Introduction
(This is the first draft which I'll be writing and posting for my members on SubscibeStar. Please, consider subscribing if you're interested in the future of independent filmmaking.)

In 2014 I decided to write and direct my first feature film, The Quantum Terror. I had no money, no training beyond what I had learned from watching behind the scenes of other movies, and no idea of how I would get it out into the world if I could manage to finish it. Most people thought I was stupid or crazy and were eager to jump at the chance to point out every reason they thought I was being unrealistic. Aside from my wife and a select few friends, it was a chorus of “You can't, you can't, you can't.” 

Flash forward to the time I'm writing this and the movie is not only complete but streaming on multiple video-on-demand platforms, generating income, and has just won Best Indie Horror Movie from the prestigious independent film website Film Threat in their fifth annual award show called “Award This!” 

Although I'm going to be using The Quantum Terror as the central case study for this book, that particular story is only part of what I'll be writing about. We're here because my success as a first-time independent filmmaker is the beginning of something much bigger, not only for myself but anyone who is hoping to make a career out of arts and entertainment in the twenty-first century. I can tell you how I did it, how I'm planning to do it again, and how I think other people might do it in the future, but it will still be up to you as to how you're going to do it. Take what you learn here and evolve with it. 

As I write this, the mainstream movie industry is imploding, a disease of incompetence and narcissism is eating it from the inside out, losing money hand over fist, while the last of the truly creative individuals watch in stunned disbelief because they didn't believe it could ever happen. They're wondering now where they'll go to find work and continue to support their passion because they thought that the big studios would always be there to cut them their next check. 

You and I, however, won't have that problem. We saw the writing on the wall and have gone of to make our head start. We knew we had to pick up the tools their unions said we couldn't use, do it with less where everyone insists it has to be done with more, and so now where we are ready to tell the stories they proclaimed we shouldn't be allowed to tell while they spend more time trying to figure out who to blame for not coming to rescue them from the building they themselves set on fire. 

We're ready to build. We're ready to tell our stories and wow our audiences. We're ready to break new ground and spring up like phoenixes from the ashes. 

Okay, okay, that's all a bit melodramatic but it's true. The question is, how? We don't have big studio money. I'm here to tell you that's to our advantage. We don't have big-name actors. Don't worry, we can build up our own. We don't have access to... wait a minute. What's all of this talk about what we don't have? By the time we're done, you're going to realize that we have a lot more than you ever thought possible at our disposal. It's an embarrassment of riches in fact and all we need to make it work is perseverance, vision, and imagination. 

Is it going to be easy? Nothing worth doing ever is and if it was, everyone would be doing it and none of it would feel special. 

However, I can tell you that the first time someone reaches out and tells you that they enjoyed your movie or when you hear your movie's name called out as the winner, you'll feel all that hard work turn into some of the most positive emotions you'll ever know in your life. It'll be right up there with your wedding day and kids being born because those are the things that express why you feel such meaning when you pursue them. 

So, what are we going to be covering in this book? 

Hopefully, more than your average filmmaking book would do. This isn't about Hollywood filmmaking. This is about what the potential of filmmaking in an unprecedented time can be in your hands. I'll be talking about it on many levels from creative, spiritual, business, and practical perspectives. 

I'll tell you where to start with your idea, things to think about when writing your script, storyboards, and all of that per-production stuff. I'll talk about taking inventory of what you have to work with while not hurting yourself financially. There's bringing your cast and crew together and making sure that they have confidence in you and you have confidence in yourself, as you direct them. You may need locations or you may need to build sets. How do you shoot them? How to work with cameras! You may need to edit and do visual effects yourself, or even do your own sound mix. 

After you have a finished movie you need to get it out into the world so we'll talk about that, too, and yes, I'll even address getting that award in your hand for all of your efforts. Hey, awards aren't everything but they're not nothing, either. 

That's not all, though. There's something else. Culture is in flux right now, if you haven't noticed and if you manage to throw your hat in the entertainment ring, you're also going to be entering into the public contentiousness. You have to be ready to deal with what degree you may impact it for better or worse. If you're married, you'll have your family to think about. A work-life balance is important to keep healthy and you'll come across your challenges. 

You're going to lose friends, egos will be bruised, failures endured, and there will be times when you wonder if you'll ever get everything finished. 

Still want to do this? I thought so. I never turned away no matter how hard anyone tried to scare me off and that's good because you're also going to make new friends, do amazing things you never thought you'd be capable of, and become a better version of yourself than you were before. 

So, let's begin. 

Here is your starting point. It's right now. 

This post will tell you what being a member, here at SubscribeStar, has to offer in 2024.

I’ve told the story before of how I took a few thousand dollars and every resource at my disposal to make an independent horror movie called The Quantum Terror. I knew that I could make it shine brighter than it had any right to but I never dreamed that it would go beyond maybe playing for a bit on Amazon Prime Video, having a very limited DVD release, and then fading into obscurity before I would get a chance to make my next indie film. 

Fate had a different plan for this movie, though, and soon I saw it not only taking off on video-on-demand but also getting a smattering of good reviews, including a great one from Film Threat, a long-time and well-respected film review site that has seen a strong resurgence in popularity among true movie fans over the last few years. With any review comes an automatic entry into their annual award show, Award This!

I believe that this show is already on its way to becoming as impactful and popular as events like Sundance or Comic-Con in the late ‘90s in its own underground way, so when I found out that after being considered by them, along with over two thousand other films that year, I knew I had to buy a plane ticket and make sure I was there, even if it felt like the odds were against me winning. 

Well, win my little movie did.

I was so nervous that I forgot to thank a lot of people who truly deserved to be recognized so I’ll post a full list at the bottom of this article. 

It was a whirlwind weekend trip, with friends, family, red carpet, and then back on the plane and back to work.

Okay so, we won Film Threat's 'Award This' for Best Indie Horror Movie. Now what? Believe me, I'm just as shocked as anyone else, and after the mixed bag of emotions from elation to extreme self-consciousness the inevitable question arises. How do I take this upward momentum and move forward in a meaningful way?

The first thing that comes to mind is to take inventory of what resources I have right now. I had a lot in the works when my new full-time job as a contract graphic designer put the breaks on almost all of it and I haven't had the bandwidth to get those projects back on track. Don't get me wrong. I'm grateful for that work. It’s quickly turning into a career and that’s a great thing. However, I don't feel like resting on any perceived laurels is the right thing to do so now it's time to figure out how to bring everything back online. An award from Film Threat is just big enough that it makes the iron hot enough to strike but small enough that if I don't, nothing will happen.

So, taking stock, what do I have to work with?

My big project is the animated series I'm doing with my co-producer Doug Mayfield, Escape From Planet Omega-12. This one has been prioritized simply because I can do it from home whenever I have downtime. I don't have to schedule talent unless it's for voice recordings which can be done online and almost everything can be built in my garage, shot on a green screen, and then migrated onto my office computer. I'm working with groundbreaking AI technology in ways that I don't believe anyone else has thought of so when things get off the ground (soon, I hope. It's a lot of work and pressure with everything else.) it's going to be spectacular. If it takes off, and I think it can, then it’s the kind of thing I’d like to expand into comic books and video games.

There are two short films that I shot, one with artist and actor Val Mayerik and one called Alien Artifact, which both need editing and VFX work. Alien Artifact needs additional second-unit footage shot, too, now that I think about it. That one is a proof of concept for a feature and if I finish one or both they could be entered into next year's Award This short film category, for consideration. However, I'd be doing those works a disservice if I didn't have a plan to realize them to their full potential.

It’s true that in this day and age of social media, there has to be a story tying all of these things together into a bigger narrative that people will truly care about and want to follow. For more established people it's not as needed but for me, this is the only push that seems to be an option. It’s a good thing because it will help to refocus my discipline for what needs to happen, next. Maybe, I can turn it into something that can benefit more than just me but also the other talents I work with. It's an ambitious plan but one that is born out of necessity.

So, here’s what I’m thinking. 

In the new year, I'm going to start documenting everything for a book and docuseries about how to make low-budget monster movies the Christopher Moonlight Productions way. The book will be much like the one I did about the making of Harbinger Down with lots of pictures but with much more in-depth talk about how to do it, from pre-production to self-distribution, and then talk about winning Best Indie Horror Movie because that's what now ties it all together and gives it credibility. I’ll take some of the bandwidth I use on social media and dedicate it to making notes and journalling behind the wall of my SubscribeStar account, where I’m already doing that for Escape From Planet Omega-12. Both projects can be part of the narrative that subscribers can watch unfold in real-time before it’s all edited together, ask questions about, and give their thoughts on, while I work on it. 

The docuseries will be a slower process, secondary to the actual work that needs to be done to make these movies, but I intend to show the process from different points of view by also including interviews with the people who I’ve either worked with or have indie films of their own that have inspired me. For example, I talked to Alec Gillis who after years of working on some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters would love to talk more in-depth about how he created his own film Harbinger Down, which I’ve already mentioned above. I’d love to bring his story and others into this, too. 

It’s a lot but I’ve come to realize, I’m no longer just trying to make movies, I’m trying to build a storytelling empire from nothing and we only have so much time, so why not just do it? 

I hope it’s a ride you’ll be along for. See you in 2024. 

First and foremost all of my Indiegogo supporters who made this possible. 

Kristin Cochell 

Paula Marcenaro 

Matt Blackwell 

Jordan Michael Brinkman 

Dimitrius Pulido 

and Val Mayerik 

Jenna Green

Heather Lowe 

Alec Gillis & Tom Woodruff, Jr. (of studioADI)

Anthony Gutierrez 

Paul Dubal 

Frankenstein frontman Dave Grave for the end credits song She Casts No Shadow.

Derek Hunt for contributing to the film score and his patronage.

Douglas Mayfield 

Brent Dickerson and Curry Parker

David Paul

Oskar Ankarudd

And my wife Faith for her love, support, and playing an eyeball in the movie, along with my beautiful daughters.