The Power Of Influence

Jurassic Park, Hook and E.T are all films that many of us have seen, or at the least, heard of. All films directed by Stephen Spielberg that sparked Kendall Christianson’s interest into how films are made while he was just a kid. But it wasn’t there and then that he decided he wanted to be a filmmaker, that came a few years later, says Kendall: “When I was in high school I saw the movie Drive and right then I knew I wanted to be a filmmaker. Just the way Nicolas Winding Refn visually told the story without forcing exposition onto the audience really inspired me.”

And he did become a filmmaker and his most recently completed work is the award winning short film, Still. It’s a crime thriller that Kendall says was inspired by the series Mr. Robot and movies Zodiac and Seven: “I’ve always loved a good paranoia story. It opens up the possibilities for the audience to get into the mindset of the main character, and I feel we did that effectively with Still.”

I asked Kendall to discuss the process of shooting Still: “It took us two to three weeks to shoot Still, both in Burbank & Pasadena, and about the same amount of time to edit. Casting was simple for me, I know a lot of talented independent actors so I knew who to cast for each particular role.”

Influencing Others

You followed your dreams, so what advise can you give to someone who wants to make films but doesn’t know where to start? “My advise is this, before you decide to go to film school or to take any type of filmmaking class, buy or rent a cheap camera. Play around with it. Story board. Make small short films of random things that you see around you. Let the creative juices flow so that you can better understand visual storytelling.”

What’s ahead for you as a filmmaker: “I’m currently in post production of a dark comedy named Stodgy Steve, and in the preproduction phase of developing a dark comedy/crime thriller. Hope to complete them in the next few months.”

View The Film

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