Although we may be filmmakers by trade, we are storytellers by nature. Venture into our world and let us weave a tale for you. We will tell you about life and love and fear and pain. We will show you laughter and tears, the devil and God. The story is the lifeblood of our world and nothing matters more.
…So lean close, and let us tell you a story.
5:29PM by Brandon McCormick | Cetagories: Uncategorized
The following is written by Brandon McCormick, Founder and Filmmaker of Whitestone Motion Pictures
I love Moleskine journals. In fact, I think I have an addiction to them.
I love buying them, tearing them open and making that first mark on the first page. Something ceremonious about it all.
However one day I realized I had a bigger problem than just continually buying these journals.
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9:56AM by Brandon McCormick | Cetagories: Uncategorized
The following is written by Jake Ures, Gaffer and DP in training at Whitestone Motion Pictures
Every member of the crew has certain films that inspire them. Brandon (director, producer, owner) watches Spielberg and Burton films. Nick (Co-Producer, Composer, Sound Designer) listens to John Williams. Dana (wardrobe) watches Sweeney Todd. I’m partial toThe Godfather, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and The Road to Perdition (see each of these films at least once). Of course all of us at Whitestone love these movies, but I believe the lighting in these films to be most inspiring. Further, I believe the methods that went into lighting these films carry virtues that any artisan needs to practice: simplicity, ingenuity, and discretion.
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3:08PM by Brandon McCormick | Cetagories: Uncategorized
12:52PM by Brandon McCormick | Cetagories: Uncategorized
The following is a product of Whitestone’s Protege Program. Written and directed by Asher Emmanuel.
When I want a quiet place to drink coffee and work, how often will I drive past dozens of local establishments just so I can experience the familiarity of Starbucks? Or how often do I find myself complaining about the increasing grip corporate business have on our elected officials, and do so while eating at (insert chain restaurant)? I don’t mean to suggest corporations are evil, but I confess its easy for me to overlook local small businesses right in my own community.
Brew Awakenings is one such business, and I’m drawn to it because it offers me a third place. A place that isn’t home or work yet a place where I finish that script or get away from the hectic rush of life. Its a place where I can say “give me the usual” and Jenni Rowell (owner) will serve me accordingly. I encourage you to seek out local businesses in your community and discover a place you can identify with.
In this spirit we can live in community.
1:38PM by Brandon McCormick | Cetagories: Uncategorized
We crave conflict in movies. It’s one of the fundamentals of storytelling. Without conflict a story is just a series of banal events happening in a sequence. Thanks, but I’d rather watch fungus grow.
I believe the reason we love conflict in stories is because we’re hard wired for it. It’s that basic impulse that makes us gravitate towards drama with friends or taps on the brakes to rubberneck a car accident.
We have such a need for conflict that when it’s not present, we go looking for it. If we can’t find it, we make it ourselves. Especially in a time when most of our conflicts are taken away from us by a modern and technologically advanced society, we don’t need to strive for survival as we once did.
There is a reason we are the wealthiest and most comfortable generation of all mankind, yet the suicide rate is at an all time high.
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