We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Chad Newsome. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Chad below.
Alright, Chad thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
That would be our short film “Keepsake”,..which doubles as a Pilot for a larger project.
‘Keepsake’ is a supernatural drama; it is our sixth short film and it is the longest and most ‘intense’. Until now, we were able to handle things; this project tested and challenged us as Producers.
For me personally and professionally, it gave me the opportunity to show my full capabilities as a Filmmaker – with which I chose to heavily integrate music into the project. This resulted in a soul-stirring theme song and a emotionally dynamic single,
I learned the value and importance of amassing a ‘common crew of creatives’…forming connections and strengthening bonds. Spending so much time with ‘independent contractors’ on creative endeavors invite chaos, confusion, delay, Having familiarity as a common denominator amongst a production crew makes the endeavoring less challenging to complete as an Independent Filmmaker. I learned that ‘Murphy’s Law’ (‘anything that can go wrong will go wrong’) is real. I discovered my ability to recover amidst random and impromptu chaos. I learned to think even further out the box.
“Keepsake” demonstrates personal (and professional) growth for me; it unveils my professional approach to marketing films, the importance of recognizing music’s influence upon such, and introduces the first of a ten-episode anthology series entitled “The Book of K.A.R.M.A.” where each episode will always begin with a letter in the acronym and always focus on the concept of karma.
Chad, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
As a kid, I used to watch everything – my favorite genre was and still is horror. I watched movies and television shows that my friends at the time would’ve ridiculed me for. While my friends were viewing shows/movies that were popular to their current life experiences, those that breed ‘familiarity’, I was into productions like ‘Different Strokes’, ‘Facts of Life’, Greek Mythology-related movies, ‘Weird Science’, ‘Breakfast Club’. Oh! And ‘The Goonies’ was the ultimate! Yeah I was different.
As the youngest of four sons, I spent a great deal of time with my Mom. We used to visit (and she even worked at some) Farmer’s Markets and go to the movies. And when we’d go, we’d see ‘the latest’ – and know ‘the latest’ wasn’t a Disney or Pixar movie. We viewed ‘regular’ movies of various genres; and I realized then that the genre of horror held my interest the strongest.
As I got older, I continued the ‘beloved’ movie-going experience, yet I was able to expand on my choices and options. As a child, I loved escaping to wherever via the film or television show I was viewing; as an adult, that ‘escape’ has morphed into ‘purpose’.
I yearn – and live – to make movies of substance. I want to entertain, enlighten, motivate, educate, and ‘shine a light on…’ via filmmaking. I live to tell stories that matter; stories that move people in a positive way.
My ‘entrance’ into Entertainment itself was as an Extra back in the mid 2000s. I didn’t want to be an Actor, I was bored and wanted to have fun. And I did. And through all of the casting calls and landed gigs, I discovered my desire to be a Filmmaker. I learned a great deal by engaging in a few ‘failed efforts’, which is why I own everything now. Still, the desire to make films never waned.
Fast-forward to 2010 when I met my Fiance who just happened to be a Writer…and a very good one. She had eight full-length screenplays written by the time I met her, As I began to read through her completed scripts, the desire to be a Filmmaker intensified. I wanted, by any means necessary, to make films. And my ‘inner Filmmaker’ became anxious, motivated, and inspired.
Three years into our relationship, we created an idea that we needed to take from written concept to visual concept. We wanted to focus on ‘informal child support agreements occurring in the ‘hoods, barrios, and trailer parks’…we wanted it to be a mockumentary…we wanted the ‘street interview’ style to be our foundation. The result: ‘Child Support’. And with the help of family and friends, we were able to film a few episodes. A year after that, we created ‘The Smokers’ Chronicles’ (filmed interviews with current, former and ‘sometimes’ marijuana Smokers about their ‘elevated’ experiences – the good, the bad, and the ugly) and ‘The Rules of Smoking’ (which of course is a smoking ‘guideline’ for ‘proper smoking etiquette and behavior’. A year after that, Tanya wrote a supernatural drama called ‘Keepsake’. It is a short film focusing on the concept of karma by way of religion, spirituality, and self-awareness. Fast-forward to 2020: a ‘Stay at Home Order’ has been issued and everybody was supposed to stay home. I had moved to LA from the East Coast three years prior and now found myself unable to be the skilled Electrician that time and hard work had yielded…so I wrote my first short film.
I wrote a short, thought-provoking film called ‘The Post’ because of a social media post I had viewed; it angered me. My response became the first of seven short films that I would produce in the past three years, including the supernatural drama that Tanya had written six years prior – ‘Keepsake’.
As my first writing effort was inspired by the Coronavirus pandemic, so were three more short films: ‘The Cough (A Covid-19 Comedy)’, ‘The Drug Deal (A Covid-19 Comedy)’, and ‘The Store (A Covid-19 Comedy)’. Included in that three-year-filmmaking-phase, were ‘Browsing History’, a short film about a one-night stand that ends in therapy, and ‘Hey Neighbor,’ a horror about a ‘friendly serial killer’. However, while ‘The Drug Deal…’ was my first night-shoot and ‘The Store…’ demonstrated the first time I shot with an anamorphic lens, it was ‘Keepsake’ that was the most self-impressive production. While ‘The Drug Deal (A Covid-19 Comedy)’ won the award for Best Director Narrative Short Film in the Marina del Rey Film Festival and Best Cinematography in the Los Angeles Comedy Film Festival, this 28-page short was the largest production I had produced.
As I have served as Producer, Cinematographer, and Editor (and Writer on ‘The Post’) on all of our short films, I am now serving as Colorist on ‘Keepsake’. I purchased all the equipment and software needed to make films; I learned and am learning what I need to know to make films. I will fill all roles if necessary in order to make a film.
I am a Filmmaker.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
For me, among the most rewarding aspects of what I do is crossing the finish line. Starting with nothing and winding up with something is genius. Making a film is like putting a puzzle together; each piece is invaluable. The potential camaraderie of creatives on a film set can make a bland film stand out in a positive way.
Another extremely rewarding aspect is being able to able to personally and intensely affect someone simply by their viewership – this is, for me, supreme. I love being able to make a difference, to be a positive influence, and to help the next man make his ‘next step’.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to unlearn ‘team spirit’ (I was a High School and College Basketball Player) in a way because some people just don’t want to work together to win together. There is a lot of ‘insecure competitiveness’ in this business; there is a lot of self-focused ‘partnering’ practiced. They say that ‘experience is the best teacher’; I don’t know if ‘she’ is the best, but she is very impactful.
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