Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Keenan Vigne. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Keenan , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Some of the most interesting parts of our journey emerge from areas where we believe something that most people in our industry do not – do you have something like that?
A lot of people in my industry disagree with getting the right exposure is not as important as getting a check. Locally, I have worked with or met a few people who believe that after working as an actor for a few years, they now feel entitled to only work on paid sets. Well, what are the cons to that? The con is you can work for a check and get the wrong exposure and be typed casted. Depending on what projects are available to film, you may only work on a project that doesn’t give you range as an actor or doesn’t challenge you or show any diversity in your skill set. As the saying goes, “All money ain’t good money,” and you have to be careful how you are seen or even represented on screen. There are several famous actors that talk about this very thing and caution other actors about the dangers of working for money over working for the right exposure that may pay little to know money but open many doors in the future.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Keenan Vigne and I own Vigne Production. I got into this business through working with others. Once I saw how everything was set up, I figured all I need to do is recruit my cinematographer first and then my actors. I started out with 4 actors and now I have grown to 25 actors including a MUA, editor, and two photographers. What set me apart everyone is that I mentor each and everyone of my actors. I also connect them with others in the industry so they can be utilized by other production companies. I also give IMDB credit, provide links to any films they are in, and I promote them on most social media platforms. I teach my actors about the business and have even set up a virtual meeting with a SAG-AFTRA actress to provide insight in this business. What I am most proud of is hearing each of my actors talk about how pleasant it is working with my company and how they feel like they are a part of a family. I also love the feedback I get with them telling me that they love my vision and how they can see that I am planning for the future. Everyone on the team love the scripts and love that I am challenging them to be better and that I don’t settle for mediocrity.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
When I started my production company, one of the challenges I faced was the days that we filmed took up too much time! It was taken us too long to produce content on a consistent bases. Another challenge I had was there were last minute cancellations and extras that didn’t show up on set during film day. I would plan well in advance but no matter how much I planned it turned out to be a disaster. So, what I did was take a 6 month break to think about how I can resolve the issues I had. One idea that came to mind was to create skits that were 3 to 5 minutes long. It took less time to make and would could produce more skits in one day. Another problem I solved was scheduling. The resolution was if I had 4 skits to film in one day, each group of actors would arrive on set at a designated time that I assigned. Doing this allowed no one to stand around and I can rotate the actors more effectively!
How did you build your audience on social media?
How I started building my audience was to take pictures and record the behind the scenes work we were doing when filming. I would use that to post on my social media page to draw in an audience. I would turn my pictures into reels and make it entertaining. I also used certain hashtags to draw in others as well. The key is being consistent on all of your social media platforms. It’s a full time job but in time you will see your audience grow because maybe those that follow you on Tiktok are not aware that you have an Instagram page, Facebook, twitter, or Pinterest. Each social media platform will lead them to the other and that’s the key to building your audience.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: vigne_production & keenan_v78
- Facebook: Keenan Vigne
- Youtube: Vigne Production