Today we’d like to introduce you to Benjamin Howard.
Benjamin, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have memories of making terrible little movies as a kid with my brother, using my dad’s Hi8 video camcorder. We downloaded a “Matrix” screensaver onto my mom’s desktop computer (the iconic glowing, green, falling text was my first attempt at ‘high’ production value) and used this as a prop to produce a simple spy movie. These were the early seeds that spurred a, then, lukewarm interest in telling stories.
Later on, before I committed myself to becoming a filmmaker, I was immersed in the world of athletics; football, specifically. High school life consisted of practice, practice, practice, and then games on Friday nights. But as much as I loved the game and what it offered me, I knew it wasn’t going to be my future. My interest in the filmmaking process, however, still lingered. My senior year, I wrote and directed a short film asking my date to the prom. Not only did I love putting it all together, but people actually enjoyed it and commended me on the quality of the final product. “Prom Quest” was my first exposure to the possibilities filmmaking offered. I had truly been bitten by the storytelling bug.
From there, I had one goal: write and direct movies. I was determined to be on set, making the creative calls and finalizing the artistic decisions. And so I did. After finagling my way into SDSU’s film program, I wrote and directed seven short films and made four music videos. My work ethic was recognized by the department during the spring of my senior year when I took home an award for Excellence in Film Directing. A year later, I received an honorary award for New Filmmaker at the 2018 San Diego Film Awards.
The work I put in while at State paid off; this September, I will continue my education as a Bruin, where I will begin earning an MFA in Film Directing at UCLA.
Has it been a smooth road?
There have been some bumps along the way. Like any field, creative or not, anything that CAN go wrong, likely will. Luckily, I’ve managed to learn, at least in the short-form world of storytelling, what makes the difference between a successful shoot and one riddled with obstacles.
However, I can recall pretty clearly what I still consider the worst day in my (albeit short) filmmaking career… It was the first day of shooting for my next project, called “Iced Americano”. It was a quirky story about a blind antique shop owner who works up the courage to ask a coffee-drinking woman out on a date.
We had been ‘granted’ permission to shoot in this marvelous local antique shop by the elderly owner, a sweet woman who seemed genuine in her offer to let us use her store to film in. Unfortunately, our team neglected to keep copies of the signed agreement we had gathered. This would eventually hurt us. Hours before call time, I received a phone call from my producer saying that I needed to come down to the location immediately. It was a stormy day; the drive to the store was a wet, rainy, chaotic blur.
As I arrived on the scene, I was caught up on what had gone down; my producer had been kicked out of the store by a gal who was renting one of the booths in the antique shop out, to sell her goods. We tried desperately to convince her everything was squared away. We had insurance confirmed, a tight schedule and plan ready to be executed, and a grade on the line– without making this project, we likely wouldn’t pass the class. The woman was adamant in refusing to let us film there, claiming we had taken advantage of the owner who wasn’t fully aware of what she had agreed to. And as I said, we didn’t have a copy of the signed agreement to prove otherwise.
Eventually, the sheriff arrived on the scene, and it was then that I knew our efforts to stick to this project had come to an end. After professionally apologizing and leaving the location, I had to make phone calls to my crew and actors, and tell them the location had fallen through, and that a new script would be written and shot the next day. The following 24 hours consisted of completely re-writing a new script in a new location (thank you George Mouawad at Postal Annex 241!) and shooting it in one night.
Professionally, I was embarrassed at having a location fall through so dramatically mere hours before our first shot. Creatively, I was bummed at not having had the chance to see my story get made. The movie we did end up shooting, however, wasn’t too terrible in the end.
It was a dreadful 48 hours, but so many lessons were learned. Another obstacle was presented very early-on. My first application to enter SDSU’s film program was denied. I felt defeated and hopeless, especially considering how much I had done to research the program’s requirements. My 4.0 GPA and prom movie apparently didn’t cut it.
An old adage my grandma passed onto my dad, who then passed on to me, is: the squeaky wheel gets greased. So, I emailed someone in the program, asking for a reconsideration. After a lengthy back-and-forth and a couple phone calls, I was eventually granted admission into the program. Respectful assertiveness can go a long way.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
As an independent/student filmmaker, I’ve written and directed seven short films. Each of my projects has either found homes on streaming sites or in film festivals around the world. Currently, I have two short projects making the festival circuit, and two in development that I’m hoping to put into production in the coming months. I’m constantly pondering ideas and concepts for my first feature film, which I hope to shoot here in San Diego.
I’m most proud of the final products that have been put together with the help of my hardworking casts and crew members. Having a vision is one thing, but to be blessed with a team that helps make it is truly something special. None of my projects would exist without the help of everyone who has been involved in making them.
Looking ahead, I’m excited to continue my educational career at UCLA. Being selected as one of the 18 MFA students in the Film Production/Directing program is a privilege and an honor, and an opportunity I look forward to taking advantage of to the nth degree.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I have a few goals as I pursue a career in the movie industry.
One of my broader goals looking far ahead is to bring the industry down to San Diego. I grew up in San Diego, and know how much it has to offer, both artistically and cinematically. I’d love to see big studio films shoot down here to take advantage of the diverse culture, historic neighborhoods and crew members that live here and are ready to work. San Diego has a charm that I don’t believe has been fully taken advantage of on film. I’d like to one day set up a production studio here that matches the film quality of films being made in Los Angeles.
I currently teach Camera and Lighting techniques to young adults with developmental disabilities. I’ve gained so much working at MadeIt Film & Media, and have even had the privilege of bringing some of my students onto professional sets that I’ve worked on. In the future, I’d like to continue utilizing the skills and abilities of these dedicated artists. It’s incredibly fulfilling sharing my passion for storytelling with them and then seeing them implement lessons they’ve learned from me on set.
In a perfect world, the production studio I set up some day would employee a certain percentage of developmentally disabled workers; I know they’re capable of finding work in certain parts of the industry. Providing them that opportunity would be terrific.
Contact Info:
- Website: BenjaminCHoward.com
- Email: thebenjaminhoward@gmail.com
- Instagram: @thebenhoward
- Facebook: Facebook.com/DeviantShortFilm
- Twitter: @thebenhoward
- Other: vimeo.com/benjaminhoward
Image Credit:
Fernando Garcia, Ananda Ortanez
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