 Photos by Steed Media Service |
When
Dwayne Boyd left the military in 1997, it took him a little while to
figure out exactly what he wanted to do. But, remembering his past
experiences in theater as a youngster, Boyd rediscovered his first love
— acting. He moved to Atlanta and found his niche. “My first major film
role was The Gospel,” he
shares. “And from there I started working on other projects like ‘Army
Wives’ on Lifetime, did a couple of shows of ‘Surface’ for NBC, and
[films] like Motives [and] Three Can Play That Game.”
Soon,
Boyd went one step further — he decided to create his own projects. “I
got great connections here, lots of resources,” he says. “I sat down
with a writing partner, Charles Saunders, and we wrote a romantic
comedy called 4 Minutes.”
As he readies for 4 Minutes release, Boyd offered his perspective on what works for young filmmakers:
Make Your Mark:
“Anybody can shoot film, but you want to shoot something that stands out from the norm.”
Don’t Neglect Quality:
“You want the production value to be on point. You have to make sure
your production — no matter the budget — does not suffer in departments
that you have influence over.”
Hire Qualified People:
“Just watching other filmmakers, not completing the project, not having
qualified people in key positions — sometimes we put our friends in
positions when they’re probably not qualified for that role.”
Define Yourself:
“[Don’t] allow anybody to define who you are and what you can do. When
you work with somebody else, they [may] have an idea of who you are,
but you have to take ownership of your own career.”
