Jimmy Stewart’s hands made me sick

I am a prolific filmmaker

In my mind.

Every day I have at least 1 “this will change everything” idea for a movie

And every day I fall asleep having done nothing about it.

What gets in my way:

• Fear of failure

• Fear it won't come to anything

• I don’t have the skills to create what I want to create

• By the time i do anything about it, I will have gone off the idea

• If I make my own work without it being given a thumbs up by the big names in the industry, it’s not legitimate and neither am I.

• I don’t have the money.

But here’s the big one:

I know that I can (and I’m sure I will) make something awesome in the future, when the circumstances allow it, and when I really want to.

…

But that’s just a lie I tell myself to keep me safe.

It’s a lie that keeps us safe from our fears becoming a reality.

And before we know it, we have gone through life having made very little, bitter and twisted, angry at the world for not giving us the better circumstances we needed - when the truth is -

we didn't know how to make it 

and we never had the courage to see our ideas through.

In last week's letter we saw that creating work you OWN is the new necessity for actors. With residuals dropping from 40% of an actor's income to just 13%, we need to start creating assets we control if we want to survive. 

Our portfolio can no longer just be our picture in someone else’s magazine.

But how do we actually do it?

How do we make our own work?

What steps do you need to take to create something that wasn’t there before

Where should I start? How do I get funding? How does Jimmy Stewart make someone sick even though he’s been dead for 30 yrs?

Enter Florence Roberts

She’s the first person I interviewed for How to Make Your Own Work (formerly known as Cool People Creating Cooler Things), where I try to figure out how the coolest people I know made their awesome shit from nothing.

From these Trailblazer’s successes and failures, we’ll pull simple, actionable steps to help you overcome creative blocks and start making your own work faster.

Florence (who I shall be calling Floss from now on) did exactly this. 

Not with a budget of thousands. 

Not with connections to film schools or production companies. 

Just with a "fuck it, let's do this" attitude and some creative problem-solving.

Meet Floss

She’s a London-based actor who'd always wanted to make films but never "sat down and did it. Probably out of fear of failure. Fear of failure and also no one caring."

Yet she created "Getting to Know You," a beautifully charming short film about two people on a blind date who are both pretending to be someone else.

The film is magic, you learn that within the first 2 minutes - but the real trick is in how it was brought to life.

The Origin Story

The spark wasn't a brilliant flash of inspiration. It was her friend, Alex Cantouris, saying: "You should come to LA with me."

Floss’ first response? 

"I'd love that, but no."

When asked why not, she said what most of us would: "I can't really justify that right now."

"What would make you come with me?"

Floss thought about it, and her answer changed everything:

"It has to be for a creative reason."

"Let's make a short film then."

Floss: "A short film about what?" 

Alex: "I don’t know. Just come up with an idea and we'll make it." 

Floss: "How?" 

Alex: "We'll figure it out."

That night, the idea simply "arrived in her head" - David Lynch talks about "catching ideas like fish.” Floss had caught one.

She envisioned a story about two people meeting up, with a woman pretending to be American. That was it. 

The spark.

"I just sat and wrote for about three days," Floss explains. "I remember saying to my partner, 'Do you think it would be really crazy if I went to LA and made this film?' 

And he said

As the script developed, it evolved into something deeper: "This is a film about how we all perform all the time... we all hide behind a facade, especially on dates."

She saved up for the flight. Then booked it.

The flight booking became the commitment device she needed to finish the script.

The Making-Of

With the flight booked, Floss now had no choice but to create. Here's how it went down:

• The script: Done

• The budget: Flight cost (~£400)

• The director: Alex, her friend who provided the initial encouragement  

• The other actor: Nate, found through the Alex’s contacts, excited to "make something from nothing"

• The locations: Free spots in Silver Lake they found the day before shooting

• The shoot: One afternoon, one camera, phones recording backup audio

• The one camera: An old Camcorder that Nate had

Obstacles?

She got violently ill for two-thirds of the trip after visiting the Chinese Theater: 

Feverish in bed, questioning everything: "I can't do this. I don't know why I thought that I could make this film. This is the craziest... why have I come to LA to make a short film with no money? Why didn't I make it in London? Why?"

But Floss didn’t give up.

Despite being sick, homesick, and receiving a £1,200 parking fine from back home while in LA, she dragged herself to cafés to rewrite the script.

"For 10 of the 11 days we were there, I was either ill in bed or rewriting the script," she remembers. "I had lost so much faith in the whole project."

The day before filming, at 2AM, she was still fine-tuning the script. When the shoot day arrived, she rallied despite feeling "pretty dog shit," determined to complete what she'd started.

The actual filming day was beautifully chaotic. 

After all the prep, rewrites, and feverish doubts, they shot the entire film in ONE AFTERNOON. 

The whole film. 

When they realized they'd forgotten the fancy coffees for a key prop, Floss jumped in the car: 'Give me 10 minutes.' 

She bombed down to 7-Eleven, grabbed whatever they had, and made it work.

No time for perfectionism. 

By sunset, they had shot everything they needed. 

That rush of 'holy shit, we actually did it' when they wrapped

What a fucking feeling.

A New Film

The edit changes everything.

"This wasn't the film I envisaged," Floss admits. She initially imagined crane shots and polished visuals.

Instead, she discovered you can reshape reality in post:

"There's a moment where Greta fumbles over a word. In the real thing she fumbles once or twice. But I found that if I edited together different moments from different takes, I could make that moment go on for way longer."

This became one of the film's best moments.

But what about the 2 other big parts of making a film, you ask, the sound and music?

"I was doing barista work and just telling this other barista about it. And he was like, 'oh, I'm a soundie trying to move from music production into film stuff.'

He said, 'just come to my studio and we'll do it. It's a gift from me.' This absolute legend, I just went to his studio and he did the sound for me."

The music? That came from casual conversation too:

"I had this song, 'Getting to Know You,' going around in my head the whole time while I was writing it. I really imagined the soundtrack to be that song from The King and I. Obviously I hadn't thought about rights like an idiot."

When a musician friend asked about her soundtrack plans and pointed out the copyright issue, he offered a solution: "You could just do an approximation of the tune on the piano."

Her response: "YOU do an approximation of the tune on piano."

"And he was like, 'okay.' He went to the piano—he's a musician—and just cobbled something together. He's a genius. I just recorded it on my phone with voice memo. He was like, 'join in, sing along.' We just had a dumb evening where I was singing along to the piano. That played into the whole no-budget, shoestring vibe."

The lesson:

The Money Angle

Making your own work isn't just about creative fulfillment. It's about creating assets you own.

While Floss didn't make the film with profit in mind, it's now:

• Streaming on platforms like NoBudge

• Part of her professional portfolio

• A calling card for future opportunities

• A complete asset SHE owns

"To be honest, it feels like a little stepping stone for me personally. I proved to myself that I could start something and complete it. And that means that I can do it again."

The Mindset Shift

The biggest transformation wasn't the film—it was Floss herself.

Alex, her director challenged her initial instinct to apply for funding:

"I thought we were going to be applying for funding. 

I asked, 'what application should we start filling out?' 

He just sort of laughed and said, 'Floss, we're not doing that.' 

It was the first time I'd had that attitude presented to me as a possibility."

This courage to create without permission or resources is the trickiest but most impactful mindset shift for actors. 

We're trained to wait—for auditions, for casting directors, for the right moment, for someone to say "yes."

Floss's journey shows that the most powerful "yes" comes from you.

This persistence—pushing past self-doubt, illness, financial constraints, and rejection—is the true superpower behind making your own work.

As Floss advises: "If you catch an idea with your fishing rod, just follow through with it immediately. Don't let it sit there. Cancel the yoga class. Cancel whatever you're doing, prioritize."

Your Turn

This isn't about making a perfect film. It's about starting the cycle of creation that leads to opportunity, income, and creative control.

The industry convinces us we must wait for permission. Wait to be chosen.

But what if you were meant for more than that.

What if you created work that:

• Showcases your unique talents

• Builds an audience of superfans

• Generates income without middlemen

• Opens doors traditionally closed to you

Here’s a recap of how:

Where can you watch "Getting to Know You"? 

You can watch it here.
Share it with everyone you think would enjoy it.

The Team
Ben Woods - Sound
Thomas Lauderdale - Composer
Alex Cantouris - Director

Thanks, Floss, for your work.

Find her @flossrob.

I’ll be uploading our full interview on 6FA’s YouTube channel when I have edited it, and also when i have created 6FA’s YouTube channel.

So here’s the question: 

What will YOU make this month?

Remember:

Reply to this email with:

• What you're planning to create

• What's been holding you back

• Your biggest takeaway from Floss's story

I'll share your responses next week!

Until then, 

Happy creating.

Alex

P.s. If there’s someone you know who is interested in the sort of stuff we talk about, share this link with them (or use the socials up top), and if you’re new to the newsletter and enjoyed it sign up here.

P.p.s. I have one slot remaining for Create & Narrate before the price goes up. If you or anyone you know would like to dump their soul destroying side hustle and become an Audiobook narrator from home, send them this link and fuel the pick yourself revolution.