We recently connected with Jason Brooks and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jason thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your career and how did you resolve those issues?
As a special FX artist, I have built quite an amazing team under the name Real Fiction Studios FX. We have a well-rounded, motivated, and talented group of people who are eager to work in the film and TV industry. The challenges we run into in the Pacific Northwest are typically financial in nature. There are a lot of wonderful productions in the Northwest that are low-budget, independent films that do not have the means to pay for a full production crew including high-end special FX services.
We often find ourselves taking on projects believe in, or projects that we feel could benefit us with exposure and could showcase our work for little or no pay, however, the materials typically used in creating hyper-realistic special effects are very expensive and too cost prohibitive to sustain this model. Most filmmakers are not aware of how much this process and materials can and should actually cost and in fact, most production budgets end up barely covering the cost of materials. Our goal is to invest in ourselves by investing our time and materials in these projects to build out our portfolio that could land in front of the right eyes. In the meantime we continue to do what we love, partnering and networking with amazing people and building friendships as well as solid business relationships.
To overcome the lack of income that prohibits a full-time venture in this field today, I continue working a full-time job to support my family and team so that they might have opportunities I did not. Additionally, between film projects, we find ourselves using our life-casting and sculpting talents to create fine art sculptures and body castings that we can sell to help supplement the high cost of materials. This helps keep the creative juices flowing, exercises those technical process muscles, and brings the team closer together as we experiment and learn new things while having fun.
At the end of the day, we are doing what we love and while it is a lot of long hours and hard work, it does not feel like work when we are living out our passion.
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 started drawing at a very young age and have always needed a creative outlet. Drawing turned to prop making and costumes and sculpting all before my teens. I have always been fascinated with films and filmmaking and could never get enough behind-the-scenes content on any movie I watched. In high school, I began making short films with friends on an old VHS camcorder which carried over into my early 20s when I began my own freelance graphic design business, Real Fiction Studios. One of my clients was an aspiring filmmaker name Todd Redenius of TBR Video who had hired me to design posters and marketing material for his films. This relationship led to other creative opportunities on and off the set and eventually, we co-directed my first real film together in 2005 called, “Missing Girl: The Carrie Burke Story” which went on to win some festival awards. Shortly after releasing the film I took some time away from film to raise my two sons and focused on costume and prop building which resonated with my kids and became a family activity. This eventually led us to costume and prop design for haunted houses for many years. Working at the haunted houses as a designer, I was also able to pursue my other passion, acting. I became one of the lead Queue actors portraying Jason Voorhees for a few years and would constantly hear about how I needed to play Jason in a movie.
Then it happened. I heard from a friend that they were filming a Friday the 13th movie in Idaho called Mythos. I wrote the director and asked for an audition to which I was denied as they were only casting locally. I decided to take a chance and had my oldest son record me in costume portraying Jason and then sent in a video audition anyway. Two days later I received a call from the director who was impressed. He sent me some script sides to act out and send back. I got the job.
During the filming of Mythos, there was a complete rewrite and the entire story changed. I would now put the mask back on as Jason under the new film title, “Friday the 13th Vengeance”. While playing Jason, I would star next to other Friday the 13th alumni, C.J. Graham (Jason Voorhees – part 6 Jason Lives), Tommy McLoughlin (Writer/Director – part 6 Jason Lives), Steve Dash (Jason Voorhees – Friday the 13th Part 2), Diana Prince (Darcy the Mail Girl – Joe Bob Briggs Last Drive-In), and other film stars. While working on this film, I was able to jump in and help with props, costumes, wardrobe, set design, art direction, and more. It was an amazing experience. This film launched me into the spotlight and before I knew it I was being flown around the country to sign autographs at various horror conventions.
Fans could not get enough of the film and demanded a sequel. Vengeance director Jeremy Brown handed the reigns over to me and asked me to write and direct the sequel. With all the care and love I put into the first one, I was the only person he trusted to carry the torch. I agreed and then began the busiest years of my life. I began working on the sequel Vengeance 2: Bloodlines while also filming several other movies at the same time including another Friday the 13th film called Roseblood, starring alumni Lar Park Lincoln (Tina Shepard), Terry Kiser (Dr. Crews), and Kevin Spirtas (Nick) from Friday the 13th Part 7.
With the success of Vengeance, I now had made friends in the horror community and convention circuit. Vengeance 2 had to be bigger, better, more brutal, and incorporate everything I had learned since. Vengeance 2: Bloodlines not only saw the return of C.J. Graham, Tommy McLoughlin, and Diana Prince but also brought in Thom Mathews (Tommy Jarvis – Part 6 Jason Lives), Darcy Demoss (Nikki – part 6 Jason Lives), Paul Taylor (Pinhead – Hellraiser Judgement), Rob Mello (Babyface Killer – Happy Deathday), Tamara Glynn ( Sammy – Halloween 5), Richie Ramone (Drummer for the Ramones) and more.
I also used this opportunity to showcase my special FX abilities. I wanted to bring some fun and unique kills to the script and worked tirelessly to create them. I pulled together a very talented team of fx artists led by Michelle Munoz and Naomi Mechem-Miller to help execute the effects while filming and I could not be happier with the team. My Director of Photography Kody Newton is an amazingly talented director and stood in for me as director when I was in costume portraying Jason Voorhees. The look and quality he brought to this production were amazing and lent itself to the overall feel we were going for. This star-studded cast and crew helped create the sequel the fans had been waiting for.
As of this article, Vengeance 2: Bloodlines went on to win over 56 awards in the festival circuit taking home awards for all categories. With the success of the release, many more opportunities started to open up and I felt it was time to expand the Real Fiction Studios team. Lead Makeup artist from Bloodlines, Naomi Mechem-Miller and I started building the brand and recruiting other talents to the team including Michelle Munoz, Jade Foss, and Lindsey Johnson. Between the five of us, we have been able to take on several overlapping projects and grow while learning from each other. We are very excited about what the future holds for us in filmmaking.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Social media is a huge part of any business and we are no exception. The biggest struggle we run into is collecting content to post. We get so busy in the process of creating that we often don’t have time, get too messy, or simply forget to take photos of our journey. We also find that in our business, the photos we do take are often guarded under strict NDA and cannot be shared until the film’s release. We find ourselves having to wait almost a year to be able to post our work at times, holding it secret throughout post-production.
Once you do post your content make sure to engage with your audience as much as possible. ask questions, thank people, and offer answers to those who took the time to ask. This helps build your community and keeps your accounts socially active.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
In the end, my goal is to have a creative outlet and provide high-quality special fx for film and tv and work in collaboration with other amazing artists. I believe that with this, I will be able to build a business large enough to allow my teammates full-time employment and provide opportunities to work with my family.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.realfictionstudios.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realfictionstudiosfx/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/547322989339266
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonbrooksprofile/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/RealFictionArt
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHW6A7IOtdFyg2LrcCdVsnQ
- Other: https://www.facebook.com/RF.studios.props
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejasonbrooksofficial/
Image Credits
Alley Rutzel Joe Caban