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Had the great pleasure this week to meet Andrew Kightlinger, the writer/producer/director of the feature film Dust of War, starring Gary Graham, Tony Todd and Doug Jones. At just 25 years old, he’s already done what countless others have only talked about. He made a movie.

A damned good one from the looks of it.

It was interesting to see him up on that stage during his first public speaking engagement. You know in a few years this will be old hat. He’ll have the patter down, he’ll have fielded all the questions already. Seeing him like this gave me a sense of the man, before the need to develop a public persona took hold.

I don’t remember exactly when it happened for me, that slight separation between who I really am and the self-aware author fielding autographs. And it’s not to say that I’m not being totally myself when I’m at conventions (come see me at MidsouthCon next month), but there is the awareness that people’s perception of you will affect their enjoyment of your work. You don’t want to send them away with the sense that you’re a pedophile or snake oil salesman. (I’ve often likened the experience to trying to get elected. There’s a lot of hand-shaking and baby-kissing.)

But for Andrew Kightlinger, it was an easy crowd. He knew most of the attendees. Called many by name. Nobody threw him any hardballs. He had a good time of it, and we had a good time with him. He’s already a name here in South Dakota, and it won’t take long to see him do much bigger projects. He says he wants to direct Nicholas Cage and Sigourney Weaver within five years.

My bet? He’ll do that and more. Much more.

I’m looking forward to it.

~Frank

We’ve been moving forward with our weekly meetings here in Sioux Falls (now up to twice a week, actually) and we’re excited to announce that we’ll be hosting an ongoing monthly series called Making A Scene with the Sioux Falls Arts Council. These free educational seminars will be focused on all aspects of film production, from acting to audio mixing, cinematography to sound design. It’s going to be a hoot!

In other news, we’re moving into a new studio space this week. Pictures coming soon, but you might want to lock your doors… because we’re about to blow them off.

Best of all, we’re officially in pre-production on a short film intended for inclusion in YouTube’s Your Film Festival film festival. There are no provided elements in this one, so we’ll finally get to tell a story without any outside influence. This is all on us.

Our entry will be a spy thriller called The Chameleon Affair. It takes the position that not every operative is Jason Bourne or Nikita and shows what life on the run is like for an agent who isn’t an elite superhuman killer. Starring the stunning Taylor Melone, the film will be shot in Sioux Falls and Omaha, Nebraska, with help from some very special people.

The last time I shot a film that wasn’t a 48-hour film, Ghost and the Machine, I went up against inexperience and inferior equipment and came up short. Chameleon won’t just be about winning this festival (and it’s $500K prize).

It will be about redemption!

Stay tuned!

I don’t normally post reviews anywhere. I’m vocal enough with family and friends and the wide world of Facebook about the things that I like that I don’t normally feel the need to clutter up the blogosphere with my oooohs and aaaahs.

But, man… the indiSLIDERmini from indiSYSTEM is just a brilliant piece of equipment at a price that’s just ridiculous. For less than $100, I’m getting shots that used to require packing my very heavy DIY doorway dolly and driving to the set with 12 feet of PVC pipe sticking out the back window.

The slider itself is solid, but light, and it worked equally well with the Nikon D7000 and my Panasonic HVX200. I haven’t yet had the chance to see if she’ll handle the weight of my HVX with my Letus Extreme on there, but I could hardly fault it if it didn’t.

I’d barely had the chance to unpack the slider before I had the chance to take her on a professional shoot. I’ll post a clip when I can, but in the meantime, there’s actually some great sample footage of the slider in action on YouTube.

Suffice to say, if you’re in the market for a slider and have been wondering where to spend your cash, the indiSLIDERmini has my seal of approval.

I’m glad to say we had an awesome turnout last night for our filmmaker meetup. We had folks from all facets of the industry, from actors to After Effects gurus, from amateurs to pros. A really nice mix.

My good buddy Corbet Miner showed up, who helped out on A Spud’s Life (coming to this site soon, I promise), as well as Dominic Wieneke, who founded the Sioux Falls Filmmaker group on Facebook. He’s also started another page for Production Notices here in town and I’m looking forward to watching that grow.

Dani and I got some good leads for low-cost studios around town, and we’re excited to start pre-production on The Chameleon Affair, scheduled to start shooting this April. Dani’s got her own script in development as well (currently untitled), and it uses the über-creepy doll she picked up on eBay last year. That thing is a horror movie waiting to happen. It may become a signature visual in our horror work going forward.

All for now. Stay tuned!

My wife and I will be hosting a filmmakers meetup here in Sioux Falls tonight at 7PM at the Caribou Coffee on Minnesota Ave. and 28th Street. We’re expecting a modest turnout, but we’re very excited to meet others in the area who share our passion.

In Florida, you couldn’t swing a stick without hitting someone in the business. Actors were plentiful, everyone owned their own gear, everyone knew how to edit, and we had access to studios for filming left and right. Things here are… different.

So far it seems like there’s a little interest, but very few actual productions. My wife, the Amazing Dani Fradella™, managed to get cast in a short film that was shot here last month. I’ll let her share her own experiences on that, but I’ll see if I can post the finished film when it’s done.

Though it might be a bit ambitious, I’d like to host a meeting every week. The first meeting of the month will be a general gathering. The second week will be for writers who want script coverage. The third week will be for lighting and shooting workshops; perhaps recreating scenes from movies. And I think that the last week should be an open casting call for those who want to act, but who might not have headshots or representation. If any filmmaking is going to happen in this town, we’re going to have to start building a talent pool. I’ll offer free headshots for anyone who shows up.

Sadly, one of my bigger gripes is that there isn’t a “pro shop” here in town. I have to buy all my gear online. I usually do anyway, but I’d like to get my hands on things now and then and see how they feel and hear how they work from people who have actually used them.

Last, it’s my hope for tonight’s meetup that we’ll find people who are serious enough to partner in renting a small studio space. Our arrangement with Kel Thompson and America’s Production Company in Boca Raton had been a great asset for us while we were in Florida, but I’m not quite ready to plunk down the cash for a full studio rental by myself.

Well, I guess we’ll see! If you’re reading this and you live in the Sioux Falls area, by all means drop by at 7PM and say hello!