Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tamara S. Hall. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Tamara S., so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I feel like my purpose found me, and I’ve been blessed with the discernment to acknowledge and welcome it with open arms. It is my belief that any time your vision becomes shared and has an impact on the lives of others, it is now infiltrating the territory of “purpose.” When what I feel like I ‘have’ to do meets the crossroads of what others ‘want’ or ‘dream’ to do, I feel like my goal then becomes a mission and a calling. As an eldest child and sibling, I have felt called to be of support many times. As an A+ student and overachiever, I was always asked to help others find the answer. As a friend in the filmmaking space, I’ve always stayed just an hour or two longer on a call to make sure that everyone was walking away with tangible and actionable advice. I am a natural giver, advocate, and champion of people. My primary love language is also “acts of service.” I feel like it was only a matter of time before I discovered that the thing that brought me the most joy was also rooted in the way that I love: serving others.
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?
Outside of being a former corporate entertainment professional turned successful filmmaker, I’m a risk-taker, a believer, and the award-winning author of MY life–something I have to constantly remind myself of. I always like to say that my story is still being written. Coming from an underprivileged background and neighborhood, I’ve never had a defined blueprint of what to do and where to go, but I’ve always been encouraged that if I can “dream it,” I can “do it.” And that has set the tone for the bold, accomplished, and resilient chapters of my life. My ink has always been ‘fresh,’ and I’m in a constant state of brainstorm for the next page.
I became a filmmaker out of individual necessity. I was an actress fresh out of acting school looking to create my own roles following a bout of rejection. I was heartbroken but I was hungry. I hadn’t gone to film school, but I had over five years of corporate entertainment experience, working at companies like HBO, Viacom, and NBCUniversal. I had studied screenwriting, and also had experience with directing, leading organizations, and winning awards based on my artistry since college. All of this experience culminated in propelling the success I would have, and despite my lack of film training, mentors, and a film community, I was been able to accelerate my film career, secure multiple deals without an agent, and get every major short film I produced on television, which is almost unheard of.
There is a lot of unnecessary mystique surrounding what it takes to have a professionally successful film and, outside of it contributing to an already large disparity amongst underrepresented filmmakers, it is also harmful to the film community as a whole and creates division where there should be unity.
That’s where my next chapter has come in. Because of my own repeated success and desire to close the gap, I am now the business owner and founder of “The Professional Filmmaker™” out of community necessity. I’ve tapped back into what I believe to be my purpose and have decided that it is important for me to not be a “gatekeeper” of the knowledge, strategies, and resources I’ve built, learned, and uncovered during my journey of becoming a successful filmmaker.
The Professional Filmmaker™ or TPF is a service and education based company that equips filmmakers with the business skills, tools, strategies, and resources needed to make a professionally successful and profitable film. It addresses the disproportionate gap of professional success achieved by underserved and underrepresented filmmakers, and seeks to bridge the gap between creative and professional, eliminating the barriers created by gatekeepers.
There is a course and academy component that has not yet launched, but at this time, there will be exclusive resource drops such as professional guides on monetization, distribution, and film festival success, as well as discounts offered for resources, professional services, and events. A large component of TPF is equipping filmmakers with the film “business” side of the success blueprint and that includes becoming a business and securing funding outside of the typical film grant, as well as learning how to successfully land meetings without an agent.
Interested filmmakers can learn more at theprofessionalfilm.com and also download my free “5 Surprising Business Skills to land TV deals” guide at filmsmakemoney.com.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
It’s really hard to settle on just three because there are certainly more. However, if I had to choose, I would say that the three most impactful qualities and skills in my career journey are confidence, strategic risk-taking, and for the last one–I’m going to cheat a bit and combine two because they work so closely together– effective networking and communication. Let me explain.
There is an unspoken belief that confidence will get you in the room quicker than talent– this is true. Confidence is more persuasive than talent–especially in film where investors commonly buy into the filmmaker first– and humans are psychological beings. Even still, confidence is an often misunderstood and misperceived trait. Oftentimes, the assumption is that someone who presents themselves confidently is void of insecurities. Or simply having confidence equates to the absence of insecurity, doubt, or fear. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Confidence, in my opinion, is a practice. It has to be summoned. Built. Mustered up. It is a dynamic trait that requires work, much like happiness does. Some days you won’t feel confident and some days you will. Unfortunately, we live in a society that doesn’t often encourage the work required to will this trait for our benefit. But it is essential for success.
As a filmmaker, confidence protects your vision. Confidence secures meetings. Confidence closes deals. But it is more important that we look at confidence as a fleeting thing to be had rather than a thing that innately is. You don’t always have to believe in where you are now, but you must believe in where you’re going. That is the key / separator to a successful film.
The second skill I believe to be most impactful is strategic risk-taking. It goes without saying that great rewards don’t come without great risks, but this saying leaves too much to the imagination, which we can be harmful. This is where strategy comes in. In order to take risks that are most likely to reap rewards, you MUST be calculated and intentional. I like to think of my success with risk-taking as intentional courage. I know that, no matter the potential gain, there will always be a level of fear and uncertainty involved. Courage is doing the thing while afraid. When you add this with intention and strategy, your chances for some type of reward, even if it’s not the big shiny one, greatly increases. When I entered the entertainment industry, I had no job, little to no contacts, no money, and no promises. But, I had a plan. That plan involved consistency with applying and putting myself out there. I had a quota for how many people I needed to meet to get into certain doors. I was constantly refining and tailoring my resume, portfolio, and application materials. I also had faith and perseverance. I eventually went from having 0 industry contacts to over 100 in less than a year and I secured two full time TV jobs. I took a risk moving to New York City with no home, money, or job. But, in implementing a plan and strategy, I minimized the “risks” and eventually reaped the rewards.
Lastly, networking and effective communication. You’re probably starting to see how closely all of these skills work together for the same goal. You need confidence to take strategic risks and you need to be willing to put yourself out there (which is taking a risk) to be effective at networking. However, I often find that people struggle with networking because they’re doing it all wrong and it all starts with their communication and how they’re presenting themselves. There are professionals who make a full-time living off of helping others best communicate with their audience or potential customer in order to convert a sale (i.e. copywriters), that’s how important it is and we need to be maximize and enhance this as early in our careers as possible. The difference between you and someone else getting an email response from a big agent could quite literally be in the way the email was written in the first place (this happened to/for me!). My best advice would be to practice different angles, pitches, and enhance your business-writing skills by studying others and reading and writing as much as possible.
A bonus trait I want to add is positivity. A positive mindset radiates an attractive energy and makes people want to approach you, be around you, and work with you. Even while unemployed, I found positivity through my faith and my choices. I chose to be positive despite the odds working against me, and it made people want to help me. We already live in a tumultuous and seemingly hopeless time, wouldn’t it be nice if you were the reason the world began to feel just a bit more hope? It might be hard to find but it is always within you.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Yes, I would love to collaborate with brands and businesses who are interested in furthering the education, opportunities, and resources for women and POC storytellers, ultimately helping to push more diverse stories in the film, TV, and media sector. Since The Professional Filmmaker™ focuses primarily on the business side of entertainment, organizations do not have to be directly tied to the film or TV space, but should either 1) have a vested interest in creating or diversifying the media surrounding their brand, 2) have a mission that involves investing in, connecting and/or fostering their local communities, or 3) have a business-oriented organization whose products or resources may be beneficial to the emerging professional, since a lot of these skills and resources are transferable to the film and TV space.
Example business sectors suitable for partnership may include, but are not limited to, film/TV/media, financial education and literacy, business formulation and legal, marketing and events-based, communications and branding, and more. Small businesses and startups are also encouraged.
I am also available for speaking engagements, script, development, and film business consultations, and professional mentorship. Interested individuals or organizations can contact me at [email protected].
Contact Info:
- Website: theprofessionalfilm.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/tamaraxshanice/
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/tamaraxhall/
- Twitter: twitter.com/TamaraxShanice
- Other: Threads: www.threads.net/@tamaraxshanice
Image Credits
Rashard Wicks, Damari B., Gabbie Downs
