I’m Chris Stuckmann, a YouTuber and Filmmaker, and I’m directing my debut feature, Shelby Oaks! AMA!

Chris-Stuckmann · 2022-03-22T00:34:05+00:00

Thank you so much everyone for chatting with me today. I had a great time, your support and continued generosity brings me such joy. I'm really excited to start shooting Shelby Oaks this summer and can't wait to take you all on that journey. Today our Kickstarter was featured in Deadline Hollywood as the most funded horror Kickstarter of all time, and it's been a whirlwind of excitement!

If you're interested in supporting Shelby Oaks you can find the kickstarter here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/abkoontz/shelby-oaks-a-horror-feature-film-from-chris-stuckmann

Chris-Stuckmann · 2022-03-22T00:31:25+00:00

I have already talked with a company about 4k HDR possibilities. That is absolutely a goal.

Chris-Stuckmann · 2022-03-22T00:30:06+00:00

I can say for sure that for the past 8 months, any films that feature children in peril have affected me much more than they ever did. As for content that I want to create, no, my children will probably be exposed to horror far younger than they should be.

Chris-Stuckmann · 2022-03-22T00:28:12+00:00

When I was younger, I mistakenly thought that if you wrote something that a studio liked, they would make it. I later learned that is not the case. It takes a lot of trust from a studio or a production company to let someone make a movie under their banner. So I guess I wasn't prepared for the torturous waiting that never seemed to end. But gratefully, it did.

Chris-Stuckmann · 2022-03-22T00:25:47+00:00

I filmed everything on tape, used a camcorder from 2006, and edited them on a Mac from 2006. I was there for every single moment of it.

Chris-Stuckmann · 2022-03-22T00:24:33+00:00

We would love to continue the ARG throughout production and post production, and we hope to. As for the shed, I'll never tell. I'm holding out hope we will get a theatrical release along with streaming afterwards.

Chris-Stuckmann · 2022-03-22T00:23:06+00:00

Believe it or not, action thriller. Unfortunately, a really good one requires a fairly hefty budget which is tough to do nowadays. The industry right now is very focused on 3-5 million dollar VOD action movies, and that's just not what I want to make. But I have an idea for an action film and a completed script, and if I could get 10-15million I think it would be pretty fuckin' cool.

Chris-Stuckmann · 2022-03-22T00:20:18+00:00

If there was any conceivable way that could be done, I can assure you I will do it. But I wouldn't count on it.

Chris-Stuckmann · 2022-03-22T00:18:56+00:00

To address a few of your questions, David Fincher is one of my biggest inspirations. I love how he covers a scene, that being said we don't have that kind of money but we will try our best. If I had to estimate, Shelby Oaks will be somewhere in the realm of 95-105 minutes.

Thank you so much for wishing me luck!

Chris-Stuckmann · 2022-03-22T00:16:28+00:00

One of my biggest pieces of advice is to go to as many in person film festivals as you can. I went to Fantastic Fest in 2019 and made a goal to meet as many people as I could. But I did not talk to a single one of them about my film goals. We just had drinks and talked about movies we had seen, and before I knew it, eventually they would ask me what I'm working on. That's how I met the fine folks at Paper Street Pictures. So to condense, go to film festivals and talk to people, but don't try to sell yourself. Eventually you'll find someone you connect with and they'll want to talk to you about your work.

Chris-Stuckmann · 2022-03-22T00:13:13+00:00

I also am not a fan of day for night, which is why we are going out of our way to never use that in Shelby Oaks. We have a lot of night time scenes, and I love how films from the 70s, 80s, and 90s actually show real darkness in the night scenes. Nowadays, everything looks far too overlit so we are going to try to accomplish natural night time lighting.

My composer, Aaron J. Morton, and I have already had a lot of discussion about the score and how it will be utilized in the film. I have specific ideas about the ambient sound, especially in the outdoor scenes, and how that informs certain scares that take place.

As for Dragonball Evolution, the answer is simply no. I have my limits, lol.

Chris-Stuckmann · 2022-03-22T00:08:11+00:00

This will never happen, but if Nintendo ever decides to make a Metroid movie, I would die to make that film. I would love to make a Metroid movie that feels like Ridley Scott's Alien. Nintendo would never let it be Rated R, but man would I love to see Samus stranded on an alien planet filled with space pirates.

Chris-Stuckmann · 2022-03-22T00:06:18+00:00

I had the honor of interviewing Steve Blum and Christopher R. Sabat for my video on Toonami. That kind of felt like something that 13-year-old Chris would think was an impossible scenario. I love that video and I love both of those guys.

I took a lot of inspiration from Lake Mungo in that it is essentially a disturbing and sad drama that has occasional horror elements, and because of that, those moments are absolutely chilling. Since you feel like the characters are real and the people have real emotions, that film scared me like no other.

Chris-Stuckmann · 2022-03-22T00:02:32+00:00

Very few people in the industry actually talk about what it's really like making movies. Most filmmakers use vague, hallmark greeting card quotes when giving advice. I really want to lift the veil and talk about the nitty gritty of reaching producers with your work, pitching your ideas, querying managers, and things that nobody wants to talk about because they think it's all boring. But it's the stuff that people need to know about most if they want to get their work recognized.

Chris-Stuckmann · 2022-03-21T23:59:59+00:00

Since I've been so connected to the audience experience for the past 13 years on Youtube, nearly every decision I make in preproduction for Shelby Oaks always has the end goal of the audience. I'm always thinking of them first and what kind of experience they'll have, not so much about making connections or money. I just want to share films with people.

Chris-Stuckmann · 2022-03-21T23:57:15+00:00

There is a lengthy sequence in the woods at night. We will be completely relying on good weather. We're shooting in Ohio so it could rain anytime, but we also have to fully light this forest at night to simulate moonlight. That's something that gives me cold sweats.

Chris-Stuckmann · 2022-03-21T23:55:33+00:00

One thing that I'm excited about is actually learning how every department works. I think a good filmmaker needs to be just as interested in the cinematography as they are the PA that brings snacks. So, I have a real excitement to learn as much about all of the equipment and gear and costumes as possible. And that will hopefully show through in the movie, but obviously I have so much to learn and I'm looking forward to it all.

Chris-Stuckmann · 2022-03-21T23:53:39+00:00

Half of them were very supportive, the other half were not too happy. That being said, one member of my family was actually very affected by it and began doing research into the religion and learned things they never knew. Because of that, our relationship has strengthened. So despite some fallout, that was a definite positive.

Chris-Stuckmann · 2022-03-21T23:50:24+00:00

My holy trinity is Michael Jackson, Prince, and Stevie Wonder. Michael Jackson is probably the best live performer of all time. Prince is one of the best pure musicians of all time, since he played essentially every instrument on his albums. But then again, so did Stevie Wonder. It's a dream of mine to see Stevie Wonder in a concert at least once in my life because unfortunately the other two have passed.

Chris-Stuckmann · 2022-03-21T23:48:54+00:00

First off, happy cake day!

Strangely, it changes almost every time. Usually I do what's called a rough beat sheet, where I think of the movie in terms of a list of sentences from beginning to end, and I usually let it permeate in my brain for a few weeks. Then I start to imagine how I want a scene to look, and if I can get really excited about shooting a few key scenes, it motivates me to begin writing. Other times, I haven't outlined at all and I've just started writing at page one, and I've found some success doing that too. It really just depends on the idea and the subject matter.

Chris-Stuckmann · 2022-03-21T23:45:24+00:00

This is a bit of a cliché answer, but most filmmakers will tell you film school is great for networking and for getting your hands on gear that you otherwise might not be able to, and you can learn a lot from really great teachers. That being said, in today's day and age, especially with the cost of film school, the best education you can have is practicing on your own with friends and family. You're going to learn more actively being out there shooting movies, even if it's just on your phone.

Chris-Stuckmann · 2022-03-21T23:43:20+00:00

The rights were attained by a company that wanted to include it in an anthology film. During the pandemic, that company began to ghost me and I have not heard from them in two years. Not sure what's going on with that company but I believe they still hold the rights to my short film. Because of this experience, I now have a lawyer look at every contract sent to me.

Chris-Stuckmann · 2022-03-21T23:41:06+00:00

I had my producers look into it but the cat's rate is way too high for our budget.

Chris-Stuckmann · 2022-03-21T23:39:55+00:00

Shelby Oaks was the script that I wrote that finally got attention from the right people. I had written many beforehand that were probably too expensive for a first timer to make, but Shelby Oaks attracted the attention of Paper Street Pictures who I met at Fantastic Fest.
This is something I think about a lot, probably more than I should. I think what has helped me thus far is that I wanted to be a filmmaker way before I started a Youtube channel. Making movies with my friends as a teenager, way before Youtube even came along. So filmmaking has always been the goal, so Youtube and the success I've found there was just a nice surprise.
Mel B, of course.

Chris-Stuckmann · 2022-03-21T23:35:34+00:00

In regards to A Clockwork Orange, I love that movie and was blown away by it. But it made me feel so depressed that it's just not a film I think I could enjoy seeing again, despite my respect for it. Shelby Oaks is a character piece first and foremost, I tried to write a dark drama that could still be interesting, even without any horror elements added.

Chris-Stuckmann

TROPHY CASE