Time to get a reality check
For some actors, admitting you have a back-up plan can be shameful. For me? I'm accepting my fate and am attempting to augment my options.
I’ve been on my acting journey for nearly 15 years now and when it comes to the ‘success’ I dreamed about, the odds aren’t in my favour. I’m looking for a new line of work that’s no longer acting, but in virtual production.
Acting out
An acting career is a hard gig and getting ‘there’ (wherever that is) is not a linear process.
You could go to all the right drama schools or attend the trendiest acting workshops, and still not be ‘right’ for a role. Or you could know a character inside and out and nail an audition, yet the producers want an Instagram influencer baddie for their follower base.
Then there’s the wider screen industry. Some great awareness and change has been achieved over the years, especially since the #MeToo Movement.
Yet only 25% of behind-the-scenes roles on big US movies are held by women while just 17% of directors and writers are female. And how many of these women are women of colour and/or queer? It doesn’t say.
To think that the characters I’d play and the sets I’d work on are so heavily male-dominated doesn’t excite me, to say the least.
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Over it, but…
I’m tired of the lack of control and instability that comes with this career. A stable income would be nice, and to not have to worry about what I look like and who I know to get a job would be great too. I’m sure the anxiety and depression that I experience would level out a bit too (I hope).
The thing is, I still want to work in film. I love the creative and collaborative stories that take the form of a motion picture. Films are truly a team effort.
So I got to thinking. How do I remain in the industry, not as an actor, but as someone who gets to make creative decisions and tell stories, while learning transferable skills?
Virtually anything else
I’m sure you’ve heard of virtual reality (VR). Maybe you’ve seen it in that Black Mirror episode or even experienced it by playing Pokémon Go. But for those of you who are still unsure, Cambridge Dictionary defines it as “a set of images and sounds, produced by a computer, that seem to represent a place or a situation that a person can take part in.”
VR at its core creates the illusion that we are present somewhere where we are not. Artists as early as the 19th century have explored this idea in panoramic paintings. Today, people tend to associate VR with gaming. Roblox is a popular OG popular platform.
But it’s much more than that and has expanded across many industries: from education, sports, cultural heritage, healthcare, and the military.
Virtual production
In film and TV, VR is similarly making big waves. Within the industry there are filmmaking programs and techniques that combine real-time computer-generated imagery (CGI) with live-action elements (e.g. actors!). This is known as virtual production.
Local and federal governments in Australia have recognised the power of virtual production and are directing policy and funding into this medium.
Through Screen Australia, the Australian Government offers a 30% tax rebate for productions who undertake post, digital and visual effects in Australia. Even VicScreen (formerly Film Vic) rebranded to meet the digital opportunities within the film industry.
Companies like Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and Wētā FX are leading the way when it comes to film and VR, and many of them have jobs going in virtual production.
From what I’m seeing, there are loooooooads of different roles and positions. I’m thinking either a virtual production supervisor or someone in the virtual art department (VAD).
All of these roles require skills that are transferable within the film business and other industries. Communication, critical thinking, teamwork and collaboration, technical skills and creativity, just to name a few.
Making real-time decisions
So my back-up plan might actually be the plan now. Then again, I’m not sure.
BRB going to watch The Mandalorian and Ready Player One for some motivation to get learning those VR skills!