Craig Ainsley on developing your passion projects into paid work - a podcast by Steve Whiteley

In this conversation I chat to writer/director Craig Ainsley (https://twitter.com/CraigSomersault).

Craig's debut short film 'Leslie' received a Vimeo staff pick and was an official selection in numerous short film festivals and premiered on Nowness.com. His second short 'Whenever You’re Ready' also received a Vimeo staff pick, was featured on Short Of The Week and was again an official selection at numerous BAFTA and Oscar qualifying festivals. Craig also directed '12 Days Of Christmas', an animated short featuring Phoebe Waller-Bridge. He has written for BBC Radio 4, Have I Got News For You and has numerous sitcom projects in development.

We kick off talking about the challenge in deciding which projects to prioritise. Craig breaks down what he does in his life as a Creative Director in the advertising industry. He explains why it’s important to make those early mistakes and be shit for a bit before you get better. We discuss Craig's experience of making his first short film, winning a Vimeo staff pick and learning and understanding about the eco-system of film festivals and trying to navigate been the good and bad festivals. The experience and learning curve of watching your short on the big screen and why Vimeo feels more like a short film makers community than YouTube.

Why it’s important to make your first short achievable to shoot and how Craig got a production company onboard. Why you should approach production companies with your script rather than wait for them to come to you. Why making shorts leads to more opportunities and changes the conversations you have with industry execs. We talk about imposters syndrome, Craigs approach to working with actors. He mentions the sitcom pilots he’s got in development with TV production co’s, including one with Babycow. And we talk about the challenges of turning a short into 6 x 30 min episodes and the signs to look out for when you might have stumbled across a good idea.

How to balance between earning money to fund your passion projects, the experience of directing Phone Waller-Bridge, Craigs relationship with his editor and why he sends him his storyboard prior to shooting. We also discuss Craigs transition of becoming a Dad and the positive impact it’s had on his productivity as a writer and on multi tasking in general. And how parenting has opened him up to new ways of thinking and lots more!

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Happy listening :)

Steve - @offkeysteve

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