Taylor Hill: Today’s Notable Young Entrepreneur

Today’s Notable Young Entrepreneur is writer, producer and actress Taylor Hill, whose mockumentary feature film ‘Leap 4 Your Life’ is premiering at this year’s Vancouver International Film Festival. What was the inspiration behind her career route? Find out in today’s profile…

Elevator Pitch: Describe your business in a nutshell.
I wrote, produced and star in a mockumentary feature film called ‘Leap 4 Your Life’ that will be making its world premiere at the 2013 Vancouver International Film Festival. In the style of Christopher Guest films like ‘Waiting for Guffman’ and ‘Best In Show’, ‘Leap 4 Your Life’ is a fun, fast mockumentary about a teen dance troupe and their enthusiastic parents as they prepare and compete in an upcoming dance competition.

Why did you start your business, what was the inspiration?
Coming to the end of my university career and frustrated with being a ‘struggling actor’, I decided to stop waiting for someone else to jumpstart my film career and decided to do it myself. I teamed up with Barbara Hill, who is also my Mom, and we leaped head first into creating and producing our first feature. Growing up as a dancer and being a huge fan of Christopher Guest’s films, I always thought a mockumentary about a dance competition would be a fun film to make… and I was right!

What is the best part of what you do on a day-to-day basis?
The best part of working on ‘Leap’ is that I get to work side by side with my Mom and be surrounded my creative people. I was lucky enough to get my script to award-winning director Gary Hawes, and working with him this past year has been a humbling and collaborative experience. I have learned so much from watching him work. He is not only one of the nicest people I have met, but he has an incredible attention to detail and an eye for directing. Even though I’ve probably seen the film over a 1000 times, it still makes me laugh out loud.

taylorhill

The most challenging part?
I think the most challenging part for any independent filmmaker is the lack of funding. I was fortunate enough to work with an amazing cast and crew who volunteered their time to see this project through. Everything has been self-funded and I even recruited my Dad to do the crafty things. However, I think because I didn’t have a studio backing this project, it forced my team and I to be more creative. In the end, I think those creative qualities make the film more endearing and create more interesting results that we wouldn’t have otherwise thought of.

Where do you see your business going in five years?
In five years I hope that ‘Leap 4 your Life’ is a part of everyone’s DVD collection, on everyone’s computer, iPad, iPhone… maybe iBody would have come out by then. In five years, I’ll almost be 30 and I would like to have two more films under my belt and try my hand at directing.

What does success look like to you?
That’s a tough question. I think success means that you are satisfied with what you’ve accomplished so far and comfortable with staying at that level. For me, if I climbed one mountain, I just want to climb a bigger one. I think you set goals for yourself and once you’ve accomplish them, you should just set bigger ones… because why not? Ultimately, if you are happy with what you are doing and you have a good group of people who support you, then I think that’s what success is.

What is the most memorable milestone in your career?
Having my first feature film be accepted into the 2013 Vancouver International Film Festival.

taylorhill

Do you have any advice for other young professionals?
Be kind to others and work harder than you ever thought possible. I love it when people tell me no or that I can’t do something because it fuels me to show them what I can do. So don’t be discouraged if one door closes; take it as a challenge! Who knows, you may end up surprising yourself at what you are capable of.

Do you support any charities? If so, which one(s) and why is that important to you?
The Canadian Cancer Society is very near and dear to me. My grandmother passed away when I was really young and she was a brilliant artist and I hope I have 1/10th of her talent passed down to me.

What is Notable to you?
The series finale of the British Office… don’t get me started on how much I love Tim!

Blackberry, iPhone, Android, or Other?
iPhone

How do you keep active, energetic, and vibrant?
Good friends, good laughs, biking, and dark chocolate.