Storyteller or Film Maker
I was reading a blog of a fellow class mate, Oyven about wether or not you have to be a storyteller to be involved in the entertainment industry?
When a person says the reason they love the entertainment industry is because they want to be a storyteller, I think, how clichéd! It is such a stock answer I wonder if they even know what they are truly saying. Narrator, teller of tales, recounter, is this what they mean? If this is their best answer I think they have chosen the wrong profession.
I don’t want to be a storyteller; I want to be a story maker, conceiver, and initiator. I want to make a point about politics, culture or religion in a manner that makes people want to know and feel. “Hotel Rwanda” was not simply told by a recanouter. Hotel Rwanda shamed everyone one of us for actions that still continue to this day. Tsotsi exposed the reality of the new non-segregated South Africa. Hidden commented on France and its racist under-tones. Moulin Rouge reminded us that film and theatre are not such distant cousins. Are the people who made these films storytellers, or commentators with opinions and views? Do they love just telling stories or do they love the craft. A craft, which entails contracts, deal structures, negotiations, construction, art etc. Furthermore, in every production there are so many people involved. I doubt if you asked a color grader why they enjoyed the entertainment industry they would say because of story telling.
Why do I love the entertainment industry? My love for the entertainment industry has evolved through out my life. I decided I wanted to be involved when I was seven years old and performed in my first school production to an audience of about a 1000 people, As I wondered down he school steps I knew I had found my calling. At that point I thought I wanted to be an actress. I loved the bright lights in my eyes and the immediate audience feedback. I worked on my craft for years. I would perform for anyone willing to sit for a few minutes. When I was ten I performed in my first professional play at the central theatre in New Zealand. Many of the actors I worked with have gone on to star in international films such as “Narnia”. When I was younger I was always tall for my age, which made me an excellent sport competitor. However, I stopped growing when I was very young so I turned all my attention to the performing arts.
Early on I realized that theatre was not as exciting as film. I loved films! When I was twelve I was obsessed with Sigourney Weaver, in my eyes the first women to truly kick butt. I wanted to be her fighting the aliens. I loved science-fiction films and games. Then I discovered Shakespeare at 14 and my life’s ambition became the desire to play Juliet. When Baz Luhrman made Romeo and Juliet I was devastated, Clair Danes was too typical. Juliet had so much more to offer than the mediocre performance she gave.
When I was 15 I directed my first play. An adaptation of “Everyman”. I instinctively knew what to do. Despite my age I directed the year eleven and twelve students to victory. Pip Mushin gave me the award for Best Production. The following year I directed a socio-political play “No Worries Mate”. Sadly we only won runner up as the play was apparently more suited to University than High School. I had a terrible drama teacher in year twelve and decided to follow a new path after high school….LAW!!! Yes, I went to law school. I lasted two and a bit years before deciding this was not a path I wished to pursue.
A month after my 22nd birthday I flew to LA, or la la land. I worked for one of the top event coordinators planning Oscar parties, celebrity weddings, movie permits. I met all the top players in town but was always over shadowed by the likes of Gwenth Paltrow and Jennifer Aniston. I lived in the States for five and a half years. My life there was not easy, and my youth was dragged out of me. But, those are many other stories. At some point I realized I needed to get back in the game.
I wanted to create productions. I knew everything there was to know about the entertainment industry, and nothing about politics. Due to unforeseen circumstances far beyond my control I found myself in Australia….again. Then I found myself in a master’s degree for Media Production. I don’t know if I found it or it found me. I was confused searching for my way back to sanity. So, as you can see I don’t want to be a storyteller. I want to be a person who embraces every moment of life. I want to meet as many people as possible and experience things others would only dream of. Although I feel fear I have never allowed it to be an obstacle. Movies to me are fun, challenging, intellectual and stimulating. The people I meet are different, exciting and weird.
I did not choose to tell a story, but rather I have chosen to be a part of one.
