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Making Things Happen
FILMINK has a chat to director/actor/mentor Dan Balcaban about the many projects he has on the go including a spooky crowd-funded web series…
"The biggest mistake that any actor or entertainer or anyone can make, is to be expectant," the hardworking Dan Balcaban tells FILMINK. "To sit around and wait for some magical thing to happen without even trying can be an individual's downfall. The real question is: how much do you want something and how hard are you willing to work to get to it?"
No one can accuse Balcaban of twiddling his thumbs and waiting for things to happen. The affable young actor normally has a handful of projects on the go at once - whether they be directing or acting gigs, voiceover or presenting work, or mentoring other young upstarts. "It all started around ten years back when I was working as a sales agent for a digital printing house," Balcaban recalls when asked what sparked his interest in the entertainment business. "To be honest, I was miserable working there and decided to jump into some acting courses and did a few extras roles on commercials. Then I was hooked. I left the full time job and pursued it ever since."
A project, which seems to adhere to the actor's DIY work ethic, is Deadside, a supernatural series set to begin shooting next month and released for free online in October. Describing the show as "a cross between Supernatural, Buffy and Doctor Who," Balcaban says he was attracted to the show's originality. "We wanted to make an Australian show that takes us away from the standard police or medical dramas. Something with more of an impact, that really would blow the audience away. The idea of voodoo mythology certainly also differs from the typical demonic creature you would see in other similar shows."
Created by friend and collaborator David Di Muro, the series follows a troubled and lonely teenage girl obsessed with voodoo, who encounters a young man named Shah, played by Balcaban. "Shah is seeking redemption for the wrong he has done and has recently had a ‘religious' experience and is preparing for the impending doom," the actor says of his character. "Shah is the type of character I've wanted to play for a long time. He's got that cool, tough guy attitude but a heart of gold."
Yet another project utilising crowd funding methods, Balcaban says that Deadside differentiates itself from other similarly funded projects as their primary source of income is merchandising and product sales. "Existing crowd sourcing projects are not sustainable and not really free for the world. We feel it is inappropriate to crowd source something and then expect to make a profit from it since crowd sourcing by its very nature is community supported. We are using crowd sourcing with a pledge threshold system so ‘donors' actually get a physical product out of their donation not just their name on a thank you page."
While he loves his stints in front of the camera, Balcaban has also directed a clutch of short films including his entry to this year's Tropfest, Are You Serious - a hilarious short about a man trying to cheer up his best friend, who's become depressed about the world's mounting problems. "Like most people, I absolutely love comedy. It's such a great release. I love comedy but would feel more comfortable directing a thriller, perhaps because I'm somewhat insane," he laughs.
Balcaban has also started a business mentoring other up-and-coming talents. The catalyst behind this was when he was running an actor's group called Acting Biz. "We'd get together and workshop scripts in front of each other," he explains. "From there, I really got to see firsthand that most actors need some form of one-on-one guidance, be that in their acting craft or the business side of entertainment. It's not really offered at many of the prestige schools of acting so I thought it's something I could help entertainers with."
For more information on Balcaban, head to his website. For more information on Deadside, head here.
