Ten Years Later

[El Director]

It struck me today that ten years ago I was starting pre-pro on "Leap: Rise of the Beast". I'm in the middle of watching the BTS feature I made (a collection of VLOGs covering the entire process) and it's crazy to say, but I think I've come full circle. Let me explain-

In January 2010, I was unemployed and was on unemployment and food stamps. I had a script that wasn't finished, and I decided that I was going to shoot it that summer. In May of 2010, I had my first encounter with a DSLR, and started learning my first vfx software. In July I bought a Canon T2i and felt like the world was my oyster. I was still unemployed, but I was going to shoot my third feature, and my first HD feature. To this day, I can still remember the excitement of that unboxing. Of having a film sized sensor, interchangeable lenses, full HD and 24 fps. Coming from shooting on a little Canon ZR800, this was an exciting time. There was so much I needed to learn, both in terms of the new technology and VFX. That summer, we shot "Leap: Rise of the Beast" for around $2000. It has since made back it's budget, and has amassed over a million views on YouTube - and that doesn't count the piracy sites that have ripped it off.

The experience of making that movie landed me a job in Montana working for a children's television show. I had been planing to shoot either a sequel or another movie about demons, but after eight months, I was unemployed again due to budget cuts and found myself living out of my car - (which has inspired the movie I'm currently working on).

Short story long, it's now 2020 and I feel like history is repeating itself. After working for my current employer for almost seven years (doing film/video and serving as a VFX supervisor), my hours has been cut to basically nothing. I'm basically unemployed. And I'm excited. While the technology shifts over the last ten years haven't been as exciting as that initial jump to HD, there's still been plenty of cool stuff going on. Like drones.

I learned to fly an Inspire 1 Pro we had at work, and my former co-worker had a Phantom 4 Pro that I borrowed for my latest movie, "Surviving the Wild". After my boss cut my hours, I decided it was time to start my own production company and the only thing I was missing to be competitive was a drone. So I took my tax refund (only about $1500) and bought the Mavic 2 Zoom.

So here I am, unemployed, but filled with excitement at the possibilities as I start this new venture. Sometimes taking a leap like this can be intimidating, even scary, but when I think back to making that movie ten years ago, I look back with complete fondness as it was truly one of the best experiences of my life. I still have a few days of shooting left on my fourth feature, "Surviving the Wild", but I feel a renewed sense of excitement and passion as I work to finish the movie and launch my production company. The hurdles and challenges will be many, but I'm taking them in stride and hoping that maybe, this too will be something I look back on fondly, ten years from now.

[puredrifting]

I admire your tenacity and positive outlook. That will take you far.

[El Director]

I admire your tenacity and positive outlook. That will take you far.

Thanks, it's worked well so far. Sometimes just a little naivety goes a long way. Pretty sure that's the only reason I completed the last movie.

Love your sig btw. I'm quickly learning that this really is a business first