[NEohioPAL]Cleveland IndieClub

[lilith]

Christopher, Alex, Bill, etal:

As an ardent "learner" and IndieClub attendee, I feel compelled to respond.

IndieClub is not only thriving, it has outgrown its first location at Talkies and moved to the larger Hyacinth Lofts. Even then, the meetings are often standing room only.

What used to be a 3 hour meeting has expanded to over 4 hours. This was done for one reason only as far as I know- so that we would all have the time to NETWORK! We were so busy screening work and having in really good speakers (like this month's Phil Garrett, previously of Dreamworks!) that we had run out of time to fish the talent pool for people to work on our shoots.

>From my association with Cleveland IndieClub, I have worked on 11 projects in the last 3 years. 2 of those were my own, with a third to shoot next weekend. I have done everything I could. My 20+ years expertise is in wardrobe and make up, so I have done alot of that. But I have worked as an extra and PA and moved through the ranks to script supervise, write, direct and produce.

To be sure, when I started seriously in film, I knew very little. I learned by volunteering to work on others' projects- yes, even the bad ones. You learn as much, if not more, on a bad shoot than a good one. Because I have a good work ethic, show up and do my job with the most professional attitude I have, I get asked back and recruited for other work. I am lucky enough that now I am regularly paid to work on films (yes, indies can pay!). Of course, I care a lot about the work and have studied everything I can get my hands on about filmmaking.

The only thing IndieClubbers lack as a whole, is the same thing every indie struggles with- MONEY. We need to learn how to raise it and spend it wisely to produce distributable product.

My next shoot is next weekend, and is entirely crewed by INDIECLUBBERS! Actors, crew, pa's- all from Indieclub. Some of these people honor me completely by agreeing to come work on my shoot, others are like I was a few years ago, hungry to learn.

Why do I share all of this? Because my personal story is just one of many- A great many Indieclubbers are just like me, and we survive becasue we work together. My product improves with every new technique I learn and I never tire of learning.

Just one modest success story from IndieCleveland. Hope to see you all at the next meeting.

Christine Chapman
lilith at cros.net