Q&A With Filmmaker, Marcus Koch

Welcome to the DOJO!

Hey, all!  Time again for another Q&A with an indie and guerrilla filmmaking guru.  This time, horror FX genius, Marcus Koch, takes some time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions for you, my loyal Film Sensei readers.  Take it away, Marcus!

Name: Marcus Koch

Year/Age Started as a Filmmaker:
I’d honestly have to say i got the itch, for making movies around age 7, my Parents had a video camera, and it was all down hill from there once i got my hands on it. Full Story →

Q&A with Filmmaker, Abel Berry

Welcome to the DOJO!

In 2009 I had the pleasure of attending one of my favorite horror conventions, Texas Frightmare Weekend in Dallas, TX.  I was there to hang out with my buddy, indie film genius Stacy Davidson, and see what the Texas guerrilla filmmaking community had to offer.

I have to say that I was blown away by what I found.  The Texas filmmaking community in general, and the horror community in specific, is one of the most creative and innovative I’ve ever seen.  The group produces some amazing, and incredibly fun, work.

One of the filmmakers I had the pleasure to meet was a Dallas-native by the name of Abel Berry.  He was there pimping his first film, the killer clown flick called SPOILS.  After speaking to Abel and finding out he had shot the entire film on the amazing Canon HV20, I decided to pick up his DVD and check it out.  What I saw was an incredibly low-budget film with a whole lot of blood, a bunch of murders and more creativity and imagination than I’d seen in a very long time.

So now, a year later, I head back to Texas (well, at least via the Internet) to see what Abel has been up to and to get some of his great advice for indie filmmakers.  Take it away, Abel Berry! Full Story →

Q&A with Filmmaker, Jacob Strunk

Welcome to the DOJO!

Ok, so my intended re-launch of Filmsensei.com wound up taking just a bit longer than I had originally planned.  However, I’ve got a lot of cool stuff in store and it all begins today!

As often as I can coax my filmmaker friends to do so, the Film Sensei plans to run question & answer sessions with cutting edge guerrilla and indie filmmakers here on the website.  We’re going to get down and get answers from filmmakers who are out in the trenches every day working on low budget films.  These guys started out just like you, my loyal readers, as run-and-gun low budget filmmakers and have been able to get their flicks made and out to the public.

The first in this on-going series of indie filmmaker Q&As is with guerrilla filmmaking wunderkind, Jacob Strunk.  I met Jacob in 2009 when he needed a good camera for his latest short film, “This is the Place.” Normally I don’t tag along to shoots, but having heard about Jacob’s reputation I just had to go and see the man in action.  Needless to say, Jacob didn’t disappoint.

I’m going to shut up now and let Jacob take over.  Enjoy! Full Story →