Fans who have been following the career of former daytime star Cady McClain (ex-Dixie Cooney, All My Children; ex-Rosanna Cabot, As the World Turns; ex-Kelly Andrews, The Young and the Restless) have seen that she has become an extremely talented filmmaker and director. Both her documentary Seeing is Believing: Women Direct -- which she wrote, directed, and edited -- and the narrative short Butterflies -- which she directed -- have turned heads and garnered award show attention. But how does she do it?
If you're interested in going behind the scenes with McClain to learn about her filmmaking process or if you're interested in filmmaking and directing yourself and want to learn from her journey in the business, then the California native's Patreon page is the perfect place for you.
In a video explanation of the platform, McClain takes fans into her personal studio and gives information about why she has started a Patreon page and the benefits that come along with signing up for the different membership tiers available.
"Basically, what I realized is that there are a lot of people out there interested in filmmaking," she says of why she started her Patreon page. "A lot of women in particular come to me looking for advice, insight, inspiration, tools, mentorship. I'm only one person, and I can't help as many people as I would like to help, so I thought, 'Hhhmmm, what can I do?'"
She explains that there are four Patreon tiers -- or levels of access -- that fans can join for help and information. Tier One offers weekly insight into what McClain does every day to move her career forward and what she learns from interactions with other people in the business. Tier Two offers video insights, personal access to McClain, one-on-one mentoring, and personal invitations. Tier Three offers members information on how to recover from errors as well as insight from other directors featured in McClain's documentary, Seeing is Believing: Women Direct. There is also a Tier Four available, but the only information given is that it includes a deep dive into McClain's files and is so "insider," members will have to sign a nondisclosure form to access it.
In summary, McClain says, "If you're looking for information, inspiration, a how-to guide, and mentorship, you've come to the right place."
To view McClain's video and for more information on membership to the actress' Patreon page, click here.
McClain is a two-time Emmy winner for Supporting Actress, best known for the daytime roles of Dixie Cooney on All My Children, which she played from 1989 to 2011; Rosanna Cabot on As the World Turns, which she played from 2003 to 2010; and Kelly Andrews on The Young and the Restless, which she played from 2014 to 2015. She can still be found acting but has turned her talents to producing and directing. In 2017 and again in 2018, she became a two-time Emmy-Award-nominated director for Crystal Chappel's Venice the Series. She has also directed and starred in episodes of the web series Switch, featuring Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis.
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