We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tonia L. Carrier-Hicks. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tonia L. below.
Tonia L., we are so happy that our community is going to have a chance to learn more about you, your story and hopefully even take in some of the lessons you’ve learned along the way. Let’s start with self-care – what do you do for self-care and has it had any impact on your effectiveness?
I have found that for me to be able to accomplish a lot of the things I set out to do I need to have a good level of organization in my life. A bunch of years ago I found The Minimalists on Youtube. They helped teach me to declutter my belongings which lead to many habits that still help me. I find that the more clutter-free and organized I am it just seems to clear my brain which allows me to focus on what I’m trying to create. This is definitely a form of self-care! I also have realized that if I don’t get enough sleep I can’t be as productive as I want to be. Often times we think that by doing self care it could be a time waster but I have found the opposite. The healthier I am physically, mentally, and in my surroundings the more I can get done.
I’m also a big believer in doing a “brain-dump”. I sit down with a pretty notepad of paper and just get everything out of my head, no matter how mundane a thing it is. Once it’s on paper I no longer have to worry about forgetting it so this allows me to move on to actually DOING these things.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am an independent filmmaker and Vegan activist. About 12 years ago I got to work on my first film set in Peoria, Illinois. It was crazy! It was a really unorganized set but I learned a lot and met so many fun people. I was hired for hair and makeup but ended up doing even more jobs on set. I made lasting friends on that set and after that experience I was given many opportunities to work on other projects all over Michigan and the Chicago area. After a few years of that I decided to try to be a filmmaker and made my first short film. Since then, I have made 5 feature films, about 7 short films and 1 documentary. I like to think I have been improving the entire time with each project and I love the journey I’ve been on, the good, the bad, and the ugly! Also, I went vegan almost 7 years ago. That changed my life as I saw beneath the veil of all the horrible things that happened to animals in the food industry. A lot of people get angry and annoyed with vegan activists but all activists are doing is trying to get people to understand how easy it can be to not contribute to the suffering of the animals we share our planet with. I like to try to share information with people whenever I can because I really believe the only difference between a vegan and a non-vegan is information.
I also work as a hair and makeup artist in Saginaw, Michigan. I have gotten to do everything you can do with a hair license. I have done photo shoots, educated, done television, and film and I continue to work at the salon now. I’m really thankful to be able to make my own work schedule so I am able to switch from filmmaking, vegan advocacy, and hair. It gives me a chance to have a multitude of things to work on throughout my week.
Currently, I’m editing a short film called I Appreciate You. This was written, directed, and edited by myself. This is the first project in a while that I created myself so it feels good to work on. Over the past few years I’ve done projects for other people so it was very important to carry out other people’s visions. This project will be something that I dreamed up and though either way is fun, I’m excited to see this one finished.
I am someone who likes to keep busy so having all of these areas of my life engaged is a big deal for me. 3 and a half years ago I was married to my absolute favorite person, My husband O’dell and we live in Saginaw, Michigan with our little cat, Ripley. O’dell has many hobbies as well so he is always supporting me with mine too. I’m thankful to be partnered with someone so nice and fun!
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?
Looking back on my film journey I think a quality that helped me was humility. I have been on many film sets over the past 12 years and I know that being humble and helpful are two traits that will pay off. They always say it’s not what you know but who you know and I think that means to keep it kind and be eager to learn and that will lead you to more opportunities in the future. As an indie filmmaker I have done work for pay and worked without pay. That is often the case when in a place like Michigan, where a lot of the film projects are independent and on the smaller budget size. It’s important to realize this and try to organize your life so when you’re gaining experience you’re able to make yourself available for various opportunities that come your way. I realize that in other areas of the country one might be able to only submit for paid projects and that’s fine if that’s what path a person wants to take but again, in my smaller town of Michigan I have gained so much experience in volunteering on various projects and I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
Recently my lovely husband told me he thought I needed a newer computer for film editing. I have some projects coming up in the future so he thought it would be helpful to me. We also decided I should switch from using Premiere to edit and switch to a pretty popular program called Davinci. I have heard great things about Davinci so I was open to this. While using Premiere for the past 8ish years, I could accomplish my editing jobs just fine. I knew the program well enough that not too many problems came about. But NOW it was on to a totally new and different editing program! WOW! It’s been SUCH a challenge. I really wasn’t expecting it to be so difficult to switch programs. This all has made me learn that I’m quite a stubborn person. It was like starting completely from scratch. Very challenging. My husband is great and kept reminding me to just focus on learning and not to feel like I needed to complete my project on anyone else’s timeline, and that by the time I’d done with this short film I would know the program moving forward. He also reminded me to take it one small step at at time and that there are a ton of educational videos online.
Well, Slowly I’m learning and getting a little better and it’s coming together. I’d encourage anyone else out there to be gentle with themselves. Try to take some of that pressure off yourself wherever possible. I know a lot of people who set out to do something and it doesn’t ever really get done so just the fact that you’re working on a creative, artistic project is a great thing. Just breathe through it and try to make it fun. See your progress and try to be proud of yourself when you hit little milestones.
But with all that said, I will be THRILLED to finish my current film.
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Image Credits
Pictures were stills from Bailiwick the movie, directed by Tonia L. Carrier Hicks, shot by Rick Moreau, and I Appreciate You, directed by Tonia L. Carrier Hicks, shot by Rick Moreau. Tonia’s Headshot photo taken by O’dell Hicks
