Interview with Carin Smolinski
Doing things differently
Behind the Verticals recently got to meet with Carin Smolinski in person in Vancouver. Shortlisted in the 'Matriarch of the Year' category at the 2025 Vertical Drama Love Fan Awards, co-founder of the newly announced ThirdWave Entertainment, and with ‘Tides of Desire’ premiering on April 1 on MuVpix as part of its launch slate, Carin is keeping busy these days.
But first, this week’s global vertical drama news…
👀 Spotted:
Amazon MX Player rolls out microdrama service Fatafat as vertical video gains momentum in India.
Screenburn launches Microtone, discovery and community platform for microdrama market.
Meet Vurt, the mobile-first streaming platform for indie filmmakers embracing vertical video.
Maks Chmerkovskiy dishes on action hero role in microdrama ‘Wild Silence’.
AI Influence: pet and fruit microdramas take the internet by storm.
Meta hosted a microdrama marketing summit: Social Feeds Are Powering India’s Micro-Drama Boom: Meta-Ormax Report.
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🎙️ Interview with Carin Smolinski
Carin didn’t come to vertical production looking for a side project. She came looking for a way to tell stories she actually wanted to watch, work alongside her son, and prove that independent creators could forge their own path in a space largely controlled by platforms. She is an actress, writer, director, and producer, often all on the same project, and she has been making verticals since before most people took the format seriously.
“Back then people really looked down on it,” she says. “But we were working. We were being paid to do the work we wanted to do and getting far bigger roles than we would have gotten anywhere else.”
That early commitment has shaped everything since.
Tides of Desire and the Costa Rica Shoot
Carin’s first vertical series, Tides of Desire, started as a small idea and grew into something much larger. She shot it in Costa Rica over ten days, working around a rainy season that brought near-monsoon conditions. The solution was a 5:30 a.m. start, a break through the hottest part of the day, and a return to set in the afternoon. Not ideal. Worth it.
The location was a deliberate choice. There had never been a tropical surf vertical before, and Carin wanted to do something different. She brought one actor from LA, kept the rest of the cast Canadian, and made a point of hiring locally in Costa Rica as well. The result was a cast with a range of skin tones, accents, and backgrounds that reflected where the story was actually set.
“Diversity is one of our key points,” she says. “And hiring locally connected us to the community instantly.”
The production was built around a different kind of set culture too. There was a cook preparing fresh food on location. A massage therapist came in for cast and crew. Boat trips through the mangroves. Surf lessons if anyone wanted them. Everyone, from the driver to the director, was treated with equal respect.
Some of this was possible because the production was independent. Some of it was just a philosophy. Either way, Carin is clear that it sets the tone.
“You have to treat people well,” she says. “And I would do it that way regardless.”
Directing While Acting
On her productions, Carin writes, directs, and acts simultaneously. The system that makes this work is built on preparation and clearly defined roles. She and her son Indiana, her director of photography, go through every shot in advance. They know the plan before they arrive on set. When she is in a scene, her first AD calls action. She calls cut. Indiana handles the technical read. She handles the performance.
Read the full interview below.
