Movie Page
Joel’s Movie Career
My love of movies matured a few years ago when I got involved with some local filmmakers. At first, my interest was out of curiosity, but when I discovered all that goes into making a movie, I jumped in with both feet. I was (and still am) a writer looking for a way to “let my voice be heard.” But when you’re an independent filmmaker, you often have to take on other titles (like grip, best boy, or foley artist).
Below you can click on the movie title to watch the films we made and learn more about how they developed. (Note - you must have Quicktime on your computer to watch the films. You can download Quicktime for fee at: www.apple.com/quicktime/download/ .)
Boss & Vazquez: The first movie we made was for the Maple Valley Film Festival’s 48-hour film competition. We were given a theme (Triumph by way of persistence in the face of overwhelming opposition), a line of dialog ("Cover the window, please. These {any plural noun here} give me no ideas."), and a prop (a box or container of any size that has an unexpected or extreme warning on the outside) to use in our movie. This information was given to us at 6 p.m. on a Friday, and we had until 6 p.m. on Sunday to write, shoot, edit, score, produce, and turn in our film. When we finished shooting, we had over 5 minutes of footage we wanted to use, so there was a lot of good stuff we had to cut. Our editors worked hard to cut it down, and the final product was just one frame short of 3 minutes (2 minutes, 59 seconds, and 23 frames). We took first place with this movie.
Addiction: We made this for the Seattle Times 3-minute film competition. The only rule was that it had to be 3 minutes or less. The winner’s were chosen by two judges. We didn’t win, but we felt good about the final product. (I wrote this screenplay, and was cast in the lead role – probably because it wasn’t really a stretch for me to become this character.)
The Cost of Reform: We shot this for another 48-hour film competition – the Seattle True Independent Film Festival (STIFF). Again, we had only 48 hours to make this film. We were given a character to be used in our film (a politician named P. Flowers), a line of dialog (“More like 28, right guys?”), a prop (pocket change) and a genre (drama). Comedy is our strength, so drama was going to test our skills, but I think we came up with a nice piece. The winner for this was chosen by audience vote. We didn’t win here, but we had a strong showing.
Ballbusters: This movie was made for a national 48-hour film competition. We were given a character to be used in our film (an insurance salesman named Bob Henry), a line of dialog (“I expect you to be prompt. Prompt and courteous.”), a prop (sleeping bag) and a genre (comedy). This film could be as long as seven minutes. This was our most ambitious project to date. We had a script that was twice as long, and we shot at twice as many locations, but we still only had 48 hours. We got a great reaction from the audience at the screening, but the popular vote went to a detective movie that starred a Pug dog. The judged competition was won by a great film that starred a bicycle.
Joel’s Movie Recommendation
Taking Chance
When one falls, another one takes him home. This is the true story of one soldier’s journey as he escorts a fallen soldier home to his final resting place. It shows the reverence and gratitude given by our nation to its war dead.
I cried from beginning to end, but I’m thankful that Lt. Colonel Strobl took the time to share his experience. This well-told story makes me proud to be an American.
