We recently connected with Benjamin Keagle and have shared our conversation below.
Benjamin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
So, I personally have it kinda lucky. I went to school for Video Production and in doing so I had some great on hand experiences learning audio production as well as studio production. The hardest part was actually implementing what I had learned. How could I create a professional studio with no real racecourses.
I started out with nothing more than an old condenser mic and a small Tascam Field recorder, both of which I had from my freelance days. From there I upgraded to a better mic and chose to record in my closet! It was then that I realized I needed better equipment. I saved up enough money to get a used mixer, and an audio interface. Here is where my eagerness really took over. While playing around with the new equipment I made a foolish error and never plugged in my mic. I thought to myself, “Oh no this is the end. I can’t even get this right”, but after a few more attempts I found the best routine to make sure everything is good to go!
So to answer your question, the best advice I could have offered myself to speed up the learning process was actually to slow down and focus. Small errors will happen, but with enough patience and understanding it will all work out.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Hello again I am Benjamin Keagle! AKA CheeseFilm and I am the Host of The Grindhouse Podcast!
The Grindhouse Podcast started out actually, as The Dark Corner, as although the name has changed the reason behind it has not.
It originally started as a way for me to challenge myself. I have a degree in film and I have always dreamed of making movies. One day a friend of mine who had also gotten a degree in film were talking about, what else, movies. I told him we should start a pod cast, or at least he should, because we know a lot and enjoy talking about movies. He told me something I will never forget. He told me “nobody wants to hear that”. That stuck with me. We are two knowledgeable youngsters who watch old movies in an era of Star Wars and Iron Man. “Who wouldn’t!” I thought. There are so many movie podcasts out there, and the majority of them all talk about the same things. Modern movies, and a lot of pop culture. Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore a lot of them, and look to most of them for motivation on what I do. So I thought. How can I be different? How can I be unique enough to stand out in a crowd? Well, that’s where the focus comes in! I have chosen to look at a lot of the cult classics! Movies forgotten by time, movies that built the way we see cinema today! I have the knowledge and the know-how to talk about the filmmaking process and who better than someone who genuinely loves these works of arts!
It started slow. One episode out and I was nervous and doubting myself. But I got a feel for it and after about the 3rd episode I absolutely loved what I was doing. I focused on an era of film and did a theme with Vincent Price as the focus. My friends and family became my audience and gave me some helpful advice. It was around the 6th episode that I thought I should do a bonus and special episode. I had my dad on and we talked about Star Wars for about 1 full hour. It was exciting to say the least. We both love movies and love to talk about them so it would seem only natural to record it. We recorded Planet of the Apes right after and from that episode on we would become a dynamic duo. Hecubus and Cheesefilm now host the show and talk about movies together. My Brother has since joined the team and goes by RandyOffical! He has become our technical director and has help produce every episode since our season 2!
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
For us, the most rewarding aspect has been watching our fallowing grow. We are still small and do not have an enormous following, but watching us go from 1 to 10 to 100 subscribers and followers has been an amazing feeling. People reaching out and leaving comments has also touched us in ways that I never expected! Your first compliment from someone is the one that always sticks with you. Keeps you driving for greatness!
Another big one was the Knoxville Voyager reaching out to us about doing an piece on us! We are proud to be apart of the community!
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Honestly, and this might sound cliche, but spreading posativity and constructive criticism is what we feel is the best thing society can do. There is so much negative feelings, thoughts and emotions out there, we can do with some good vibes and helpful words. Not everything has to be perfect. We can all appreciate the little things with any situation we are in! The Grindhouse Podcast specifically focuses and talks about forgotten b-movies and movies that are considered bad. We do this not to hate on them or trash them but instead to shine a light on the works of others. Not every movie has to be Citizen Kane in order to be good. You can enjoy any work of art no matter what others happen to think. Hecubus and I both thoroughly enjoyed a film called The Black Scorpion despite it being on lists of the worst movies ever made. Its our attitude that helps us with this. Go in to things with an open mind and you’ll be supersized how positive an experience can be!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thegrindhousepodcast.com
- Instagram: @thegrindhousepodcast
- Facebook: The Grindhouse Podcast
- Twitter: @cheesefilm98
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGrindhousePodcast
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/5xJ9Er0NWm2D3nm44sjA0s
Image Credits
Photo Credit @missfrenchtattoos