Mumblecore - The Story of The Zone

If you are waiting for someone to give you a job as a director, media maker or filmmaker, you may be waiting for a very, very long time. Sometimes you have to make your own opportunities. In the world of low-budget, micro-budget and no budget film and television production, you have no choice but to become an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs see possibilities that others don’t see. They look past their circumstances and embrace the challenges.

If God has called you to do something, whether that’s filmmaking or, for that matter, anything in life, the only person that can stop you is you. It doesn’t matter what the studio, the casting director, the producer or the director says, if God has called you to do it, it’s a done deal. But do you believe that? Can you take a leap of faith into the unknown against all odds and despite what anyone else has to say about it?

If I had listened to people, I would never have started a media ministry or launched a successful television program which eventually aired on 15 national cable and satellite networks and 200 stations across North America. I have been a low-budget media maker and filmmaker for years. I have learned how to use guerilla filmmaking techniques to create a big-budget look. It’s absolutely possible to accomplish the impossible with little or no money. Trust me. I’m a living example.

We produced The Zone television program at $12,000 per episode. In the world of television production, that’s pennies on the dollar. It may sound like a lot of money, but when you’re competing with programs like Saturday Night Live and Mad TV, our budget was pale in comparison. Those were our competitors in our time slot. We were producing a live-to-tape program with a studio audience with a format similar to Saturday Night Live. And we did it with practically no budget.

They have coined this type of filmmaking as mumblecore. It’s an independent film movement that started around 2000. It employs ultra-low budget techniques. Most filmmakers who use these strategies work with digital video cameras. They often tell stories about personal relationships between 20-somethings, and they use nonprofessional actors with improvised scripts. When we shot The Zone television program, we were using basically the same model. Our hosts were non-professional and learned on the job. Our targeted audience was teens and young adults.

Mark and Jay Dupless are examples of filmmakers who have been successful in using mumblecore principles. Their first film, The Puffy Chair, was shot on a DVX-100, the same camera that I have used for years teaching high school film students. Their production budget was only $15,000, and eventually the gross revenues exceeded $192,000. Their second film, Baghead, had a budget of $50,000. That film grossed over $140,000 at the box office.

After proving that they could return a profit, they finally got their big break. Their latest film, Cyrus, had a production budget of $7 million. By using low-budget and guerilla filmmaking techniques, Jay and Mark Dupless have now entered the world of mainstream Hollywood.

But they didn’t wait for Hollywood to give the an invitation. They made their own opportunities. Dreamers dream. Filmmakers make movies. They understood the principle of low-budget filmmaking. That is never let the money stop you. In this age of digital technology, anyone can be a filmmaker. All you need is talent and determination.

 

I’ve never let the lack of money stop me. In 1999, I had a meeting with the general manager of WCPO Channel in Cincinnati, Ohio. I pitched a new program concept at that meeting. A faith-based television show that would compete with Saturday Night Live. I was prepared, had done my homework, and brought my demo reel. After conferring with his program director, he decided to put the show on the schedule. I would have six months to deliver the first program. After that, we would have to air 23 consecutive new programs. It sounds challenging, even under the best circumstances. If you know anything about television, most of the experts told me that at the very minimum I would need $250,000 to make this possible.

Here’s what the general manager didn’t know. I had no professional video equipment, no broadcast quality cameras, no staff, no studio, no lighting or audio equipment, no budget and few prospects. What was I thinking? I’m either a fool or completely insane. Which is it? But I took a huge leap of faith. If they agreed to broadcast it, I would find a way to get it produced. Just like most low-budget independent filmmakers, you have to take one step at a time.

I believed it’s what God called me to do. I prayed about it and sought guidance. I allowed the Holy Spirit to direct and guide me. What else could I do? I didn’t have $250,000. In fact, I was living off of my savings. Like so many artists, I was unemployed.

So how did I do it? First, my story will not be your story. God has a unique story for you. But I can share some of the details. The most crucial need was finding cameras and an editing system. I met a gentleman a few weeks prior who had moved from California back to the Midwest. He had worked in the industry as an editor and was extremely knowledgeable. He had taken a position at a local church as an assistant pastor and media director. The church that he worked for had bought a top-of-line Avid, non-linear editing system. You can probable count on one hand in 1999 the number of Avid systems that were in our city.

I made a bold move. I arranged to meet with him and pitched the show. Would the church be willing to edit the show and provide the cameras? And, of course, I needed this all to be for free. That’s a tall order. The only thing I could offer them was full credit as the production company and one 30-second promotional spot which would air in the program.


If you are going to be a filmmaker, especially a no-budget filmmaker, you have to become a deal maker and a negotiator. That puts you on the road to becoming a producer. How do you get people to do things at no or little cost? Are you a good horse trader? Remember the second rule of low-budget filmmaking is never pay retail. After a second meeting with the senior pastor, the church agreed that they would produce the first eight shows and grant usage of all of their video production equipment. That was God!. Let’s face it. This was the deal of the century.

Now I had a shot. I had made an opportunity. The next things you have to do as a low-budget producer is to get people involved in your project. Can you articulate your vision? Can you find people who will volunteer their time? Any good low-budget producer will tell you that you have to give people a reason to want to be part of your film, TV or media project. For some people, it is an opportunity to get into the business, for others it’s experience or working on your film can be good for your demo real. That’s a message you have to sell to volunteers.

Here’s one example that has worked for me. Say you’re looking for a director of photography. But you have found a confident and capable camera operator who one day desires to be a DP. Your project could be his or her ticket into fulfilling a dream. Everybody wants to move up. Your task is to evaluate their gifts, talents, and ability to see if their can do the job. It’s how I built my team, by using volunteers who were usually one or two levels below the job they wanted to do.


Because I had already been producing for a number of years, I had already built a contact list of potential crew members. So finding people who wanted to work on the new television show wasn’t that difficult. If the show was a success, there was the prospect that they could be hired part-time or full-time.

Because the money wasn’t there during the first season, our crew had to volunteer their time. It wasn’t until the second season that paid positions became available. As I said, if God is in it, and it is his will, things work out.
The next major obstacle was the need for a place to shoot the program. A few months back, our local newspaper had run an article about me leaving my job and starting a media ministry. They thought it was an interesting story. Why would someone who had a successful career suddenly decide to give it up and pursue the prospects of starting a Christian ministry. I had produced a local access show called Victory Videos for over ten years. I felt God was leading me to take it to the next level. I had one call from someone who read that newspaper article. It turned out to be one of those God opportunities.

He was running a non-profit ministry near the University of Cincinnati and had space available. He was willing to offer it to me for free. It was in the basement of an old church. To say that it needed work would be an understatement. But I saw possibilities. I brought in a few of my friends who worked in the business and told them what I was thinking. And, quite frankly, they told me that I was crazy. There was no way you could shoot a television program in this space. But as an independent low-budget and entrepreneur, you have to see things that other people don’t. Yes, the ceiling was too low, and it would be impossible to install a standard lighting grid. However, there’s always work-arounds. We made the space work. Hey, it was free. With a little bit of imagination, determination and lot of black paint, I had a studio.

Next, I started making more deals. I can’t emphasize this enough: I had no money. I somehow talked a lighting and staging company to allow me to use their lighting system for several months at no cost. It was one of the longest test drives you can imagine.

I called all my friends and asked for favors. The bottom line is I got all the equipment I needed and the resources that were going to be necessary to get on the air—we got it all.

It wasn’t until 5-1/2 months after WCPO decided to air the program that we got our first check from a donor. At some point, you are going to need money. No the check wasn’t for $250,000 or even $100,000, which is the type of money I needed to get the show up and running in the first place. But God met our needs. And we received $20,000. Never has $20,000 ever been stretch further. We were able to finish the renovations on the studio, buy the lighting system and build a non-linear editing system.

In 2000, this was nothing short of a miracle. There were few editing systems available. And most, such as the Avid, were all priced well above $50,000. Through a friend of a friend, we found an engineer who worked for a local company that was developing a new editing system. For pennies on the dollar again, this company built an editing system for less than $10,000.

The reason I want to share this story is to show you that this is a process that you have to live day-by-day. I could have thought of a million reasons why I should have just given up. Every day had its share of trials, tribulations, and obstacles. But it all worked out.

The studio was renovated by volunteers. Most of the people I didn’t know. For three weeks, they came night and day, tearing walls down, putting up drywall, ceilings, electrical, etc. All we did was pay for materials. Remember the second rule of low-budget filmmaking. We didn’t pay retail.

The $20,000 only went so far, which brought me back to the place where low-budget filmmakers will find themselves. Your opportunity to become a deal maker. I had to go back to the church that was doing our editing and providing our cameras. It was bold move to go there in the first place, but to go there again was insane. They agreed to produce six more shows and to provide the cameras for one year at no cost. What else can I say. That’s God.

I’m not telling you that first year wasn’t hard. And after all of these incredible things, there were always plenty of reasons to quit. Including myself and a staff of four, we were all working for nothing and would not be paid a salary for several months. Eventually, the money would come. We would find advertisers. Donors were stepping up. But we had to hang in there in the meantime.

That first year was special. And I want to thank all the people who made it possible. Many I know, but a lot of volunteers I didn’t know, who volunteered their time because they saw the vision and the greater good. We may have produced this show on a low budget. But it didn’t look low-budget. In fact, we got many compliments about how good the program looked on the air. You would have never know the look of the set was done with smoke and mirrors.

Most people thought it was a large space we were shooting in. When they actually visited the set, they were surprised and shocked. It’s amazing what you can do with camera angles and good lighting. You can make anything look good on television.

Over the years, the show improved and we eventually won numerous awards, including Best Program from The National Religious Broadcasters at their 2008 convention. It’s an incredible story. And if God has called you into filmmaking and media making for his glory, you will have your own incredible story.