We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Carlee Coulehan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Carlee below.
Hi Carlee, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear how you think where to draw the line in terms of asking friends and family to support your business – what’s okay and what’s over the line?
Working in the film industry can be creatively rewarding but financially taxing at the same time. With COVID, the recent strikes, and ongoing mergers and budget cuts, industry professionals with decades of experience are finding themselves out of work. As someone who moved to LA in 2021, I’ve entered a nebulous time in our industry where things are different than they were even five years ago. It has been challenging navigating this space. However, it has not stopped my colleagues and I to do what we set out here to do: make movies. Thankfully, I have found support through friends, family, and the most unexpected places.
In August of 2023, I had a funny but creepy encounter with an ice cream truck. It slowly stalked by me after dark, going about five miles per hour, and playing its jingle. I took a video of it on my phone while I hid in my car. Then for some reason, I had the instinct to send it to a fellow actor, Jordan Beltz. I said, funny would it be if there was a horror film about an ice cream truck? She immediately agreed and we began texting back and forth, brainstorming as many ice cream puns as possible. “Let’s blow this popsicle stand.”
By January of 2024, we had written a twenty-minute horror comedy short film co-starring ourselves appropriately called “I-Scream.” In the midst of a bleak time in our industry, this project fulfilled me creatively, and I knew I had to see it through. Durabilitee Productions, which I co-founded, was set to produce it. The problem? The film’s estimated budget was $13,500. Picture cars don’t come cheap; we should have thought of that before making an ice cream truck the titular character! However, we did not let this deter us and began researching how to crowdfund.
We decided to use the platform Indiegogo, which allows for a flexible funding option where you keep whatever you crowdfund. (As opposed to an all-or-nothing crowdfund like other websites.) One characteristic of Indiegogo is creating perks you send to donors after the fact. I got over my fear of Photoshop and learned how to design merchandise such as t-shirts, enamel pins, and posters. We spent months preparing for our campaign launch, creating a film pitch deck, editing video interviews of us describing the film, and doing photo shoots in character. Then, it was finally time to launch.
We first started out sharing on social media, such as Instagram and Facebook. We were receiving some contributions, but it was not going to be enough. Around this time, I decided to change my strategy, and text and email friends and family more directly. I explained the project, pitched it to them, and said how much it would mean to me if we could see it through. At first it felt uncomfortable. Asking people to contribute to a film about an ice cream truck? However, the responses I began receiving were overwhelming. More contributions began to roll in. Some from close family, friends, and fellow actors. However, we began receiving contributions from names we did not recognize. My mom’s friend from high school that saw the post on Facebook. My dad’s co-worker who heard about it in passing. My professor from college. People from all stages of life saw this creative endeavor and were so willing to support it. It really changed my perspective of what it means to have a community of people.
We ended up raising $5,348 on Indiegogo. On top of that, we received private donations. These combined allowed us to go forward with the film, and in June of 2024, I was on a plane flying to set.
It can be challenging asking your loved ones or those that support you for money. This process has shown me that if you have a clear idea that you can articulate, there are people who will be willing to support you. Do the work, have a plan, and then share it with your community. You never know what might happen. I am so excited to share our film at film festivals next year.
Carlee, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
When I was six years old, I was in my first show at a local community theater in Scottsdale, Arizona. Despite singing off-key, dancing off-beat, and acting melodramatically (I was six), I quickly fell in love with acting. Flash forward, I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where I toured with original shows in Cincinnati, Nashville, and even the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. I also minored in Media Production and quickly realized I had love for film making as well as theatre. Then in 2020, a year before I was set to graduate, the world went into lock down. The play I had been cast as the lead in was immediately canceled. I was miles away from my family. The thing I had set out to do was suddenly compromised. During this time, my classmates and I began to get creative. A few of us created a web series where we watched old cartoons together. We ended up getting to interview the director of Jimmy Neutron, who just so happened to be one of our professors. I wrote a horror film set entirely on Zoom called “Zoomified,” which premiered Halloween of 2020. I realized that multimedia and film production was just as creatively fulfilling to me as getting up on a stage and performing for a crowd. Plus, there was an added element I was quickly falling in love with: editing. I started insisting on editing every project I was a part of. I began to learn the different programs used and the post production workflow. It felt like putting a puzzle together, and it was very satisfying as someone with a Type A personality.
Therefore, after graduating college, I decided to move to LA to pursue acting and film making. I got my first job working at a behind the scenes house, learning how to build EPKs, or Electronic Press Kits, for blockbuster movies. I then moved onto multiple projects as an assistant editor, such as shows for Shudder and even a Johnny Carson multimedia museum exhibit. During this time, I also signed with an acting agency and started auditioning for projects.
I began to hit a point where I was frustrated that I was not able to work on my own projects and combine my two passions together again. I missed the times where I was collaborating with my friends to create something from scratch.
After voicing this with fellow graduate Sarah Durham, we started Durabilitee Productions. We are a full service production company working on documentary and narrative-based projects. We pride ourselves on working on stories that find authenticity in the unhinged. Two recent projects include “I-Scream” and the 100 mile ultra-marathon documentary, “Moving Forward.” Both are set to hit film festivals in 2025. More information can be found on our website, durabiliteeproductions.com
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
Sarah and I met while we were both studying acting at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. During my freshman year, she invited me to student film sets to work as a production assistant, inspiring me to learn more about film. When I moved out to LA, she was one of the first people I reconnected with. We chatted about how we wish we could find a balance of making our day jobs creatively fulfilling. How does one break into the film industry? We also noticed a Catch 22, where it was challenging to be considered for the jobs we wanted (directing and acting/editing respectively) without already having a portfolio. How does one develop a portfolio when they are not able to receive work? Therefore in 2023, we co-produced a mockumentary short film called “Foul Ball” about a queer kickball team and the messy relationships that nearly break the team up. We co-wrote, co-produced, she directed, I starred in it, and I also edited it. We made it in order to have a strong and unique piece for both of our film making portfolios. Then we realized we collaborate really well together, as well as with our fellow colleagues in LA. Shortly after, we founded Durabilitee Productions as a means to continue collaborating, but expanding with clientele and project types. One of our films coming in 2025 is a ultra-marathon documentary detailing Sarah’s story of attempting a 100 mile race and the significance of it.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
For me, choosing to have a career in the film industry is incredibly fulfilling. It is also very challenging. As an actor, I audition dozens if not hundreds of times before I am called back for a role, let alone booked. As an editor, I am constantly having to send my portfolio out to potential clients and do not know when the next job will be. There have been times where I thought, I should move home and quit. It is not worth it. However, when a film I worked on is on the big screen, and the audience is reacting to it (be it laughing, screaming, or cheering), those negative thoughts go away. I realize that being a storyteller and bringing stories to life, even if it is a story about a haunted ice cream truck or a 100 mile ultra-marathon, is what I want to wake up every day and do.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://durabiliteeproductions.com
- Instagram: @coulcaree
- Linkedin: Carlee Coulehan
- Twitter: @coulcarlee
- Youtube: Durabilitee Productions
Image Credits
I-Scream Poster Design: Devon Whalen