Funmi Ogunro
Funmi and Friends making our TV premiere on PBS. It’s funny. When I started Funmi and Friends, I would write down affirmations and work to manifest that my show would be picked up on TV. Although, that did not happen, we did get featured on a TV show on PBS. Interesting how things happen right?
(Editor/Producer)
Portrait of me by artist Beth Consetta Rubel
More About Me
First I want to share some words about my career journey and how it all started.
12 years ago I didn’t know the slightest thing about filmmaking. I wanted to be a doctor. I was attending Baylor University, majoring in Biology. During my sophomore year, I realized I did not want to be a doctor. I changed my major to International Studies with dreams to become a diplomat of sort. I still wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do but the idea of travel coupled with helping people seemed like a great start.
Around my senior year, I got a job working in an after school program. I taught kids how to make healthy snacks and spoke to them about the importance of moving your body (exercise). While I was working on my lesson plan, I thought to myself “What if there was a TV show that could teach kids about healthy snacks and the importance of moving your body” That same night, I went home and wrote a script. I was so pumped. I felt so inspired. My adrenaline was rushing. I had never felt that way about anything. So I called my mom to tell her my idea. I was terrified. I thought she was going to tell me it was ridiculous. But when I told her she said “That’s a great, idea!” My mom’s stamp of approval is the reason I am where I am today. Once I graduated from Baylor University, I had a plan, I was going to create my children’s show. It was going to be called Funmi and Friends and it was going to have puppets, and magical storytelling like Sesame Street but it was going to be about healthy living. I was going to pitch it to a TV network and I would be successful at the age of 21. I was so ambitious and confident lol. But there was one pretty big problem.
I didn’t know a thing about making a tv show. I didn’t know anything about cameras, lighting, sound, working with actors, or editing! I didn’t know who would make the puppets. I didn’t know what kind of camera to use. I was so scared of failing. Everyday I woke up filled with anxiety for a year or two. But I just kept going. I found actors on Cragislist. I found a person to make puppets on Craiglist. One of the actors introduced me to her friend who knew how to build sets. He built the set for our pilot show. It’s funny that I was shooting a professional pilot because I had no idea what I was doing. My plan was to shoot a pilot and pitch the show to PBS. So the hunt for a film crew continued. I found a camera guy and an editor on craigslist. I didn’t have much money. I remember using all my money from my job to pay for stuff. I was making $700 every two weeks.
Funmi and Friends performing at a Fort Worth Public Library branch. I had a lot of fun. But I remember, I didn’t charge enough to the Fort Worth Public Library, so I was struggling to pay for hotels for the duration of the tour. Everything is a lesson! I am grateful!
Fast forward 6 months to a year after graduating from college, we shot our pilot. I was so happy. I was on cloud 9! But then something happened. The editor lost some of the footage. Not only that, the footage did not come out as professional as I imagined it would be. I was devastated, I was going to have to reshoot again. After a bit of depression, I got back up. This time around, I was going to learn how to shoot and edit myself. I couldn’t afford to pay anyone so I started watching youtube tutorials on how to edit and work a camera. Then something else happened, the lead actress in the show was moving to California. I couldn’t afford to pay anyone and I also didn’t know who would want to do the show, so I stepped in and became the lead. So at that point, I became the director, producer, editor and lead actress. I failed a lot. My editing was not good. Some of my camera work was not good. But I just kept going and learning from my mistakes. We ended up reshooting the show and pitched it but it wasn’t picked up by PBS. We continued to do our own thing. We came out with a DVD and sold a few copies. (I did not have any business skills at the time). We did live shows at schools and libraries throughout Texas. We had a monthly gig at Whole Foods in Austin. We also had a monthly gig at the Farmers Market in Austin. Producing my first film production, Funmi and Friends, was hard.
I look back at that process and think “Wow” this is what started it all. The reason I know how to produce, shoot/film, set up lighting, record audio, host, and edit is because of Funmi and Friends. I taught myself because I couldn’t afford to pay anyone. The reason I am an editor today is because of Funmi and Friends. Funmi and Friends was the catalyst. Funmi and Friends taught me to take risks even when I was terrified of failing. Even if I didn’t know where to start. Funmi and Friends taught me that if you just take the first step, things will come together. I took the first step and was still scared, I took the second and third step and was still scared but I just kept stepping and developed an amazing perseverance. If you are scared to do something because you don’t know where to start and/or you are scared of failing, I encourage you to listen to this short clip by Ira Glass.