Indie Filmmakers - Introduce Yourself!

[Bryan]

I thought this would be a good way to get to know one another. So, tell us about you! How did you get started and where are you now?

As for me... my name is Bryan Harley. I'm studying Mass Communications and Journalism with an emphasis in electronic media production. I want to edit/direct in the industry eventually, but there's no film major at my school, so Mass Comm is the next best thing. I started making short films about 3 years ago when I was a sophomore in high school. Since then I've made about 15 shorts, most of them are total crap, but there's a few good ones. ;) What am I doing now? Well I'm trying to think of new ideas for more shorts. I don't feel like I'm ready to tackle a feature length project just yet. On the side I'm working as a PA on a local television show. It's great experience since I've never worked in a studio environment. And I'm trying to get a paying job on an independent film that's shooting locally this summer. That's about it for now!


So what about you?

[sonnyboo]

After being fired from a brokerage job for my film endeavors, I have made over 30 movies since 1999, and have been featured here in FILM THREAT, and also RES Magazine, Ain’t It Cool News, Camcorder & Computer Video magazine, Film & Video Magazine, Filmson.com, LA Weekly, the Village Voice, Dynamic Graphics Magazine, Internet Video Magazine, the Short Film Insider, Silversow.com, Filmwatcher.com, Rewind Video Magazine, and on TECH TV.

I also contribute to several respected Filmmaking sites as a writer. More info is available at the Sonny Boo Official site: www.sonnyboo.com

[truepictures]

I started out as an aspiring journalist when I was 15. I wrote for the Queens Tribune for two summers and then went to college. In college, I did Communication/Media Studies & Journalism. I did 4 years of radio, kick ass amazing radio and produced jingles, promos, intros, jokes, etc and hosted 10 shows including the only hip hop show for 4 straight years. In my final year, I got into film, made my first short with the help of the college TV station.

Now, I'm almost done (literally, i think i'll be done with it in an hour or so) writing my next short and I'm sending it to my producer in Texas.

I don't like anything but making films, I'm f***ed as far as economic stability is concerned. But, that's the life of a filmmaking immigrant cowboy, isn't it?

[Rick Popko]

My creative partner and I got sick of trying to sell our scripts into the Hollywood system. When we got our hands on a Canon GL-1 we know right then and there that we could make our own damn movies with that thing. That's what we're doing. We made "Monsturd" which is coming out from Elite Entertainment on Feb. 3rd and we're currently in production on its sequel, titled "RetarDEAD." Not making any money yet. We've all still got day jobs. I currently work at Pinnacle Systems writing copy for their website.
-Rick

[the-lyons-dendo]

Hi, my name is John C. Lyons, and I have a problem. I am addicted to movies, DVDs, and I love making my own. (looks to the ground, shuffles feet).

I am 26. I made films in High School for assignments because writing papers gets really old. The teachers loved the movies and it was nice to get an "A" once in awhile. My friends and I had a lot of fun with those. I have my degree in Computer Science and Mathematics (yea, I know, totally relevant).

I work now as an IT for Edinboro University to pay the bills, but of course I would jump at the chance to do something more interesting (like, oh, say MOVIES!) After a couple years away from it, in 2000/01 I decided to try and get back into making movies when the department I work at bought a Canon XL-1, I saw a golden opportunity and wanted to learn how to use it.

So I have made a few shorts now with the XL-1 (for business and pleasure) and I dove into the world of NLE on a Media 100 Ifinish system (I used Premiere 6.5 for the last short so I could do it at home). I also authored my own DVDs for the films. I enjoy it all a lot and can see it costing me some money now, but hey, so what. My latest short "Shakespeare's Dilemma" actually got me a tiny tiny bit of recognition and I hope that helps me with finding people to be in my next movie!

If anyone lives in NW Pennsylvania or Chicago, IL and would like to help out with a movie (for free) please get ahold of me! I am always looking for talented indie freaks! www.the-Lyons-Den.com

Thanks for starting a post like this!

[Geo]

Well my name is Geo Diaz, I'm 28, and I'm from Tampa Fl. I'm an Aries and my favorite color is yellow. I like long walks on the beach, porn, computers...

Anyways, I made short films in high school and went to Art College (which I have dropped out of 4 times). My family came from Cuba in the 60's and I was the first of my family born here in the US. My aunt studied dance and in 1981 my family opened a dance studio. We (my family and I) have been producing dance and musical theater shows for over 20 years.

After my first go at college I have had several occupations in the call center industry and later graduated to a full fledge computer tech, a far cry from the visual and theatrical artist I once was.

Recently I met with two guys that are young filmmakers and watched them shoot a live production and after watching the raw footage I decided that I needed to be creative again. I recently began working on a screenplay and storyboards to shoot an indie feature.

I first heard about FT about 6 years ago on the commentary track of the Clerks Laserdisc.

[jbird669]

My name is Jason Prugar, and my home base is Phillipsburg, NJ. I am 25 and sell insurance to pay my bills, but my true passion is filmmaking.

I have always been a film fan, but it wasn't until my freshman year of college did I think it was possible for me to make one. He showed me a tape that he made for a class, and it was then I knew I could make my own. I took my VHS camera, grabbed my friends, wrote a script, and have made two shorts, written two more that are going to be produced, and 9 commercials for my alma mater, Alvernia College. I am currently working on a short.

While I am not employed by a studio yet, I have had a bit of success. My two shorts played at film festivals, and my second short got me named to the NY Int'l Indepedent Film and Video Festival's List of the Top 50 Filmmakers of 2002.

I heard about Filmthreat through accident. I was searching google for something and got on here. I was hooked!

[VidVicious]

Well me, I've been into film as far back as I can remember. I'm 23, I just graduated with a degree in Electronic media and a minor in Audio Visual Arts. I've been making shorts since I was 15, all I've ever wanted to do was make movies. One of my shorts (Fragment) won an award for best drama at my school's film festival. I make all kinds, Comedies, dramas, genre films, and movies that make no sense whatsoever.

[Zebo]

Hi, my name is Zebo, and I'm a film-aholic.

No, seriously, I'm Richard Davis and along with my creative partner Robert Selby, we've been making crappy videos and parodies since junior high school. Our Internet parody "Indiana Jones and the Desperate Cry for Adventure" can still be seen at IFILM.com. Speaking of junior high school...

Last summer, we shot our first feature-length movie "Frog Hair" in High Definition. It's a lovely tale of how golf -- while a wonderful game -- will utterly and completely ruin your life.

Currently, a preliminary version of the trailer can be seen at www.froghair.biz -- yes, that's right .biz.

[GiGi]

Hello! I's wuntin to be's a movie maker.

Went to film school, made lots of shorts but am in pre-production of my first feature. I am trying to perfect a script now and it's hell. It has to be the best ever...you all know the feeling. I went to college on a drama scholarship so that will help also in my directing etc. I can do the tech stuff but it's probably my weakest area simply because I am more into the creative side. But editing a movie is cool...one of my film school mates said it was like molding a piece of clay into art.

Sundance 05, here I...come? YE-ah, right :) But I'm sure going to try. :)

[JasonJolliff]

Hello fellow filmmakers,
My name is Jason Jolliff and I am a 29 year old filmmaker in the Indianapolis area. I have been surrounded by film and video my whole life. My mother has home movies dating back to 1958 when she was shooting on 8mm. She used to let me use the camera and do little skits and short "movies". So for me to go into filmmaking was a natural transition.
I have recently worked on Suspended Animation, Losers Lounge, and now my own "I Am DB" which I'm in the middle of shooting and very excited about. There is quite the buzz surrounding it in the Indy area.

Hit the links below to find out more about my past and present projects.

Hey Zebo, interesting trailer. I would watch it.

[Michaelx13]

I don’t think I really have the right to call myself a filmmaker, so I guess I am just an aspiring filmmaker. Well finishing the first draft of what shall be my first feature. Along with my wife and a couple of friends and the theater dept of the local college we hope to get this going within the year. I live in New Hampshire and I need your pity, but I would rather have your money and will settle for your scorn.

[Zebo]

Oh, we got scorn aplenty, beyotch! - LOL (Sorry, if we had money, we'd be using it for our own productions).

Seriously, Michaelx13, good luck to you as you move through the script phase and on into preproduction. Any thoughts as to what you're going to shoot on yet or is that jumping the gun?

[Michaelx13]

From my researc it is going to be DV. I just have to find the best option as to specifics.

[bizzlejig]

Hey, guys—

My name is L. A. Brooks. I’m a filmmaker living in Las Vegas, Nevada. I’m 30 years old, married, and working as a data entry clerk for a worker’s compensation company.

My earliest childhood memory is when I was 3 years old, sitting in a theater, watching STAR WARS. So, obviously my life was pretty much mapped out for me after that one single moment. Ever since then, all I’ve ever been able to think about is film. Unfortunately, I come from a family that did NOT have a Super 8mm camera, so I didn’t get to grow up making home movies like most others. However, I DID have pencil and paper, so I delved into writing short stories from an early age. I continued writing stories up til I got into college, then I started feeling that pressure of needing to try to SELL one of these stories. That’s when the fun started getting drained out of it for me.

I made a couple of minor documentaries in high school for a couple of classes. Of course, they weren’t screened for the classes. They were just viewed by the teacher in the privacy of her home. To this day, I don’t think anyone else has ever seen those movies, and I think one of them is actually lost forever (but I’m actually okay with it cuz it was pretty lame).

I took an introduction to filmmaking class at the University of Alabama in which I was able to make my first short film using their really old and shoddy 16mm film equipment. It turned out rather well for a first effort. It’s a little film called “Hole,” and it can still be seen on Ifilm.com. (Bit of trivia: the kid I got to star in the film went on to be in a couple of high-profile commercials in Hollywood—he was the evil second head growing out of the guy’s back in a Mike’s Hard Lemonade commercial and can now be seen as Cupid’s boss on the new Subway commercial saying “What’re you doing?”—and was even in a deleted scene from the last AUSTIN POWERS movie.) Everyone I showed the film to loved it, and after I left the university, I was told that it had become a sort of underground hit on-campus. I guess people were passing the tape around in the dorm rooms or something. That kinda made me feel good. And it made me feel even better to find out that my film teacher started using it in his classroom as a good example for his other students.

After I left Alabama, I went to film school at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, which later became famous cuz the BLAIR WITCH people had graduated from there about a year or so before I got there. I started losing some of my motivation when I got into their film program, though. I don’t know what caused it, but I didn’t have the same drive as when I was younger. I only made one film there, and it was a disaster. To this day, the only people who will admit to liking the movie are friends and family. Even my wife says it sucks (which is okay, cuz it does). So for the longest time after I graduated, I didn’t even pick up a camera.

I tried the L.A. thing for a year, and I abso-friggin’-lutely HATED IT! L.A. is a total cesspool. It was the worst year of my life. So we left and moved here to Vegas, and things have started looking up for me now. I’ve met a group of local filmmakers who are not pretentious and all seem to be very supportive of each other. And this has gotten me back into the mood to do what I’ve dreamt of doing since I was 3 years old. So I’ve begun production on my first feature movie. I bought the Panasonic AG-DVX100 so that I could shoot on the affordable Mini-DV but at 24fps so it looks a lot like film. After a few bumps in the road (namely a broken partnership with another filmmaker who was too lazy to help on “our” project), I’m now running the show and using real actors (instead of friends and family), and I think this project may turn out to be something really neat. It’s not going to be groundbreaking by any means (it’s just a slasher film), but it’s probably a 1000 times greater education in filmmaking than going to school was.

The film is titled ROSE. My production company is called Bizzlejig Films. My website is www.bizzlejig.com, but it’s still under construction cuz I don’t know how the hell to build a website. So I’m having to wait for my younger brother to find the time to do it for me.

I’m sure that’s a longer bio than you guys probably needed (or wanted), but I just have to say that I’m glad I joined this forum cuz it really gives me a chance to talk about film with other film lovers and not have to worry about explaining myself every five minutes when someone doesn’t know what 24fps or mini-DV means.

[DramaQueen]

Hi guys,

My name is Dee Lewis and I'm 25. Got a BA in Film and Video Production from the U of Memphis. Started my short when I was 23, just finished it (had a lot of problems, lost time). Did a lot of shorts in college, but my first "short" was when I was 14 with a video camcorder my mother bought me. It was a crappy commerical, but I was proud of it.

I have written a feature with the Hollywood Scriptwriting Institute and am getting ready to hit the festival circuit. I am an actress and writer, which inspired me to do film b/c I wanted to create the kinds of characters I wanted to play and the kinds of stories I want to tell.

My movie is about 33 minutes long (for all the work, it should have been a feature) and is called The Forgotten Ones.

Right now, I work at two television stations, one is for the local school district and the other is the CBS affiliate, News 3. It's okay, I have a lot of downtime, so I get to focus on my own work, but the pay is crap.

I support myself through Real Estate Investing, (buy houses low price, fix 'em up, sell 'em at high price) and that's a very nice income for a few hours a week.

Live in Memphis, TN but am moving to LA in late Feb, early March to pursue my acting, filmmaking career fully. My upcoming website to my short is www.theforgottenones.com, it should be up and running in two weeks, feel free to check it out.

[GiGi]

Hello Memphis from So. Illinois!

Wow, there are some awesome intros....Mr. Las Vegas, what a nice write up! I wish I could say more, Im squeamish about being public. But it is so nice to meet you all and I hope to talk to you all more!!!!

[wim daniels]

I guess I'm the old one now compared to everybody's postings. I used to be the young one. Hate that. I'm 38 now.

I am a filmmaker in Texas. I was born and raised in Austin and now live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area with my wife, 2 kids and my 155 pound Newfoundland dog.

I graduated from University of Texas Arlington with a BA in Comm, majoring in Radio/TV and double minor in Drama and English. I worked in corporate and industrial video and worked my way up. Early on I got tired of some of the writing I saw so I started doing that. I have been a one man band (especially early on) and then started getting the bigger jobs. Eventually I was shooting national spots on 35mm. Knowing I wanted to head towards filmmaking, I talked clients into shooting their training videos in film (so I could get used to the format) and I also wrote them as spoofs so I could learn to direct and edit dramatic. So those were my shorts for 10 years.

I spent a lot of time learning everything I could about features. Listened to Chris Gore several years in a row at SXSW. ALso went to every distributor panel I could to find out what I could do to make my chances as good as possible.

I made my first film "The Keyman" in fall of 2000. We have gotten some foreign distribution but I have had trouble with domestic due to the subject matter. I may turn to self-distribution for the US video/DVD in the next few months. The film stars Adam Baldwin and was shot on 35mm with a $500K budget. I raised the money myself from many of my corporate clients. The website is www.the-keyman.com.

I just delivered my second film "A Promise Kept" starring Sean Patrick Flanery, Joey Lauren Adams and Mimi Rogers to Curb Entertainment. We have already sold a lot more foreign in the few months we've been out than for the three years Keyman has been out. We are about to sign the domestic video deal any day now. The US video release will probably be this summer. This movie was shot on a little more than a million and was 35mm as well. The website is www.apromisekeptmovie.com.

I have just finished writing two more scripts and have just this past week setup the structure of the partnership to go and climb that fundraising mountain again. Maybe it will be easier now that "Promise" is doing better. The working title is "Bredonhill" and will be an adventure thriller. I am going to go with a two prong strategy. I now have some contacts for bigger money, so maybe I can entice a true A list actor to consider the movie. This would mean a much bigger budget. If not, I will go with B List names and raise another million or million and a half.

I have been on the FIlm Threat newsletter email list for years, but never really visited the boards until recently. I guess I wanted to find out what was going on with Pete Jones. For me, I am a very driven type and the title of the documentary that would cover these early films is "Make your own Greenlight."

Take care all,
Daniel Millican
www.s-films.com

[Jeremy Wallace]

My name is Jeremy Wallace, I am with Wicked Pixel Cinema. We have numerous titles out in home video outlets and retail stores including:
SAVAGE HARVEST
ICE FROM THE SUN
SCRAPBOOK

plus many others

I am 31 years old, I have been married for 12 years, I have 3 kids (all boys) and one more on the way. I have been in the indie scene for about 15 years and have loved every painful second of it.

In additon to the work I have done with WICKED PIXEL CINEMA, I have also directed 2 movies for SUB ROSA EXTREME; THE UNDERTOW(which Film Threat HATED LOL) and THE CHRISTMAS SEASON MASSACRE.

Also, I do work for one of the leading post production houses for indie cinema, THRILL RIDE MEDIA. At THRILL RIDE MEDIA we have authored around 50 indie DVD's for domestic and worldwide distribution.

I guess if you were to add it all up, I have had a hand in about 75 indie movies.

I look forward to chatting with all of you!

[Raym]

Aloha!

24 year old filmmaker in Oahu. Made this low-budget horror film. If you have the time, you can see the trailer at http://www.cornjob.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=180#180

Post on the forum and tell me what you think, 'kay?
Take care!

[erbenz]

ok Hi, I'm Ben... I've produced and edited 2 shorts, Written a Unproduced script that had a cast of un professional actors but sunk in pre-production. I was set to direct. I have also mixed music for a short.

Right now I plan on saving up for a second hand Digital Video Camera, While working on English (for screenwriting skills) and Media (well duh)
in college...

My Inspirations (Fave movies); Shrek, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, About Schmidt and Kangaroo Jack(it reminded me not to make c- - p

Ps: Im an aspiring filmaker

[judex]

Hi y'all

My real name is Clint. I have been doing some film work on and off in the SLC for about 15 years. I have been a grip, a boom operator, a sound mixer, a greensman, a set builder, or just plain grunt (production assistant) on many films.

I also make shorts. I have shot on super 8, 16mm, betacam and DV. I am getting ready to make another short documentary in April. I really have no life other than that. Oh, but I also have a website about weird Utah facts. www.utahgothic.com

[bulenthasan]

Hey all!

My name is Bulent Hasan, and I started in High school doing animation on a super cool Hi8 Camera that was able to do frame by frame recording, then I had the realization that this was what I was supposed to do.

I'm a film school grad from the Vancouver Film School in Vancouver, BC and when I graduated the WHOLE WORLD WENT DIGITAL! I've taught myself digital NLE myself and now know Final Cut/Adobe/Avid. I've worked on getting my editing skills down first then I started creating fan movie previews on stuff before they were even coming out like X-men and Tomb Raider ( the Tomb Raider one hit HUGE on the net) and now I'm writing/directing/editing my own projects. My current short was supported by the Yukon Film Commission and was shot in Whitehorse, Yukon Territories. (http://members.shaw.ca/hclan/CHILL)

My previous short film, Point of View, is currently available on Triggerstreet.com and at my website (*UPDATE - Point of View has been selected as one of the 12 finalists for the National Screen Institute of Canada's Amateur FilmMaking Contest, the final descisions will be made on march 6)

Find out what makes my insane brain tick at my website http://fetthead.tripod.com

Hope we all get to be paid one day for what we love.

[donald gregory]

My name is Donald Gregory, but please feel free to call me Don.

Well, I graduated college in 2000 with a degree in electrical engineering, but still didn't know what I wanted to do with my life.

After venturing to Las Vegas and avoiding getting a 'real' job. In the winter of 2001 I was inspired to start writing screenplays. (I think it was how awful the new Planet of the Apes was, I just knew even I could do better that that.)

Well six months and four scripts later, a deal with Dreamworks never seemed to come about. Their "We don't accept unsolicited screenplays" was the last straw. If I wanted to succeed in this business, I would have to make my own movie.

How hard could it be?

I wrote a screenplay entitled "Who Is the Pink Bunny?" intending it to be low budget, and started reading everything I could about filmmaking.

So I started buying equipment, even taking advantage of those 'six months ZERO interest' credit cards to make it happen.

I decided I knew more people, and had more resources in Ohio, so I made the move back, and started shooting, after casting friends in the parts. Let's just say, it didn't turn out as I had planned, and the project got shelved.

So after spending about another six months paying off the equipment, I decided it was time to make another movie, one that would get finished, no matter what I had to do.

So along comes PIZZA: The Movie

It will be out on DVD sometime in May.

[Zebo]

Don, looks like it could be amusing. Glad to see someone else doing comedy as well.
What did you shoot with?

[donald gregory]

Hi Zebo,

We're shooting it with a Canon XL1s (NTSC). I think comedy could be a good way to get started in filmmaking. I think people are a more forgiving with so-so acting in a comedy than they would be in a drama, not to mention being more forgiving as far as mistakes in continuity and such.

I know we're told that there's not much of a market for low budget comedies, but I believe with the right kind of marketting we can be successful.

We'll have to wait and see.

Do you have a website with some of your work on it?

[Zebo]

Yep -- we shot a feature in High Def last summer called "Frog Hair." We're in the final stages of post on it, and then it'll be time to put those marketing skills to the test.

www.froghair.biz (http://www.froghair.biz)

BTW, love the XL-1 and the XL-1S looks like it delivers even better quality.

[GiGi]

In regards to "who is pink bunny"....my sister has had a stuffed animal since birth. its a furry bright pink bunny. still sleeps with her every night even though she is an adult. its name? Pink Bunny. hehe

[Nathyn]

My name is Nathyn, I'm 31, and I make religious films, action thrillers and sometimes religious action thrillers. I use a DVX100. My current proudction is The 4th Beast: Mask of the Antichrist and it's being shot now. It's a feature. I plan on doing another feature this year if I can and I hope my film is seen by a lot of people. My site can be seen here here (http://www.the4thbeast.com)

-Nate

[GiGi]

Welcome Nathyn! Glad to have you here. will check your site out.

[Nathyn]

Originally posted by GiGi
Welcome Nathyn! Glad to have you here. will check your site out.

Thanks. I hope you like it. Drop us a line on our forum. That would be cool.

-Nate

[Filmhorror.com]

Hi, I m Francesco Cortonesi. I m a teacher(Italian letterature and History) and I m a screenplayer. I 'm sorry for my bad English,but i m italian.
My team is filmhorror.com and my house web is

www.filmhorror.com

is a adress web for italian indie horror filmaker but all the filmakers welcome in my web place.

Sinceramente vostro
deadtoday aka Francesco Cortonesi

[Runeshai]

Hey, I'm a 14-year-old kid living in Colombia, South America. I'm from Vermont...technically from Denver because I was born there but Vermont is where I've lived most of my life. I have a couple of shorts, I think the longest was somewhere around 10 to 13 minutes or so and the best one is somewhere around 2 minutes or so. So I'm just getting identified in here, letting you know I exist, maybe you've read me in the Force Academy Messageboards (http://www.forceacademy.com)
I also have two website below...the development of which is waiting for the arrival of computer and with it website designs, tutorials, videos, etc.
WATCH great films...
MAKE great films...
BE great filmmakers...

[bizzlejig]

Hey, guys and girls--

I introduced myself earlier on this thread (probably a couple of months ago), but I just wanted to drop back in for a sec to let you all know that my website is now up and operational. It can be located at www.bizzlejig.com (http://www.bizzlejig.com). We're still shooting our first feature film, Rose, which you can read about on the website.

Thanks.

--Bizzlejig

[kinks2thebone]

Hey Guys

My name is Fred Nouvertne. Well, where do I start? I guess like everyone out there, I've been into movies all my life. My interest in movies vary. From action packed guy movies, to the occasional chick flick (sometimes you gotta take one for the team). I'm 18 and I'm a student. I guess I realized I should actually write my ideas down, and really get into the whole movie gig, was when I took a class this year called Video Production. I met up with a kid, now my business partner, Ben Harvey. Ben had ideas and scripts already written down. He had also created his own film company, MINDstream Films. So basically we became good friends, and business partners. Sick of just the locals knowing about us, we decided to take some action. So we both pitched in and created a website. Since then, we've been busy working on scripts for our movies, and working on the website. We've been trying to look for investors, who would actually take the time to check us out, and check our ideas out. We're both talented and full of ideas. But, we just haven't been noticed. But...since then, nothing really new has happened. We just hope to hear from some people, to give us some comments on our website, and anything else that might pertain to our movies. Get in touch with me to talk, it's always a pleasure.

Thanks

Fred Nouvertne
V.P. of MINDstream Films
www.mindstreamfilms.com



www.mindstreamfilms.com

[GiGi]

Ciao Francesco...come sta lei?

Where do you live in Italia?

Welcome Runeshai and KinK and everyone else!

[Gravy Train Fil]

I'm Matt Stratton, and I'm a struggling indie filmmaker.

My partner and I have three finished projects under our belt - a mock-doc about swing dancing called Dancing With Gaia (http://www.dancingwithgaia.com), and two short films - Inventing: Music (which will be playing at both the ASU festival and the Rochester festival), and Inventing: Stephen.

Right now the big project is getting the stuff we've done promoted before taking on anything new, although there are a couple ideas in the hopper. I'm in Chicago, and have a strong background in theatrical direction and improvisation. The film stuff is all self-taught though :)

[Runeshai]

YES! Self-taught, that's the way to go. I've been doing it for a year, a year and a half and it's worked just fine for me. "Every project you learn something new." -Clint Eastwood in an Inside the Actor's Studio interview. Have you ever seen Inside the Actor's Studio (tv show)? It's so cool, you learn all the little details about actors you never knew before...like I never knew John Travlota was such a good impressionist, and that he had such a bad and interesting childhood. It's really interesting...you should check it out.

I am Runeshai...
WATCH great films...
MAKE great films...
BE great filmmakers...

[serano9]

I realized in am not in this Thread. My name is Matt and........here is what I do www.thecrossroadsoffate.com

[Zebo]

Hey serano9/Matt. Got any updates for us on Crossroads of Fate -- ie, final cut, new trailer, possible festival appearances? Enjoyed the original trailer and hope we'll all get a chance to see the movie one of these days.

[serano9]

I'll have the new trailer up tommorow (if all goes well, you know how that is) It is still just a promo but well....a lot better. I have more shots and the composer really fixed up the audio with real orchestral sounds from the London Sympony's Orchestal CD collection blended with subtle electronics. I'll have the Film end of it done in the next three weeks, then it's all audio from there. God this shit takes forever when you're not a rich kid and don't have a budget.

[Runeshai]

oh that trailer is pretty cool...the performances look very professional, though the 'surprised' looks on the actor's faces sometimes looked a little off-key if you know what I mean...but in general everything looked really nicely done. I think something you could add to your site - and anyone and everyone with a filmmaking website - would be a tutorials page...like go to the TFN Fanfilm (http://www.theforce.net/theater) tutorials pages and they have a bunch of stuff (it{s all about Star Wars but hey, it's nice anyways)... or go to thrae.com (http://www.thrae.com) and go to their Cheap 'n' Cheesy FX page...they have some stuff...or you could go to NBFX (http://www.angelfire.com/movies/nobudgetsfx/) and they have tons of stuff for filmmaking...but I think someone should start an entire new section (like this section is called Indie Filmmaking Fanatics) and it should have subcategories for different programs and types of tutorials...well, there's my...uuhhh...75 cents i guess...thanks for reading and making films for us all to enjoy...

I am Runeshai...

WATCH great films...
MAKE great films...
BE great filmmakers...

[Fido]

hey, names fido Im from TX. I've begun work on my first movie and it's coming out pretty good. I have a teaser trailer up as well as stills, feel free to check them out and tell me what you think.
www.overnight.50megs.com (http://www.overnight.50megs.com)

[Jas]

Hi everyone,

My name is Jason Tisch. I've been interested in film for what seem like forever. Living outside of Pittsburgh, I attended some classes at Pittsburgh Filmmakers, but eventually graduated from the Art Institute in Industrial design. I've been working as a designer and 3d animator for 9 years.
After much debate (with my wife) I decided to start my own film company and pursue making a DV feature. 3 years later, we are close to finishing our first feature "Missing Jane". It's about a WW2 bomber crew that crashes in Germany in 1943. (Yea, I was a bit ambitious for my first feature) But we just kept calling around and finally got to shoot in a real bomber in NY. It was a blast.

Hopefully we'll have a trailer up soon. I've been promising everyone a summer release, But there are still so many visual effects to do I can't work on much else now.

I've really enjoyed looking at all your guys stuff. Keep up the good work. There are a lot of talented individuals here.

www.jas-entertainment.com