We were lucky to catch up with Eric St.Martin recently and have shared our conversation below.
Eric, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
It’s tough because I want to say that in order to keep that creative aspect of yourself alive you should consistently be working on something creative, whether that is writing, making films, editing videos, doing photography, reading, etc., but that is only partially true, at least for me.
For example, when I finally kick myself in the ass long enough to start writing a short screenplay I’ll have an idea for the story that I want to tell. After that, I will start breaking down and creating a back story for the characters. During that process, of course, I feel creative because I’m creating a character from nothing. The same goes for actually writing the script. There comes a time, however, when the writing feels stagnant and plateaus. Now I’m writing and it seems like the character is not evolving or the story is going nowhere or it’s too chaotic. At this point it is good to walk away and remember there is a world out there and life to live of your own.
This is the other portion of keeping that creativity alive. It’s when I travel somewhere or try a new food or talk with a nephew that is attempting to explain an event in his life but doesn’t have the vocabulary to coherently describe the event or his feelings about it. These are moments when my creativity grows and I am not actively trying to spark anything. Just admiring and actively participating in every day life, as corny as that sounds, is where inspiration and creativity are drawn from. That, as well as the continuous writing or whatever activities one may choose as a creative outlet.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Like millions of others I moved out to Los Angeles to become an actor, however, it took awhile to admit that to myself and others. I can’t think of a more cliché statement then, “I’m moving to Hollywood to become an actor.” I thought it was a stupid and embarrassing thing to say in 2016 when I moved here. Today I would still say it’s stupid but not embarrassing. I think if you have a passion for something you go for it no matter how stupid it may sound and definitely don’t be embarrassed about it or how others may perceive it. You have to approach it with confidence to give yourself a fighting chance otherwise that doubt will constantly be getting in your own way.
Anyways, I told people I moved out to Los Angeles because I just wanted to live somewhere different for awhile. It sounded more like something you might check off a bucket list after a year or two which, in my mind, would be more understood then wanting to become an actor. I ended up finding a place to take acting classes and my teacher/coach/mentor, whatever you’d like to call him, was and still is a giant influence and help moving forward. I learned so much on what it actually takes to be an actor. Being present, confidence, research and being detailed are some of many other traits I took from those classes into my filmmaking.
Once I started auditioning and may getting a small role here and there I began to feel like I knew what I was doing and got a understanding of how the whole process was done which intrigued me. I could finally admit, to myself and friends and family, that the film industry was the field of work that I wanted to pursue.
From getting odd jobs on set as a Production Assistant and just listening to people talk and meeting like minded individuals I began to fall in love with the entire filmmaking process which has led to writing, directing, editing and cinematography work. What sucks the most is not having any schooling in any of these areas, which I know isn’t completely necessary. Just doing the thing and learning from project to project is the most helpful, but I do often wish I had some form of educational background as a foundation. Oh well.
This is where I am at today. I continue to learn from others as well as self-teach whether it’s in front of the camera or behind, pre-production or post. I am part of a filmmaking group that produces our own short films. I am in the midst of editing my last short that we filmed at the end of June. I wrote, directed and acted in it which seems a bit egotistical, but I wanted the challenge. I enjoyed the experience, but I don’t know that I will direct and act in another project anytime soon. I am looking to do more writing and directing going forward. I have another short script that is going through an editing phase that I hope to shoot this fall and then I am, also, collaborating on my first feature length script with my writing partner. We are closing in on the first draft and what we plan to do with that once it’s all said and done is to be determined.
I don’t know what the future holds, but I know I love narrative filmmaking and will continue to pump out more films in the independent world for the time being. I do hope to start a production company of my own sooner rather then later and I would say the more loftily expectations for that would be to have the company or part of it based in Minnesota.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
With any job I believe if you have a great work ethic it will put you ahead of most people. I typically rely on a solid work ethic because talent alone won’t get you anywhere. If you’re not putting the work in then what’s the point of getting the job in the first place? Also, I believe it’s a universal language. If someone sees that you want to work and are actually engaged in what’s happening then they are more willing to help and teach you things along the way. Be useful and have an undeniable work ethic.
Two other qualities that have helped me along this journey would be patience and empathy. If you’re looking to get into the film industry you have to have patience because wherever it is that you think you want to get to will take time. Years and years if anything even happens at all. You can work as hard as you want or network with as many people as you can and there are no guarantees so you absolutely need to have patience.
No one journey is the same. They may be similar but not the same so you have to have empathy towards each person you meet along the way. It has helped me tremendously. Where it helped the most was in the beginning while acting. You need to be empathetic to the characters you are portraying. You have to know them and understand them without judgment in order to bring the most realistic version of them to life. Where empathy helps behind the camera is with the people you are working with. Crews are made up of so many people who, again, have been on their own unique journey up until that point. Not everyone has the same level of experience. You don’t know what each person is going through day to day, yet you have to work together towards a common goal. There are so many variables that contribute to working on a set and though it can be fast paced you need to have empathy for each person you’re working with because the more you understand them and their situation the better your work flow will get. At the end of the day there will be less bullshit to deal with and you’ll realize it stemmed from being a nice and understanding person.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
I think it is different for each person, but, for me, it has been much more beneficial to improve in the areas I wasn’t as strong in. This could be because I never really saw a specific strength that could take me to where I wanted to go. I’m not that natural freakish athlete nor am a a natural born leader or a whiz on the computer. I can’t just spout off a great story or do any fascinating tricks. So on this adventure of mine it all started with acting. I was not a great actor. I got better the more I practiced, the more films I watched and performances I broke down and the more books I read and research I did. All of that helped my acting which began to be a strength of mine, at least in comparison to any other job in the filmmaking world. What helped even more that I did not anticipate was branching off into writing, directing and editing. Just like with acting I was not good at any of these things. As I invested more efforts into each one of these areas they progressed my acting even further. Now the more I edit, especially my own work, the better my directing gets because I am seeing points of failure that I need to work on. They all go hand in hand. The more I get into cinematography work the better my editing gets and vis versa. This isn’t to say going all in on your strengths is the wrong way, but continuing to work in areas of little or no experience has helped build many strengths for me and I am grateful for that as a filmmaker.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericst.martin/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-st-martin-843396130/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@FilmmakersForward
Image Credits
Jude K.D.
J.A. Levi
Steve Escarcega
Eric St.Martin
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