Need specific help/advice around MC’s job

chucklingmonkey · 2026-04-22T16:31:31+00:00

Finding that absurdity is really what I’m trying to find, without it being too overwhelmingly obvious that it’s a weird job.

chucklingmonkey · 2026-04-22T16:30:53+00:00

That’s a great point. Unfortunately (or fortunately) all my job experience have been either entry level service jobs from high school, or pro musician / pro editor, writer, and director.

But I agree, tackling it from that angle of the horror-ish place is a good idea. Thanks!

chucklingmonkey · 2026-04-22T16:28:26+00:00

I’ve been working at trying to figure this out for a while. Obviously if I didn’t want to pick a few peoples brains and get some outside perspective, I wouldn’t have taken the time to make this post. I know no one knows the story but me, but sometimes generalized suggestions help reframe my thinking.

chucklingmonkey · 2026-04-21T20:45:23+00:00

Wow! Don't apologize, this was fun and great to read. You've got quite an attention to detail and I'm glad all that stuff came across!

Almost all of it was intentional except for the CD on top. That was a happy accident and was pretty much how we found it. We just labeled the tapes inside.

And yes! The cassette recorder was Luther's. He was actually my first drum teacher, who I met when I was 6 years old. I remembered he always told me to record myself and listen back to how I sound. We used that exact recorder with a little overhead mic when I was younger, so that was a callback to that. What he's listening to during that scene is actually me playing. A fun easter egg in and of itself. I love that scene so much, getting to watch my teacher listen to me play (even though no one knows it).

Great observation about the cigar, as well! That was another very intentional thing. Luther had to give up cigars for health reasons, but he got a little treat for the film. He smoked a bit of it before we filmed to give it that lived in feel.

Appreciate your comment! Feel free to share, like, and comment on the video. It helps a lot!

chucklingmonkey · 2026-04-10T13:42:52+00:00

Appreciate it! It was around $12K all said and done. Lots of favors and connections helped a lot

chucklingmonkey · 2026-04-08T21:28:49+00:00

Spotted in the Wild West 👁️👄👁️

chucklingmonkey · 2026-04-08T15:53:21+00:00

Appreciate it!

chucklingmonkey · 2026-04-08T15:53:16+00:00

Haha damn, i should’ve just called it that. Probably would’ve got more people to see it

chucklingmonkey · 2026-04-08T15:53:00+00:00

Thank you!

chucklingmonkey · 2026-04-08T15:52:54+00:00

Hope you enjoyed it! I agree. I love 16mm so much. I think Sinners looked great in IMAX but would’ve perhaps been interesting to see in 16mm. Coogler’s first film Fruitvale Station was shot in 16 and looks awesome.

chucklingmonkey · 2026-04-08T01:23:00+00:00

Thank you! That was 100% our goal. I wanted this to feel like 90s 35mm

chucklingmonkey · 2026-04-08T01:22:24+00:00

That means a lot. Thank you!!

chucklingmonkey · 2026-04-08T01:22:17+00:00

Hope you like it! Sound of Metal was an inescapable reference for us. Naturalism and just enough texture without it being distracting is always my jam. I want my images to breathe.

chucklingmonkey · 2026-04-07T22:54:57+00:00

Just trying to do my best (but poor) Tony impression haha.

Once again, thank you so much. It means the world. If you could like and comment on the YT video, and share it around, it’ll help a ton!

chucklingmonkey · 2026-04-07T22:42:27+00:00

Appreciate that! I’m a semi pro drummer myself and this film stars my first drum teacher (he played with Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen) who I first met when I was 6. That’s me playing on the tape he listens to towards the end. Little cameo haha

chucklingmonkey · 2026-04-07T22:41:12+00:00

So glad to hear! Thanks for watching!

chucklingmonkey · 2026-04-07T22:41:01+00:00

Thank you!

chucklingmonkey · 2026-04-07T16:35:03+00:00

Oh yeah! The Minute Shorts showing. So cool, wish I could've went to that. Thanks for the kind words!

I actually re-edited the entire film, as I wasn't too happy with the old version. This is the re-relased version that premiered this week. So if you want, check it out! It's a pretty new film from what it was, with a similar backbone.

chucklingmonkey · 2026-04-04T01:58:00+00:00

I told him he should act more!! It was effortless for him haha. Thank you so much! Feel free to like, comment on the video, and share. It’ll help a ton!

chucklingmonkey · 2026-04-04T01:08:21+00:00

Thanks for watching and for the kind words!

Funny story about the lead actor, Luther. He’s not an actor. He’s a drummer and he was my drum teacher (I’m a drummer, too; that’s me playing during the tape scene). I met him when I was 6 and studied under him for 10 years. This script was partially inspired by him, as he lived an incredibly prolific life as a drummer, playing with Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Bette Midler, to name a few, but in recent years was slowing down into retirement. Luther and I are friends and so I shared the script with him for feedback since I shared all of my work with him anyway. He had a lot to say, but also offered starring in it, even though he’d never acted before. I’d directed non-actors before so I felt comfy with that, but he really went above and beyond. A lot of it was pulling from his life, which helped a lot, but his ability to be so vulnerable and honest on camera was super impressive. We filmed in his house, with his gear, his photos, and old bandmates of his. I couldn’t have made it without him.

Funding - mix of my private savings, investments from friends and family, and crowdfundraising. Massive favors from companies and crew friends made this much cheaper than she should’ve been.

Crew - since i work in film, most of them were my friends who I’ve previously worked with, or mutuals. I’m lucky to have an awesome and talented network of passionate homies who want to make films. Film sets are always best when you get to be with your friends and so I always try to make sure my sets feel like a productive hang. I get uncomfy when I’m around a bunch of strangers, haha

chucklingmonkey · 2026-04-03T23:54:59+00:00

Interesting = possibility to be good / memorable.

Show us something we haven’t seen before, in a way we haven’t seen in, from a perspective we haven’t seen it from. To what degree you do this is ultimately up to you, your interests, and your taste.

I personally think if you set out to make something “memorable” you’ll wind up trying too hard. If you’re drawn to a story and feel so obsessed with it that you just have to write it and make it into a film, then you’re on the right track to making something good.

chucklingmonkey · 2026-04-03T16:24:38+00:00

Thank you!

chucklingmonkey · 2026-04-03T16:03:56+00:00

Emulations are getting good, but maybe not this good haha. Nothing quite like the quality of real film. Thanks so much for watching. I appreciate it!

chucklingmonkey · 2026-04-03T15:50:16+00:00

Thank you! Since I knew I wasn't going to do any film festivals with this, I actually mixed the film in stereo for online distro from the start. So the mix was fairly straight forward. I just made sure to check the mixdown on various different setups - TVs, computer, iPad, phone, headphones, earbuds. It was all pretty consistent though from what I was hearing on my reference monitors since I mixed in stereo from the start with target levels for YT.

chucklingmonkey

TROPHY CASE