Low-Budget Rebels: An Indie Filmmaking Conversation with Josh Stifter Josh Stifter

This week I had the pleasure of chatting with writer and director Rob Mabry.If you look at our film's synopsis, you can instantly see that my film Greywood's Plot and his The Legend of El Chupacabra have some things in common. Watching the movies, it's interesting how unique both movies are as well!

Rob and I discussed his rise from early days of playing with cameras, to the break in his filmmaking process and coming back to it through 48 hour film fests and making a plethora of shorts, to eventually making his first feature film. We also chat about Rob's preproduction process, finding the shot in the moment, messy effects shots, and the fun of creating monsters with practical visual effects.This and so much more!

 Make sure to follow @thechupacabramovie to find out more about Rob's movie.

Director Scott McElroy came on the show to discuss his feature film Fey, a twisting, independent psychological-thriller about a rock band that goes to a secluded studio to record their album and finds out they may be in for more than creating tunes and drinking booze.

We discuss a wide variety of independent filmmaking topics including how to direct when you don't have technical knowledge, building a friend and family group that you can call on for help when it's time to get out and make a movie, and tricks for taking advantage of sound design to build the mood. We also chatted about music and how other forms of art beyond filmmaking help to build storytelling and structural style when it is time to make a feature length movie.

Make sure to follow Fey on social media @feythemovie on instagram and stay tuned for the release of this truly independent, twisted flick!

Even with the busy holiday weekend, I was able to chat with two indie filmmakers who've made some interesting movies and are looking to take them out to theaters and try a new model of low-budget film distribution.

While they're called The Farx Brothers, you'll find out early in this episode that they are not actually brothers. Nick and Kyle are two Minnesota based filmmakers creating short form movies and proof of concept videos. We discuss their background, how they each bring different ideas and style to the projects they make, and new ideas about how they want to distribute their films this year.

They also discuss four walling, new projects, and working in the industry versus having a day job outside of filmmaking.

This and much more!

I'm in my studio and recording new episodes of Low-Budget Rebels Podcast! For my first episode in the new studio, I have Romeo's Distress director Jeff Frumess on to talk about what he's been up to since the last time we chatted on the show.

Not only has he been running his patreon page and youtube channel, he's also directed a new film called Gouge Away, and created a gonzo style documentary using diaries and home videos called Kuyashii Gonzo: Blood Visions and Chaos Magic! We also discuss a wide range of topics from the process of finishing a feature and setting deadlines to the benefits of table readings to how important it is to find a way to distribute your own projects in the modern era of film. 

Head over to https://www.frumess.com/ to learn more about where you can see Jeff's films.

Follow Jeff on Social Media:
X : https://x.com/Jfrumess
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/screaminjfrumess/

Check out more from Low-Budget Rebels and hear all the episode ad free at patreon.com/flushstudios 

Cheers,
Josh

On this episode of the podcast, Josh Stifter sits down for a conversation with returning guest Taylor Morden. They discuss what has happened since they recorded the last episode, The Last Blockbuster and it's run on Netflix, the challenges of getting projects off the ground, being hired to direct a movie about Build-a-Bear Workshops, and Taylor's newest adventure in crowdfunding with his horror/comedy Bampire! 

Make sure to go over to bampiremovie.com and help support this fun and unique take on indie monster movies. 

Follow the film on social media @bampiremovie

Cheers!

On this episode of the podcast, I had the pleasure of chatting with Michael J Epstein. In his second appearance on the show, he discussed the movies he's directed since the pandemic. Experimenting with mocumentary mixed media projects that included short scenes from other filmmakers during the pandemic and mocumentaries, Michael and his partner Sophia Cacciola have made three incredibly experimental films including The Transformations of the Tranformations of The Drs. Jenkins, The Once and Future Smash, and End Zone 2. We discuss the making of these films, how the pandemic effected them, and the process of distibution for these truly independent features.

Make sure to check out the kickstarter for the release of The Once and Future Smash here: https://launchover.com/launch/film/the-once-and-future-smash/

And follow Michael J Epstein on social media by going to launchover.com

Cheers,
Josh