On this week's episode, I have TikTok Star Mackenzie Barmen. We talk about what she has already accomplished in her very short time in LA, as well as some of the projects she has planned for the future. There is so much more so make sure you tune in.
Show Notes
Mackenzie Barmen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mackenziebarmen/
Mackenzie Barmen on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mackenziebarmen?lang=en
Mackenzie Barmen on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAP_cFPc2fqGTe50YhOlkDg/videos
Michael's Online Screenwriting Course - https://michaeljamin.com/course
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Autogenerated Transcript
Mackenzie Barman:
There's a part of me that worries on some level all the time, but then there's a stronger part of me. I think that's pretty delusional in a good way, that I'm like, no, I am certain that I'm supposed to do this, and I just can't falter. I just, I'm doing,
Michael Jamin:
You're listening to, what the Hell is Michael Jamin talking about? I'll tell you what I'm talking about. I'm talking about creativity. I'm talking about writing, and I'm talking about reinventing yourself through the arts.
Hey everyone. Welcome back to another episode of, what the Hell is Michael Jamin talking about? Well, I'll tell you what I've been talking about. If you've been listening to any number of my podcasts or by social media, I've been saying the same thing a lot. I've been saying, if you are an aspiring whatever, if you're an actor or a writer or performer, put your work out there. Just start doing it, and the more you do it, the better you get. And then my next guest is someone who did just that and is doing that, and I discovered her maybe a year or two ago, and we're going to talk, and she's big. We're going to talk to her about her journey here. Mackenzie Barman, thank you so much for coming here. Lemme tell you when I first found you, and then you'll Yes, please. Then we'll tell you were doing a bit, it was a piece on you were reciting nursery rhymes, and you playing two characters.
You generally will talk about this, but you generally do two characters have, and you're both, and usually it's kind of a sweet and naive version of you. And then there's kind of a meaner more, not sinister, but cynical. And I guess she puts you in your place. She's a little, and she wants up making you cry a lot. And so the sweet one was talking about nursery rhyme, and the other one was telling you, you're so naive, you have no idea what these nursery rhymes are about. And so that blew up and that's how I found you, and it was really funny. I love
Mackenzie Barman:
It. Thank you.
Michael Jamin:
Well, tell me, what is this? So you're huge on TikTok, you have almost 3 million followers, which is
Mackenzie Barman:
Almost
Michael Jamin:
Huge. I've written for shows that haven't been seen by anywhere near 3 million people. So you have a giant following, but tell me, so why did you start doing this?
Mackenzie Barman:
Well, I was an actor in the pandemic, and I didn't really know what to do with myself. And so everyone was on TikTok for fun. That was when TikTok was really blowing up, and I kind of just decided to start making videos and then not taking it seriously at all. But then I was like, well, it gives me a kind of a platform. And no one was really using it like that yet. But I started to see some sketches pop up and I was like, huh, or viral videos, whatever. And then I ended up just at random seeing somebody write about a nursery rhyme in a Facebook status. And I was still using Facebook, which I don't, and I was like, oh. And I learned in that moment what that nursery rhyme meant. So I just on a whim made that first
Michael Jamin:
Video. So that was one of your first videos?
Mackenzie Barman:
Yeah, it was one. I did a whole series of those ones. So I did it and I just kind of improvised it. And the next morning I woke up and it had gone kind of viral, and so I made another one, and then I made another one and they kind of just blew up. And so, yeah, it was kind of random.
Michael Jamin:
But your intention, it was boredom or was it, you said you wanted to have a platform. What was your goal?
Mackenzie Barman:
Well, it was a little bit out of boredom, but it was more so like, well, let me put myself out there. And I used to go to a lot of casting director workshops and when I lived in New York City, and they would always say the same thing when YouTube was really big, make your own web series, put yourself out there, all that stuff. And so that's always been in the back of my mind, and I've always kind of considered myself a multihyphenate. I also shoot and direct and all that stuff, so I was like, I need to do that. So that's why I've always kind of focused on acting, being the primary thing in my videos. Let's get to that.
Michael Jamin:
Yeah, I was going to say, it's really smart. You show a range. I mean, you have, like I said, the sweet side, and then the other side is, and sometimes you play well, you're always playing characters, but to me it's smart. You're showing your range as an actor.
Mackenzie Barman:
Yeah.
Michael Jamin:
What do your reps have to say about all this?
Mackenzie Barman:
They love it. I actually got my managers through TikTok, they found me and oh my
Michael Jamin:
God, really?
Mackenzie Barman:
I had already had voiceover representation through my agency, but I didn't have a manager or anything. And I met my manager, Rachel. I loved her right away. And they love it, and they love the content and that it's acting first and the series and all that.
Michael Jamin:
So they give you any feedback or No, they just like, we love it.
Mackenzie Barman:
No, not really. They just let me roll with it. Yeah.
Michael Jamin:
Interesting. And then what other opportunities have come from all this?
Mackenzie Barman:
Gosh, well, one of the coolest things is the relationships that I've built with other creators, especially actor creators. And you just kind of know when you vibe with some people or when I watch certain people, I'm like, I know our brains work the same way. So I seek those people out to become, I love getting to know the people that I admire. It's cool to meet people talent first, and then it's doing a play with somebody. I
Michael Jamin:
Know you collaborate with people sometimes. I've seen some of those videos you've done.
Mackenzie Barman:
I've done a couple. I'm going to be doing more now that I'm in LA and with a lot more people. But that's been a really cool thing that's come from this. Did
Michael Jamin:
You start this in New York your first three years? Yeah. Oh, really?
Mackenzie Barman:
Okay. Yeah, I just moved to LA a few weeks ago. I was in New York
Michael Jamin:
City. Oh, when you said you changed your apartments, I assumed you were moved, okay. From in la, but you're Oh, you're, well, welcome to la. Okay. Thank you. Wow, this is a big adjustment for you. So what prompted you to move to LA then?
Mackenzie Barman:
Well, my managers are out here, and since TikTok, I've really, it's funny. I was always kind of like, I wanted to really be such a chameleon and not hone in on any one thing. I didn't want to just do comedy. I didn't want to just do drama. But now with TikTok, it's really pushed me more into comedy, and I've found that I really do love it. So out here, there's so many comedy opportunities, and I'm going to be doing part of a live show on December 10th, and just being, I just needed to be out here.
Michael Jamin:
Okay. So how did you get, you've only been here for three minutes, so how did you get this live show already?
Mackenzie Barman:
Through a friend of mine, actually, through social media. Someone you, oh
Michael Jamin:
My God, so smart. I'm always yelling at people. They're like, do I have to be in la? I'm like, well, this is where everyone is. I mean, why would you know? What were you doing? Were you doing a lot of theater in New York?
Mackenzie Barman:
Yeah, so I did a lot of regional theater. I did an off-Broadway musical, and then when the pandemic happened, I was really trying to shift into more TV and film work. I really wanted to be on tv. I still do. That's really my big focus is to be on tv, be in movies. But I was kind of transitioning and doing the casting director workshops and doing all those things, and then the pandemic hit. But yeah, mostly theater. I'm a theater girl
Michael Jamin:
Now. Did you study, where have you studied? Did you study in college? Where did, yeah,
Mackenzie Barman:
I went to a SUNY school and I loved it. I went to SUNY Potsdam in upstate New York, and I studied theater and theater education. I didn't really start doing plays until high school and in high school. So
Michael Jamin:
You're from New York?
Mackenzie Barman:
Yeah, I'm from New York. From
Michael Jamin:
New York, okay.
Mackenzie Barman:
Yeah, born and raised, upstate New York, near Albany. And then, yeah, I moved down to the city to be an actor and do all that. Right.
Michael Jamin:
Wow. You've only been here three weeks and so much has already happened for you already.
Mackenzie Barman:
What do you think? Yeah, I'm trying.
Michael Jamin:
What do you think It's a culture shock. What do you think?
Mackenzie Barman:
Right now, I'm in my lust for life extrovert phase where I'm like, because a homebody pretty much, I'm an extroverted homebody, so I like to be home a lot. But right now I'm just trying to be out a lot, meet people that I've, and just kind of be really social,
Michael Jamin:
Been amazing. How did you get into play? Okay, you moved here. Did you stay with a friend when you found your, how did, because I'm telling people come out. How did you do it? How did
Mackenzie Barman:
It was a pain? So I visited last August, and I stayed with one of my managers. Actually, I crashed at her place. I went a couple different places, but she's the best. I love her. And they're in the West Hollywood area, so it's really the only place I know. So that's where I am now. I'm in West Hollywood. And then I looked at a couple apartments when I was here, but I really didn't know where I was. I kind of did, but I don't really know. And then, so I just, Zillow and Trulia, and I ended up finding this apartment on Trulia, and I had a couple of friends come look at it and FaceTime me,
Michael Jamin:
And it was good enough.
Mackenzie Barman:
I was like,
Michael Jamin:
And then Did you drive here? You
Mackenzie Barman:
Flew here? I drove,
Michael Jamin:
Yeah. That's how you do it. Did your car. Wow. Now tell me, when you start posting, these are thought out, these videos you make, how much time do you spend a day making, and how many times do you post a day?
Mackenzie Barman:
It's really funny. I usually post once a day at most. I really should try to post once a day at least. It's usually every two or three days. Oh, really? Yeah. But I've been kind of busy, but it was once a day when I was doing the nursery rhymes, but I kind of got a little burned out, I think.
Michael Jamin:
Yeah, you do get burned out. It's
Mackenzie Barman:
A lot. It's a lot. It's a lot. Yeah. But I don't write anything beforehand. I improvise everything, but I kind of write it in my head as I go, and I have a loose idea going into it of if it was a nursery rhyme or something, I would have to research and have the facts ready. I would do that research beforehand and then kind of reference it as I improvised it. But for the character stuff, it's all kind of, they kind of just take over. I take a backseat,
Michael Jamin:
But you must edit some stuff out, or no, is everything what you say goes in?
Mackenzie Barman:
Sometimes if I say something and then I'm like, even if it's improvised, I'm like, huh, you know what? I think I want to tweak that and put the intonation somewhere else, or put a micro look or an eyebrow raise kind of somewhere else. I'll redo it. But most of the time it's my first take, honestly.
Michael Jamin:
So, okay. I was going to ask you where you're editing it because you're like this, you're holding it, and you do your one line, and then you turn around and do the other line, and then
Mackenzie Barman:
I swap. Yeah.
Michael Jamin:
So you're not even editing it?
Mackenzie Barman:
No, because I shoot in the app, unless it's Snapchat filters, which a couple of my characters are Snapchat filters, in which case I'll film them. It used to be that if I was doing the Snapchat filters, I would just shoot one character as a monologue and then post that. But then with my Danny and Bab series, this new, these characters, I have
Michael Jamin:
The ugly babies that you post.
Mackenzie Barman:
They're adults. Okay. I just, I'll pull up his filter, shoot his line, save the video, switch the filter, do her response.
Michael Jamin:
I'm surprised you can't even remember what you just said. You know what I'm saying? With the last character just said,
Mackenzie Barman:
Yeah, I don't know. It's just kind of alive in that moment. But
Michael Jamin:
Are you thinking in advance, okay, this is going to do well, or this is just what I want to do today? Do you care?
Mackenzie Barman:
I do care only because I kind of have to care. I feel like it influences so much. Now your numbers and all that stuff, but I also care because I want people to like it. I want people to genuinely have a response to it that's a little deeper maybe than normal. On TikTok scrolling, which I do get a lot. I'll get people being like, wait, this is actually, so people
Michael Jamin:
Are, well, your fans really loved you. I've read some of these comments, and what surprises me is that you interact with pretty much everyone.
Mackenzie Barman:
I try. I try and they're smart. Okay.
Michael Jamin:
Why do you try?
Mackenzie Barman:
Because it, it's weird. It's like this weird, I don't really ever go to anyone's profile or whatever, but I can almost hear the comment in my head, and it almost in that brief moment feels like a conversation's actively happening. So I'm bantering with this person, or I don't know. It's just, it's fun to be engaging. And I've had people respond when I do engage and they're like, oh my God, I can't believe you applied. And that to me is just so lovely.
Michael Jamin:
It is lovely, but it's so much work on your part.
Mackenzie Barman:
I know, but I sit and scroll a lot. So it's like part of the package. It's like part of producing the video almost is then the engagement after. And I don't do it as much as I used to, but I do. It depends on what mood I'm in.
Michael Jamin:
I wonder though. I wonder what you're supposed to do when I started, are you supposed to, I'm not even sure when I get, my page is very different from yours. They have questions for me. They want, as opposed to you. I think they're like your fans, they just want to, and so they're
Mackenzie Barman:
Just making a commentary on it
Michael Jamin:
Or something. Well, they really like your show. They like what? You're the fans. And so I just don't know what the rules are. I don't know if you're supposed to
Mackenzie Barman:
Interact yourself. I dunno. And it depends. If somebody does leave a nasty comment or say something mean, which is oddly really rare, don't come from me guys. Don't start. But it's rare. They're pretty good, my, because some people get it bad for some reason, and I don't really get that.
Michael Jamin:
Yeah, go on. What do you do?
Mackenzie Barman:
Wait, I've lost my train of thought. What
Michael Jamin:
Was it? You said? Some people come after you and they're mean,
Mackenzie Barman:
And either I'll completely ignore them or I'll delete it. If it's a needle in a haystack and it's just something mean, I'll delete it. But sometimes I'll respond with sarcasm or I'll make a sarcastic response video, and then it makes it funny. So then it's like, oh, this is actually a joyful experience. But most of the time I'll just ignore them if I do get them.
Michael Jamin:
And you don't block 'em, you just ignore them?
Mackenzie Barman:
Yeah. I don't really block anybody unless they're trying to impersonate me, but
Michael Jamin:
Even, yeah. Wow. You don't even block the haters.
Mackenzie Barman:
Not usually. There's been maybe two or three.
Michael Jamin:
Oh, wow. I get more than you do I get more than haters than you?
Mackenzie Barman:
They don't really come for me. It's weird. I don't know.
Michael Jamin:
Wow. But now you're putting yourself out there. It's pretty vulnerable. I mean, it may hit, it may not. It may be funny. It may not be. I mean, was that hard at the beginning for you to do that?
Mackenzie Barman:
Yeah, I think the nursery rhyme videos did so well. Those were just one of those weird viral things where every video was getting a million plus and it was every day. It was just crazy. And now it ebbs and flows so much with TikTok. And now I have more normal numbers, I think. But I definitely do get a little anxious about that. Sometimes I'm like, oh gosh, I thought this video would do better. Or I'll post something out of my norm and then I wake up and it's done really well, and I'm like, oh, and then I'll try to do that again, and then it doesn't do as well. So it's like a flash in the pan thing.
Michael Jamin:
Do you share it as well on Instagram? I mean, what do you
Mackenzie Barman:
I do, yeah. Yeah,
Michael Jamin:
Immediately. Same content. You just put it up there.
Mackenzie Barman:
Yeah.
Michael Jamin:
Do you put it anywhere else?
Mackenzie Barman:
Not really. I've put a couple on YouTube. I really need to start utilizing the YouTube shorts because I think where it's at and Snapchat, I need to start utilizing more. I think they're up and coming. They're coming back. You think
Michael Jamin:
So?
Mackenzie Barman:
They're coming back? I think so.
Michael Jamin:
How many hours a day or minutes a day do you spend on this?
Mackenzie Barman:
I would say on average, I probably spend an hour on a video.
Michael Jamin:
Really? Okay. It's not nothing. It's not nothing.
Mackenzie Barman:
Yeah. It's not nothing. But it's not like I know some people put in and you can tell some of these videos are gorgeous and the editing is, but since it's just me, it's also a lot harder for me to film outside of my hand, setting up the tripod moving and just a lot more to do. So it's just easier for me to
Michael Jamin:
Do. Do you have a list of ideas that you keep? And are you running out of ideas?
Mackenzie Barman:
I always feel like I'm running out of ideas. I always think if a video, especially if a video does really well, I'm like, I'm never going to do this well ever again. But I don't usually keep a list of ideas. Sometimes I'll jot down, I have a bunch of notes, like separate note app ideas. But a lot of the times it's just, if I have the thought, I'll just record it. That's why a lot of the times I look kind of like shit in my videos a little bit, because I film them. Usually my ideas come right in the morning, and so I'll just wake up and film an idea, and then it's, before I've even brushed my teeth or anything, I'm just gross. But it's when, and I just do it.
Michael Jamin:
And you put it up. It's so interesting. I don't know. Is there a fear? Is there any fear associated? It seems like you don't have any fear at all about this.
Mackenzie Barman:
I feel like I do. I feel there's a constant anxiety of one. I have imposter syndrome pretty intensely.
Michael Jamin:
Okay. And who do you think you are? Do you, you're not, is that
Mackenzie Barman:
I don't come from an industry family or any kind of connections like that. So I'm always like, who am I?
Michael Jamin:
But they have imposter syndrome too, because their mother and father was, they're famous. So I think they have bigger imposter syndrome than you do. You're
Mackenzie Barman:
Self made. I'm learning that. I'm learning everyone deals. There was a great Viola Davis interview where she talked about imposter syndrome, and it was great to hear that.
Michael Jamin:
What did she say?
Mackenzie Barman:
Just that it never goes away and that she was doing, oh gosh, what was the movie she did with Denzel Washington?
Michael Jamin:
Oh, was it Fences?
Mackenzie Barman:
Fences? Yeah. I think it was about fences. And she was talking about she was playing that part and was like, who am I to do this? It may have been that, but she was just talking about that, and I was like, that's really refreshing, because I think I look through rose colored glasses at these celebs sometimes, and I'm like, oh my God. They're so confident. But we're always seeing the best take, and we're always getting, especially as you get more involved in the industry, you start to see that it's all kind of smoke and mirrors. You just have to fake it.
Michael Jamin:
I read an article yesterday about Brian May from Queen. He said he still has some imposter syndrome, and he's Sir Brian May, and he's like, why isn't they call me, sir?
Mackenzie Barman:
It's wild. Yeah, it's wild. But that there is fear there. There is that fear of the imposter syndrome of like, oh my gosh, who am I? And it's silly. It's silly. And I know that, but
Michael Jamin:
Are you monetizing TikTok or no? Yeah. You are? Yeah. In the creator fund?
Mackenzie Barman:
Yeah. So they have the creator beta program or program beta, whatever it's called. Great. Is
Michael Jamin:
That effective use?
Mackenzie Barman:
I dunno, maybe, but I don't dunno. Interesting. It's nice because you can only monetize on content over a minute, and most of my content is over a minute, so it really was a good thing for me. Yeah,
Michael Jamin:
You'd have to change anything.
Mackenzie Barman:
Yeah.
Michael Jamin:
But you have to have a personal account, not a business account. Right? Isn't
Mackenzie Barman:
That what you maybe? Yeah. I don't know. I don't know.
Michael Jamin:
Now, in your reps, as I was checking out some of your videos, you are, it's funny that they said this, but they like that you're in character. They like that you're acting. And I was curious, why don't you, or have you thought of, this is me today. I'm not going to act today. This is me. This is, I'm want to table my life. You're not doing that though.
Mackenzie Barman:
Yeah, no. I've done a couple of videos like that. I've probably done 10 or 12, maybe 20. I don't even know how many I have on my page, but where it's me doing something. But I feel like sometimes it feels like I'm always in a bit, and I don't know if that's being an actor or if it's my own neuroses, but if I am in front of a camera, it's kind of hard for me to be just me, unless I'm doing a podcast and talking to somebody. But if it's me looking at myself on video, I'm always going to be like, ha.
Michael Jamin:
It's
Mackenzie Barman:
Difficult for me sometimes. But I do think about that because there is a part of me that really wants to be more like, wait, okay, so here I am as a person. Get ready with me. As I tell you this story, I thought about doing more of those just because it is fun to do that.
Michael Jamin:
Right? But the
Mackenzie Barman:
Math is always on. I don't know.
Michael Jamin:
That's more of a you thing. It's so interesting. I wonder, I was going to ask if you feel almost trapped in this persona that you are now?
Mackenzie Barman:
Yeah. Yes and no. No, probably not. I don't think so. I think I play such a variety of characters on my TikTok.
Michael Jamin:
Except for yourself. You play characters except
Mackenzie Barman:
For you. It's never really me. Definitely the closest one to me. And I think I'm pretty split right down the middle between the dark me and the innocent me in the nursery rhyme videos. And that dynamic is, in a lot of the videos, there's always me and me and whoever else, Chelsea or whoever. But I'm definitely split right in the middle. But if I had to lean, I would definitely lean toward the happy, bubbly me. That's probably the closest to me in any of my videos.
Michael Jamin:
But not that you should, I'm just pointing out you're not sharing anything really personal or intimate about yourself or
Mackenzie Barman:
No, no. In a weird way, I think that it's like, I don't know. There's a part of me that likes, there admires those celebs that you really don't know too much about Florence Pugh or Jennifer Lawrence. They give you glimpses into their life, their personal life. But there always is this level of mystique to them. And not that I'm trying to be mysterious, but I do think that it in the long run might serve me better as an actor to be more private than to be so human. I don't know. Well,
Michael Jamin:
It's interesting because it's also like you must know Elise Meyers, because I mean, she's big, but you're up there. I mean, you're not far behind her, and she's more, and it seems like she's doing what she wants to do, but she's more actor and she's more, I guess, personality.
Mackenzie Barman:
Yeah. Yeah. I love Elise, and I don't know her, but I love her because she's so just herself. She might have self-doubt, whatever. I have no idea. Imposter syndrome and stuff, but she appears and she does speak on things, her iss, and she's just so honest about it. And I do love that. I don't know. I just can't do it.
Michael Jamin:
Right. Well, you're being authentic or I
Mackenzie Barman:
Can, but yeah, I don't know. It's just tricky. There is that kind of want to keep this, but who is Mackenzie thing
Michael Jamin:
And what surprising opportunities have come from this or partnerships or relationships or whatever.
Mackenzie Barman:
I'm trying to think. Besides auditions and stuff.
Michael Jamin:
So you've gotten direct auditions from this? I
Mackenzie Barman:
Have.
Michael Jamin:
How did that work?
Mackenzie Barman:
Well, a lot of the times I'll go through my reps and then my reps will reach out to me, say, oh, you've been actually personally requested for this.
Michael Jamin:
That's a big deal.
Mackenzie Barman:
It really is. And I've gotten some callback. I've gotten, most of the time, if I audition for projects like that, I'll get a call back and then go whatever, and then it doesn't happen or whatever for whatever reason. But it's happened, yeah, a few times. But a lot of the time too, I don't know. I really don't know how much, because I get auditions through my agents, a normal actor would. So I don't really know on the back end of it how much they're like, oh, here's her video. I don't really know.
Michael Jamin:
But do your reps try to sell you like, Hey, she's got 3 million followers on, because that would be good to help sell the show when you book it or whatever.
Mackenzie Barman:
Oh, I think so. Yeah. I think that's definitely a leverage point. Working on treatments and stuff. There is work that I want to put out and produce and whatever, and I do think that helps and is a big aspect of
Michael Jamin:
It. So is that on your resume, like your follower account on your acting resume or no?
Mackenzie Barman:
I don't dunno. Actually. It might
Michael Jamin:
Be it. Should it be right? Shouldn't it be?
Mackenzie Barman:
I think in today's world, yeah, I think it probably should. It probably is. And it probably needs to be updated, actually, now that I'm thinking about it. But yeah, I think it is on there.
Michael Jamin:
One thing you don't do, I don't think you do, is sell merch.
Mackenzie Barman:
No, I did one drop and I had a bad experience.
Michael Jamin:
What happened
Mackenzie Barman:
With doing it? I think my problem is I am not a salesy person. And when I was trying to sell or advertise my merch, those videos did not do well and not a of lot of eyes saw them because the people who would typically see my content, it was so out of the realm of what their algorithm would be that it didn't pop up for 'em and it just didn't do well. And I was like, you know what? And I didn't like working with, so if I think if I did, I would just do it myself.
Michael Jamin:
Wait, weren't you doing print on demand? How is it?
Mackenzie Barman:
I had worked with a merch company. I don't even remember the name of the company actually, but I had worked with a merch company and it was just a quick drop. I think typically if it's a first time, they'll do a limited drop to see how it does and then move
Michael Jamin:
On. You work with the merch company. Why don't you just go to some place that print on demand? I have five T-shirts if you want to make 'em one at a time.
Mackenzie Barman:
Well, it was kind of near when I was kind first starting out, and it's one of those things where you kind learn as you go approached. They had reached out and they said, Hey, we think McKenzie would be great. And they'd worked with other people. I think that's how it went down, or no, no, that's not true. I think it was my idea to make merch. And then I had, they were recommended because they had worked with some other great people and were really successful. So I think it was just my particular launch didn't do.
Michael Jamin:
Didn't do well.
Mackenzie Barman:
Yeah.
Michael Jamin:
Hey, it's Michael. If you like my content and I know you do listening to me, I will email it to you for free. Just join my watch list. Every Friday I send out my top three videos of the week. These are for writers, actors, creative types, people. You can unsubscribe whenever you want. I'm not going to spam you, and the price is free. You got no excuse to join. Go to michae jamin.com. And now back to what the hell is Michael Jamin talking about.
What about brand deals? Are you working with people with companies? Yeah.
Mackenzie Barman:
Yeah. I've done some brand deals, which are so fun. I want to do more of them because they're just fun. It kind of gives me a, because a lot of the times there's no guiding light in my videos. It's just what's ever in my head. So when I have a brand to work with, it's fun. I can work around that.
Michael Jamin:
Did you hook up onto the backend of TikTok, or, I don't even know they hook you up, or no.
Mackenzie Barman:
Well, I think a little bit. I'm so bad. I don't really know all the business backend things of TikTok. I've seen some ads and stuff you can apply to be a part of this ad or something, but the pay is really low sometimes, or it's like a share a revenue share system, and I just don't want to be bothered with that. So these ones, they'll come through my management or my agents and be like, really? Hey, they want to work with me. Yeah,
Michael Jamin:
But do you have special agents, social media agents, or No, just your acting agents?
Mackenzie Barman:
Yeah. At my agency, they have a department for everything. So I'm working with an agent there. Yeah. Oh,
Michael Jamin:
Wow. So interesting.
Mackenzie Barman:
Yeah, I'm still learning too. It really is a business. And you'd kind of go to theater school and you're like, okay, yeah, sure, it's a business, but then you're in the world and you're like, oh, this is a business.
Michael Jamin:
Alright, so is this your primary income or no?
Mackenzie Barman:
No, kind of. So I do a lot of things. So I also run a video production company. You do? It's very small, but it's called Real You, and it's a demo reel production company for actors. So basically, yes, I work with actors. I was an actor who had a MISHMOSHED demo reel of all these different student films, or you just wouldn't get the footage. So it was always a hassle if you didn't have stuff to put a reel together. And so I basically sit with actors, figure out their branding, their type, whatever, and then write them scenes and then film them. But professionally, I have a real camera and all that good stuff.
Michael Jamin:
And how do they find you? These people
Mackenzie Barman:
Through my website or there's a business website and stuff. And it's funny because all of the SEO is for New York, and so I need to figure out a way to make everyone know that we're in LA now. So I do that and I do voiceover, so I do commercial and animation. Well, nothing animation yet. I audition a lot, but I'm hoping to book something soon. But a lot of commercial work and radio stuff, so I just have a lot of,
Michael Jamin:
But it seems very smart what you're doing. You're also working with, you're meeting actors, you're working with actors, you're making contacts, and you're getting paid for it out here. It's
Mackenzie Barman:
Making me a better writer, a better director, a better actor, because I also edit the scenes. Each scene is about a couple minutes long, and so I know when I'm directing them and shooting it, oh, this was helpful in the editing process, or, oh, this was actually difficult.
Michael Jamin:
So it's interesting though that you write stuff for them, but you don't write for yourself. You just impro yourself.
Mackenzie Barman:
I do write some stuff. My tiktoks, I don't write for some reason. I really should maybe try to sit and write something. I think I just write backwards when I'm doing that. But when I'm writing treatments, we're working on TV stuff, then I'll sit and write if it's because a lot of the stuff that I write is for me, but it's also for other people.
Michael Jamin:
Right. Yeah. It's so interesting. Like I said, I thought what you're doing was so smart because you're really showcasing your writing, you're showcasing your acting, and you're, your range, your acting range by playing all these different characters. It just seems like that's exactly what you should be doing. Yeah.
Mackenzie Barman:
Yeah. I'm really trying to build a brand there. And it's nice because it kind of acts like a resume or a reel. I'm like, just go watch my tiktoks and you can see, you can see what I'm all about.
Michael Jamin:
Wow. And what about the partnerships, the other actors that you're working with? Tell me a little bit about what that had led to
Mackenzie Barman:
The actors that I shoot for
Michael Jamin:
Or that you shoot with or that you collaborate with.
Mackenzie Barman:
Oh, man. Well, I've only collaborated with a couple people. My friend's Taylor and James, who are content creators, and they're both actors. They're amazing. They live in la. I did a video with them, and I actually shot this morning with Laura Clary. Do you know Laura Clary? She's great. She's so funny. She's like an internet queen. And so when I'm shooting with them, I love working with other people, a theater person. So it's in my soul to have tangible people with me. But most of the time I'm alone. So when I'm working with another actor, it's just the best, especially when I'm just bantering freely with them or, because Laura, for instance, she wrote a script for us, and when I clagged with Taylor and James, we kind of improvised it, had an idea of what it was going to be. It was like a curb situation. We had the bones, but Laura wrote it, and then we kind of improvised on the fly. It was great. I loved it.
Michael Jamin:
And they're pretty much want what you want. They want to get more traditional acting on TV and film.
Mackenzie Barman:
I think so, yeah. Well, I know that some of them do. Laura's already established and stuff, but my client actors, they're all either working actors who want to update their reel or want to add a very specific, they need a detective scene, or they need this specific type of scene. They'll come to me. Some of them I've become really good friends with just because I'm like, oh, I love you.
Michael Jamin:
I mean, you've only been in LA three weeks. Are you going to get involved in the
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