Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Adrian Roman. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Adrian, thanks for joining us today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. So, we’d appreciate if you could open up about your growth story and the nitty, gritty details that went into scaling up.
Everyone that begins as a filmmaker has different goals and ambitions. When I started, my goal was to become a successful screenwriter. I began by reading dozens of notable screenplays from movies I enjoy while simultaneously studying the craft of screenwriting. The structure of a screenplay is highly specific. It’s very different in so many ways from writing a novel.
I wrote my first feature length script over a long weekend. It wasn’t planned or intentional to write the first draft so quickly but once I started I barely slept and three days later it was done. Over the next month I did six additional drafts and polished it, then sent it to competitions and festivals. To my surprise it won in several and placed high in others. That encouraged me. So I began writing the next one. This time I sent it to Tier One competitions like Beverly Hills and Austin, and again, it won in several and placed in the finals and semi-finals in others. The recognition was great but studios weren’t beating down my door to buy or option them.
I decided to write a short film and learn to shoot, direct and edit. That meant not only buying a camera and equipment but learning to use it. Over the next couple of years I made several shorts but I wanted to scale up. I wanted to make a feature film.
The difference between making a short film and making a feature can’t be overstated. I could make a three to ten minute short over a few days but producing a seventy or ninety minute movie was like going from playing high school baseball, skipping the minor leagues, and going straight to the majors. Every facet of the filmmaking process, Pre Production, Production, and Post Production became incredibly intensive. I made my first feature as a one-man crew. It nearly killed me but I learned a lot.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I turned to the filmmaking business late in life. After retiring from a corporate job I wanted to return to my youth when I painted oil on canvas, wrote for a newspaper, and played guitar. I’ve always loved art and music and figured that with the time I have left on this spinning rock I wanted to focus on artistic pursuits.
At first, I thought I would simply write novels, but a friend of mine, Scott James, was a lead in a movie and he invited me and my daughter to visit the set. I was fascinated by the process. Also, it was fun to watch him because in the scene they were shooting he had to run and jump on the hood of a car and then say a few lines of dialog. Let’s just say they didn’t get it on the first take, so he had to keep doing it over and over. It was fun to watch him.
Scott and I have stayed close friends for twenty years and he has been both a Producer and an Actor in my films. Together we’ve made three movies; a Horror Thriller called “The Blood Thins”, a Romantic Drama called “Oak on the Outside” and a Political Drama called “The Third Party”. All are available on many streaming platforms to include Apple TV+, Amazon Prime, ROKU, TUBI, and many others. I couldn’t have made these movies without his leadership and involvement.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Movie making isn’t that different than many other endeavors. There’s a ton to learn. I’ve always said, “It’s hard to be new at something.” Being a new movie director comes with many challenges, most of which are unforeseen so making good decisions on the fly is a requirement. On each project, and even with a really well mapped-out Pre Production plan, you can be certain that when it comes time to turn the cameras on and shoot, then all hell breaks loose on set and it’s important to stay calm and work the problem, and there will be problems, lots and lots of problems. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that movie making is simply, at it’s foundation, a problem solving discipline. Maybe 30 extras confirmed the night before and only 7 showed up. Maybe there’s industrial refrigerators that can’t be unplugged and the noise is stepping on the actors dialog. Maybe an actor showed up but had a trauma the day before so can’t focus so you end up doing 17 takes which puts you way behind on your shoot schedule and you only have the location for so many hours, and on, and on. The director has to stay calm and find solutions and find them quickly. It’s a problem solving job.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I love reading books and I love movies. The idea that I might entertain someone, give them a break from the stress of their daily lives, make laugh, smile, or even cry, is a driving mission for me and why I continue to write books, screenplays and make movies. Also, after working long and hard on an art project and getting to the end, seeing the finished product, is very fulfilling. All artists need to go into producing art knowing that some people will love it, some will hate it, and many won’t care either way, but at the end of day, if you’re proud of it, then that means the work was worth it and that it has value. We all engage in many activities in our lives, some we do just to pay the bills, but some we do to bring enjoyment and beauty into the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Shadowmossentertainment.com
- Facebook: adrianroman1111
- Youtube: Shadowmoss Entertainment
- Other: https://Shadowmossentertainment.substack.com
Image Credits
Adrian Roman