In the premiere episode of Entertainment Unscripted, host Mia Fernandez sits down with filmmaker and content creator Hannah Colburn – known online as thathannahshow – to talk about breaking into the entertainment industry, creating viral behind-the-scenes content and navigating the world of independent filmmaking. From working on The Jennifer Hudson Show to premiering her short film “Lacuna” at the Beverly Hills Film Festival, Colburn shares insights, inspiration and advice for anyone dreaming of a career in film.

Mia Fernandez: Hello everyone. I am Daily Bruin podcast contributor, Mia Fernandez. Welcome to the very first episode of Entertainment Unscripted, a series where we sit down with individuals involved in the media and entertainment industry to discuss their work and the field overall. Today we’re joined by Hannah Colburn. Known online as “thathannahshow,” she is a filmmaker who has built an online community sharing her experiences in the industry.

MF: Hannah, thank you so much for joining us today. I’ve seen your work for quite a while through social media, and I’m always really inspired and impressed by it.

Hannah Colburn: Thank you.

MF: For anybody who, maybe, is just discovering your name, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and some of the work you’ve done in the industry?

HC: I work in the film industry, and I am a production assistant on a TV show right now. I directed and wrote my own short film recently last year, and it premiered at the Beverly Hills Film Festival, which was such an incredible experience. I’ve kind of been on a bunch of different gigs and doing all sorts of different things. Right now I’ve moved into the social media department for the TV show that I work on, so that’s been really fun, but I’ve kind of bounced around doing a lot of different things in the industry.

MF: Yeah, amazing. And we’re going to get into all of it in a little bit. Just before that, can you take us back to before you got into the industry? What just inspired you, or what did you feel led you to the film industry?

HC: I think I always had a passion for movies and storytelling. I think when I was in high school, I liked to make creative videos a lot, so I did a lot of travel vlogging and just putting together videos with my friends. I took a film class in high school, and when I took that class, I immediately knew that that was the path I wanted to go towards. So, when I graduated high school, I kind of steered my direction to go down that path.

MF: Yeah, that’s really cool that your high school had that.

HC: I am surprised my school had it. I didn’t know that I wanted to do that until I took that class.

MF: What did you want to be when you were little?

HC: When I was little, I wanted to be a singer. So I really pivoted.

MF: Same industry, still entertainment though.

HC: Yeah, I definitely wanted to do something creative, for sure. I wanted to be a singer. I wanted to be Justin Bieber. I wanted to be the girl version of Justin Bieber.

MF: I mean, you still could, you have time. Didn’t you work on America’s Got Talent?

HC: Yeah, I did. Which is funny because I auditioned for America’s Got Talent.

MF: Really?

HC: When I was young, I sang for them. Obviously, that didn’t get anywhere, but it was kind of a full circle moment when I ended up working on their show because that was obviously really, really cool.

MF: Yeah and it’s a reflection of how many positions there really are in the industry. You could be the talent, or you could be behind the scenes working in production, which is really amazing.

HC: Yeah.

MF: So you mentioned you’ve done a lot of work as a production assistant, what has been your favorite part of that, or what is like the day to day for that?

HC: My favorite part is definitely just being on set and experiencing all that it takes to make a TV show or a movie or whatever it is. It really is a huge team effort, and as a production assistant, it kind of gives you the perfect opportunity to figure out which department you’re kind of leaning toward or interested in. You’re kind of the assistant for everything on set so you can dabble with whatever you’re interested in and just network with people and figure out what it is that you want to do.

MF: Is there something that you feel like you’re leaning towards right now?

HC: I think right now it’s more so for me that I am working as a production assistant, but it’s given me the opportunity to continue to do my own work outside of being on set. It just gives me my motivation to keep writing and directing my own films. When I go to work, I think it’s just being on set is my favorite thing ever. That’s probably why I am still a production assistant, just because it gives me the creative freedom to continue to do my own things outside there, and not have to focus too much on anything.

MF: That makes sense. And you post a lot about being on the Warner Bros. lot, which the videos are amazing, it’s so pretty over. I recently did a tour, and it was so nice over there so I can imagine how you feel actually working.

HC: Oh yeah.

MF: But I read somewhere that you don’t actually work for Warner Bros., but you work for television shows that film on the Warner Bros lot. So how do you get positions on specific TV shows?

HC: Warner Brothers as a company, typically, if they’re hiring a production assistant, it’s not going to be on set. It’s going to be more of an office job because there’s not really a production assistant job through a studio if you want to be on set. So as far as my specific job goes, I work on a show that is just based on the lot, so they don’t leave the lot. I’m a PA on that show, so I’m on the lot every single day, which is amazing and so, so super lucky, but I know that’s not really the norm for a lot of people. Typically, shows will film on the lot for like, a month or two, and then they’ll move to a different location. Or a show might film on the lot for literally a day and then they’re on a different location the next day. So it’s all very, very different. Ultimately, if you want to be a production assistant, you want to be on set, it’s not going to be through a studio like Warner Brothers or Disney because those jobs are going to be more in an office. It’s going to be more like a desk job.

MF: Do you have a lot of creative freedom or any input on the shows?

HC: Yeah, my job specifically. It’s very nice because they do. My coworkers do allow the creative freedom to let you explore the other departments and help out with other departments. So for me, I am helping with the social media on our show. That’s nice that I can do that, but also not have the commitment of doing that full time for them. Sorry, did I answer your question? Sometimes I ramble.

MF: Yeah, that was perfect. You obviously do your own social media as well, sharing your experiences working. At what point did you decide that you wanted to share your life online?

HC: So I started sharing on social media probably two and a half years ago, and my ultimate goal was really to gain an audience, of people who wanted to see behind the scenes, and people who love film as much as I do. I really wanted to build a community of people who would be interested in seeing some of my own creative work. Ultimately, I do want to be a film director. I think right now, with the way social media is, it’s probably the best place you could possibly share your work and let people see it. It ended up growing, and now it’s doing well.

MF: Even when I first reached out and then I looked again this morning, it was growing in that short period of time, which is really amazing to see, because it is a scary industry to navigate, especially if you don’t know anybody. So it’s kind of helpful, at least in my experience, to have your account there and learn from you. Now I’ve met you, but prior to this, it’s been really helpful to know that somebody so young as well is navigating it. So I really appreciate that…

HC: Cool.

MF: You’ve been doing that.

HC: Thank you.

MF: In terms of your social media, do you want to focus on that or are you still focused on directing or being a PA?

HC: I know I’ve bounced around so many different paths, but I think utilizing social media is so huge if you want to work in the creative industry. So definitely I’m keeping a focus on posting through social media, but ultimately I’m still wanting to direct, write, make my own short films, and hopefully eventually go into making my own feature film. But with my last short film, “Lacuna,” it did so well on social media, so I definitely want to continue to grow my social media so that I can be able to continue to share my own work. You never know who’s going to see it, and you never know what opportunities it might lead to. So I definitely think if there’s anyone that wants to direct or wants to act or do that type of stuff, utilizing social media is so beneficial.

MF: I’m still learning about the film industry. I’m kind of barely getting into it, but I think that based on Sean Baker’s speech at the Oscars.

HC: Yeah.

MF: I feel like it’s being talked about a little bit more, independent films are being talked about a little bit more. That’s really amazing because I’ve seen “Lacuna,” and it was really great. I want to talk to you more about that in a little bit. How do you feel about bringing awareness to independent film? Obviously, there are huge production studios that dominate and have dominated throughout motion picture history.

HC: I 100% think indie films are the future for the film industry. I think studios have become much less involved with caring about the creative part of filmmaking, and that’s like, what indie films are all about. Making a solid piece and telling a really good story. I definitely think indie films are going to be the next thing for the film industry. Hopefully, that means eventually more jobs will start coming back up. I agree, I think indie films are going to be the next big thing.

MF: They definitely have kind of a different tone. You can tell there’s love put into it and that came through in “Lacuna” as well. I have to say, when I first watched it, I was like, “Oh my gosh. What is this girl doing?” By the way, if you haven’t watched it, go watch it. It’s lovely.

HC: I know, she’s crazy.

MF: But she’s also kind of real. She’s human. “Lacuna” means unfulfilled.

HC: A missing piece, a gap.

MF: She found the birds and I was like, “Oh my gosh she’s going to be a mother figure. That’s going to fill her void.” The relationship with the guy on the beach and then I was like, “Oh my gosh, this is her villain origin story.”

HC: I called it a “flawed fairytale.” I relate to that too, a little bit, because anytime I ever had a crush, you go a little crazy. Maybe not that crazy, but I wanted to make that a relatable experience for people.

MF: It definitely was. It is relatable because she got her heart broken. Also, something I wanted to discuss with you is the symbolism of it and the use of color throughout the film. I noticed in the scene where she’s sitting on the steps waiting for the guy the second time, she crushes the pie and the red comes out, and she’s saying her heart’s broken in that same moment. Later she’s drinking red tea, and then later she’s wearing a red dress. Was that intentional? Did you pre-plan that or did it come up as you were filming?

HC: I don’t know if the red was super intentional. I’m always very intentional with what things look like, as far as coming on screen goes. I think that’s really important. My goal was to make the whole film feel like more of a dreamy aesthetic, just to kind of emphasize that everything maybe looks perfect, but things maybe aren’t so perfect in Lacuna’s life. I really just wanted to focus on giving off that element of making it feel like things were dreamy and very fairytale fantasy type of vibe. I always think it’s fun to have maybe more ominous creepy things happen when things look pretty.

MF: Yeah and you’ve worked on other short films, or you’ve done other short films, is that correct?

HC: Yeah, I have. I would say “Lacuna” was my first official film that was completely, totally mine. I made a little stop-motion short a few years ago. Otherwise, I’ve been a part of other films, but not ones that I wrote or directed.

MF: Got it. It seems like it did very well. Like you said, it was at the Beverly Hills Film Festival. I saw also that you had a song released from it.

HC: Yeah, yeah. The actress, Sydney Mitchell, she is also a singer, so she made a song for the film which was really perfect. It was really good. It came out perfect as the ending title.

MF: That’s really cool. What was your experience with the film festival like?

HC: It was amazing. I didn’t realize how much of a process it is to get involved with film festivals, and I didn’t realize how expensive it was. Every film you submit, you have to pay a fee. Like when you’re submitting an application for college or whatever, you pay a fee. You have to be very selective of what film festivals you’re submitting to. That way, you don’t end up wasting a bunch of money because there are a lot of scam film festivals that exist. I feel like people don’t really know that. I submitted to five festivals, and out of all of them, Beverly Hills was the one that I wanted to get into the most, which was so exciting when they accepted it. The other ones, they all declined or rejected it, which is fine, because Beverly Hills was the first one I submitted to, and they were the first ones to accept it. I was already on a high from that, so I wasn’t bummed about all the other ones. The process was easy. It is not cheap.

MF: I want to ask more also about your experience with or your perspective on short films in general. What’s the planning like? How do you acquire your talent? All of that.

HC: I definitely suggest getting friends to help you make a short film, just to keep it realistic for your bank account. What I did was I got my friends together, and I reached out to an Airbnb and asked if we could film at it. It was super Northern California, and it was an old couple. They were completely okay with it, they didn’t have any issues with it. I filmed it myself. Honestly, if you’re able to do everything yourself, that’s the best way to do it. YouTube is great because it can teach you how to do everything that you need to know. Also when you’re writing your film, to definitely try to keep it grounded in a way so that it’s not reaching too high. If you’re going to write about something like, try not to make it about an astronaut in space because it’ll be really hard to execute that. I would try to write things that are going to be realistic for you to make when you’re first starting out.

MF: That makes sense. It would be quite hard to acquire a set and everything for one in outer space, especially if it’s low budget and everything. But I think it makes it even more impressive that you did it all by yourself, and you and your friends. Obviously, the films that we see on screen, it takes hundreds of people and a lot of money.

HC: It was funny because when my film premiered at the Beverly Hills Film Festival, all the other films had so many names involved, and so many different departments involved. When my film screened, there were five names. Those credits were done. I definitely recommend, if you can, have the least amount of people involved possible, that is the best way to do it, truly. The moment you have too many people involved, you have too many cooks in the kitchen and too many opinions, and your film ends up not being what you probably envisioned it being at the beginning. Honestly, I say, get a cheap camera, grab your actor friends and just write it and make it. Try to do things yourself if you can. I think that’s the best way to do it.

MF: Is there anything that you’re working on now that you can share?

HC: I just finished writing my next short film. So, I’m very excited about that. I’m going to hopefully go into production and filming it during the summer. Probably June, July time. Keep your eyes out. It’s called “Stitched.”

MF: Stitched?

HC: Yeah.

MF: Oh, okay. I feel like that could go in so many different directions. I’m really curious. How long does it take, start to finish from the idea to screening it?

HC: It really depends, honestly. “Lacuna,” I wrote the script in a week, and then the next week we went and shot it. Then I spent probably four or five months editing it, and then I submitted to festivals. So I would say that probably took 10 months to do. With “Stitched,” I started writing it last year, literally a year ago, I started writing it. That one’s taken me a lot longer to obviously implement. It really just depends. I would say, roughly, though, expect about eight to twelve months to do the whole process.

MF: It definitely is a commitment, it seems like.

HC: It is, for sure.

MF: How do you balance that with work and personal life?

HC: Honestly, it’s so hard. That’s why it’s taken me so long to write this next film because it’s so hard. As a production assistant working on a show, I’m there Monday through Friday, 10 hours a day at minimum. By the time I get home, I’m so tired I just wanna go to sleep. Luckily, the show that I work on, I was telling you earlier, we go on breaks sometimes. We get a winter break, we’re on spring break right now, so I get a week off from work. That is super helpful for me to take that downtime and write. But again, that’s not really the norm. I think I just got really lucky with that. But it is tough to balance it. I just think, honestly, reminding yourself and trying to stay optimistic of why you’re doing what you’re doing, and not giving up is the biggest thing.

MF: Are you allowed to share what show you’re working on?

HC: I work on “The Jennifer Hudson Show.”

MF: Oh, nice.

HC: I help film the “Spirit Tunnels” if you ever see those on social media.

MF: Yes! I love those! You film it, but are in it sometimes?

HC: Yeah, we switch off. There’s another girl that also films them, but I’ve filmed a bunch of them. Typically, if you don’t see me in the tunnel, it’s because I filmed it.

MF: Really?

HC: Sometimes you will see me in the tunnel clapping off-beat.

MF: That’s really cool. I always get those on my For You Page.

HC: You do?

MF: Yeah, I love them. I guess social media is working because I see it all the time, and they’re so fun.

HC: They really started blowing up. That’s been really, really fun to do. Every day, we’re always coming up with new songs for the spirit tunnel.

MF: I know they’re really creative sometimes.

HC: I know they are.

MF: I can’t imagine. It seems like a lot of work.

HC: It is. We have a really, really good team, so everyone is able to contribute, which is really fun.

MF: Okay, let’s look into the future. What is Hannah doing 10 years from now, 20 years from now? What’s the goal?

HC: Hopefully directing feature films. That is my ultimate goal. That’s where I want to end up, is directing feature films, whether they’re my own that I write, or for other shows or films. That’s just, that’s absolutely the dream, for sure.

MF: Is there any actor, actress, or anybody that you’d like to work with?

HC: I don’t know, there are so many. I’m a big Leonardo DiCaprio fan. I love Leo. Cillian Murphy, I really like Cillian Murphy. There’s so many. It’s one of those things where when someone asks you, you can’t think of anyone I know there’s so many, I can’t think of any names right now.

MF: Is there any director that inspires you?

HC: Yeah, I would say Steven Spielberg is one of my favorites for sure. He just does such a good job of creating a whole world and making characters that really stand out. I love that so much. Chris Nolan, for sure, absolutely. Greta Gerwig. Quentin Tarantino. I think all the greats are great for a reason.

MF: We talked about earlier that you didn’t go to college, but you took classes in high school. Was there anything else that you feel prepared you to enter the industry?

HC: Honestly, when I was in high school, I was so interested in working with cameras in general. I was always making creative videos and doing travel vlogging. Just doing stuff with a camera and I think that really helped me, in a way, because after I graduated high school, I started doing videography work. I started filming weddings, and I was a deposition videographer, which is really random. Filming legal deposition lawyers, which is random. Slowly after time, I realized I wanted to do keep doing even more creative work with the camera. At that time, I didn’t really know that the film industry was even something that was possible. I didn’t know how to get involved in the film industry. It’s a very gate-kept world, I think. I’m from Colorado, so I didn’t really know anything about anything, but I used Google, I looked it up, and people said, “Oh, start out as a production assistant, that’s the best way to get your foot in the door.” So I started joining local filmmaking groups on Facebook, and eventually, a job popped up for a PA job. I applied, and they were like, “Yep, come on in.” So I was like, “Okay, great.” Ever since then, I was like, “Oh, this is 100% what I want to do.” It was the best experience of my life.

MF: That’s great. Do you have any advice for maybe any UCLA students, or any listeners who are kind of scared and a little bit confused about entering the industry, but really want to?

HC: I’ll be honest, it is a tough industry to break into, but it is an industry that once you’ve broken into it, you’re kind of set. It’s a domino effect type of thing. I would say, staying involved in the film community as much as possible, and don’t be afraid to tell people your goals and what it is that you want to do. I’ve learned a lot of times when I’ve done that, it has led to people helping me and saying, “Oh, this gig just popped up. Would you want to do it?” And it’s like, “Yeah, of course.” So just being able to communicate with people what it is that you want to do is super, super helpful, and staying involved in the film community as well. But I would say, be prepared. It’s not going to be easy to get into right from the start. Just be prepared. But don’t give up either, because it is very much possible. I moved here knowing nobody, I didn’t have any connections, and I am on the Warner Brothers lot every single day now, which is absolutely incredible. I truly don’t think two years ago, if you told me that, I probably wouldn’t believe you, but it’s absolutely possible. I know my job specifically is not the norm for a lot of people, but you know, it’s just one of those things where I think, keep going, keep trying, be prepared. You might have to get a different job somewhere, at a restaurant or something. That’s what I did. Don’t be afraid to tell people what your dreams are.

MF: That’s really great advice. “Don’t be afraid to tell people what your dreams are,” I really like that. In the industry, and just in general, I keep hearing network, network, network. How do you find the courage to hold your own in rooms with seasoned professionals when some of us are barely starting? How do you find the courage to say, “Hey, I’m here and I deserve to be here.”

HC: I think as far as communicating goes with people who have been there and done that. What I’ve found to be the most helpful is truly treating everyone equally. Try not to go into a room and make yourself feel small. You want to make it feel like you’re confident in yourself, and that you know you can provide something, and you know that you can be utilized for more than or for whatever you it is that you want to do. I think honestly, being able to enter a room and treat everyone equally, and being able to speak for yourself and say, “This is what I can do. This is what I’ve done.” Being able to just prove, not even prove yourself, but just showing that you’re confident in yourself. You’re going to meet people who have an ego, and you’re going to be people who are mean in the industry. Obviously, those are people that you can just steer away from because those aren’t people that are going to want to help you anyway. But the biggest tip I can give is to just keep a positive attitude, keep staying optimistic, keep showing that you can work hard. This is a dream for you, so you want to make that dream come true. So I think, honestly, working as hard as possible towards that dream and showing that you’re passionate about it is the biggest thing. There are a lot of times people will show up to work and it’s obvious that they don’t want to be there, so try not to have that energy when you show up.

MF: Yeah. Yeah. More great advice. Honestly, I think that that’s a lovely place to end it. Thank you so much for being here. Honestly, I learned a lot from you, so I hope everybody did too. “thathannahshow” on Instagram, is that correct?

HC: Yeah “thathannahshow” on Instagram and TikTok it’s “itsthehannahshow”

MF: Perfect, thank you so much for being here. It was lovely speaking to you.

HC: It was nice to meet you.