I think of someprojects that I've done, the
reason I signed onto it is cuz Ireally wanted to work with that
creator.
So I've myself gotten intosituations where I've been
potentially discouraged becauseit wasn't performing in the way
in the distribution process thatI would hope.
(41:23):
But then I have to remind myselfthe whole reason I did this is
cause I really wanted to workwith that director and I got to
work with that director and nowI have a really strong
relationship with them and I,you know, know, have built that
comradery with them.
And so like who cares if it'sdoing well in distribution?
Like, you know, being realisticwith yourself and reminding
yourself why you chose thatspecific project and not getting
(41:45):
swept away by like the standardsof how, you know, society or our
industry measures the success ofa project because that is
different for every singleperson.
Layne Marie (41:53):
Yeah.
I wanted to also touch onself-care, and wellbeing, and
you know, practicing mindfulnes,and all those, all those
buzzwords that we love to taponto regardless of whether or
not they're buzzwords becausethey are meaningful and
beneficial.
And as much as we love ourcareers, and working in film,
(42:17):
and the people and the tech, andall these new things, how do you
stay sane?
Erica Duffy (42:22):
Oh man, I don't always, no.
Just to be totally transparent.
I think I've gotten better at itover the years, definitely later
in my career.
I mean, not that I'm not farinto my career, but I would say
from like the first, you know,year to like year four or five
even, I would really justoverextend myself.
(42:45):
I would always deliver though.
So that was what was kind of forme personally, what I think I
really struggled with and Ithink there's a lot of
producers, particularly theproducer role types in this
industry, who can relate to thatbecause we are like really
resilient and I think you haveto be resilient to be a
producer.
So when you like take on toomuch, it all still happens.
It all still works out.
(43:06):
And for the most part, everybodyfrom the outside thinks you're
just crushing it and it's allhappening.
But from the inside, you know,it can be really isolating and
exhausting and almost feel likea betrayal of self because at
the point when you signed ontoit, you totally felt like it was
feasible or else you reallywouldn't have.
(43:27):
But then some point in the thickof it, there's a moment like,
what am I doing?
So I just wanna say that firstbecause I've had so many people
just say like, how do you do itall and how are you doing this
and all this stuff.
And the reality is, like Istruggle just like anybody else
I've, you know, sit on my showerfloor and cry just like
everybody else.
Like I struggle in the same wayswith mental health, work-life
(43:50):
balance as I think most peopledo.
But for me, I've tried to givemyself permission that it
doesn't look the same for me asit does for everybody else.
And like celebrating thosethings for myself.
So like a good example for me isI have no problem and I don't
burn out from working six orseven days a week.
For me personally, it's not anissue.
(44:10):
I don't need the weekend.
That's just not how I function.
But what I do need is I needthree to four weeks that I don't
work because it takes me one totwo weeks just to even get to
the point where I can relax.
So if I try to take likeweekends off, it doesn't
actually help me decompress andtake care of myself.
Whereas if I, you know, can setup this schedule for myself
(44:33):
where I'm pushing through thatbusier times, but then I take
off a month, I then have thattime to refuel.
Then I also know that I havethat time coming to take care of
myself and have the time to likedecompress so then I can
actually relax and take care ofmy mental health.
I remember when I first kind ofhad this ethos and I talked to
my family or I'd talk to my momand she'd be like"you're working
(44:55):
too much.
Like you're working seven days aweek for months on end.
Like this is crazy".
Mm-hmm.
or like,"I'm worried about you"kind of mentality.
Once I was able to really ownthat and like show myself that
like even though maybe otherpeople aren't used to this
mentality of thinking this iswhat works for me and owning it,
mm-hmm, that I've fully beenable to take advantage of that.
(45:15):
Like there are things that are,for me, that's the way that I
function and the way that I'mable to take care of myself and
just kind of leaning into thatmaybe it's not a societal norm
or even an industry norm, butthat is what's norm for me and
actually allows me to take careof myself.
Layne Marie (45:31):
Yeah.
I think you touched on a lot ofreally important things there.
Even just figuring out like whatis the schedule that works best
for you and knowing that it'snot necessarily gonna look like
your best friends or yourfrenemy at work.
You know, like you'll find whatthat looks like for you.
Like for me, I'm still kind offiguring it out, but because of
(45:53):
the nature of our career pathand the film industry, it's kind
of like in small spurts for me.
Like I'm sort of on a staycationright now, but I'm popping on to
do this podcast interview today,and then tomorrow I'm popping on
to do another podcast interview,and then that's it for the week.
I mean, there's a coupleconversations still happening
here and there, but I'm tryingto set a boundary with myself
(46:16):
that I just finished a reallybig shoot, I'm really exhausted
and uh, I've earned the right tochill for a second.
And I think that's a bigmisconception and also struggle
for artists and entrepreneurs isthat we're always on.
And that's true to a certainextent, but at the same time I
(46:37):
think it's that much moreimportant to go on that vacation
for four weeks like Erica wasjust saying.
Like, take that time becauseain't nobody gonna give it to
you.
Erica Duffy (46:45):
You know, that it's also like there's this mentality
that, you know, you're gonna dothat.
Like you're gonna take off thisspurt or I'm gonna take off this
chunk of time and like we'regonna miss out on something.
Ugh.
But the reality is even if youdid miss out on something, if
you hadn't taken that time offto refuel and rest, you weren't
gonna be able to do that in theway that you wanted to show up
(47:07):
for yourself or show up for theother people that you're working
with.
So reminding yourself that likeyou have to take care of
yourself in order to then beable to go on and be successful.
But the reality is, is like if Imiss one of those because I'm
taking care of myself, somethingbetter is waiting for me.
Yeah.
That I'm prepared for and I'mready for.
And it actually wasn't a miss,it was actually exactly how it
(47:31):
was supposed to be.
And you know, as I kind ofstarted this whole interview
talking about that, I've reallybeen open to not thinking that I
have the whole plan and I haveit all figured out, but rather
being open to whatever's gonnacome to me.
I'm sure there's things thatI've missed out on, but because
I had availability, cause Ididn't take those other things
(47:51):
that maybe I missed out on,those were the things that
really were meant for me.
Yeah.
And changing your mindset andyour internal dialogue, cuz
that's the biggest enemy is likethis internal dialogue.
Whereas I can shift that focusand even something that you kind
of alluded to was like that Ideserve this time off.
Mm-hmm.
Like I earned this time off.
Giving yourself that permissionslip.
(48:13):
Mm-hmm.
Is going to make a big impactfulchange, cause if you can change
it internally for yourself,that's only going to like spread
out and like bleed from yourexistence in a positive way.
Layne Marie (48:24):
Yeah, absolutely.
It's like radiance starts firstwithin, you know?
Absolutely.
Like, you can't extend it out ifyou don't have it within
yourself, and so finding thosepractices that help bring that
out, whatever that is, you know.
I know I've found that to bevery important in the things
that I do.
(48:44):
And now that I have those tools,they're not just cameras and
lenses and you know, terra decksand fancy lights.
It's the tools that you yourselfutilize in order to function at
your best every day.
And maybe sometimes that best isnot as best as it could have
been.
And that's okay too.
Thanks for going there.
I mean, you know, this issupposed to be a holistic talk
(49:05):
with creatives, so we love it.
We could talk about it all dayevery day we do.
But you know, there's so muchmore to it.
And uh, at the end of the day,we're all just people.
Mm-hmm.
Um, I feel like that's a reallyimportant aspect of this project
that I want to make sure isalways there because I do think
in social media it can get sohighlight reel, so career
(49:30):
focused, so image based, thatwe're missing the elements that
make it human.
And that's what keeps us fromtruly connecting with one
another and having empathy foreach other.
Erica Duffy (49:41):
I think the more that like you can allow yourself
to be vulnerable, what I havefound is when you do that and
let your walls down, suddenlyother people feel that they can
too.
And then they'll confide in youand be vulnerable back to you
and then suddenly it's actuallyserving you, cause you're like,
oh wow, I'm not alone in feelinglike this, or I don't have to
(50:05):
just kind of keep this allbottled up, like there are other
people feeling like this.
And sometimes if you can be thefirst person to acknowledge that
and put yourself out there, thatattracts other people to know
that they're safe to be there inthat space with you.
And it's really beautiful whenyou let yourself do that.
At the end of the day, if itisn't the connection and the
(50:25):
people, you know, what else elseis there?
Like that's at the core ofeverything, even in
storytelling.
Like we're developingcharacters, we're talking about
people and their stories and whothey are, and it's an imitation
of art, it's an imitation oflife.
So yeah, I definitely think thatthat is so cool, that part of
this podcast, you're leaninginto that and it is an important
part.
And that's, I think one of thethings too of just like these
(50:46):
are things that are slowlychanging in the industry.
I don't think there was apodcast 20 years ago talking
about emotions and struggle ofmental health, of working in the
film industry.
Like that just didn't existbefore.
You just buckled up your shoesand you went to work and you got
it done and you didn't talkabout those things.
And so I think it's really coolthat this podcast is a platform
for that because it'sexponential, the impact that it
(51:07):
can have.
Layne Marie (51:08):
Yeah, I hope so.
I really hope so.
Well, Erica, this has been anabsolute delight.
I could literally talk to youall day, and this podcast
interview would be like fourhours long.
Someday we'll have to do a parttwo.
Thank you so much for yourenergy, your time.
I feel like you really expandedon some important topics that I
(51:29):
know will be really helpful forfilmmakers of all backgrounds,
so thank you for that.
Absolutely.
Yes, absolutely.
Thank you so much for having meon.
And to anyone listening, my dooris always open.
You can email me@ericacameraambassador.com.
My Instagram is@hello.erica.dufffy.
You can find me on our CameraAmbassador website as well.
(51:51):
But please reach out.
One of my most favorite thingsthat I do as part of my work is
build bridges, whatever thatlooks like.
I keep a crew Rolodex.
I'm constantly getting asked for, um, recommendations for
different set roles.
I love kind of thinking throughall the different little
moments, or I heard someone saythey're looking for this or
doing this, and then suddenly Imeet someone else who's doing
that and connecting those people.
(52:12):
So I just wanna encourage, ifyou're listening and you have
just a sparkle of inclination toreach out and there's something
that you wanna talk about,collaborate about, I am always
here and I would absolutely loveto connect with you.
This episode of the Walkie Checkis sponsored by Camera
Ambassador, a one-stop shopcarrying everything from cameras
(52:32):
and lenses to grip trucks andproduction supplies.
Their equipment roster includeshigh-end brands, such as ARRI,
RED, Canon, Cooke, ZEISS,OConnor, SmallHD, Teradek, and
more.
They've also got you coveredwith specialty items such as
anamorphic lenses, gimbals, andgrip trucks.
Founded in 2014 by Erica Duffy,Camera Ambassador's one of three
(52:53):
equipment rental housesnationwide, owned and operated
by a woman.
Providing excellent service withquality gear, Camera Ambassador
now carries both of the newestRED cameras, the Kimodo and
Raptor.
Learn more about CameraAmbassador scholarship
opportunities atcameraambassador.com.
Thanks so much for joining us onthis episode of The Walkie Check
(53:15):
.
Be sure to give us a like andfollow on Instagram and Facebook
at the walkie check and atLegacy Marie Pictures.
Also special, special thanks toour executive producers,
Noisefloor LTD, and we lookforward to the next episode.
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