Aaah! What the hell since I’m being transparent….

If you may recall, I stated that I’ll be teaching a short filmmaking class spring 2026 through the Billings Public School Community Education Department: Class Info. Yes. I’m also gearing up to create online classes too. I’ll also roll those out next year. More to follow soon.

How did I get here?

Caveat first: I’ve always known that you can have all the fancy bells and whistles that you want in filmmaking. BUT BUT BUT without a compelling and dynamic story? Nothing else matters. Thus: My Master of Fine Arts in screenwriting from National University. Is it the most glamorous school? Nope. But it allowed me to get started when I was living in Montana before I moved to Los Angeles cuz its primarily online. I quit from it for a minute when I made that Los Angeles move. Except I went back after comparing it to the screenwriting MFA programs from UCLA and USC. I would have had to sit out for a long time cuz their application process moves slow. And things that I loved about National? Small class sizes cuz my largest class was 14 people, a foundation in how the film business actually works, and amazing people. So… Yup: I’m grateful for my experience. And I also have no link to this program cuz it no longer exists beyond its alum network.

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I have no idea where I heard about Alex George Pickering’s video production class at the East Los Angeles Skills Center. Honestly? It may have been a Craigslist ad. One thing that I know for sure? It was during when MY APOCALYPTIC THANKSGIVING was in post-production. I’d post a link to the class except I don’t think they’re having it right now. But I’ll share that it’s broken down into three levels that people pursue at their own pace. People of every skill level also take the class. I came into the class while producing an indie feature film while others had never picked up a camera before. Alex is the amazing glue that made it all work. Very cool. I learned an absolute ton from Alex.

Another class that played a prominent role in how I’m putting together my class is the Creative Lab from Greenhouse Productions with Shun Lee. It looks like they’re changing how they do that class model on their website. Their model was two actors and one writer to make up a team for a short film. They provided the rest of the crew for the short. As a way to prepare, people developed two scripts that were workshopped along with rehearsals to see the strengths and weaknesses of each script to figure out the best one to shoot. I did this process twice.

Soooo….

I took those classes to synthesize my short film model that I used to make my various short films. If you want a sense of my short films, here’s my IMDb. Most of my crew came from my fellow students at the East Los Angeles Skill Center to get a chance to work on a tiny short film. I was also doing that cuz Alex was spread too thin in having to be everything to everyone while trying to get everyone up to a high enough standard for the film industry. This is no small feat.

Let me be clear: I also don’t think that I got people up to the entertainment industry standard. It’s more that I created a learning opportunity for us all. Yup. I learned an absolute ton. And to say that I was disorganized? Total understatement of the year. It didn’t help that I felt that I needed to be everything to everyone. If you’ll notice? This concept is weaved through all my blogs cuz I have a massive drive to help.

And I also went to these smaller classes to create opportunities for individuals without the big bucks to pursue filmmaking. Lack of money shouldn’t be a entry barrier if people are willing to do the work. You wouldn’t know this reading “How NOT to Make a Short Film” by Former Sundance Short Film Programmer Roberta Marie Munroe. As preparation for my classes? I read this until I saw she said that you need crews with a minimum of 37 people.

In what financial reality does that make sense for your average “normie” wanting to make a short film? This is especially since you can’t ever monetize a short films like feature films. Film crews this size also don’t show your filmmaking chops: They show off your ability to manage people instead. Yes. Knowing how to manage people is vital EXCEPT if you don’t know what you’re doing in terms of the nuts and bolts of filmmaking? You’re wasting everyone else’s time and setting yourself up to fail.

I felt this way while producing MY APOCALYPTIC THANKSGIVING. Yes. I had an overall general sense of what needed to be done along with overall knowing how to manage people. But I had outsourced my agency to the old of thinking around filmmaking after being assured that was the way to go until I shut down set one day. It was after reading the room and realizing that I no longer want to operate in the ways of thinking.

How does this translate to my approach making short films? I had minimal cast and crew for three page scripts shot with a hard out of eight hours. As every movie comes down to two characters in one location, I wanted to as they say “work that muscle” by focusing in on two characters in one location. The class through adult education has an even tighter schedule due to it being an evening class. I’m thinking a one page script in no more than three hours or less.

Will we create Oscar worthy or Sundance worthy? That’s not the point. It’s all about skill building. I also hope to find some people interested in creating a filmmaking community built on trying rather than perfection or grasping for a price point so high that only a select few can participate. Yes. I may sound a tad whiny and lecturing a bit too much.

It’s if you look at all the content on social media that folks put together for free or super limited budgets? They’re proof that creativity is king rather than just the money behind it. Sure. You have to conscious of your spend except small and repeatable models give you learning opportunities more so than only doing one massive project won’t – you have room to play. And since adults don’t get recess like kids do? I’ve decided to create my own. Cuz I gotta tell you? After all that “playing?” I’m gearing up to output features on the regular with short films in between to enhance my filmmaking chops.

I’m curious about your thoughts.

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