Meet Avai D’Amico

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Avai D’Amico a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Avai, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

Experience is the primary source of my confidence. I haven’t just made a movie before, I’ve made dozens of movies. After each production, I reflect on what went well, what could’ve come out better, and what I can approach differently next time to improve. Practicing the craft over and over, and especially taking the time to look at the work objectively, is what I’ve found to be most helpful in gaining experience and confidence. Many filmmakers and actors I’ve talked with have mentioned being nervous before getting to the movie set. I remember feeling that way for years, but by now it’s been years since I’ve felt any nervousness. I spend so many days on movie sets, and have done this for so many years, it’s mostly second-nature for me at this point. Many creative people struggle with imposter syndrome at one point, and that period can last a very long time for a lot of people. Even after winning awards at film festivals and getting my movies on streaming platforms, I still felt it. After several of my movies consistently got distribution on popular streaming services, I realized I must be doing something right, and the imposter syndrome isn’t something I’ve really felt in a while now, either.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’m an independent filmmaker. Cinematography is the aspect I find the most thrilling, but I like the entire process. I write screenplays, I build movie sets, I design lighting, and I direct actors. As my confidence in cinematography grew, I took a similar approach to other pieces of filmmaking. I would analyze striking scenes from popular movies to reverse engineer the composition, lighting, and choreography. That practice grew into something I could apply to selecting wardrobe pieces, dressing a set, and even building my own movie sets. We filmed an anthology series in the crime mystery genre, and we also filmed a true crime documentary series. Both will be on streaming services before the end of this year, and can be found by searching for my name.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Everyone should have a quality showreel, whether they’re an actor or a cinematographer or a director. Get out there and make something impressive, even if it’s just a short clip. Experiment with a new way to light a scene, or a new way to deliver a monologue, or some new choreography. Just make something. Then consider what you could do differently next time to potentially improve. Repeat that process over and over, and compile your best clips together, and that’s your showreel. If you can give someone an impressive showreel, even just 60 seconds of great work, they’ll know how seriously to take you, and you’ll also feel more confident because you made something you’re proud of.

We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?

Determining whether it’s best to go all in on a strength, versus developing competency in other areas to be more well-rounded, really comes down to what your personal goals are in your creative pursuit. If you know you specifically like sound, you might focus exclusively on being the best sound recordist you can be, or the best foley artist, or the best sound designer. If you want to be an effective director, it’s helpful to have working knowledge of many areas of filmmaking, of course so you can communicate well with your actors, but also so you can have the best interactions with other department heads such as your cinematographer and your production designer.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Jesus Sanchez

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Productivity
Where do you get your work ethic from?

We’ve all heard the phrase “work hard, play hard,” but where does our work ethic

Productivity
Tactics & Strategies for Keeping Your Creativity Strong

With the rapid improvements in AI, it’s more important than ever to keep your creativity

Productivity
From Burnout to Balance: The Role of Self-Care

Burning out is one of the primary risks you face as you work towards your