Hollywood filmmaker Omar McClinton launches various artists Independent Film Festival

Filmmaker Omar McClinton was a guest on the PPC Radio show hosted by Cynda Williams and co-hosted by me. During the interview, Omar mentioned that he gave up working in Hollywood on sets like CW, Sony, and Paramount Pictures; and now utilizes his knowledge to coach up-and-coming filmmakers and producers.
Shelly Shell: You have worked in Hollywood on movie sets; tell me some of the studio sets where you worked?
OMC: I have been in the industry for 30+ years, so naturally, I have worked on both film and broadcast projects for all of the major distribution studios from Disney, Universal, Sony, Warner Bros., etc. I have worked on too many sets to list them all. However, two sets that I am most proud of were “The Shield,” and “The Dark Knight.” I don’t remember working with other teams with a more hard-working and compassionate cast and crew than on those shoots. Others have come close, but those teams on those projects made me proud and humbled to be a part of them.
Shelly Shell: What are some of the biggest lessons you learned from Hollywood that can help up-and-coming filmmakers?
OMC: I have learned a lot of lessons. I am ashamed and embarrassed to say I have learned most of them the hard way. The biggest lesson, off the top of my mind, that I can suggest to up-and-coming artists is to (1) Stay humble without being passive. You do not have to give people power over you and your career, but you will always have to evolve and reinvent yourself. Keep an open mind towards your industry and how business gets done, and always stay hungry to learn something you did not know before. If you do this while deciding never to stop or give up, you set yourself up for success. (2) Shut up and get out of your own way. Some of us try to change the way things are done and promote our own rules without knowing what the rules are in the first place. We do this because it is easier. There is a lot of history and challenges for everyone in this industry. Watch, Listen and Learn. You can avoid pitfalls others have fallen into, and you can make advances in your career by leaps and bounds when you learn from the successes of others. You can do none of these if you are a legend in your own mind and waiting for others to acknowledge you and your talent.
Shelly Shell: Hollywood was working for you. Why did you decide to leave Hollywood?
OMC: I grew up in a single-parent home and only now can count on two hands how many times I have seen my father. This industry takes a lot of time. Working 12 – 16 hour days is normal. So, after a long week I had a Saturday morning breakfast with my son one day, and our first man to man, heart to heart, was about a Hollywood celebrity scandal gossip and not a regular father-son real-life conversation I had hoped to have with him. I decided I did not spend enough time at home and needed to change that. I did not want my son to grow up with a father who is still considered absentee because of the long hours I work. The cycle had to stop with me.
Shelly Shell: Tell me about the Various Artists independent Film Festival and how filmmakers can get involved?
OMC: Content providers that wanted to enter festivals were restricted by a 2-year project completion deadline. Meaning any project that is older than 2-years was no longer considered eligible for the film festival circuit. Well, you already know I believe in people having a life and spending time with their family. So it is not feasible to have a project that you spent time and real money on and is older than two years, no longer considered a viable commodity. So, my business partner and I started the Various Artists Foundation. A non-profit company that runs the film festival, so people, young and old, that do not fit the industry-standard demographic would still have an opportunity to showcase their talent. We first teach them the self-promotion side of the business. Then for the finalist, we bring in real working industry professionals to judge their work. We provide mentorship opportunities and a short film production grant towards their next film. This is our way of trying to give back and encourage and restart the creative spirit in as many people as possible.
If you want to submit a project in one of our 10-genre categories in our festival, you can visit www.vaiff.com for more info and the link to submit your project.
Shelly Shell: How can a filmmaker obtain big budgets to produce films?
OMC: You attain big budgets by being successful with small budgets. There is an old saying. If you do a lot with a little, you will get even more. This is why the film festival, our mentorship program, and the training opportunities are so important. If you are successful with small budget projects, you will get budgets that are bigger and larger. Unfortunately, many of us want to get the big budgets right out of the gate. No. It does not work that way. Investors do not invest their money like you make a microwaveable dinner. Things take time. They want to see your track record before they listen to your ideas and see your script. Some of us have been pitching our creative for 10-years, and we could have made seven or more short films during this time that could represent us and our talents. Start today. Enter the VAiFF, and learn what you need to learn. Experience what you need to experience, and grow where you need to grow.
As you can see, Omar McClinton has a passion to teach up-and-coming filmmakers all that he has learned. I learned so much in this time.
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