In this episode of Women in Motion, Lee Kantor is joined by Anise Fuller, founder of Walk By Faith Productions. Anise shares her journey from Detroit to Los Angeles, transitioning from acting to production. She discusses the importance of promoting diversity in the entertainment industry and her proactive approach to creating opportunities for underrepresented communities. Anise highlights her efforts to secure certifications, collaborate with major studios, and mentor foster youth. She emphasizes the significance of networking, mentorship, and taking initiative. The episode underscores Anise’s dedication to fostering inclusivity and her ongoing projects aimed at diversifying storytelling in media.
Anise Fuller hails from Detroit, MI. A mother, entrepreneur, director, producer, writer, professional dancer and actress. Anise has appeared on shows such as Shameless, Call Me Kat, Lethal Weapon, CSI, House M.D., It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and a host of commercials just to name a few.
Anise started her on own production service company in 2018 called Walk By Faith Productions dedicated to producing and developing stories that challenge the perceptions in the entertainment industry. Additionally, Anise was blessed to have held the position of managing director for one of the only Black-owned theaters in Hollywood, COLSAC Theater.
It was during this period in her career that she was afforded the opportunity to hone her skills as a producer, director, and writer, and to cast shows. She also donated her time as a Board of Director member of Diamond in the Raw Foundation which is a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization whose mission is to educate and expose at-risk teen girls to a multitude of careers in the entertainment industry, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes.
Additionally, Anise has held positions at NBCUniversal and Warner Bros with their Employee Resource Groups specifically their DEI groups geared towards providing opportunities, learning tools and communication for people of color at the studios. 
Recently Anise was accepted into the 50 Women Can Change the World in Entrepreneurship, a program that teaches women how to lead themselves, their careers, and their organizations and systems changes in a holistic way. It is the only program designed to meet the unique opportunities – and challenges – women experience in their industries.
She currently serves on the Board of Directors for The Alliance of Women Directors and Chair of Events for the Black Directors Advancement Committee.
Follow Walk By Faith Productions on LinkedIn.
Music Provided by M PATH MUSIC
This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix
TRANSCRIPT
Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios, it’s time for Women In Motion. Brought to you by WBEC-West. Join forces. Succeed together. Now, here’s your host.
Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Women In Motion and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, WBEC-West. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Women In Motion, we have a Anise Fuller with Walk By Faith Productions. Welcome.
Anise Fuller: Hi. Good afternoon. I am honored and blessed to be here on this platform. I appreciate it.
Lee Kantor: Well, I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about Walk By Faith. How are you serving folks?
Anise Fuller: How am I serving folks? Well, the industry is getting a lot better now since the strike is over, but my company is focused on providing production services to studios, production companies, corporations with shooting corporate videos or filming commercials. Anything to do with film and television, that’s me, as well as servicing some government companies and trying to get government contracts in the process. So, anything to do with filming, developing, even advertising, digital ads, commercials, print, that will be my company, Walk By Faith, but telling diverse stories as well in the process.
Lee Kantor: So, can you share a little bit about your backstory? Were you always on the production end or did you start out in another place in the business?
Anise Fuller: Well, yes. I have a very, I would say, unorthodox, maybe, way in the business. I am originally from Detroit, Michigan, and there’s not a lot of entertainment in Detroit when I was growing up. It is now. I think, you know, they shoot more in Detroit. But growing up, I got a four year dance scholarship and I wanted to be a doctor, majored in nutrition and food science, really a big business mind, but I also wanted to work in hospitals. It was just all mixed up. And I was a dancer. So, very eclectic, kind of unorthodox background. And then, I did pageants. And just I loved everything about entertainment, but I also like the business side of things.
Anise Fuller: So, I moved out to Los Angeles and started interning and working in post-production first, and then got an internship with a big production company, then made my way to the studios. You know, I started working in home entertainment first at Warner Brothers and then at NBCUniversal, and started working in DEI, actually, at both of those studios and had prominent positions, and saw the lack of diversity behind the camera.
Anise Fuller: I really always have that in my spirit even growing up. When I was 15, I saw Robert Townsend’s Hollywood Shuffle and how you shouldn’t wait on people to give you anything. You can make things and produce things yourself if you see there’s a need.
Anise Fuller: So, while I was working at Warner Brothers, that’s where Walk By Faith was birthed, because I would walk around the lot and it’s a historic place to work, so I took advantage. On lunch hours, I would walk around and look in the stages, and I would go to some of the offices where VP’s were of development and talk to them, and got mentors at Warner Brothers. But, also, saw the lack, again, a lack of diversity every time I looked in the stages when they were filming things.
Anise Fuller: And I said instead of complaining about it, let me do something about it. And that’s when I started developing Walk by Faith, and it just eventually grew. Yeah, it grew and I said I’m going to be the person to help BIPOC, the LGBTQ+ community get more work behind the scenes. If I have the work, they will have the work. So, that’s how I came about doing that.
Lee Kantor: Now, when you’re in Detroit and you are about to head towards California, did you have any contacts? Like do you just get in a car and just pack up and just start going, “You know, I have a cousin here, so I’m just going to stay here and knock on doors”? How do you make that move? I mean, that’s a brave move.
Anise Fuller: It is. I was only 21 at the time. I have a very big family, by the way, who’s very supportive of me. And my parents made us grow up to think like entrepreneurs, go to college and all that, but also do your own business. That’s how we grew up. You know, my parents flipped homes and all of that in Detroit, so we’ve always came from a business background as far as growing up with a business mindset.
Anise Fuller: But my parents thought I was crazy, like, “You don’t know anybody in Los Angeles.” I said, “I’m gonna do this thing. I’m getting pulled out there.” I feel like I could do something because I started off acting, actually. And I still act, of course, but most of my work is behind the camera. And I just say I’m going to go out there. I knew one person through someone else indirectly. Someone’s cousin lived out here. The cousin from Detroit hooked me up with her cousin here, and that’s how it got started. I didn’t know anything.
Anise Fuller: The cousin worked in the entertainment business, but I was green. And I started doing theater and things of that nature, but then I also started working behind the scenes, and I started doing AD work, and applying for the DGA trainee program and just learning everything I could. I was very strategic and focused when I came out here, even though it’s a huge struggle. L.A. is no joke. Only the strongest and bravest will survive that half stamina out here because it’s very oversaturated, but also it’s very difficult to break. It can be very difficult to break-in in front and behind the camera. But I worked my way up, pounded the pavement, started making connections and resources.
Anise Fuller: I started doing stand in work at first, and, again, I’m very focused and strategic in where I want to go and what goals I want to meet. So, while I was doing standing work and not acting, I would go to all the crew members, I would talk to the directors. Every set I was on, I would ask them what they did, how they did it. I would walk around. I was never scared to ask questions, and most people are scared. You know, when you’re on a set and you’re not the actor or the director, I would ask questions, “Hey. Can I sit behind the camera with you? Can I stand here? Can I shadow you?” When I didn’t know what shadowing was, but I put in my spirit to shadow people while I was on sets. Every set that I worked on, I would ask questions. I would go to the script supervisor. So, that’s how I actually got my entrance into the business behind the camera.
Anise Fuller: I did not go to film school. I learned everything being on a set. And then, once I would act on sets, I would get resources that way as well and just ask questions. And if I get hired for something, “Hey, is it okay if I also am the second AD?” So, my parents thought I was absolutely out of my mind and said, “Why would you leave your family to go to this expensive place?” But I did, and they supported me and they paid a lot of my rent a lot of times.
Lee Kantor: That helps, because that’s no joke either the rent over there.
Anise Fuller: Yes, it is. Oh, man. Now, I have a house here and it’s even worse.
Lee Kantor: I mean, from what I’m hearing, if you were going to give advice to a young person that is thinking about getting involved in show business, and obviously there’s a lot of places they can plug in. It doesn’t have to be in front of the camera. There’s lots of opportunities behind the camera. There’s lots of opportunities in editing. And lots of industries touch show business. It’s a very broad based industry.
Lee Kantor: But what I’m hearing is that wherever you land in there, just start being friendly and meeting people, and networking and connecting with people because you don’t know where the golden ticket is. You don’t know who the person is that’s going to hook you up and connect you with the right person. So, be nice to people, be curious, be respectful, and then just meet a lot of people and see what happens.
Anise Fuller: Yes. That is the biggest, biggest, most important, impactful advice I have given to children that I mentor. That’s exactly what I work in also, I spend my time mentoring foster youth also. I’ve been on boards. One organization is called Kids In The Spotlight and the other one is Diamond In The Raw, where we help kids who are interested in the entertainment industry and teach them and train them how to write, direct, do everything in their foster youth. So, it’s telling them they have the opportunity, but it’s also giving them exposure. If you don’t know what you want to do, see what you want to do. Expose them to it. So, that’s the biggest advice we always give them is resources.
Anise Fuller: Volunteering is a big thing. The reason why I’m in some of the spaces and had pitch meetings with some studios is because I volunteered at the studios that I worked at and were able to meet other people at other studios. And that’s how I built up my roster, because I didn’t have my hand out.
Anise Fuller: That’s a big thing, a lot of people in this industry, if they’re younger, they have their hand out or they expect something, or they have entitled – I want to use – mentality to a certain degree. But in this business, you can’t do that. You have to build and it’s slow. You have to build your relationships with people and volunteer.
Anise Fuller: For instance, MACRO is a big production company. If MACRO needs volunteers and you see that they’re shooting something, go ask the vice-president or the head of production, “Hey, if you ever need a PA, I’m here.” There’s nothing wrong with starting at the bottom, because that’s how you learn and that’s how you work your way up, depending on what age you are.
Anise Fuller: But, yes, volunteering is a big thing that I teach also. Don’t have your hand out. Be there to help because people honor that and they see that you work your butt off and they’ll help you in return. It may not be a year from now. It may be two years, three years. I’m a testament of that, like contacts I had at Warner Brothers are not helping me now in my production service business.
Lee Kantor: Right. It’s the people you know when you’re younger. As you progress and they progress, they’re getting higher up, you’re getting higher up. It just makes sense that they’re going to go to you when they need something because they already know, and like, and trust you.
Anise Fuller: Yes, that’s exactly right. That’s literally how this business works. They go to people that they know and trust and rely on, that know they’re going to get the job done and show up.
Lee Kantor: Right. Because this business is super risky as it is. There’s enough things that you got to watch out for, the unexpected things. You don’t want somebody to mess up a job. You can’t take those kind of risks, so you’re going to go with somebody that you know, like, and trust so at least you don’t have to worry about that element of things.
Anise Fuller: That is very true. Absolutely the truth.
Lee Kantor: Now, talk about kind of the progression. So, you started out acting yourself, but then slowly your production company started doing different elements of pre-production, post-production, production. Are you doing entire soup to nuts, you know, making movies, making shows?
Anise Fuller: Yes. All of that. Again, I started off, actually while I was acting, I became a managing director of one of the only Black theaters in Los Angeles. I fell into that role, which is crazy. I learned so much about behind the scenes, and it’s a great stomping grounds. You know, if anybody’s interested in acting or anything like that, I always recommend theater also. FYI, always start in theater because you can’t do a retake. I learned how to stage manage and do the lights. It was very important building ground for me in theater.
Anise Fuller: I started off doing that, but then a lot of stereotypical roles, so I got with groups of actors and we would write our own things. I don’t consider myself a writer, but then it became a necessity to do that. And it is a necessity in this business, you should know how to write your own content. So, that’s where it came out from me wanting to be in my own things and writing it.
Anise Fuller: And then, I got with another person, who’s also the copartner of my company, he started acquiring his own equipment. So then, we said, “Well, let’s just start shooting stuff.” And then, I got trained in how to do casting, so I started casting other actors that I knew also. You know, I just fell into the behind the scenes because it was a necessity.
Lee Kantor: Right, you weren’t waiting anymore. You were saying, “You know what? Look, I have cameras, I have a brain, I can write, I’m going to write roles for myself. And my buddy is going to help me film this stuff. And we’re not going to wait anymore. We’re going to just do and take action.” And that’s where the magic happens. Because once you do that, now the sky’s the limit. You’re in control now.
Anise Fuller: Yes. And every Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, I think even Julia Roberts, they have all said don’t sit on your hands. You know, with the technology we have now – when I did start, it was film – everybody’s doing it on iPhones. So, I mean, it’s easy to do your own thing and not wait. So, that’s how I started getting with other actors that I knew that were talented, and we just started writing our own thing, and then it just progressed.
Anise Fuller: When I was working at Warner Brothers, I saw the disparity and the the unbalance, and that’s when I said acting is great, but I really need to make more opportunities for people of diverse backgrounds. So, I already had the resources. I had enough experience. I have had films go into great film festivals, won awards. I have an award winning team. I know all of that distribution of things and I just said there’s a gap and diversity with production services in this industry so I’m going to be here to help fill that gap.
Lee Kantor: So, how did you get plugged into the WBEC-West community?
Anise Fuller: This is an interesting story. So, I have been pitching my production services to studios since I have the connections. So, you have to pitch and say this is why Disney should use my production services for your T.V. shows or for your films. So, when I met with one of the VP’s there, she told me here’s the portal for diversity suppliers for your production service. Fill this out and we’ll be able to use your company to film things. Disney will. I said awesome. I went on the site and I got cold stopped and it said, nope, you can’t go past green without having a certification. I was like, “A certification. What is this?”
Lee Kantor: Right. “I’m a woman. What are you talking about? I’m a woman-owned business. Isn’t that enough?”
Anise Fuller: That’s the great thing about Disney is that in order for you to do work with them or for them to use you as a vendor in this space, you have to have a certification. So, I went through that whole process of figuring out what is a certification. Because if you think about it, most entertainment companies don’t have certifications, not that I know of. So, I do stand out in that space of having multiple certifications. But that’s how I got into the space. I went down the rabbit hole at sam.gov, but then found out about WBENC, and then I also got accepted into a program called 50 Woman Can Change the World in Entrepreneurship, and it was in Arizona. And they further solidified you need to do WBENC.
Anise Fuller: And I had already started the process. And then, that’s how I got connected to WBENC and it’s been a blessing. It just opened my eyes and resources to things that, again, gaps in my skillset to a certain degree because I didn’t know anything about certifications. But I’ve been, you know, learning every step of the way with the organization.
Lee Kantor: So, what’s next for Walk By Faith? What are you working on?
Anise Fuller: Well, I am working on my solidification, solidifying business with Southern California Edison. That’s one big thing that I’m working with. I just had a big meeting with them to do any type of filming or corporate videos, corporate training videos, things of that nature with them. And then, I’m also going to be shooting a feature up in Vancouver in the third quarter, sometime in October, November, so that’s on the books. And then, I’ve been pitching some amazing shows to Hulu and other studios.
Anise Fuller: So, that’s what I’m constantly doing, developing really unscripted at this point, unscripted shows and pitching those, and getting option agreements and things like that. But the movie is coming up and then solidifying my relationship with Southern California Edison.
Lee Kantor: Now, what do you need more of? How can we help you? Do you need more talent, more actors, production people, opportunities? Who can we connect you with?
Anise Fuller: Well, the opportunities can never stop. As you are aware with WBENC, once we get a notification to submit to an RFP or RFQ, it’s very labor intensive and sometimes you don’t hear back, very competitive even though they’re set aside money, that’s what I’m working hard at. It’s not necessarily working with studios, but working in that government sector is really important to me and my company in solidifying consistent work. You know, having a five year contract would be amazing for my team. So, that’s hence why I’m trying to build my relationship with the utilities companies and things of that nature. That would be help me, the government contracts.
Lee Kantor: Right. So, if we have any listeners who are connected that way or looking for production help, contact Anise. And can you share the website? What’s the best way to learn more about the production company?
Anise Fuller: Yes. You can go to walkbyfaithproductions – that’s with an S on the end – .com, Walk By Faith Productions. And I’m also, of course, on Instagram, @walkbyfaithprod, P-R-O-D. That’s where you can find me. And you can find everything that I’ve done probably on IMDb. I don’t know if people are familiar with that database, but imdb.com also.
Lee Kantor: Well, congratulations on all the success thus far. You’re doing amazing things.
Anise Fuller: Thank you so much. I appreciate it. I appreciate the exposure as well.
Lee Kantor: You got it.
Anise Fuller: And thank you, WBENC. Yes, WBENC has been a great help to me as well.
Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Women In Motion.
