What is your name, and what experience do you have within the film industry?
My name’s Christian Silva, and I am an independent film maker first and foremost, my background primarily in writing and producing. I helped start a production company a little while back, and have mostly been freelancing since then, trying to get contract work, things like that.
Has your role always been that of a producer?
With me anyways, and the group I work with we all end up wearing many hats. I produce for us mostly out of necessity. (laughs) But on set I direct, usually from a script I write or the team comes together on. But the lines and positions are typically blurred when shooting.
Are you saying that the roles do not matter?
No, they do. Its actually very important that you know your place on set and where you are needed most. What happens when you work with a very good group and you get that shorthand communication is that it becomes less about specific roles and positions and more about the over all product. You become one well oiled machine with all these intricate gears and parts all working towards the greater good, but make no mistakes every person on that set has their set position and are expected to pull their weight.
Do you think people make mistakes by taking on too many roles? And as a result fail?
At first when you are starting off that happens. Mostly because you want what ever it is you are doing to be of quality. So you tend to over compensate and you try to do too much. Really the key to it all is stressing less and trusting more. If you trust the person on camera knows what they’re doing, knows how to pull focus, or frame up a shot correctly, then you wont bother yourself with worrying about doing it. And like wise the people around you learn to trust that you have their best interests in mind. It’s all about working together. The big machine I talked about.
Do you see yourself taking on any other roles in the future?
In production I can see myself becoming more of a producer, in the sense that I would like to help others get projects off the ground and help them find the right gears and parts to make their own perfect little machines (laughs)
Thanks again for your time and honesty, Christian.
Christian Silva is located in Orlando FL, and can be reached at slackhoundflicks@yahoo.com
