ISFFH Q & A with Co-Directors Ben R Johnson and Josh Demeule
Ben R Johnson and Josh Demeule from Keene State College won Best Drama for their film “Limbo” at the 2014 International Student Film Festival Hollywood (ISFFH).
BEN R JOHNSON
ISFFH: Tell us about yourself and what drives your creativity.
Ben R Johnson: My name is Ben Johnson and I have been creating stories and worlds since I was a young boy. In reality I don’t really know what drives my creativity except that I have this need to create and share these worlds with people. When I was younger I used to write and draw often, trying to get the ideas in my head out into the world but they never seemed to quite capture it. It was when I got into filmmaking in middle school that I really found a medium that worked for me.
ISFFH: Where do you find inspiration?
Ben R Johnson: Inspiration comes from pretty much anything. For me movie ideas start from simple things that I see during the day, to stories I hear in the news and even to dreams.
ISFFH: Do you work on your films with a specific goal in mind or just for whim?
Ben R Johnson: Most of my projects start out as a whim but start to form a more coherent goal as they move along and become more refined. Limbo for example started as just a survival story but has turned into a real analysis of human nature in a lawless world.
ISFFH: Tell me about your film and where you got the idea for it.
Ben R Johnson: Limbo is a conceptual TV pilot that features a world between life and death and the experiences of the people trapped there. Limbo is not the same as life and features different rules and laws that create new ethical choices that someone would not normally have to face in the real world. The idea for Limbo started in junior year of college. I had wanted to do a film about another world for awhile. My sophomore final product featured a black and white world similar to Limbo and I usually credit it as a precursor to the actual idea of Limbo. I started to jot down notes of how this world could be different then ours and who would exist there and soon Limbo and its characters where born. The script went through several revisions before and even during the shooting of the pilot and the world and ‘rules’ of Limbo continued to grow and change. Even now I am constantly tweaking and expanding the story.
ISFFH: How do you describe your filmmaking process?
Ben R Johnson: One thing that I am beginning to realize I love in the filmmaking progress is the world building. Almost every video that I sit down to write has me writing pages of backstory before the script is even started. I always think that having a bunch of lore to the film makes the script seem more real and helps with the dialog. On set these background stories and information can be a create help in the technical and creative design as well as directing actors or getting them accustomed to their roles. Once the story and history is there everything seems to fall into place. In terms of filmmaking style I am a fan of multiple camera quick shooting where the cameras are usually not tethered to a tripod. DSLRs are great for this kind of work.
ISFFH: What are the biggest obstacles for you in your filmmaking progress?
Ben R Johnson: Well the biggest obstacle to start is to finish the script. I feel I may be too hard on myself and my writing since scripts either fail to be written or go through many revisions before they are even made public. On set there are always many problems that arise (as they always will) but I find these little ‘fires’ always have a way of working out, sometimes for the better.
ISFFH: Who is the audience you wrote the film for?
Ben R Johnson: I would say the audience is geared towards young adult the most and features drama, sci-fi and bits of horror genres.
ISFFH: What’s more important to you as a filmmaker, characters or story?
Ben R Johnson: Characters and story go hand in hand in my opinion. A story can’t be great without great characters and a character can’t be great without a good story.
ISFFH: What message do you want people to take away after seeing your film?
Ben R Johnson: Since this film was the first episode in a potential series I would be much more interested in the question; ‘Are you interested?’ A good pilot gives an audience a taste of the subject matter but leaves enough in the shadows for them to want to come back for more. The overall series has several messages but this first episode is really only supposed to invite people to watch more. I would very much like to know if my team and I succeeded in that.
ISFFH: What do you consider the elements of a good film?
Ben R Johnson: I believe a film can still be good even when lacking in some technical aspects such as camera work, art design, etc but only if it has a good plot and good storytelling (I view these as two different things). To a lesser extent the sound quality is a very underrated and important quality of a good movie (People have a hard time forgiving bad sound over all other bad qualities) and to an ever lesser extent the quality of the actors plays a key role since they are are investments in the story.
ISFFH: What advice do you have for fellow student filmmakers?
Ben R Johnson: Make connections. That is one of the biggest things in this industry and there is no downside. Just meet people, help with shoots, film your own films, write scripts, just always be doing the things that get you practicing and meeting people. Don’t get caught up on a film that goes wrong or isn’t how you imagined. Just learn from the failures and do better.
ISFFH: What are your goals? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Ben R Johnson: In terms of jobs I have been looking into not only film production but also video game production. Video games are creating more and more parallels with films and I think my interest in world-building would work very well in the large worlds of gaming. in ten years I hope to be working as a creative consultant in the gaming or film industry or to work as a writer and director. Personally I have gotten into writing scripts intended mostly for TV series. I’m hoping to push these and Limbo out into the world to get them picked up by production companies or funded to be made with my own team. Also I have some other independent short films that I hope to complete in the future.
ISFFH: How can people follow your work?
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMAfBbzF0p-BdonJjoVIh5w/feed
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abemproduction
JOSH DEMEULE
ISFFH: Tell us about yourself and what drives your creativity.
Joshua Demeule: I’ve been making movies since my freshman year of high school. My creativity stems back a lot further however. I’ve been involved in all types of arts and creative outlets since the second grade. I’m the type of person that if you’re walking down the street, I’m the guy singing to his iPod or dancing horribly to the song that only I can hear. I enjoy the zany and outlandish, and I think my creativity stems from that. Normal isn’t a word I would use to describe myself. A lot of my creativity stems from that need to not be normal. I don’t want to sit behind a desk for the rest of my life and filmmaking gives me the chance to get out and do more.
ISFFH: Where do you find inspiration?
Joshua Demeule: I pull a lot inspiration from the events in my life. Many times I’ll make it fictitious but more often than not my ideas will stem from some weird event or thought I had. My insecurities play a large role some times as well which makes for a great way for me to work through my personal issues.
ISFFH: Who are your mentors?
Joshua Demeule: I believe storytelling is one of the biggest aspects of film. For me my mentors need to be able to tell a good story. Joss Whedon has always been a big figure for me. Christopher Nolan and his storytelling have also been a prominent figure. I’d say however that Pre 2000 Steven Spielberg has had a huge impact on me. I loved his ability to overcome any issue to create something. Jaws for an example was riddled with problems. And while the odds were stacked high against him, his decisions and perseverance made Jaws what it was.
ISFFH: Do you work on your films with a specific goal in mind or just for whim?
Joshua Demeule: I normally will have a goal in mind when I make a film. Sometimes it’s just making something for the sake of making, but with my larger projects, I go in with the thought, “how do I want my audience to feel or react?” The other goal often isn’t the audience, but how can I better myself as a filmmaker? What am I doing differently than before? I like to challenge myself and put a lot more pressure on myself.
ISFFH: Tell me about your film and where you got the idea for it.
Joshua Demeule: Limbo was an idea that my co-director Ben Johnson had while we were both working on a different student project. After about a year of tinkering, Limbo began getting flushed out. Limbo is this world between Life and Death where people get trapped. Our story follows a group of people called Saviors who are capable of dropping into Limbo and extracting those trapped. I wasn’t the original idea person, but it was an awesome experience to get inside of his head and create and understand this world. I also had the pleasure of writing a second episode that has yet to come to the screen. Again exploring and expanding those characters was a great learning experience.
ISFFH: How do you describe your filmmaking process?
Joshua Demeule: I’m very big into collaboration. I like to talk through things with people. Once we’ve arrived to set, talking with actors or crew members and getting their opinions, it opens up so many routes. I like to go with the flow too. We tried to be pretty structured during Limbo, but often we would wing certain scenes or shots to just get something better than what we had planned. That flexibility is key in filmmaking.
ISFFH: What are the biggest obstacles for you in your filmmaking progress?
Joshua Demeule: Aside from the usual issues in filmmaking (coordinating with people, technical issues) I’d say I am my biggest obstacle. I’m my worst critic and sometimes it seeps into the process. It’s dangerous especially when directing. You need to be a leader and don’t have time for doubt. It’s something I’ve had to kind of learn to grow from.
ISFFH: Who is your audience?
Joshua Demeule: Young Adult and beyond is where I see the audience.
ISFFH: What’s more important to you as a filmmaker, characters or story?
Joshua Demeule: I think it is important to have a balance of both. Characters drive story but story is dependent on characters. It’s important to focus on both and to think like your audience. Is this character important to the story, or is this part of the story serving any purpose in forwarding my character?
ISFFH: What message do you want people to take away after seeing your film?
Joshua Demeule: For me, it was never about a message. It’s more like an enticement. Were you interested? Do you want to know more? What didn’t you understand? Limbo was meant to be a pilot episode and one day it’d be amazing if it ever got picked up.
ISFFH: What do you consider the elements of a good film?
Joshua Demeule: Good storytelling. Technical proficiency can be forgiven to some degree but if the story is boring, then you can’t keep the audience happy. Same thing can apply though if the movie’s quality is poor. You want to be imaginative and fresh on both ends, whether it is camera work, or story telling.
ISFFH: What advice do you have for fellow student filmmakers?
Joshua Demeule: Get out there and make stuff. Doesn’t have to be great, but always try to do something better than the last. Meet lots of people. Connections are huge. Don’t be too hard on yourself, you’re your own worst critic.
ISFFH: What are your goals? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Joshua Demeule: I’d like to make my way out to the west coast down the road. Filmmaking and the collaborative process is enticing for me. I’d love to find myself working on a crew either as a grip or even as production manager down the road. Directing would be terrific as well. More importantly, I just want to see myself still making my own work down the line.
ISFFH: How can people follow your work?
Website: www.jdmediaonline.com