Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Kleeman.
Lauren, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
It was a cold Christmas Eve in Indiana. My cousins and I, on break from elementary school, were playing with Bratz dolls. My mom brought a defrosting camcorder from the car and before she could capture those tinsel dreams and nostalgic smiles, I snagged the camera and started filming my dolls. I’m sure that first film had a highly cerebral story on important subject matter like Weird Al or farts. Ever since that first experience picking up a camera I knew I wanted to be a filmmaker.
After my stint in film school, where you have the tools to be creative and are not yet faced with the impending doom of student loan payments, I was at a loss. Film has so many avenues you can take and I didn’t know which one was right for me. So I did what any self-motivating entrepreneur would do – I got a day job delivering food. For nine months I put on a greasy uniform, drove around Los Angeles delivering food to happy looking business people, and listened to a boss who didn’t know the difference between “your” and “you’re”. But I was determined to find my path. Everyday after work I would come home and apply for absolutely any job I was even remotely qualified for – fresh out of school I could probably be an NBC executive, right? World-renowned photographer for Nation Geographic? Why not? Senior sound mixer at Skywalker sound? Give it a go.
But I kept finding myself in small grassroots projects with artists trying to tell their own stories. I fell in love. I started working more and more as a sound mixer, bringing the science and creativity to the ears of film, studying the musicality of the voice and immersing myself in the world of audio. I still loved every aspect of filmmaking, but I found that sound was a passion and gift I had been given to offer to other people on their projects.
Through that year of slinging pad thai and submarine sandwiches, I emerged a business owner. I began getting more and more gigs until I reached the point where having a day job was actually getting in the way. I made that scary leap from security to freedom – one small step for women, one giant leap for my future. But here I am five years later, Melting Unicorns now my life’s blood, helping projects big and small, create dreams.
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?
My first year working solely as Melting Unicorns, I remember walking into a grocery with $20 in my bank account, wondering how I was going to survive. Some days I was productive and building my business, some days I was crying and watching My Little Pony, questioning if I made the right choice quitting my job. Being your own boss comes with a lot of ups and downs.
I threw myself into the gauntlet of the film industry with hundreds and thousands of others fighting for the same work. One of the biggest struggles is figuring out where to get jobs and how to stand out among every other hungry artist. It’s a numbers game and it’s all about persistence. I applied for literally thousands of jobs, cold called companies I wanted to work with, and constantly looked for ways to get my name out there. The double-edged sword of no boss telling me what to do meant I had to figure everything out from scratch and force myself to work even when I wasn’t motivated. Little by little I built a client list, improved my skills, bought better equipment and climbed up the ladder of success. It took a lot of discipline to make working a habit, but now I have trouble taking breaks! Being a business owner is a 24/7 job – it’s frustrating, extremely difficult, and the bags under my eyes will only get bigger, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Plus, I get to do a lot of work from home which means pajama pants and hanging out with my cat!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Melting Unicorns story. Tell us more about the business.
Melting Unicorns is all about storytelling with a focus in sound. Audio plays a crucial role in filmmaking and I am the babe bringing you the waves. I offer both production and post-production sound services for commercials, documentaries, short films, features, animation and anything in between! When you watch a show with crisp clean dialogue, that’s what I do. When you watch a movie and hear gunshots, footsteps, or crazy demon aliens coming to take your soul, that’s what I do. I love sound so much it hertz!
I also work as a screenwriter, specializing in parody and satire – allegories and puns for days! I direct indie music videos, shoot concert photography, and offer videography and editing for documentaries shorts and business testimonials.
I’m honored to be a part of an industry that is so crucial to our understanding of the world and how we view it. For better or worse, media shapes our worldview and as a participant in something so powerful, one of my main objectives is to use film as a tool for achieving positive narratives of marginalized people. To normalize, the otherized who are scrutinized just for living their lives. That’s why I love satire, witticism with a hint of politics creating the perfect cocktail to get drunk on new ideas. Filmmaking is my form of activism, telling honest stories from all walks of life helps audiences reevaluate representation beyond the stereotypes previously perpetuated by mainstream media and gives empathy to the perspective of others.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Business is 75% hard work, 23% luck, 2% coffee. I equate luck to timing – right place, right time, wrong place, wrong time. Consistency is so crucial because you will only know in hindsight which situations propel you forward. I got lucky when applying to a vague job post that turned into writing season 5 of women’s wrestling. Two months of wine and storyboarding with a 50 years old retired wrestler with a southern accent, amazing biceps, and a mullet. Yes, it was as cool as it sounds. An example of bad luck was getting into a life-changing car wreck that still brings about a lot of anxiety. But I take the bad with the good because everything that happens is important in molding me into who I am. I believe there is always a silver lining and every situation offers a life lesson to build a better future.
Pricing:
- Post Sound Mixing 100/minute (estimate, rate varies depending on scope of the project)
- Production Sound 350/12 + gear rental (estimate, rate varies depending on scope of the project)
- Directing/Videography 500/day (estimate, rate varies depending on scope of the project)
Contact Info:
- Website: meltingunicorns.com
- Phone: 7405062680
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melting_unicorns/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meltingunicornsmovies/
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNam4MguOJ3udm8mvCSrizw
Image Credit:
Tammie Valer, David Beier, Betsy Gain, Larissa Schiavo, Amy Kleeman
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