We were lucky to catch up with CHRISTINA DIAMANTARA recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, CHRISTINA thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

A big challenge in filmmaking is that films cost a lot to produce while having very small profit predictability. It’s very difficult to predict what is going to appeal to an audience large enough to actually recoup the money invested in the film. And even if you have the perfect script, so many things happening during production and post-production can heavily influence that script as well as the final result. This seems to be the reason why so many big studios gravitate towards films made on existing intellectual property (Marvel films for example). For them, it’s a way to gain profit predictability because they know that the fans of a successfully published book, for example, will definitely pay to watch the movie. But at the same time, I think this is an interesting challenge for younger filmmakers, to make films on smaller budgets and to spend more energy making a creative impact without being concerned only with profit.

CHRISTINA, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a Film and Promotional Media Director, currently living and working in Los Angeles. I was always enamored with the world of filmmaking, as I really enjoyed watching films, but I also saw the world of entertainment as a constantly growing space where evolution never ceases. Originally from Greece, I came to LA 6 years ago to earn my master’s degree from the American Film Institute Conservatory and since then I’ve been freelancing as a promotional media creator for clients ranging from big corporate companies to small business owners. I’ve also spent a significant amount of time as a Voice Director, coaching and directing voice performers for English dubs, video games, and animation. My background is in narrative filmmaking and I’m always developing larger projects like features and TV shows but at the same time, I really enjoy getting to direct smaller projects where I can feel that my impact is more immediate. There’s nothing I enjoy more than getting to spend time with clients, picking their brains and understanding what their preferences are, and then creating something that honors and advocates for their work or product.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

One of the most important gifts of filmmaking is the multiple ways through which I get to connect with people. By working with so many creative departments, by hearing about and learning new stories, by collaborating very closely with others under difficult yet quite bonding conditions, and by deconstructing all these fundamental principles of life and humanity, in order to reproduce them in a film environment. That’s what lies behind my creative journey: the opportunity to learn as much as possible about the world that surrounds us and build communities and powerful connections on the way.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

As a director, there are so many times when you can be so tied to your vision for a project that you fail to acknowledge new opportunities coming from the environment you’re working in and, more often your collaborators. Many times you might be pressed for time and that becomes the perfect reason to not want to try anything new but stick to your safe, time-proof plan. Once I started working as a voice director, it became much easier for me to let my guard down and open up to new ideas because it literally takes seconds to implement a new direction and record it. That’s when I entered a completely different creative space where my vision became much more malleable and alive, quick to shift to new directions while maintaining its core, rather than becoming a stiff, lifeless idea that I was rigidly forcing onto the project.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cdiamonddd/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christina.diamantara/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/public-profile/settings?trk=d_flagship3_profile_self_view_public_profile