I’m currently putting together the production schedule for my current short film Mourning Road (produced by Interstate Films) for which I am production manager and cinematographer. If you had asked me ten years ago when I graduated from Georgia State University where I would be now, I would probably hope that it wasn’t still making short films but you never know where your life is headed once you leave college with that diploma in hand.
“LIFE IN THE THEATRE”
In 2000 I walked out of GSU with a Bachelor of Arts degree in film with a minor in theatre. I was one of the lucky ones. When I left college I was already working as a audio/video/lighting technician for the company Full Circle Lighting (one of the premiere lighting companies in Georgia at the time that specialized in corporate special events). My first job in the theatre industry was actually for the theatre department of GSU as a props master and carpenter for the show Psycho Beach Party. Although my degree was in film making, I ended up spending most of my early years out of college in theatre. At GSU I was involved in several productions mostly as an actor but I was hired as the occasional documentarian of a production of Dracula that the university put on as well as several others. After that theatre production I worked for CATCo on the theatre productions Cheaper By the Dozen and Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs as assistant director and stage manager, respectfully.
At GSU I learned a lot in regards to technical theatre and that knowledge came into play early in my post college career. Even today I continue to work in theatre with Theatre in the Square (http://www.theatreinthesquare.com), Theatrical Outfit (http://www.theatricaloutfit.org/tickets.html), Georgia Ensemble Theatre (http://www.get.org), Horizon Theatre (http://www.horizontheatre.com), and True Colors Theatre Company (http://truecolorstheatre.org), to name a few. I’ve found it very easy to continue working in this field despite the poor economic climate as many of these very theatres continue to cut their budgets and shows from year to year.
“LIFE IN FILM”
Although I got my start in film by documenting several theatre productions, I did manage to be director of photography on several short films for college students (none of which are of any particular interests) before moving on to more interesting fare. In 2002 I worked on my first post-college film for Southlan-Films Night of the Hungry Dead, a short film in which I starred as several zombies. This lead to my starring role in the Southlan-Films feature Jack O’Lantern, which I also starred in. This production also happened to be my first film as a production manager. I would go on to work on the company’s subsequent films Hell’s End, Creatures of the Night, Bad Land, and more recently Evil in the Flesh, to name a few. This experience on those films helped me progress as a producer on Bad Land and Evil in the Flesh not to mention the Beijos Production Chosen, among many other short films in between. It wasn’t until 2009 when I started production on my own feature film House of Secrets that all of the knowledge and prior experience came to a head. On my feature film (which was produced through CenterSeat Entertainment) I wrote, produced, and directed the film (among many other jobs) but I used all my contacts thus far to help get the film made. My co-producer Safaa Sammander was a graduate from GSU and she also acted as my second in command on set and helped keep the production on track. In fact, most of my crew were people I’d worked with at GSU or on one of my previous films. Working on this film was the culmination of everything that I had thus far learned.
“LIFE AFTER COLLEGE”
My college degree was a huge asset in my continuing in my chosen field of film making. Even though I started off in the theatre industry I’ve constantly maintained a presence in the film industry despite the fact that it pays less than theatre. The arts and entertainment field (especially in this economy) is not one that benefits someone in a monetary way (I do work in the low budget industry of Georgia, not Hollywood). I have managed to stay in my field and make a modest living out of it. It’s been hard but if it wasn’t hard then what would be the point? We go to college to continue in a higher learning and continue to further ourselves in a particular field of interest. The lucky ones choose a field that will stay with them forever while all the others have only a piece of paper that reminds them of just how much time was wasted. I’d like to think that I’m a member of the former and I pray that the later one day find their way or go back to college and try again.
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Showing posts with label Southlan-Films. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Southlan-Films. Show all posts
Saturday, April 17, 2010
5 Elements to Being a Good Still Photographer on the Set of an Independent Film
One of the most overlooked contributions to film production is that of the still photographer. This is not just in terms of independently financed films but major ones as well but it is something that is very vital to a successful production and should never go overlooked. I’ve done still photography for many films both shorts and features and they all require the same thing – great pictures that accurately depict not only production stills from the film but also behind the scenes pictures of the production as well.
When talking about still photography for film it is important to know what the use of the pictures are for in order to understand how vital they are to the production. The pictures captured from any given production are mainly used for marketing and advertising as they provide the highest quality photographs of scenes from the film. These pictures are also used as historical documentation of the film as well as pictorial reference for many of the production’s many departments (i.e. wardrobe, location, continuity, cinematography, etc.).
In order to provide good still photography on any given film production here are five elements that all still photographers should know.
ELEMENT #1: TAKE GOOD PRODUCTION STILLS.
Generally speaking, production stills are any photographs taken on the set of a film production but more accurately the production stills I’m talking about here are the ones that represent scenes and shots from the actually film itself. It might surprise you know that the majority of photographs used in advertisements and promotions are actually still photographs and not images pulled from the video image or film negative (although images from film negative do provide just as high quality). Because many film productions have gone digital pulling stills from a video image is not the same as pulling images from a film negative. Digital images do not yield the same quality as a film image (although HD video images are in fact used very often) therefore it is not optimal to use such images. As video and digital technology advances the differences between the two are very subtle. It is a still photographers job to accurately replicate all the key images and shots on any production so that they can be used in promotions and marketing. When taking such pictures it is important that they represent and depict as close an image as the shot they are representing in order to be effective. When I worked on the Cake Baby Productions short film The Tedious Existence of Terrell B. Howell my primary responsibility was providing the production with accurate pictures of the film. Since it was a low budget film and the producers were fairly unacknowledged about what I do it was extremely important that I provided them photographs of every scene in the film for everything from the film’s poster to advertisements to the website.
ELEMENT #2: TAKE LOTS OF BEHIND-THE-SCENES STILLS.
This should go without saying but taking behind-the-scenes pictures of the cast and crew and the production itself are important. They not only depict the production and everyone that was a part of it but they provide the cast and crew with a history of the production that will not only be shared amongst themselves but to the public as well. Many times these photographs are used to show the scale of a production and all the people that were involved with the production on any given scene. These photographs are used for advertisements, magazines, websites, etc. and there importance should never go over looked or forgotten. While on the set of the Southlan-Films production Bad Land I had a multitude of photographs on not only all the make-up requirements but stunts (since we had a huge stunt team) and locations as well. I used the same techniques when I was on set of the company’s next film Evil In The Flesh.
ELEMENT #3: DO NOT GET IN THE WAY.
One of the most overlooked aspects of taking still photographs on a film production is the fact that the still photography should not get in the way of the production itself. I know the still photographer has a tough job with trying to take as many photographs of the production as possible from many different vantage points but it is important that the still photographer not become a nuisance on the film set which can just stress out not only the cast and crew but the director as well. Taking behind-the-scenes photographs can be taken at any time during the production but standard production stills of the scenes themselves should be taken before or after the scene in question is wrapped (I prefer after) and should be discussed with the director and cast and crew at the beginning of production so that everyone involved knows when the photographer will be taking the photographs. I’ve been on many film sets where this was not discussed before hand and the still photographer was trying to get photographs while the director was walking through a scene with his cast. The photographer got in the way and was putting both the director and the cast in an increasing stressful situation. This should be avoided at all costs.
ELEMENT #4: GET TO KNOW THE CAST & CREW.
A still photographer should get to know both the cast and the crew of the film production. Many times the photographer will stage photographs from scenes in the film not to mention take many group pictures of random cast and crew members and it is a good idea for the photographer to be able to call people by their first names. It may be a daunting task to remember so many new names and faces on any given film production but trust me it will be worth it. On the By The Lake Productions short film A Gift there was a huge cast of children that I had to learn the names for simply because the production wanted me to get a variety of group photographs at many of the different locations of the film. Knowing the children’s names made it easier and faster to call together any group of children at a moment’s notice. This also helped me with the over 60 cast & crew of the Southlan-Films production Hell’s End in which I had over 40 soldiers all of whose names I had to learn for the very same reason.
ELEMENT #5: HAVE FUN!
One of the things that most still photographers may forget while on the set of a film production is to have fun! If you’re not having fun than the people you’re taking pictures of aren’t having fun either. I’ve been taking still photographs on film sets for over a decade and I usually take 100 times more pictures than I probably should but I allow the cast and crew to have as much fun being in the pictures as I do taking them and this should never be forgotten. The more fun you have when taking photographs the more inspired and creative you will be and the better your pictures at the end of the day and trust me when you get that “money shot” the director or producer or cast or crew member will know and they will appreciate it forever.
In closing I just want to tell all the young still photographers out there that, yes, still photography is a job and it is vital to the success of any given film production but it should also be something that is fun and exciting.
When talking about still photography for film it is important to know what the use of the pictures are for in order to understand how vital they are to the production. The pictures captured from any given production are mainly used for marketing and advertising as they provide the highest quality photographs of scenes from the film. These pictures are also used as historical documentation of the film as well as pictorial reference for many of the production’s many departments (i.e. wardrobe, location, continuity, cinematography, etc.).
In order to provide good still photography on any given film production here are five elements that all still photographers should know.
ELEMENT #1: TAKE GOOD PRODUCTION STILLS.
Generally speaking, production stills are any photographs taken on the set of a film production but more accurately the production stills I’m talking about here are the ones that represent scenes and shots from the actually film itself. It might surprise you know that the majority of photographs used in advertisements and promotions are actually still photographs and not images pulled from the video image or film negative (although images from film negative do provide just as high quality). Because many film productions have gone digital pulling stills from a video image is not the same as pulling images from a film negative. Digital images do not yield the same quality as a film image (although HD video images are in fact used very often) therefore it is not optimal to use such images. As video and digital technology advances the differences between the two are very subtle. It is a still photographers job to accurately replicate all the key images and shots on any production so that they can be used in promotions and marketing. When taking such pictures it is important that they represent and depict as close an image as the shot they are representing in order to be effective. When I worked on the Cake Baby Productions short film The Tedious Existence of Terrell B. Howell my primary responsibility was providing the production with accurate pictures of the film. Since it was a low budget film and the producers were fairly unacknowledged about what I do it was extremely important that I provided them photographs of every scene in the film for everything from the film’s poster to advertisements to the website.
ELEMENT #2: TAKE LOTS OF BEHIND-THE-SCENES STILLS.
This should go without saying but taking behind-the-scenes pictures of the cast and crew and the production itself are important. They not only depict the production and everyone that was a part of it but they provide the cast and crew with a history of the production that will not only be shared amongst themselves but to the public as well. Many times these photographs are used to show the scale of a production and all the people that were involved with the production on any given scene. These photographs are used for advertisements, magazines, websites, etc. and there importance should never go over looked or forgotten. While on the set of the Southlan-Films production Bad Land I had a multitude of photographs on not only all the make-up requirements but stunts (since we had a huge stunt team) and locations as well. I used the same techniques when I was on set of the company’s next film Evil In The Flesh.
ELEMENT #3: DO NOT GET IN THE WAY.
One of the most overlooked aspects of taking still photographs on a film production is the fact that the still photography should not get in the way of the production itself. I know the still photographer has a tough job with trying to take as many photographs of the production as possible from many different vantage points but it is important that the still photographer not become a nuisance on the film set which can just stress out not only the cast and crew but the director as well. Taking behind-the-scenes photographs can be taken at any time during the production but standard production stills of the scenes themselves should be taken before or after the scene in question is wrapped (I prefer after) and should be discussed with the director and cast and crew at the beginning of production so that everyone involved knows when the photographer will be taking the photographs. I’ve been on many film sets where this was not discussed before hand and the still photographer was trying to get photographs while the director was walking through a scene with his cast. The photographer got in the way and was putting both the director and the cast in an increasing stressful situation. This should be avoided at all costs.
ELEMENT #4: GET TO KNOW THE CAST & CREW.
A still photographer should get to know both the cast and the crew of the film production. Many times the photographer will stage photographs from scenes in the film not to mention take many group pictures of random cast and crew members and it is a good idea for the photographer to be able to call people by their first names. It may be a daunting task to remember so many new names and faces on any given film production but trust me it will be worth it. On the By The Lake Productions short film A Gift there was a huge cast of children that I had to learn the names for simply because the production wanted me to get a variety of group photographs at many of the different locations of the film. Knowing the children’s names made it easier and faster to call together any group of children at a moment’s notice. This also helped me with the over 60 cast & crew of the Southlan-Films production Hell’s End in which I had over 40 soldiers all of whose names I had to learn for the very same reason.
ELEMENT #5: HAVE FUN!
One of the things that most still photographers may forget while on the set of a film production is to have fun! If you’re not having fun than the people you’re taking pictures of aren’t having fun either. I’ve been taking still photographs on film sets for over a decade and I usually take 100 times more pictures than I probably should but I allow the cast and crew to have as much fun being in the pictures as I do taking them and this should never be forgotten. The more fun you have when taking photographs the more inspired and creative you will be and the better your pictures at the end of the day and trust me when you get that “money shot” the director or producer or cast or crew member will know and they will appreciate it forever.
In closing I just want to tell all the young still photographers out there that, yes, still photography is a job and it is vital to the success of any given film production but it should also be something that is fun and exciting.
Friday, February 5, 2010
"Back To Work On OUT OF SEASON!"
I'm about to start back up production on OUT OF SEASON which I started to film late last year but then had to stop due to the writer/director going back for reshoots on his previous film BREAKING THROUGH. In this new film I play a lawyer to a woman accused of murder. Even though I originally only had the one scene in the film it's been expanded (to which as big I am still not fully aware).
This is not the only film I will be acting in as I'm also one of the main stars in the Southlan-Films fan film FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE MAN IN THE LAKE. In this film I will have my largest role since starring in JACK O'LANTERN. Although I will ultimately die in this film, this will be a great experience and role that will compliment my work in OUT OF SEASON
All in all this year is looking pretty good for me. I wonder what I will be able to look forward to next?
This is not the only film I will be acting in as I'm also one of the main stars in the Southlan-Films fan film FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE MAN IN THE LAKE. In this film I will have my largest role since starring in JACK O'LANTERN. Although I will ultimately die in this film, this will be a great experience and role that will compliment my work in OUT OF SEASON
All in all this year is looking pretty good for me. I wonder what I will be able to look forward to next?
Monday, June 8, 2009
WHEN I LEARNED TO LOVE FILMMAKING
I’m a writer by trade who started off making short films in college as a lighting designer. I must have worked on maybe three to ten short films in my Junior year at Georgia State University and this was not even part of any class. I happened to help on a friend’s film who was in Filmmaking 1 and he liked my work so much that he mentioned my name to other students in his class and from there I just continued to work on all manner of films. When I eventually made my way into Filmmaking 1 a year later I had already had a lot of lighting experience and again I became known as the go-to guy for lighting (so much so that I never finished my own filmmaking requirements for the class because I was always too busy working on other people’s films. My teacher passed me with a B in the class anyways – I ended up helping him on his film as well).
This is when I loved doing lighting for films. Whether it be on 16mm, 35mm (I actually got to do a short film in this format), video, or eventually digital video, I tried to get my hands dirty on whatever I could. I didn’t really have any influences on how I lit films. It was all trial and error as I discovered that gels changed not only the color of the light but the color temperature and that using scrims and bouncing light was more pleasing then direct light (which some of my fellow students could never grasp).
Although I loved doing the lighting on films it was never something I intended to do for a living. I’m a writer and writing stories and screenplays is where my interests is. I just happened to be good at lighting and enjoyed it more then any other student in my class (they, after all, all wanted to be directors or actors).
The moment when I truly loved being on a film set didn’t come from all those short films I shot during college (nor my feature length documentary on the GSU production of DRACULA, still yet to be edited) but instead came when I was an “accident” actor on a little zombie film called NIGHT OF THE HUNGRY DEAD.
One night during the whole college craziness a good friend of mine by the name of Brent Brooks had a film shoot in which he invited me along not as an actor or a lighting person (in fact, I can’t even remember why I went anyways). All he could tell me about the film was that it was a zombie short that had the potential to be aired on a local television station as part of a Halloween-themed event. Well me being the big zombie-lover that I am I jumped at the opportunity to be on the set in whatever capacity. Of course, Brooks never told me that the film shoot was all the way north in Gainesville, Georgia (a place I only knew as being home to the Ku Klux Klan). He also didn’t tell me that the location was in the middle of nowhere and would be all night long, so I wasn’t exactly in my element.
The film NIGHT OF THE HUNGRY DEAD was directed by a newcomer filmmaker by the name of Ron McLellen whose only other film work was the unseen film MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. McLellen and actor Dave R. Watkins wrote the screenplay as they were filming it. The film concerns the night of the zombie apocalypse (as dictated by events from the ’68 film NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD) as a group of young people get stranded at the home of a serial killer whose house is swarmed by all his past victims whom were buried in the backyard. The film is very much a collection of greatest hits from various zombie films that inspired the two writers. The cast was filled with complete unknowns, some of which were on McLellen’s previous film. I on the other hand had my own camera on hand and started filming “behind-the-scenes” stuff with no means of what was going on (I still plan to put this footage together in a short vignette one of these days).
At some point in the night McLellen realized that he didn’t have enough zombies for the big siege scene so I was thrown in some cover-alls and make up and made to be a farm hand (with an afro since I forgot to cut my hair) zombie. It was a great evening of zombie gut munching zaniness as I’m not an actor but being a zombie was one hell of a great time. What made things even funnier was that Brooks tried to teach us zombies how to walk and act (this is on video) and McLellen had so much screaming in the movie that you’d think we were making a slasher film instead of a zomedy.
Now prior to this experience I had made lots of short films but this was the first horror short that I had done, never mind the fact that NOTHD had a huge cast and lots of action and deaths. And did I mention the fact that we filmed until well into the rising of the sun of the next day? The film was on a deadline in order to compete in the television contest and we were filming like mad to get it done. It was both exhilarating and exhaustive but we lived through it (or at least most of us did. Some left early so the original cut of the film was choppy in parts).
Everything that was missing from those previous film experiences at college were present here which is mostly that I had fun on this film. The films I did in college were all pedestrian in story (as many of the filmmakers were not writers) and the stories were mostly dramas or comedies (that really weren’t that dramatic nor funny) – films that you would watch once and never again (which is why I remember so few of them now). NOTHD was extremely fun and gory and I met a lot of people I would subsequently work with on other productions.
I fast became friends with McLellen and Watkins and we all worked on numerous horror films and crazy productions such as JACK O’LANTERN, HELL’S END, CREATURES OF THE NIGHT, BAD LAND, and SHUDDER, among a plethora of short films for both of their individual production companies. McLellen liked my performance so much as a zombie in NOTHD that I became one of the stars of his next film JACK O’LANTERN (I’m not even an actor and I survive the film) but after that film I realized that my talents were best spent behind the scenes as the guy who helped produce the film and do all the technical “paperwork” on the production so that McLellen could concentrate on the actual production of the film. I was production manager on HELL’S END and CREATURES OF THE NIGHT moving up to producer on BAD LAND and SHUDDER.
I’ve since worked on both horror films and all other manner of genres from teen comedy (Movie Tao’s 6 DEGREES OF DESPERATION), urban film (BREAKING THROUGH), and suspense thriller (my own feature film HOUSE OF SECRETS), among others.
I can honestly say that I may not be in the indie film business if not for Brooks and McLellen and that little zombie film NOTHD. If NOTHD had not happened then I wouldn’t have worked with all the great filmmakers that I’ve become acquainted with since that dark night in Gainesville.
I could have easily become one of those people who went to film school but never did anything with their degree other then work at UPS (which I’ve done) or the neighborhood gas station (which I worked for two separate gas stations in my life). Instead, whether for good or bad I make indie films in Georgia where I get to work with a huge talent pool of people in any and all genres.
I’m currently working on finishing up HOUSE OF SECRETS as well as a short film for a vampire anthology, finishing up the screenplay for my next film which is a love story (A LOVE SONET), filming a documentary on remote viewing, working on a documentary on drag Queens (should be very interesting), and finishing up a script for the reboot of the JACK O’LANTERN franchise tentatively called JACK O’LANTERN REBORN, so I’ve managed to curtail my little experience as a zombie on a no budget short film into an ongoing love affair with filmmaking.
Not bad if I say so myself.
And if you’re wondering NOTHD may not have screened on television but we did go back and shoot additional footage for the official DIRECTOR’S CUT version which is far superior and far bloodier then it probably should be but it has screened in several film festivals and can be seen on You Tube among other places.
This is when I loved doing lighting for films. Whether it be on 16mm, 35mm (I actually got to do a short film in this format), video, or eventually digital video, I tried to get my hands dirty on whatever I could. I didn’t really have any influences on how I lit films. It was all trial and error as I discovered that gels changed not only the color of the light but the color temperature and that using scrims and bouncing light was more pleasing then direct light (which some of my fellow students could never grasp).
Although I loved doing the lighting on films it was never something I intended to do for a living. I’m a writer and writing stories and screenplays is where my interests is. I just happened to be good at lighting and enjoyed it more then any other student in my class (they, after all, all wanted to be directors or actors).
The moment when I truly loved being on a film set didn’t come from all those short films I shot during college (nor my feature length documentary on the GSU production of DRACULA, still yet to be edited) but instead came when I was an “accident” actor on a little zombie film called NIGHT OF THE HUNGRY DEAD.
One night during the whole college craziness a good friend of mine by the name of Brent Brooks had a film shoot in which he invited me along not as an actor or a lighting person (in fact, I can’t even remember why I went anyways). All he could tell me about the film was that it was a zombie short that had the potential to be aired on a local television station as part of a Halloween-themed event. Well me being the big zombie-lover that I am I jumped at the opportunity to be on the set in whatever capacity. Of course, Brooks never told me that the film shoot was all the way north in Gainesville, Georgia (a place I only knew as being home to the Ku Klux Klan). He also didn’t tell me that the location was in the middle of nowhere and would be all night long, so I wasn’t exactly in my element.
The film NIGHT OF THE HUNGRY DEAD was directed by a newcomer filmmaker by the name of Ron McLellen whose only other film work was the unseen film MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. McLellen and actor Dave R. Watkins wrote the screenplay as they were filming it. The film concerns the night of the zombie apocalypse (as dictated by events from the ’68 film NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD) as a group of young people get stranded at the home of a serial killer whose house is swarmed by all his past victims whom were buried in the backyard. The film is very much a collection of greatest hits from various zombie films that inspired the two writers. The cast was filled with complete unknowns, some of which were on McLellen’s previous film. I on the other hand had my own camera on hand and started filming “behind-the-scenes” stuff with no means of what was going on (I still plan to put this footage together in a short vignette one of these days).
At some point in the night McLellen realized that he didn’t have enough zombies for the big siege scene so I was thrown in some cover-alls and make up and made to be a farm hand (with an afro since I forgot to cut my hair) zombie. It was a great evening of zombie gut munching zaniness as I’m not an actor but being a zombie was one hell of a great time. What made things even funnier was that Brooks tried to teach us zombies how to walk and act (this is on video) and McLellen had so much screaming in the movie that you’d think we were making a slasher film instead of a zomedy.
Now prior to this experience I had made lots of short films but this was the first horror short that I had done, never mind the fact that NOTHD had a huge cast and lots of action and deaths. And did I mention the fact that we filmed until well into the rising of the sun of the next day? The film was on a deadline in order to compete in the television contest and we were filming like mad to get it done. It was both exhilarating and exhaustive but we lived through it (or at least most of us did. Some left early so the original cut of the film was choppy in parts).
Everything that was missing from those previous film experiences at college were present here which is mostly that I had fun on this film. The films I did in college were all pedestrian in story (as many of the filmmakers were not writers) and the stories were mostly dramas or comedies (that really weren’t that dramatic nor funny) – films that you would watch once and never again (which is why I remember so few of them now). NOTHD was extremely fun and gory and I met a lot of people I would subsequently work with on other productions.
I fast became friends with McLellen and Watkins and we all worked on numerous horror films and crazy productions such as JACK O’LANTERN, HELL’S END, CREATURES OF THE NIGHT, BAD LAND, and SHUDDER, among a plethora of short films for both of their individual production companies. McLellen liked my performance so much as a zombie in NOTHD that I became one of the stars of his next film JACK O’LANTERN (I’m not even an actor and I survive the film) but after that film I realized that my talents were best spent behind the scenes as the guy who helped produce the film and do all the technical “paperwork” on the production so that McLellen could concentrate on the actual production of the film. I was production manager on HELL’S END and CREATURES OF THE NIGHT moving up to producer on BAD LAND and SHUDDER.
I’ve since worked on both horror films and all other manner of genres from teen comedy (Movie Tao’s 6 DEGREES OF DESPERATION), urban film (BREAKING THROUGH), and suspense thriller (my own feature film HOUSE OF SECRETS), among others.
I can honestly say that I may not be in the indie film business if not for Brooks and McLellen and that little zombie film NOTHD. If NOTHD had not happened then I wouldn’t have worked with all the great filmmakers that I’ve become acquainted with since that dark night in Gainesville.
I could have easily become one of those people who went to film school but never did anything with their degree other then work at UPS (which I’ve done) or the neighborhood gas station (which I worked for two separate gas stations in my life). Instead, whether for good or bad I make indie films in Georgia where I get to work with a huge talent pool of people in any and all genres.
I’m currently working on finishing up HOUSE OF SECRETS as well as a short film for a vampire anthology, finishing up the screenplay for my next film which is a love story (A LOVE SONET), filming a documentary on remote viewing, working on a documentary on drag Queens (should be very interesting), and finishing up a script for the reboot of the JACK O’LANTERN franchise tentatively called JACK O’LANTERN REBORN, so I’ve managed to curtail my little experience as a zombie on a no budget short film into an ongoing love affair with filmmaking.
Not bad if I say so myself.
And if you’re wondering NOTHD may not have screened on television but we did go back and shoot additional footage for the official DIRECTOR’S CUT version which is far superior and far bloodier then it probably should be but it has screened in several film festivals and can be seen on You Tube among other places.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
DIARY OF A FILMMAKER (EPISODE 1001) On Line!
The first episode on my on line documentary series DIARY OF A FILMMAKER is now on line at You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb2ZLR9KVcE). This new series is something I've been trying to get up for some time since last year as a means to have behind-the-scenes documentaries on all the productions that I've done and will be doing in the future. As a start for the series I decided to go with a recent project therefore the first Episode 1001: On the Set of a Music Video is the first day of filming on the production of the Chris DeMarco music video "I'm Calling You."
The next Episode 1002 will be on my experience on a paranormal investigation with the Georgia Ghost Society and Southlan-Films, so that should be interesting (there are 2 more scheduled before the end of the year in this area). The plan is to get 2 episodes out a month (until I have no more to do for the year) before moving onto other documentary projects (I have plans to release several interviews with various entertainment personnel later in the year as well).
2009 is going to be an exciting year not only for me but for CenterSeat Entertainment as well and this film and series is just the start.
The next Episode 1002 will be on my experience on a paranormal investigation with the Georgia Ghost Society and Southlan-Films, so that should be interesting (there are 2 more scheduled before the end of the year in this area). The plan is to get 2 episodes out a month (until I have no more to do for the year) before moving onto other documentary projects (I have plans to release several interviews with various entertainment personnel later in the year as well).
2009 is going to be an exciting year not only for me but for CenterSeat Entertainment as well and this film and series is just the start.
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