Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Director/Writer Vanilla Tupu: takeaways from working across development, film and music worlds
42 Plays7 days ago
We’re joined on Breaking Screen by Vanilla Tupu, a director, writer and development manager who talks about takeaways from being in the development team at Wooden Horse; working across projects that bridge music, film and Pacific culture; and some crucial advice for any freelance creatives, but particularly emerging ones.
In the music world, Vanilla has directed and produced acclaimed music videos for artists including BARKAA, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, The DMAs, OneFour, and Egoism. Meanwhile in screen, she line-produced the Netflix documentary OneFour: Against All Odds, and directed the AACTA-nominated ABC series Bad Ancestors – which was the first Pacific-led project to be commissioned by a major Australian broadcaster.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Breaking Screen Podcast
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to Breaking Screen, a podcast about the Australian screen industry and the creative people within it. I'm your host, Karis Buzaka, and I'm recording this podcast from the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, where I'm very grateful to be a visitor and be able to work on these lands.
00:00:18
Speaker
Always was, always will be.
Screen Australia Funding Announcement
00:00:21
Speaker
Today's episode will feature Vanilla Tupu, a development manager, director and writer. But before we get to that chat, here's some news from the Australian screen industry.
00:00:30
Speaker
Screen Australia has announced $12.6 million in funding across 46 narrative projects. This comes after the new guidelines were launched on July 1, where one of the big changes was the platform agnostic assessment lens, meaning features, television and online are all assessed against the same criteria.
00:00:49
Speaker
It also means this announcement rolls in development and production funding across a huge slate of feature film, television and online, whereas in the past this might have been separated out into different announcements, like you might have had an online funding only announcement.
Funding Trends and Insights
00:01:04
Speaker
It's a different approach, but you can still find the block lines in the media release for the different platforms. And for those who don't know what I mean by block lines, they list the title, format, credits, production company, and synopsis.
00:01:17
Speaker
So with some manual counting, ah for receiving production funding were 11 feature films, two TV series, and three web series, or six if you count digital originals.
00:01:28
Speaker
And in development, 19 films, six TV series, and two web series. In development, it's a bit more complex than how I've listed it just now, as even though the premium and generate funding strands no longer exist, there's a bit of a hangover from that, so film and television is still broken up into those categories in the block lines.
00:01:48
Speaker
It's worth having a read through the announcement and all the block lines on Screen Australia's website because there's always a big headline of the film or the name that received funding and maybe a spotlight on a handful of projects, but 46 narrative projects is a lot.
00:02:04
Speaker
And if you're working on a project or you're thinking about applying for development or production funding, knowing what's recently received funding can be really beneficial. I now feel like I've been speaking for an eternity, so I'll leave the news wrap up there, but remember to head over to any of the Australian trade publications for more.
00:02:24
Speaker
Now to the chat with today's guest.
Introduction to Vanilla Tupu
00:02:26
Speaker
We're joined on breaking screen by Vanilla Tupu, a development manager, director, and writer. In the music world, Vanilla has directed and produced acclaimed music videos for artists including Barker, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, the DMAs, One Four and Egoism.
00:02:42
Speaker
Meanwhile, in Screen, she line produced the Netflix documentary One Four Against All Odds and directed the actor-nominated ABC series Bad Ancestors, which was the first Pacific-led project to be commissioned by a major Australian broadcaster.
00:02:57
Speaker
Vanilla is also development manager at production company Wooden Horse. Throughout the episode, Vanilla talks about takeaways from her work as a development manager, working across projects that bridge music, film, and Pacific culture, and some crucial advice for any freelance creatives, but particularly emerging ones.
Vanilla Tupu's Career Journey
00:03:15
Speaker
Here's that chat.
00:03:19
Speaker
And so we talk about inciting incidents on this podcast. And what would you say would be the inciting incident for your career?
00:03:31
Speaker
So the inciting incident for my career, I think ah there were a couple of culminations of different things. I grew up on a steady slew of music docos and food shows and classic cinema thanks to my parents and that kind of planted the seed in me that I really loved this world and I loved, you know, seeing things on screen and the idea that you can take an idea and make it into something so grand and so beautiful as film.
00:04:00
Speaker
as a film But then, ah so when I finished school, I didn't really know what I wanted to do. So I took a couple of years off from study and then I decided to do a media arts degree, just on a whim, really. Like i I had the seeds of a lot of different things that I was thinking about.
00:04:15
Speaker
I was like, okay, am I going to be a lawyer? I'm not particularly skilled at negotiating. Well, that's actually a lie. I'm pretty good at negotiating. um But I didn't think you know that I necessarily had that kind of logistical lawyer brain, but it was something i was thinking about. I thought about, am I going to go and do a music career? Because I'd grown up um taking photos of musicians and kind of working in the gig space and working with musicians a lot.
00:04:41
Speaker
And then I thought, maybe I want to direct. And I know there's a part of me that loves creative writing and would love to know how to write scripts. So I'm going to go and do a degree. And it just so turned out to be the greatest love of my life.
00:04:54
Speaker
I started volunteering on student projects and met an incredible team of people that I still collaborate with to this day. And that just really kind of took off and blossomed into my career. And it it really was like I'm very lucky to to have been able to go and look at the university booklet and be like, hmm, what do I want to do? What do want to be?
00:05:18
Speaker
And choose an arts degree of all things. But it just has so turned out to be what I've actually fashioned into a career. ah So I think that and then, yeah, just going back to the gig photography thing, like I worked a lot in the music space and took photos of bands a lot.
00:05:35
Speaker
And I think there was a natural flow over of like, you know, doing some very, very, Simple music videos, embryonic stage of knowing how to work with film, but that kind of planted the seed as well in terms of what I wanted to do long term.
Balancing Creativity and Logistics
00:05:51
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. That's kind of cool. Cause it's all the things that you mentioned there, you kind of still work within those realms in your current roles. Like I'm in development, I'm sure you're dealing with like contracts and things that you would have been dealing with if you went into law or like from the music video photography, like you've gone into directing and producing music videos. So that's, yeah, I,
00:06:17
Speaker
kind of love that you still ended up in all the spaces that you wanted to be in but through film. Yeah, I genuinely, i was thinking about this today as well. I'm so grateful for it. And I just can't believe that I've crafted this career where those two worlds get to melt.
00:06:35
Speaker
Cause I've got the business side of things and I absolutely adore the business side of things. Like with my development role at Wooden Horse, a lot of it is quite logistical, you know, your contracts, your schedules, um your budgets and that side of things, which my brain really enjoys doing. But then I've got the inherently creative side of things as well, which is my kind of directing and writing side of things.
00:06:56
Speaker
And there's been natural flow over of music as well. Like I've been really grateful to work on a lot of projects that have music as a baseline as well um and and directing music videos over the past couple of of years too for some artists I never thought that I'd, you know, be in the periphery of let alone be able to actually be directing their music videos. so it's it's been quite a pinch me moment to have been able to just stumble my way into a career that amalgamates all of the things that I grew up loving.
00:07:30
Speaker
Yeah. And how do you think your work in music videos, directing, producing music videos has helped with narrative storing storytelling, if, you know, at all?
Storytelling in Music Videos
00:07:45
Speaker
I think it's taught me how to be really scrappy because, you know, the beautiful thing about music videos is that there's no rhyme or reason to them. The context of it is that you'll work with an artist, you'll either pitch them a concept or they'll pitch you in a concept and you kind of collaborate together to build out a music video, which is usually, you know,
00:08:07
Speaker
two to four minutes in length and you have to bring this idea to life, but it can be, it can just be anything. There's no laws, there's no rhyme or reason music videos. They can be abstract, they can be narrative, which I think is so beautiful. But a lot of the time it is working with really limited resources.
00:08:26
Speaker
So I think from the outset, I got really familiar and really comfortable with working with within constraints of finite time, finite crew, finite budget, and still making something and pulling it off irrespective of that. And I think there's something really exciting about that.
00:08:44
Speaker
And I think it's definitely flown over into my mentality and in longer form projects, like no matter how big the budget is, you're still going to have to be scrappy at some point. And I'm really comfortable with that. Like I don't have any issue with that. Like obviously the bigger the budget, the better.
00:09:02
Speaker
But when you are when you do have a project, like a feature film that's independent and you're working with a smaller budget, I actually think that the limitations, there's spaces for really brilliant creativity to be born.
00:09:16
Speaker
and I think that, that happens across the board whether it's a two-minute music video or feature film. Yeah. And as a bit of a, you know, feel free to name drop, can you reel off some of the music videos that you've um worked on, that you've enjoyed working on with some artists? totally.
00:09:38
Speaker
I've worked on a couple of one-four clips, which is was actually how I first started working on the Netflix doco. Oh, really? One four, yeah. Yeah, cool.
00:09:50
Speaker
I'm ever grateful to Gabriel, the director, who just kind of we met through social media and then he brought me on for a music video and then through that we established a relationship and and I ended up working on the project.
00:10:03
Speaker
So I've worked with them a couple of times. I've got to EP. I started production managing and then have moved up to EPing their stuff, which is really cool. I've worked with the DMAs before, a local band called Egoism. um I work with them frequently, which is awesome. I've worked with Barker, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.
00:10:23
Speaker
Yeah, and some international artists too, but a lot of local stuff, which has been great. yeah But Doja Cat, one day, me and you. Heard it here first.
00:10:34
Speaker
and You're like, what am I saying? i I say it in every interview. One day I'll get to her. and Nothing wrong with thrusting. Yeah. um And so, like you said, there are so many different kinds of music videos and I feel like There are a lot of amazing directors who have worked within music videos
Influences and Creative Approach
00:10:55
Speaker
as well. Um, but do you have any music videos that are like core to you that, you know, are the ones that maybe ah is your favorite that used to watch, like when you were younger or like just really encapsulates like a tone or is there something that for you is like a reference of a great music video?
00:11:17
Speaker
I had a feeling you'd ask this question, anything but I can rattle off um a couple. There's a DMA's music video that was really, really formative to me.
00:11:29
Speaker
um It was shot by a friend of now a friend of mine called Greg Wally. And I just thought it was so incredibly cinematic and beautiful and it built this narrative world. And it was as aesthetic as it was kind of just so evocative and emotional.
00:11:45
Speaker
but it done in such a succinct amount of time. from the cinematic references, I've always kind of gone back to that, but from the kind of ethos and the way that they link the music with the visuals, that's also something that stuck with me for a really long time. And now I'm so honoured to call him a friend, but we're also about to collaborate on a short film that I've written and directed. ah We're going to shoot that over a weekend pretty soon, which is very exciting. Cool.
00:12:14
Speaker
And then... Oh, people are going to call me out for my taste in music, but theres some there are some really brilliant 1975 music videos that, again, they're just so cinematic but simple as well. I think the the music videos that really get to the heart of things and are quite emotive, I really resonate with.
00:12:35
Speaker
But there's just a whole slew of incredible Sydney-based music video directors and I just i can't help but watch them and be inspired by them all the time. um Yeah, I'll keep thinking. I'm sure there's other ones that I've missed out, but those.
00:12:49
Speaker
It'll be that thing a couple of days from now you'll be like, ah. should have said that one. ah Yeah, yeah.
Niche in Music and Film
00:12:55
Speaker
Yeah, exactly, exactly. But you've also, you know, you line produced One Four Against All Odds, ah the Netflix documentary.
00:13:06
Speaker
So you kind of have been bridging music and film and TV worlds. Is that something that you want to continue doing, and kind of working between both?
00:13:18
Speaker
Yeah, 100%. I think, as I mentioned before, I've kind of found this niche for whatever reason. And even in my development role at Wooden Horse, there are a couple of projects on my table that do amalgamate those worlds as well. They're scripted projects.
00:13:35
Speaker
And it's been a really natural fit for me to kind of work on those projects with those teams because I have that specific frame of reference. So traveling that that kind of experience over into the scripted world has been really interesting because obviously I've only worked previous to this in the kind of documentary side and the music video side, but there actually is a really natural flow over into the scripted world as well. Like, you know, you've got shows like Atlanta.
00:14:03
Speaker
ah What else was I watching recently? I mean, the studio is different because it's the film industry, but those kind of metal shows on screen where you see a particular industry kind of,
00:14:16
Speaker
reflected and i I gravitate to that stuff naturally and it's also become something that I work on in the development world. So 100% those worlds are going to continue to amalgamate. for here on in, I hope.
00:14:29
Speaker
And so, yeah you have worked in music videos, you've worked in, you know, directing short form series like Bad Ancestors.
Directing Approach and Collaboration
00:14:38
Speaker
What do you think your approach is like as a director? You know, do you storyboard every shot?
00:14:46
Speaker
Are you more about the technical side? Are you more about working with actors? What's your approach? Yeah, I think I'm quite a technical director because I started out as effectively as a camera person, like ah as a photographer, I really knew my way around ah camera. And I think that's been quite a natural flow over.
00:15:07
Speaker
I feel like I'm definitely like a ah cruise director. Like I love my cruise. I'm so passionate about working with people that are passionate it about this industry and the projects I'm working on. and And a lot of the time too, like the stuff that I've done independently has been on the lower budget side of things.
00:15:24
Speaker
So the people that get on board are people that genuinely believe in it and that's always such a joy. But in saying that, I'm also 100% actor's director. Like,
00:15:35
Speaker
kind of preparing for this short has meant that I've really had to sit with the actors and we've actually done a lot of workshopping on the script and tweaking things together collaboratively.
00:15:47
Speaker
And the kind of passion that actors bring to a script and working through the emotion of it all and the backstory is so fascinating to me. And I really love just kind of, I'm happy to offer up my script to people to pull apart and put it back together together in partnership with the actors. I know some directors here are like, oh God, don't take my words.
00:16:11
Speaker
yeah But I think, I think, you know, there could be a really beautiful process in doing that and hearing how they want to imbue their character on the script and their experience and their backstory that they've kind of crafted. I love working on that together. So I think I straddle both worlds.
00:16:27
Speaker
Um, but I definitely have the technical knowledge and skill set just from having leapfrogged in so many different crew roles over the years and spending so much time on crews I think that's a really natural place for me to play.
00:16:42
Speaker
Do you feel like because of that I mean the relationship with the cinematographer is always really important but is that something that you look to kind of first because of your photography background like finding someone that you can collaborate with?
00:16:59
Speaker
Yeah, very naturally. Like I love my cinis. um I think again, you know, like growing up watching that beautiful Italian French cinema really gave me the sense of very clear cinema that I love and and and kind of worlds that you can build on screen in such a beautiful way.
00:17:21
Speaker
so i I really look to that when i'm I'm thinking of a project. And oftentimes I'll have a DOP in mind from the outset because they've got a particular look and a particular sensibility on screen.
00:17:36
Speaker
Yeah, so I just, I love building those worlds out in partnership with the DOP. That's something that I've always, always loved. And you mentioned before about a short film that you wrote and are going to direct. Yeah.
00:17:50
Speaker
So I was going to say as a director and producer, what do you look for in screenplays or how do you know if it's a project you want to pursue, but you're also writing your own work But still, I feel like the question still
Project Selection Criteria
00:18:06
Speaker
stands. If you're not if you're not writing something yourself, how do you go, oh, I really resonate with that. Like what do you look for in a screenplay?
00:18:16
Speaker
it It's such an interesting one because I have these different hats. um I've got like the development bucket and the writer-director bucket. They're kind of separate but also similar. I think people who have – a really distinct vision and passion. If a team is incredibly passionate about a story and it's, so I think, something else I gravitate towards as well as something that's a bit anarchic, a little bit punk.
00:18:44
Speaker
If you've got that sensibility and you know that you've got something special and you can really sell why, like you can explain why it's going to work in the market, even if it's a little bit left of field, you can explain why the team's is going to work, even if they haven't necessarily got the credits to kind of show for it, like I will immediately kind of gravitate towards that stuff.
00:19:06
Speaker
I also really gravitate towards specific stories. I'm of someone heritage. And so I've been really, really grateful and and lucky to work on a lot of specific projects.
00:19:18
Speaker
And so if anything kind of comes across my desk, it always piques my interest and Yeah, and so being able to work in that space and that's something that I've been able to kind of amalgamate into this world as well, like the flow over of music and storytelling and film and Pacific culture. It's not mutually exclusive. Like ah we're a storytelling culture and so it's obvious that those things are going to come together and it's been amazing to kind of work on a lot of those projects.
00:19:46
Speaker
Yeah, I think, yeah, just people who are passionate, scripts that have great, chatter and banter. Like I love a witty script, but I love something that's also has something really emotive ah at its core. So it can be funny as all get out, but actually have something really grounded and rooted in like the emotional politics of it all. Like I really love kind of relationship dramas. I love family dramas. I love I know dramedy is a bit of a dirty word now, but things that have the levity to offset the dramatic side of things but can still aren't afraid to really, like, dig the knife in when the going gets tough. I think that stuff is so interesting.
00:20:28
Speaker
Yeah. I don't know why, but I gravitate towards scripts about masculinity. I find it so fascinating and the complexity of that as well. So, yeah, just broad but specific, I guess. Yeah.
00:20:42
Speaker
Yeah. And, you know, you've talked about working at Wooden Horse as well. So you also work in development. Yes. How has that kind of work influenced you as a writer director?
00:20:57
Speaker
Oh, it's been massive. Like ah the flow over has been incredible. I've learned a lot in this role. I've been in the role for almost three years now. And now I can do a funding application. Now I know what the market is looking for internationally and locally. Now I know what makes the script sing. Like on a daily basis, I get to read books. I get to read scripts from Australia's top writers, which is just such such a privilege. But it's it's meant that I've really been able to hone what goes on the page for my stuff as well.
00:21:31
Speaker
you know, how to hook people quickly, what witty pattern banter, what what great dialogue looks like on the page, which is something I i feel like i've always kind of had a sensibility for, but I just didn't have the level of interface with.
00:21:47
Speaker
And also too, I think it's it's given me and like a real grounded sense of reality in that like, you know, a lot of the projects we've been developing, they are you're in it for the long haul, but it doesn't mean that that's a necessarily a bad thing. It's just you take the time to really hone and craft something until it's 100% ready to go to market, which is a beautiful process.
00:22:09
Speaker
Yeah, and I think there's been flow over as well from my directing and writing side and having that creative lens and being able to bring it back to my development, putting my development hat on too.
00:22:20
Speaker
Yeah. I think they they kind of balance each other out really well. Again, how to... how to get something financed, how to do a schedule for 30 episodes of something. yeah That's not knowledge that's not going to go to use, you know, yeah having, even if it seems really random, it's such useful knowledge to have. And also to be able to pass that on to other people that might not have, like, honestly, it's such a privilege to have this role and to be able to do my own things on the side as well. But like,
00:22:53
Speaker
There are other people in the industry and friends of mine as well who don't necessarily have the development knowledge. So I can read their scripts and and offer that lens as well as opposed to just the lens of a writer-director.
00:23:05
Speaker
Yeah. So think they really do go in tandem.
Funding Applications and Market Strategies
00:23:08
Speaker
When you listed some of those things, then i wonder if you have any tips are takeaways based on the fact that you do apply for funding, um, that you do know what the international market is looking for and things like that. Do you,
00:23:26
Speaker
yeah Do you have any tips for people listening or like what does make something really hooky and make you want to read more when you look at a script?
00:23:39
Speaker
Yeah, it's such a great question. i think know what your story is and know how to pitch it and be conscious of the other things in the market and in the zeitgeist that are in a similar space so that you can offer up examples of why this will work.
00:23:56
Speaker
I think having a really robust package in terms of who you bring to the table ah outside of just the project alone, I think partnerships are really important in this industry.
00:24:07
Speaker
And so if you if you have the ability to partner with a writer who's got some big runs on the board or a director who's got some big runs on the board or an actor that's, you know, got some level of prestige and you can put that package forward, then I think that's always going to make it stronger.
00:24:27
Speaker
I mean, that's not exclusive. I think there are things that fall outside of that as well. You know, i work at a particular level with, with Wooden Horse, but also too, if you're an emerging rider, it's not something that you should necessarily be afraid of doing. um It can just be difficult to navigate. Like if you haven't done a funding application before, like before starting at Wooden Horse, I had no idea how to do that.
00:24:51
Speaker
So if you don't know how to do it, then you can reach out to people like myself. You can reach out to other people through socials through LinkedIn or whatever, and just get some advice. And you can always call people at Screen Australia are through their website, ah the development managers there to help navigate those platforms, which I think people don't necessarily know if they haven't done it before. um You can always get advice about how to do it because it can, it can be a little bit a... Bloody smarty grants.
00:25:19
Speaker
Oh, smarty grants. Yeah. Oh, let's not go there.
00:25:28
Speaker
But yeah, if you haven't heard that before, you can get advice and you can get help from people in the funny bodies themselves. And um you have worked across a lot of different kind of mediums, formats. um What do you feel like some of your takeaways were from, you know, working in music videos compared to working in short form?
00:25:53
Speaker
Yeah, do you feel like there are certain kind of takeaways you would have from those different
Creative Potential and Production Challenges
00:25:59
Speaker
forms? Different mediums? Yeah.
00:26:03
Speaker
I think, oh, look, I mean, i think the really interesting thing and the thing that I find every single time is like no matter whether ah you're on a $200 music video or $25 million dollars series, there's always going to have to be compromises and you're always going to be scrambling for more resources, but that's just the nature of the beast.
00:26:28
Speaker
And that's not a bad thing. I don't think it's a bad thing at all. I think being scrappy, I think being just really smart about how you use your resources ah is, again, it's kind of like creating within those constraints. I don't think it's a limitation. I think it's actually where brilliant stuff is born.
00:26:45
Speaker
So a big takeaway for me overall is that they're not dissimilar from each other. And people will probably go, well, that's not true. I'd argue that making a blockbuster Marvel film is very different from making a, yeah you know. But you're saying like even on the Marvel films, they're going to have to compromise in some somewhere because there's never enough money or time or whatever. Exactly, exactly. And I think, you know, young people who are starting out in the industry,
00:27:13
Speaker
Just take comfort in the fact that ah you're probably going to find the same thing at the top. Everyone feels that way. yeah You know, that's there's going to be similar similarities in experience whether you're working on a on a low budget or a big budget.
Coping with Rejection and Stress
00:27:30
Speaker
So I suppose that then takes us to our segment, Pay It Forward, um which is where I'm going to ask you a question from the previous guest. And then after you will come up with a question for our next guest.
00:27:45
Speaker
ah The question is from filmmaker Josh Sambono. And so his question is. What are some tools to stop the bone crushingly defeatist emotions that can come from Continual rejection.
00:28:03
Speaker
Stephen King's book on writing, he talks about how he had this um ah old school, like, it's where you like stab a letter onto the spike.
00:28:14
Speaker
And so every rejection letter, he would stab onto the spike. So impaling his rejections over and over and over again until he had this massive stack. And then he finally wrote carry.
00:28:24
Speaker
And so it's a hard journey. And and and what are the tools to to keep running when your legs are on fire?
00:28:34
Speaker
It is such a brilliant question. um Yeah, rejection is a tough one and I think it's particularly tough at the moment because there's, you know, big global market contractions and there's not as big of a boom in film and television as there has been historically. So it's getting harder and harder for for writers and creatives to kind of get those runs on the board, which is seemingly all important.
00:29:03
Speaker
So how do you navigate that? um I think it's going to sound really woo woo, but I think just being really gentle with yourself, just because you're getting rejection doesn't mean that you're bad or not worthy of a experience or ah role on a particular project.
00:29:25
Speaker
It just means it might not be the exact right fit this time. If you get it again and again, ah which happens, I think, yeah, what what can you turn your hand to in the meantime that fills your cup? you know What are some other things? Like I listened to the interview with him and he talked about his hobby of playing a guitar.
00:29:47
Speaker
um What else can you channel your your focus into? That doesn't mean that you're getting... really caught up in the kind of debilitating nature of rejection because it really can be.
00:30:00
Speaker
I come from a family of creatives and so I know that really well, like that that is just a reality for some people and for myself included. Like, you know, before I started full time, that was the case as well. But it's just Be gentle with yourself.
00:30:17
Speaker
Go do walks. um If you like exercise, go do some exercise. Ground yourself. Yeah, I don't know if that's great advice, but I think just being really kind to yourself because it's oftentimes not, it's not a fault of yours at all.
00:30:36
Speaker
Yeah, and it can be really tricky um because i feel like especially when you're starting out, you want to say yes to everything as well.
00:30:48
Speaker
So you can very easily burn out. So you have these kind of two elements. It's not only like the rejection and things, but if you do get offers, you want to just say yes, yes, yes, yes. yes yes And as a lot of um creatives being freelancers,
00:31:06
Speaker
you can kind of go too far the other way and be like, oh, I'm now just working crazy hours nonstop for, don't know, months um and experience burnout. So I feel like that's also potentially ah challenge is that life work balance.
00:31:25
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. I think it's that thing of, and know if it's opportunity cost or having a kind of, I forget the word at phrase. It's like, lack mindset or something like that when you think that the opportunities are going to dry out some at some point so you kind of dwell in that world of like oh my gosh I got to grab onto this I got to grab into this I got to put it all in my basket and I got to heap it on top which I think is a very very natural thing to do and I'm what like 100% that's something that I know very well but from doing that I got really sick a couple of years ago ah with stress and kind of
00:32:04
Speaker
chronic illness um which I didn't realize was probably latent at the time but came to ah head because I had stacked so many things on myself as a young ambitious filmmaker that my body just kind of gave out and so it's been a real process to learn how to healthily keep the pressure on and keep the drive up and keep the ambition on but also give myself the the the gentleness and understanding that sometimes you do just have to switch off the computer.
00:32:39
Speaker
And sometimes you do just have to go outside for a walk and allow yourself to have that time. And I think the other thing as well is like as emerging creatives or anyone in the industry, you know, there can be a fear about asking for that time if you're working within a production company or or wherever you may be working, asking for,
00:33:02
Speaker
that time to, to prioritize your health. I would just recommend to everyone, like I would, I have been really supported by companies that I've worked at when I have needed to kind of prioritize my health.
00:33:15
Speaker
But if you don't have your health, you don't have your fire in your belly to keep following your passion, um you know, you you you get that burnout. So you do really genuinely have to prioritize it sometimes and that's okay.
00:33:30
Speaker
It can be scary to say ah need to just tap out for a bit, but I think that there should be more cognizance around the fact that it's just a part of life that if you're dealing with chronic health things, if you're dealing with personal life stuff, whatever the case may be, it's okay to just sometimes go, i just need a little breather for a second.
00:33:51
Speaker
And to be able to actively and openly have those conversations with your employees can be scary, but it's okay because a lot of the time they will support you and that should be the case. And I'm really lucky that I've had that in my career. So, yeah, that's a very roundabout way of saying, again, like be gentle with yourself.
Advice for Emerging Creatives
00:34:11
Speaker
um Yeah. Because birth is real. Yeah, yeah, totally. Yeah, I think that's really important. And um yeah, i think it's the advice to be gentle on yourself is such a good one.
00:34:23
Speaker
You know, i I feel like, especially when you're emerging, you just want be kind of working all the time. um and just speaking from my own experience, like I haven't written as much as I would have liked in the past year because of personal reasons.
00:34:43
Speaker
And, yeah, i mentioned it to a friend like, i you know, I haven't done this and I haven't done this. and i And she was like said exactly the same advice where she was like maybe you can not be so hard on yourself because of the context.
00:34:59
Speaker
um Yeah, so I think it's like really valid. I also just want to say as well like I want to give you your flowers because like i in terms of inciting incident, like I listened religiously to the Screen Australia podcast, which gave me so many tools and introduced me to so many incredible filmmakers that really was very, very formative when I was studying and and through my early career as well. So the fact that you are, you know, even today just ah have created the space for filmmakers to come and speak about
00:35:34
Speaker
these things and their experiences in the industry and and to have a base where young and any Australian creative and filmmaker can come and get this information is so essential.
00:35:47
Speaker
So, yeah, be gentle on yourself because what you're doing is so incredible and, um yeah, fantastic. ah Oh, thank you. I appreciate that. I've, I, uh, really bad with compliments. so So, all you feel uncomfortable but think um well, was there anything else that you feel like you wanted to talk to that we haven't covered?
00:36:16
Speaker
No, I feel like we've got through everything, I guess. It's so cliche, but like if you have a dream and if you are an emerging creative in this industry, you can 100%
Motivational Closing Remarks
00:36:26
Speaker
do it. Find your beautiful collaborators, find your networks and stay true to that dream because I've been really lucky in being able to amalgamate those worlds of music and film and Pacific culture and and make it my career, which I'm so grateful for her every day so if you have your niches if you've got your passions and you have that drive then um 100 you can you can do it as well that's so motivational and gross but I stand by it love it what a great place to end the chat um thank you so much for joining us on the podcast really appreciate it oh my pleasure thank you so much for having me
00:37:14
Speaker
That was Vanilla Tupu. Thanks so much to Vanilla for joining me on the podcast. This episode was produced and edited by myself with logo design by Shara Parsons and music by Seb Sebotaj-Gavrilovic.
00:37:26
Speaker
If you enjoyed listening, please hit that subscribe button and leave us a review. See you in a fortnight.