20 Years... Thank You.

 

Jon's hanging in The Natudi (our studio and workshop) with a little thank you to all the folks who have supported Elmwood Productions over the past 20 years!

You all mean the world to us - THANK YOU!

And here's to 20 more!

The Links Jon babbles about:

http://elmwoodproductions.com/index.html

https://www.youtube.com/c/ElmwoodProductions/featured

HEAD Screening 10/2 at SEA TEA- tickets here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/head-a-horror-movie-with-puppets-tickets-162202711677?aff=ebdsoporgprofile&fbclid=IwAR0NqCtL2HuVOzcqrbmFu_Ielo4C3DxsnTS12MaX91W6yokfUHmx1xecQeU

https://www.facebook.com/events/333932067881906?active_tab=about

https://www.facebook.com/elmwoodproductions

https://www.instagram.com/elmwoodproductions/

DVDS: https://elmwoodproductions.storenvy.com/

MERCH: https://www.cafepress.com/elmwoodproductions

ALL SHOP: http://elmwoodproductions.com/shop--more.html

THE DESULTORY THEATRE CLUB: https://desultorytheatreclub.com/

TIME MACHINE: https://timemachinehobby.com/

Show some love for Elmwood! It's your support that keeps content like this coming!

Visit our Ko-Fi Page and help keep us caffeinated! -

https://ko-fi.com/elmwoodproductions

Full circle?

 Not quite.

Today Elmwood was shooting scenes for "Bernice, Too" in downtown Elmwood.  
Where I grew up and where the germ of the idea that has become Elmwood Productions all began.
This picture Mike took is across the street from where "The Elm" movie theater used to be.  As you can see it is a Walgreens now.

And yeah, I'm looking over at it.  
My first "real" job was working at The Elm.  Concessions, usher, ticket sales, whatever needed to be done.  It was a theater I went to all the time, walking distance from my home as a kid.  
For the brief time I lived in Florida I missed it.  When I moved back it was gone.

I've always loved movies.  And I love making them now. 
Even on the hottest and most humid days of the summer.

Make Your Movie! - Make/Believe!

I get asked ALOT about "How Do You Make A Movie?"
Usually it's someone who wants to do it, but is afraid to take the leap, or unsure how to start...
I'm a lucky man... I've been able to follow my dreams and make puppets, and movies with them. Sure, I've made sacrifices. And yes, it does take up much of my time. And it's all worth it. Whenever someone comes to me and tells me they want to make a movie but aren't sure how to start I'll ask a few questions -
"Do you have access to a camera?"
"Do you have a story idea?"
"Do you know anyone who would want to be in a movie?"

I always get "yes" to all three.

And then I ask "So what's stopping you?"

Then I always hear their reasons: "Well, I don't have a huge amount of money," or "I don't have time", or "I have to mow my lawn."... And so on and so on...
These "reasons", I call these excuses.
I don't have have huge amounts of money. I have a lawn to mow. And, sometimes I feel like I don't have time.
But I do it. I want to do it.
And that is really where you start.
If you WANT to do it, you CAN. You have to commit.
You see making a movie is a commitment. Even a short film that may take a day to shoot.

So how did I do it? It brings me back to the three questions.
Well, I had help. I had a friend with a camera. I had story ideas that others helped expand on. I knew people who wanted to be in movies, or in my case wanted to puppeteer in movies.
And we did it. And we keep doing it.  
No, it's not "that easy"... Scheduling, puppet making, casting, locations, all that and more do make it hard. But if you have those three things you have a place to start.
And you CAN do it. You CAN make you're own movie.  

I believe in you.