Quintessential Studios' Weblog

At the end of 2009, I felt kind of alone, in regards to filmmaking.  The people involved in the projects I’d been a part of, kind of went off to do their own things and I was left in a creative void.  In fact, it was quite a deep, empty void, for me personally.

I felt deep inside that it was my own fault that people were disbanding and I’d even had some harsh words to some.  I felt regret and remorse in my heart and, honestly, felt very near to ending it all.

That probably isn’t a very positive PR thing to admit, but I feel that maybe I should talk about it because there may be other people out there, who might be experiencing similar thoughts.

One particular day, as I was leaving school, almost with the intent to end it all, I decided to visit a friend. I figured I’d kind of get some things off of my chest and start to make my rounds, to tie off the loose ends, so to speak.  I also knew in the back of my mind that communication was always the key to solving problems, so it might help me out of my doldrums too.

I guess, luckily, he was home.  We talked about random things and eventually got around to how I wished I had had more filmmakers or people interested in filmmaking around, people who want to learn the things I wanted to learn and shared the same passion for it as I did.

We talked about successful groups that we had each been involved in, groups of all types, beer making groups, tropical fishkeeping groups, etc.  There were some things that each had in common.  Just having someone to listen to me, helped.  Talking about those groups, sparked something in me.  I decided to create a filmmaking enthusiasts group (and subsequently, to put my death plans on hold.)

Honestly, I didn’t care if it was just a bunch of people who wanted to get together once in a while and drink coffee and talk filmmaking.  The point was to have a group, some like-minded folks to be around, to build comradery.

I started to promote locally to see if I could garner any interest.

Jan 5th, I got six people to join me for coffee.  Everyone there was very interested in starting a group and felt that it was definitely a needed and worthwhile venture.

I decided to front up the money to put the group on Meetup.com and went to work promoting the hell out of the group.

Over the last eleven months, we’ve grown to over 300 registered members and a good average of 50 people in attendance to our monthly meetings.  We have over 30 sponsors and lots of support from various other groups and organizations.  I truly do plan to take this to an even higher level next year.

Our end of the year/one year anniversary meetup/”mini-expo”, while not as big as I’d planned, was quite a success overall.  It was held at the UC Riverside’s Barbara and Art Culver Center of the Arts.

We had presentations from Douglas E. Welch, Maxon Computer and Avid.  We gave away nearly $6,000 in prizes. Everyone seemed pleased.

If you are interested in joining IFIE, please sign up here: http://IFotIE.com

Quintessential Studios Action

Production wise, I’ve been still shooting B camera at LAFCPUG meetings, completed some marketing videos for a chiropractic marketing firm and some of their related services, covered a couple events, shooting stills and video and even did some shooting at a cousin’s wedding. (“I don’t do weddings”, BTW.)

I’ve helped produce/fund a couple of independent crowd-funded films: ‘Invasion of the Not Quite Dead’ and ‘Solomon Grundy’.

I’ve attended MANY industry expos and conferences and even was a technical adviser and cameraman for one (paid).

In October, I produced a live shoot for the band Pandemic Unleashed.  One of the videos can be seen here: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=180094208668072&oid=197727010181

Educationally, I’ve completed three more college classes this year: Sound Recording in Media, Advanced Editing (FCP) and TV Studio Equipment.

In Summation

People can become depressed for many reasons.  That’s part of life.  It’s not a chemical deficiency.  It’s a lot of things.  The main thing that IS going to help them, though, is communication and understanding.  Be there for people and listen.  My friend saved my life and he doesn’t even know it.  I’ve decided to take the time to be interested in others and to help see them through to reaching their goals in life.  Actually, I’ve kind of always been that way.  I just wanted to point out that you do matter and we can help each other out, every day.  And, a little goes a long way.  So, thanks for being interested in what I do and say and I hope I am able to return the favor!