Jason Mitchell is a busy man, that’s why I had to slip into the recording studio at Epixx Media Group and lock him in an audio booth to hit him with five quick-fire questions about his involvement with Hectic Films newest short film Descensus.
The others left the room and Jason made his way into the booth to set up equipment, I knew opportunity was presenting itself so I slapped at the lock on the door and as he spun around to see what was happening I smashed the intercom button and said, “Looks like you have time for an interview now.”
His eyes narrowed and my leg started to tremble in fear so I reached deep and found the courage needed to drag a chair towards me. I sat down and tried to relax as he fogged up the glass between us in a quiet rage.
I grinned knowing he wouldn’t destroy his own studio just to get at me and asked through the intercom, “As a Director, what are the top three things you always like to do before a production starts filming?”
He did the unthinkable at that moment and grinned back as he replied, “I really like to go through the script and dissect it thoroughly, to give myself a practical aspect of how to approach bringing everything together. Secondly I get a list of people together that I would need to bring the project full circle, and lastly, I think about what type of equipment I want to use to achieve the look I have in mind.”
Feeling like things might actually work out here I pushed ahead with the second question and asked, “How did you get started in filmmaking?”
Jason turned the handle on the door of the audio booth and I watched in horror as it opened. Apparently, the lock didn’t work at all. Jason was a professional though and answered, “I actually started with music videos. It was a good place to start because there is so much involved with making music videos that the experiences helped me to more easily make the jump into filmmaking. Also shooting weddings helped me because you are a one man band when shooting weddings, it’s a ‘run and gun’ mentality, you have to do everything from audio to film to edit on the fly. Shooting weddings really can help to polish your skills.”
Jason was still grinning as he walked over to the studio door and twisted the lock. I actually heard it click home and jumped up from the chair. Whatever filmmaking questions I had thought of ahead of time completely vanished and in a panic, I blurted out, “Is the book always better than the movie?”
Jason turned towards me then, a new sparkle in his eye. The grin even wider as he replied, “For me, the movies are always better because I know all the time, effort, and technology that goes into making them. Books are deeper and more forgiving in the fact that you can imagine what you are reading with infinite possibilities but when shooting a film there are so many elements that come into play to create a single vision it just isn't fair to compare them.”
I didn’t realize I was backing away until I slammed against the wall and a picture fell to the floor, glass shattering from the frame. I glanced down and noticed it was a family picture. “Oh, God no.” I whispered. Jason was slowly walking towards me now and I tried to distract him with another question, “You cut your Hectic Films teeth on Descensus, but you are not a first timer, where else can we see your work?”
He pushed the chair I was sitting on earlier out of the way and replied, “Actually surprising enough, Descensus is one of the first short films I have done. It was really a great experience for me. I got to test myself in different facets of filmmaking. I am looking forward to directing, shooting, and editing many more shorts and hopefully work my way into feature films in the near future.”
He stood before me now, close to the same height but seemingly looking down from high above as I tried to cower away but had nowhere left to go. I tried a smile and asked, “Skittles or Gummy Bears?”
He grabbed a loose cord from the table and started wrapping both ends around his fists as he smiled and answered, “Red Vines.”
