Today we’d like to introduce you to Isiah Barnes.
Hi Isiah, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Hey guys,
Well absolutely! I’ll try not to put you to sleep state lol but to answer the question; Ill start with just my entrance into film. As a lifelong theater actor, I was branching out and at 20 I went to a local casting for a small indie in Saginaw got cast. When I went on my first film set, I was hooked. It was like charlie walking into the factory lol no matter the lack of resources, seeing the camera and the lights, i knew this was where I was supposed to be. Even though I had 3 lines it felt like I made it to Hollywood so with that burst of excitement I went home and started finishing my story I was writing. Long story short, ended up a few years later completing my first film and I’ve been chasing the dream ever since.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Hahaha im laughing at smooth road line in the question. Any entrepreneur or artist or career driven person would be able to tell you the path to success is never linear. If it was easy everyone would do it. I can’t speak for everyone’s journey but mine as a filmmaker is such a beautiful, awful, wonderful, terrible journey lol its truly like a Rollercoaster of extreme downs and hardship, questioning if you’re just the biggest idiot for ever attempting to chase your dreams. And then the glimpses, the beautiful glimpses of it actually happening makes tears come to your eyes after many many years of working on it. Ill be candid and honest for the folks who maybe one day get he courage; its extreme fear and doubt and everyone thinks you’re delusional…Then you do it and all those same people congratulate you and tell you they’ve believed the whole time. That’s real. My film journey has been filled with all the bad people, who left me stranded metaphorically. Lied on me, talked bad about me, quit on me after getting paid, people trying to steal the film, its been literally like the wild wild west. But then God sends you amazingly incredible people that ill work with the rest of my career, so its a balance. You HAVE to be doing what youre doing for the right reasons, if its superficial like I wanna get rich and famous. This path is so hard it’ll beat that out of you, and only the people with full love in their hearts for what they’re doing will succeed. That’s why so few make it, but lead your journey with love and passion, the right people will cross your path.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
For those who don’t know me, my name is Isiah and im a filmmaker. Im known for creating and constructing films from the ground up. So I wear a few different hats; I write the story first that I want to tell, then I Produce the film. Which for those who dont know means; Raise the capital for the budget, hire the cast and crew. Then I Direct which means make the creative decisions, help the actors perform and create the shots. So when its done we have a product we can be proud of. So what makes me different…Hmm first ill say in absolutely huge respect to any other filmmakers, because I know everybody brings their own take and I know how hard it is so to bring anything to the big screen. But a couple things I would say set me apart, would be…Is the writing, I’ve been doing it for so many years so that experience im really good at creating unique stories that haven’t been seen before. Usually stories aren’t at that level on the page at the independent level so that strong foundation with a great story. Then the amount of capital I can raise as a Producer. Raising money is single handedly the hardest part of any film because Usually without money you can’t shoot anything. And MOST to all indie filmmakers struggle with getting money raised. I was able to raise low 6 figures. Which I know was huge most will never have that much in their budget but that ability to connect with investors hugely sets me apart aswell.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
No not necessarily anything specific I need more to share. For me its about giving the readers a level of realism and inspiration. People can do it, inspiring the next wave of ambitious people to chase their dreams. I wanted to give a level of honesty and clarity on how my journey has gone. You’ll face so much fear and risk, but find the courage and keep stepping forward one step at a time. Whether you want to start a gym, podcast, a restaurant, or go back to school or just go to the gym and lose weight. You have to keep a goal in your mind and march toward and its not about the big giant milestones, its the little ones a long the way. My goal is to show everyday people that YOU ARE ENOUGH. Just start, with what you have and where youre at.
Contact Info:
- Facebook: Isiah Barnes
