We were lucky to catch up with Calvin Walker recently and have shared our conversation below.
Calvin, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We love asking folks what they would do differently if they were starting today – how they would speed up the process, etc. We’d love to hear how you would set everything up if you were to start from step 1 today.
I wouldn’t spend as much time worrying about “making it.”
It might sound odd as someone who still hasn’t “made it.” However, I think the beginning of my journey was too fueled with the desire to be seen by the right people. I started my filmmaking journey during a time when webseries started popping. Everybody was trying to create something that would make them go viral. I spent so much time trying to create things that I felt had viral potential that my art became sick.
I started creating things out of a place that had little to do with the art. I often put productions up way too fast. I didn’t mind the details. I didn’t hire well. I didn’t set expectations and my passive nature left me with projects that didn’t really have my voice. I didn’t mind my journey either. I was seeing all of the cool things that were happening for Issa Rae and Numa Perrier. I wanted so badly for that to be me. So, I tried to crank out MORE work. Truthfully, the work was just okay because my heart wasn’t in the work. My heart was focused on film festivals and delusions of viral grandeur.
I think I’d be much further along if I took more time to develop my good ideas into great ideas. I’d be much further along if I saved up my pennies and hired the right people. I’d be much further along if I would’ve practiced patience and discipline.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’ve always been interested in the arts. I wrote, directed, and starred in my first play in the fourth grade. My father was a history teacher and a playwright in his own right. He used to put on plays centering African American history at the middle school where he taught. In fourth grade, I transferred to a predominantly white school. I wanted to share my culture with my peers and teachers. So, I wrote a play about Kwanzaa. It was the beginning of my love affair with theatre.
At 25, I ended up writing my first short screenplay, “The Most Beautiful Flower Blooms in Winter.” A good friend of mine was interested in directing. So, he enlisted my pen and that was the beginning of my journey into filmmaking. For the last ten years, I’ve been writing and directing. I’ve had the privilege to write for producers from all over the world. In the last few years, I’ve seen some real traction in my career as a director as well.
The intention of my work has not strayed far from that fourth grader writing his first play. Most of my work centers black characters and issues that are specific to the black community. I consider myself an artivist, an activist through art. Most children grew up loving comics; I grew up loving Langston Hughes. Every artist from the Harlem Renaissance made up my team of Avengers. I always knew that I wanted to follow in their footsteps. As a teenager, I was introduced to the work of James Baldwin. My life was forever changed.
My artistic voice is the thing that makes my work what it is. An artist should have two basic things: skill and voice. There are some artists that have incredible technical skills. They know how to “do the thing.” They can teach you all of the structures and forms. However, they have not honed their unique voice. So, the work feels pedestrian. There are some artists that have a unique POV but they lack the technical no-how to wrangle their voice and create something clear and specific. My voice is thing that sets me apart from others. It has taken me a while to fully own it. However, I am getting closer and closer each day.
The thing I’m most proud of is my growth. When I look back over my work, I can see consistent and steady growth. As a writer and a director, I can see my work is getting better and better. The testament of that growth can be found in the kinds of opportunities that I’m receiving now. I’m currently collaborating with people that I’ve looked up to for years. I’m writing for actors that I’ve admired for years. My film vocabulary is much larger. I am able to clearly convey what I want and why I want it that way. It’s really a beautiful thing.
I’m committed to telling the truth in my work. That’s the one thing that I’d want people to know about me. I want to tell stories that I’m passionate about. I want to work with people who are as passionate as I am. I love artists. I love people who love what they do. At 35, I’ve realized that I’m not the kind of person that can “do it for the money.” I’ve had so many missteps as an artist when working this way. I’ve had problems feeling good about completed assignments because I didn’t really believe in the story. I refuse to work like that ever again. I want everything I make to come from a place of truth and conviction. That’s who I am.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I think my writing style is the thing that really built my reputation. I write poetic dialogue. Whenever I started booking writing gigs, that was the thing that people kept referring to. It got to the point that people were able to hear my artistic voice even when I was ghostwriting.
Also, I’m good with deadlines. Now, I won’t say that there have been times in my journey that I’ve dropped the ball. There are far more than I wish to admit. Depression can be rough to write through. I remember a few projects where I depression simply got the best of me. I couldn’t write through it. I couldn’t work through it and I wasn’t able to complete the assignment. Over the last couple of years, I’ve been able to create practices that help me overcome that feeling and allow me to complete my work in a timely manner with excellence.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
In 2019, I received my first artistic grant. I was provided $5000 to complete a short film about toxic masculinity and mental health. It was an exciting time! Up to that point, I’d been creating non-budget short films. I had a couple of projects with a little money behind it. However, I’d never worked with this much. I knew that it was going to be “the one.” This was going to be my calling card to Hollywood. This one was going to land me the agent and the manager. This was my big short.
At the end of production day one, I realized that this was not going to be any of the things that I thought it’d be. I drove to my hotel devastated. Day one hadn’t gone well. I wasn’t connecting with my actors until the end of the shoot. It seemed like none of my direction was clear enough to penetrate the performance. We ended up getting some good stuff. However, I didn’t drive home feeling like “I had it.” My crew was all over the place. There was just a lack of focus and a lack of presence.
Day two was better. I knew coming into day two that the project would live or die by what we captured that day. So, I pushed really hard. We had some moments from that day that made me feel like we could still revive the picture. Once we wrapped, I sent the drive off to my editor. My editor was very clear that the page did not make it to the screen. The edit wasn’t translating well. We completed a couple of passes and then tragedy struck her family. So, she had to stop editing.
I guess I should mention that I was on a timeline. I had to complete the project within a certain window. With the editing delay, I was completely unsure of how I’d get this turned in on time. I watched the last cut and I decided that I’d turn the piece into a tonal poem. I wrote a poem and sent it to a friend of mine in Florida. I had him do a few takes on his iPhone. He sent me the audio recordings and they were truly magical. I got the drive back and sent it to another friend of mine in El Paso. I told him that we’d need to deconstruct the whole thing. We’d be adding in some stock photos with the footage and the poem was going to be the star now. At this point, I had a week until everything was due.
Through the grace of God and the talent of friends, we met the deadline. I was absolutely sure that the organization would hate it. It was rushed. It wasn’t at all what they’d funded. I received an email a day after submitting it. The short had moved them deeply and they thought it was beautiful. I was completely shocked and grateful. I went on to continue working with that organization as a member of their Advisory Board.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: calvinjwalker
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Calvin-J-Walker-471204183058337
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calvin-walker-140901134/
- Twitter: watchmenmedia
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqJwi5UnALkd1UalZHQEeqQ
Image Credits
Brittney Bluitt Van Gammon