Producing My First Film: Eastbound Traffic

A shot of two of the actors talking off camera
from my first attempt at trying to produce this film 4
years ago. 

Not too long ago, I was watching an interview of Morgan Spurlock, the producer/ director of Super-size Me, and Freakonomics. In the interview, he said that the turning point in his directorial career came when he was working on the set of a Hollywood film as an PA (Production Assistant) and he mentioned to the director that he really wanted to be a director himself. He said at that moment, the director gave him the the best advice he's ever gotten. He said, "If you really want to be a director, then stop working as a PA. Get out there and start directing." Hearing the quote really struck a cord with me.

While my first production, How to Defeat Dudes was not a monster viral success, it did do well enough to get me a reasonable partnership with YouTube... And if it the viewership keeps building as it is (at this point Im up to over 1,000 views a day) I will get all of the money I invested in it back with time. More than that though, the success of the series gave me something much greater- confidence in my ability to create great content.

That being the case, I feel as though it is time for me to move to the next step: Producing my own film. About 8 years ago, when I first started action training, I needed a way to work late at night, so I could leave my days free to train and get to auditions. At the time I had a friend who was working as a stripper, and with his suggestion, I decided to join him. While I only did it for 3 months or so, it gave me an insight into a lot of what happens in the underbelly of the sex industry in Japan, and since then I have continually been searching for a way to tell the stories of some of the women I met and spoke to. About 5 years ago, I tried to shoot an action short revolving around the concept, but as it was my very first time trying to produce something, I didn't have much experience (even as an actor, and sword player- let alone producer) and ultimately we were unable to complete the project at that time.

(The following is a splicing together of all of the footage we got for one of the fight scenes .)
 
I feel that this film, Eastbound Traffic will be that medium. I've spent 6 years working on the script, and at this point, I think I have just enough of a network in the industry and just enough experience to pull it off and do it right. At the same time however, in a way this film will be both a litmus test and a trial by fire for me as a producer.

As anyone will tell you, Japan is not exactly the easiest place to film in. 1) There is little to no government support. 2) There are talented people here, but the industry is also monopolized by a few studios and talent agencies and 3) On average people here are generally extremely risk-averse, and when in doubt, will usually say no. This last one is what I see as the greatest challenge because it makes securing locations particularly difficult.

As any experienced businessperson will tell you however, with every challenge comes great opportunity. For one, the industry wide monopolization means there are a lot of talented people who are hungry to make moves, and that -when properly mobilized- can be a powerful thing. Beyond that, if I can successfully produce a quality film here, as a foreigner working against a language and cultural barrier, then damn it, I can do it anywhere.

If this works, then I've already got a script in the works for a feature to shoot in Michigan under (What's left of) the Michigan Film Incentives Program the following year and have ideas for 2 other films, and one other possible location. At this point, I have been working in entertainment for almost 10 years now, and I can't tell you guys how many productions I have been in where I kept thinking to myself, "I could do better than this." Guess it's time for me to find out.