Getting Into The Entertainment Business, Difference Between Filmmaking And Commercial Directing, And The Importance Of Investing In Yourself

Tamika Lamison is an award-winning writer/director/producer and actor, who is currently a supervising producer for the series Monogamy on Amazon Prime. She also created and founded the non-profit organization, Make A Film Foundation, which grants film wishes to children who have severe or life-threatening medical conditions and teams them with film industry professionals who help them create short films.

She is also the Executive Director of CDDP-The Commercial Directors Diversity Program via the DGA & the AICP which helps directors from diverse backgrounds break into the commercial industry by offering a 6-month program consisting of workshops, mentorships, networking, shadowing, a 15k grant to make a spec commercial, and an industry showcase to share the work.

We talk about the importance of encouraging yourself to get through challenges, how to get into the entertainment business without an agent or manager by applying to writing contests and programs, the balance of knowing multiple filmmaking departments and be open to delegating to hone your craft; why it's important to have diverse voices from underrepresented communities in the commercial world to help us understand each other and give people a reflection of themselves on TV; the difference between filmmaking and commercial director, and having to balance the art with commerce because you're ultimately selling a product; and how it's vital to cultivate relationships to open doors in entertainment.

Learn more at TheCreativeHaven.com