Tamika Miller is an alum of SHOOT’s 2019 New Directors Showcase, earning inclusion on the strength of an Amazon Echo spec spot facilitated by the Commercial Directors Diversity Program (CDDP). Fast forward to today and Miller has successfully transitioned into real world commercialmaking, episodic television and features. She broke into series TV with Station 19 and that has expanded to such shows as The Equalizer and Quantum Leap. Miller’s career progression can serve as a source of inspiration and strategy for up-and-coming filmmakers.
As to how she has landed these opportunities, Miller said, “I’m intentional in my professional endeavors. I also throw things against the wall to see if they stick. Both have benefited me professionally. An example is when I applied for a Women’s Directing Mentorship Initiative sponsored by SeriesFest and Shondaland–the sole recipient of which shadows a director on a Shondaland series. I was the 2020 recipient. Tom Verica, head of creative production for Shondaland, was impressed with my work. At the time, in addition to commercials, I had three award-winning short films, and two television movies under my belt as a director. Tom said, ‘You’re not going to shadow. I’m going to give you an episode.’ And, he did. I owe Tom my episodic career. It has been life-changing. Having already had quite a bit of experience being on sets–as a director, as well as a producer, the transition to episodic was a fairly smooth one in some ways. However, I did have to learn the process of making an episode of television. A lot goes into prep prior to filming, and it all moves very fast. So, I have to quickly get my head around the script and what the writer(s) are trying to convey in their storytelling. I have to figure out how I want to execute it, and be able to clearly articulate this to my creative team. When you’re a [guest] director-for-hire invited onto a show where everyone knows each other–except you–confidence is key.”
On the indie feature front Miller described her Honor Student as “a provocative thriller that is a call to action to invoke meaningful conversation in an effort to curtail gun violence. I co-wrote the script with a brilliant screenwriter, Joe Rechtman. The script was born out of a question I’d asked myself after every mass shooting in the U.S., ‘what would it take for legislators to enact effective gun legislation?’ I also wrote the script with the intention of producing the film myself. I knew whether it took two years, four years or six years to make, unfortunately the issue of gun violence would still be relevant. And, it is.
“My hope,” continued Miller, “is that Honor Student is a catalyst for discussion and ACTION, however charged, and that our conversations reflect back to us who we are as a society and shifts–if ever so slightly–our perspective of who we need to be. I had complete creative control making Honor Student, and it felt empowering.”
Up next for Miller is another feature she co-wrote, titled Undercard, with actress/comedienne Wanda Sykes in her first dramatic role. Sykes plays a boxing trainer who reconnects with the son she abandoned, and attempts to do what no mother has ever done–train her son to a world championship title. “No one will see this coming from Wanda!” said Miller of the gritty film.
When asked by SHOOT publisher Roberta Griefer about advice for new directors, Miller suggested, “lean into your fellow creatives–your friends who are writers, cinematographers, editors, production designers, etc.–coming up along side you. Create together instead of only looking outside or ‘up’ for someone to give you an opportunity. Create your own opportunities! Become one another’s tribe because when one of you goes, you all go.”
Miller’s laundry list of advice includes: Be bold and fearless; never compare yourself to someone else–your journey is yours, not theirs; trust the process; trust your gut–your intuition; be intentional in everything you do; stay true to your vision; find balance and practice self-care; and have fun!
