Sustain San Diego encourages the metropolis to be Wild and Green.
Lisa Bruhn entered Audience Awards’ Wild and Green video contest and below she answers some questions posed in a filmmaker spotlight questionnaire.
Question 1: How did you get inspired to become a filmmaker?
I’ve always been interested in storytelling and writing. My son, who’s an actor, inspired me to study screenwriting and this provided a great opportunity for us to work together. We developed a close-to-our-hearts story into a feature film which was released to festivals in February 2017 and have embarked on several other projects together along the way, including Sustain San Diego, short documentary.
Sustain San Diego by Lisa Bruhn
Question 2: What is your favorite part about the short film form?
Everyone has short attention spans today and so short films have the potential to hold the audience’s interest. Also, if told well, most any story can be told in less than 10 minutes which will inspire, educate or entertain audiences. Plus it’s much cheaper to produce short films!
Question 3: Who were the people that supported the making of this film?
In addition to myself (Lisa Bruhn co-producer): Ian Matthews, director/cinematographer/editor; Andrew Waltz, co-producer; Tyler Bruhn, actor/self; all the people we interviewed in the project; Curtis Melton, creator of the original music; Jakob Pritz, PA; David the sound guy; Jodi Cilley from San Diego Film Consortium; KPBS, the filmmakers of One Day on Earth documentary project.
Question 4: What resources do you use as a filmmaker? Music, locations, props, editing, crew, etc.
We produced this short as part of the One Day on Earth project sponsored by KPBS. Filmmakers around the world participated in the project filming their city asking the same questions – where do you see your city in 20 years? We thank all the people who agreed to be interviewed in the project with very short notice, some with only a few minutes notice as we met them on the street as we filmed the project. We thank everyone who allowed us to film on location, and a special thanks for all the filmmakers in the project – a few of us were involved in making this film.
Question 5: What is your next project?
I’m working on a bigger budget feature film and in development on two other features.
Question 6: The independent film business is a difficult one. What keeps you motivated? Where do you see the industry going in the future?
There is so much potential to “reach” people through the visual medium and filmmaking is more affordable and available to storytellers. With many people moving towards streaming videos and films on TV and mobile devices, filmmakers can reach a wider audience quickly. As a storyteller I am motivated to inspire and entertain people – it’s part of my DNA (my grandfather was a minister).
Question 7: Which filmmakers, artists or individuals have most influenced your work?
The classic directors like Clint Eastwood, Paul Newman, James Cameron, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, Kathryn Bigalow, Nancy Myers, and the young emerging directors who are finding ways to tell stories in innovative ways.
Question 8: What advice would you give new filmmakers?
Mentor, study the craft, get onset, network and learn some more. I look forward to meeting and working with you all creative filmmakers!
You can find Lisa’s Wild and Green entry at:
https://theaudienceawards.com/films/sustain-san-diego-hd-93263
Or here:
http://www.lifeinreels.com
