Today we’d like to introduce you to Claire Cummings.
Hi Claire, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Hello! I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, where my passion for filmmaking and storytelling started very young. My brother and I used to set up the family camera, and with the help of our dad we’d perform skits, scenes, and even short films that we created together. In middle school, my best friend and I discovered Windows Movie Maker, and we’d spend hours making music videos and little movies in our free time. I thought to myself that I wanted a career in film and entertainment, but as I got older, the practical side of me grew stronger, and I thought I’d never be successful in that field and that I was too scared to live in a big city so far away. I was about to enter college to pursue being a child psychiatrist, when just five days before the start of school, I was in a car accident that put my life on hold.
It took me a very long time to recover, and I missed my freshman year of college, but when I finally healed enough to go to school, my perspective on life had completely changed. I was given a second chance, and I saw how fleeting life and health was, and what I wanted to do more than anything was pursue happiness…pursue the things in life that made me feel alive, things that gave me passion and drive. Because that’s what living is. So fearlessly this time, I decided. I was going to have the career in entertainment I always wanted.
I declared my major as Creative Writing and TV/Film Production, and I was selected to participate in a school program called “Inside Hollywood.” I spent three weeks with my classmates exploring Los Angeles, seeing the studios, production companies, talent agencies, and hearing professionals speak from all parts of the entertainment industry. After I got back from this trip, I was determined more than ever to make the move to LA after college.
After I graduated, I was hired by an LA-based casting and production company that was expanding into three Midwest branches. I was eventually hired into the role as The Head of Production for the Cincinnati branch. It was through this production company that I directed my first screenplay, a psychological thriller that I had poured my heart and soul into making the best I could. The energy of being on a set, watching my words and my characters come to life in front of me, is an unparalleled feeling. It’s watching your imagination get up and start walking before your eyes.
In January of 2021, I was finally able to make the move to Los Angeles. With my production experience and writing skills in hand, I set out to find work, landing a job a month to the exact day I moved. Looking back, I think what I did was crazy. I moved to LA in the middle of covid, unemployed, into an apartment I rented with one other roommate, completely sight unseen. It was an incredibly bold move that luckily paid off more than I could have ever imagined.
I was hired as a screenwriter for the final season of a television show called “Tech Toys”, previously aired on the Discovery Channel and Netflix, at a production company called Morph Media. As I grew into my position, the company allowed me to expand my skills, and soon I was holding more than one title. The commercial department was growing, and I became the account manager for our top E-commerce client and the onsite producer for commercials. I was casting, writing copy, helping create shot lists and storyboards, etc. I found another home where I could create something out of nothing, words into a story, shots into pictures, pictures into people, and the people were the final piece to breathe life into what started as a thought. It was beautiful to me; whether it was a short fictional film, a technical show, or a commercial, it was all a thrill to see anything I’d touch come to life.
In my free time, I had a hobby in another side of the industry- acting and modeling. I joined Central Casting, where I did numerous background acting jobs, from “This is Us”, “Star Trek: Picard,” “NCIS: LA”, “American Horror Stories”, and my favorite, “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.” I also did a few commercials, one being a Universal Studios Tram advertisement. My favorite modeling shoot I ever did was titled “Women with Scars.” I was able to showcase my scars from the car accident in a meaningful way, and it felt very empowering. To me, the scars were a symbol of my passion and fight for life, a life that I was shaping into what I always dreamed I wanted it to be.
Aside from acting and modeling, I was also hired onto some freelance jobs as a production coordinator. These were fantastic experiences. My favorite shoot I ever did was a VOGUE cover shoot with Camila Cabello for Vogue Latin America. I’d never worked in such a small, intimate set with such talented people. It was a wonderful experience. I also worked on a Prince Royce Concert shoot, which was great being able to see the behind-the-scenes of how concerts are produced and shot.
After working at the production company, I decided I wanted to learn another side of the entertainment industry I had yet to experience- talent agencies. I wanted to see how deals were negotiated, how a large-scale project went from a zoom meeting, to a suggestion on my Netflix account on a Saturday night. I wanted to learn the logistics of how it all comes together from a bird’s eye view. Luckily, I was able to achieve what I set out for. I was hired at Innovative Artists as an assistant in the production department, or Below the Line. It was a fantastic experience in a fast-paced environment, answering phones, talking to clients, producers, directors, and studio executives. It was very informative, and I met some great friends through the experience.
Today, after sampling different parts of the industry, I’m a freelance producer and production coordinator. I also decided I wanted to do more work in front of the camera, and recently became repped by a talent agency for modeling and acting. I’m also currently looking to get into the casting space, as I’ve dabbled in it, but it’s something I love to do and want to do more of. I’m constantly learning every day and always open to trying new things as I shape and mold what I want my future to look like. Its’s not always easy, but I would never change my decision to pursue my passion, and I hope to create and bring my imagination and others to life for a very long time.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It hasn’t always been a smooth road. For one, Covid hit right when I graduated college and effectively shut down the entertainment industry, which is why I had to take a job in Cincinnati first and delay my move out to California. And even after I was there, it was very slow in 2021, so it was a very tricky time to try to begin the career I always hoped for.
Another struggle that people might not talk about as much is the sadness that comes with being away from your family if you aren’t from LA. I’m very close with my family, and when I first moved out, it was terribly lonely and very hard to have completely lost my support system, as I knew maybe a handful of people in Los Angeles. I had to learn how lonely you can feel in a city full of people and how to cope with that loneliness.
I also come from a family where no one has any connections or experience in entertainment. My dad is a lawyer, and my mom is a nurse. It’s strange when for the first time, I would go to my parents for advice, and they couldn’t help me. I was in a city they’d never lived in and a field they knew nothing about. It was like navigating a whole new world completely alone. But when you want something bad enough, you persist and find a way.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I would definitely call myself a creative. I’m extremely detail-orientated and a people person, so I thrive in a producing role or coordinating role. My long-term goal is to be a Creative Producer because I not only want to produce, I want to help navigate the creative of a project.
I’ve worked on numerous commercials and creative projects, but the short film I made was my debut as a director, and I hope to direct more creative projects in the future. This would also be the project I am most proud of because I had a hand in every step along the way, so it really feels like I created something that was mine. I’m used to being hired as a coordinator or producer to bring someone else’s vision to life, which I enjoy doing. But being able to bring your vision to life is a different feeling.
I think one of my strong suits is my ability to lead and create calm. I’ve been told I have a calming effect on others. Sets can often be chaotic, tense and sometimes have a power vacuum. I’m good at pinpointing an issue then resolving it quickly and peacefully.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Absolutely! What makes me happy is taking my imagination and making it tangible. Like writing a short story or poem, then making a short film or music video or some sort of visual medium to compliment my words. Anything that takes a thought from my head to something I can experience and feel in the real world is beautiful to me. Through filmmaking, scriptwriting, and acting, I’m able to achieve this lovely high of creation.
Baking makes me happy. I love to bake sweets of all kinds. Cookies, banana bread, cupcakes, brownies, etc. It’s another side of being creative, a different outlet to express my creativity that isn’t on the screen. Also my two puppies, Bella Rose and Mira Mae, are instant happiness to me. Pets just have a way of bringing a smile to your lips, even if you’re crying. I love their unconditional love; it’s another thing that’s beautiful about pets.
Aside from that, my family makes me happy. Spending time with them, making memories, or reliving old ones through conversation. There is just something special about it. Quality time with family and friends and enriching conversation that makes me think, or makes me laugh, or makes me nostalgic, or inspired…I live for those conversations, and whom better to have those conversations with than the people that matter to you the most.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @claire_marie15
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/_t4H3nSlW04?feature=shared
- Other: https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm12568524?s=02c5a2ce-e317-0c55-81e1-1040273dec91&site_preference=normal
