The goal was to make a complex science fiction film in a short weekend, with a production budget under $5,000, and a small crew with multiple locations. It was ambitious, lofty, maybe naive, but pure passion and persistence made it just another day of work.
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Trial 54 is a short film that takes a new perspective on the question of the human soul. With my history and experience of seeing how Alzheimer’s and dementia can affect those you love, I became obsessed with the idea of knowing that answer, or more importantly; finding out what can happen to somebody when chasing that answer.
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This film is nothing without the unstoppable cast and crew that was a part of it. You can always make something good by yourself, but you’ll never make something great without a team.
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#filmmaking #cinematography #bts #behindthescenes #filmmaker
Directed a photo/video campaign for Davis & Elkins Nursing Program last year!
Huge shoutout to the team for trusting and supporting me for this project!
Client: @davisandelkins
Agency: @agencylmc
Production: @mtncraft
Director/Photographer: 📸
Producer/AD: @benisfilmin
DP/Gaffer/Editor: @waitforaaron
Gaffer/Grip: @stefano_amerigo
Grip/PA: @taylorjj11
obligatory 2025 post, grateful for everyone who made this year a little less shitty 🫶🏻
a whole year difference between the first slide and last slide woah
Day 1️⃣ in the books! Thanks to everyone who came out for the premiere of Covering the Spread: A Mountaineer Saga. We can’t wait for another touchdown tomorrow 😉
☕️ Doors open at 9:30 am. Wake up with a cup of @stonetowercoffee before catching a slew of cinema.
Get 🎟️ at the box office for ANY day or feature film this weekend, or go all-in on an all-access weekend pass!
Get your photo taken on our red carpet, catch a filmmaker Q&A, and see this can't-miss documentary about Mountaineer football. (🏈 Topics include: final games of Don Nehlen, the transitional culture shock of Rich Rodriguez, and the rocky beginnings of a new era in #WVUFootball history.)
🍿 "Covering the Spread: A Mountaineer Saga"
🎩 Attend in formal attire (or wear a WVU jersey, we don't mind!)
🎟️ Snag a ticket at the door (or online—link in bio!)
Fall of 2023, a final script was made. May 17th, 2024: we shot the thing. June of 2024, the Final Cut was made. After a year of festival showing and private screenings, August 28th, 2025: Trial 54 had its first public showing, thanks to the good folks at @thelindsaytheater in Pittsburgh. Chasing a “dream” and turning it into a career is heavy to say the least, but the peace I felt finally seeing this thing in a setting like this, and showing it to loved ones, the team, and my family, that is a amazing feeling of peace I’ll never forget. I don’t know what Trial 54s future is as a story, but the Short at least had its moment, and will make its impact. To the people who helped bring this all together: I am forever in your debt. On to the next one…oh, and the film comes out in September 😊
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TRIAL 54
Produced by:
@6shopfilms@human_habits@madstreetfilms
Starring:
@mollymmiller@jactorgram1@mickeyamiller@natalyavwood@sherrellmae@ratsandwhich8
Director of photography:
@mikey.damico@davey_robinson
Camera Team/G&E
@stefano_amerigo@bearded_dop@sherrellmae@aydennorcross
Sound
@chrisweisman
1st AD
@jeffbloggess
Wardrobe/Set
@wes.fo
VFX
@waitforaaron
Production Team
@payrea15@farsondavid
✨ Exciting news: my first feature film, a documentary on Thurmond, WV is going to begin dropping sneak peeks on social media starting tomorrow! ✨
🎥 Our crowdfunding campaign to raise the first $30k towards our $115k production budget launches on Saturday, August 9.
🚂 What can you do to help now?
- Follow us here: @thurmonddoc & on Facebook!
- Pledge early! If you would like to contribute to our production fund, let us know in the comments below! We are hoping to start our launch day with 40% raised, and we are almost 1/4 of the way there! (If 105 people donate $100 - we’ll make it!)
- Save the date for a work in progress fundraising screening in Charleston, WV for Friday, August 15! More details to come!
📸 Image Credits:
✒️ Title Cards Traditionally Letterpress Printed by Emily Sokolosky at @basecampprinting
🚁 Drone Photography by Nathan Green at @thefolkway
🎨 Color by @waitforaaron
Thank you to my amazing associate producer @rfcomingalive for not letting me quit when times get tough and helping me strategize and figure it all out, to my AMAZING team of videographers who quite literally have made this production possible, and to @t_lovemedia for the amazing social media support! Couldn’t do this campaign without her!
Swampy hot shoot out in the sticks earlier this summer with the @mtncraft crew
🎞️: expired no name lomo 35mm from the early 2000s
dev by @bodegafilmlab
