Meet Mikayla Baiocchi of “Micah Makes a Movie” Web Series

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mikayla Baiocchi.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Mikayla. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
I have been writing since I first knew how to form something that resembled a letter (okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but I’m just trying to prove a point here).

So, given my nature of writing stories for fun, I started writing “screenplays” once I fell in love with reality TV, ironically enough. I found it to be so entertaining that I wanted to give creating it a go myself. I vividly remember typing up a script for an episode of “The Real Housewives of New York City” when I was in middle school, on top of creating and producing original TV series ideas with my younger sister in our basement (but, our most iconic production was definitely a remake of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”).

Fast forward several years, and I earned a Bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland and then–in a ridiculously optimistic and ambitious move–relocated from the East Coast to Los Angeles, California to embark on a career as a screenwriter. For the first several months in LA, I was mainly focused on studying the art of screenwriting through online courses, reading mass amounts of scripts and writing my own.

But, I soon had enough of staying stationary at a desk and felt this pulsating urge to put everything I had learned into more extreme practice. So, I started a web series. With a little luck from the Universe, finding the right talent to help execute the series was very easy, and I feel incredibly grateful for that. Thus, my team and I are in the process of producing the series, and it has been the most rewarding project I have ever undertaken.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has been a generally smooth road, but that is not to say I haven’t had to overcome some obstacles while trying to turn this dream of mine into a tangible reality.

I am writing the web series, but am producing it, as well (with the help of actress Sydnee Grant for episodes 3 and 4!). The producing portion is certainly where I have encountered the most struggle (though the level of stress is still pretty minor). Finding one single day when the seven cast members are all available to shoot is always a challenge, though we are going onto our fifth episode and have managed to figure it out every single time.

One particularly stressful scenario happened two days before we were block shooting episodes 3 and 4; I had booked sound gear for my cameraman a week in advanced and was messaged by the gear’s owner the night before the shoot that he didn’t actually have it in stock (pretty shady, am I right?). Despite knowing this was terrible business practice on the owner’s end, the fact was that I still needed to find sound gear and I only had one night to do it.

With positive thoughts and a quick prayer, I managed to find a different set of gear through an equipment rental site, and my request to book was promptly approved. So… crisis averted. Unfortunately, these situations are bound to happen in production, but as long as the passion you have for the project remains, you will find ways to get through them.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
I am a writer and digital filmmaker in my early twenties who finds the most joy in being creative and, subsequently, making pieces that resonate really well with my fellow millennials.

My current project–which is also my biggest to date–is a comedic web series called “Micah Makes a Movie.” It is a mockumentary about an over-privileged and beyond-entitled millennial who sets out to make a movie because she wants fame and fortune.

Of course, due to her lack of knowledge on anything and everything, it all goes horribly wrong. Good thing there is a “behind the scenes” crew there to document it all. Given this, it would appear as though I specialize in screenwriting because my web series is scripted. That isn’t true.

My love for writing is so deep-seated that the most natural and enjoyable thing for me to do is waver back in forth between various project formats. There are still screenwriting formats left for me to conquer (like a feature film, for example) but I am also fixated on writing books for young teenage girls.

I also have a degree in journalism, so I also enjoy writing articles for various online publishers and have solid professional experience doing just that (I have written for TLC, Spoon University and more). But, no matter what format I am tackling, I know I want my pieces to resonate most with my fellow millennials and young people.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up, there were two Mikaylas: there was the loud and goofy one with her family, and there was the shy and insecure one amongst her peers.

By nature, I am an overly-optimistic, sarcastic and animated person but, growing up, that side only came out with my family. It wasn’t until I met my life-long friends in college that I realized I could be that person to non-family members and they would still like me. Leading up to that point, I was generally very afraid to put myself out there for fear of being judged. If I could ever go back to middle or high school, I would definitely care way less about what people think.

But, even as I was growing up, I was obsessed with movies and with filmmaking. My younger sister Maddy and I would basically spend all of our free time making “movies” with our big camcorder. And my parents had the biggest DVD collection I had ever seen, so they imparted the magic of movies on me from an early age.

Come high school, my sister would be going out to a party, while I chose to stay in and watch “The Godfather” with my mom. Yes, it didn’t look very “cool,” but I wouldn’t have had it any other way!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://whoismikaylab.wordpress.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_mikaylab/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikaylabfilm/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/_mikaylab
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrqIENbjjhxJCbSUHKpTlkQ

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