Wheels of Innovation

Sat down with Bill Gardner and listened to his discussion of what CRAZY Filmmaker Program is as well as his history here in Bigfoot Entertainment and its academic arm, International Academy of Film and Television (IAFT).

The program essentially as I see it, targets the edgier side of creativity. Most of the time filmmakers and everyone involved are trapped into conventions and niches of what works and what viewers generally accept. And yet time and time again, audiences have grown smarter. They’ve become very capable of predicting how the story turns out, how the characters develop.

We are in an age of predictable entertainment.

I assume the CRAZY Filmmaker program addresses this on many fronts. Currently, IAFT has a one-year immersion program but the newly offered program requires a two-year immersion – that’s hardcore. Touching on the crafts of creating Fashion Television shoots, TVCs and even public service announcements. And to cap off the program, as mentioned by Bill, the students would be involved in a feature film production within Bigfoot.

I have nothing but an optimist’s outlook on the possibilities of such a program. To create a slew of new-age filmmakers bending conventions, going against the status quo’s of superheroes and CGI enriched feature films.

Mind you, I’m not in total disagreement of such an approach in filmmaking, neither do I desire to disparage the efforts of our modern day film artists – but don’t you just want something new?

Movies and TV shows have become stale throughout the years. Has creativity died with innovation? Suddenly Hollywood realized there’s more money to be made on action flicks and linear storylines drowned with ennui.

Perhaps this CRAZY filmmaker program that Michael Gleissner conceptualized could be the new primordial creative boom the global film industry’s been waiting for – too far fetched you say? It could be CRAZY enough to work.

To commemorate the program's edginess and creative openness, posted the vid that made me go gaga for everything CRAZY.