Making this grant presentation from last year public now (with some minor edits) in anticipation of our world premiere next month at Amazing Fantasy Fest! Details are here: https://www.amazingfantasyfest.com and new trailer is here: https://youtu.be/pRheZpXsBpQFor the video version of this podcast episode, go HERE: https://youtu.be/w3m6ZF-TOpMOn 12…

A Very Special Homecoming Episode! Brittany (re) joins Mel and Chris to discuss all the stuff she's been working on/doing over the last couple years, ranging from FEAR THE WALKING DEAD to PANIC to WALKER and beyond! She'll also talk about becoming a licensed special effects technician/pyrotechnician and leaving an impression by (fake) burning down …

On this episode of BLTD, writer/director Stephen Wolfe joins Mel and Chris to discuss his projects, his love for Universal Monsters, and that time he let Mel use his car while in Los Angeles. Stephen has written/directed the features DOLL FACTORY (currently on Amazon Prime, Crackle, Plex, and Tubi), MIDNIGHT ABYSS, and the shorts DRACULA'S COFFIN a…

We're back with a new episode with Chris Warren, who brings us up to date on all the sets he's been working on for the past 3+ years! Chris has been making movie magic across varied states and genres with folks like Ron Perlman, Danny Trejo, Esai Morales, Eden Brolin, and the late Tom Sizemore. He also reunited with a few MYSTERY SPOT MVP’s (Graham…

Here's an interview that Chris Warren (Director/Co-Writer/Etc.) and I did with Derrick Fury (director of LION KILLER and head instructor at Axiom Jiu-Jitsu) just after we signed our distribution deal for IMAGO - which by then we had recut and retitled IN THE BLOOD...which then got retitled into DARK RITUAL upon release. We tried to include lots of …

Earlier this week, I did this "sneak peek" of the movie via Zoom - it was part of the grant finalization process. I recorded it, so here's the audio! I play rough cuts from a few scenes I've edited thus far, plus a early sneak peek (listen) to "S**tshow", the song from the musical number in the film.INBETWEENING stars Brandon Cole, Tye Blue, Debbie…

What's up everyone? Yep, been a while. Lots of stuff has happened...and we do mean LOTS. MYSTERY SPOT premiered, DARK RITUAL gained traction, the Burn video finally came out, AND we shot another feature (INBETWEENING). Mel catches you up on ALL of it.INBETWEENING post production crowdfunding campaign: http://igg.me/at/inbetweeningUpstart Filmworks …

Back from extended hibernation, to the delight of a couple people and the chagrin of many more! You'd think we'd have spent the lockdown cranking out content...alas, that was not to be. But that doesn't mean we weren't busy! To wit: - First off, MYSTERY SPOT is having it's World Premiere at Arrow Video's London FrightFest in August! Huge deal! Info…

Our first foray into live-streaming wherein we ask the question: what would YOU think would be most valuable to focus on in a "filmmaking workshop" session? We have a couple that we've been asked to participate in, so we decided to brainstorm some ideas.Info on the Houston area screening of IN THE BLOOD here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-the-blo…

Once again, Mel House, Chris Warren, and Brittany Miles all find themselves in the same room to do a podcast. This time, we have a feature in the rearview to discuss: Mel's fifth feature film, MYSTERY SPOT, which was shot in September 2019.Unfortunately/fortunately - there's literally nothing to complain about (except for Mel's weird psychological …

That's a wrap on MYSTERY SPOT! (Actually, we wrapped over a month ago, but I've been busy editing, handling wrap up stuff, and celebrating our 14th wedding anniversary). At any rate, I recorded some post-shoot reflections once I got my wits back about me and with the benefit of hindsight. This one's not too long though, as well...there's not that m…

We recently wrapped principal photography on my fifth feature, MYSTERY SPOT. It was a wonderfully harrowing experience - "wonderful" because of the amazing team of people I surrounded myself with, cast and crew alike, and "harrowing" because I didn't realize exactly how damaged and broken I'd become over the last several years of working with much …

Another Barely Living The Dream podcast - now with video (which you can see at the Upstart Filmworks YouTube channel)! Bear with us as we expand/tweak this new component of our online presence. On this episode, Brittany and Katelynn join Mel as he decompresses after Texas Frightmare Weekend and preps to pull the trigger on his new feature film (whi…

Back after another semi-unintentional hiatus. Upstart Filmworks has a new office, a new lease on life, AND a new employee! Consider it a recharge / renewal / refocus / whatever "re" word you prefer. Anyway, Katelynn the Upstart Assistant joins Mel and Brittany for a recap and rundown of the last few months and what the next few have in store. Chris…

Complicated question, right? I figure if I've been called it more than 5 times in my life (I have, and with the hard "R" to boot) I can say it. Obama can say it, and we're both half Black, right? (Wait, he got in trouble, didn't he?) Anyway, the whole episode isn't about that. But it DOES talk about what I'm doing now/next, and therein lies the rac…

For this episode, we take a slight diversion in the spirit of the season (and our 13th wedding anniversary). Melanie joins Mel for a round of personal ghost stories - ones we've each told quite a bit over the years. These are all personal paranormal experience that we saw with our own two eyes. Weird creatures on rural Texas highways. College polte…

This one's kinda late and off of our normal upload time, but we've been busy working on stuff. Most of which we discuss on here. Chris has been working on a bunch of movies, Mel has been re-tooling Chris' movie, as well as laying the groundwork for feature number 5 (among other things). Work work work. (The title refers to how many times Chris gave…

We do a little time travel on this one, as the bulk of it was recorded back in February while Chris and Mel were driving through Kentucky and Tennessee. There's some complaining, some catching up, some real talk, and some staring into the abyss (which of course, also stares back into us). So...pretty much business as usual.Check out the Oceans of S…

At long last, we have the lovely, wonderful, legendary Debbie Rochon on the podcast! Debbie and Mel have collaborated many times (with many more on the horizon). Deb takes the time to catch us up on her last few projects, including her directorial debut MODEL HUNGER, her upcoming second film as director, and her recent time on the set of Troma's SH…

The BLTD podcast returns with our friend Yousef Abu-Taleb in the passenger car! We worked with Yousef on WEST OF HELL (formerly COLD DESCENT, and before that, LAZARUS), which is currently available in Redbox. We discuss everything from Yousef's beginnings as one of the first YouTube stars on lonelygirl15, to his (sadly too short) stint as a rapper,…

Jeff Caudill (frontman for prominent Southern California rock band Gameface) joins us to discuss his latest solo EP, "Reset The Sun" and the five (!) videos that Mel/Upstart Filmworks produced to accompany the release. The relationship was definitely mutually beneficial, as you'll soon hear (note the clever wordplay in the podcast title). Jeff also…

Quick update from Mel on what he's got going on (videos for Jeff Caudill's RESET THE SUN & the SEQUENCE BREAK World Premiere at the Chattanooga Film Festival on 4/6)and then we catch up with Brittany, Chris, and special guest Ken Whiting "The Gaffing Wizard" who are all currently on-set in Colorado.By Mel House

Remember that promo we cut where we (mostly me) read hatemail? Here's the uncut recording session, which makes a pretty compelling listen on its own. Beyond "bad reviews"...these selections are mainly personal attacks or fallout from bad deals, shadiness, etc. It was actually kind of fun to revisit this stuff because 1) none of it ended up matterin…

Promo for the podcast. It will run on other B&E Network podcasts.http://www.bmoviesandebooks.com/By Mel House

This time, Chris and Brittany do an "on the road episode" while en route to Dallas to work on another production. Brittany gets to tell her side of the GROUNDS story, embellishing and filling in stuff mentioned on the previous episode. She and Chris discuss caring too much, justifying things on the fly, dealing with drama (the bad kind), watching M…

Mel and Chris return to their roots and record another in-car installment which features: an invitation to those who didn't much care for our last podcast, a rundown of Death's latest attempt to claim Mel, a rundown of Death's latest attempt to claim not only Mel, but Chris, Brittany, AND Justin Powers (I guess Death didn't care for the last podcas…

In this feature-length episode, Mel is the sin-eater (for once) as Brittany, Chris, and guest Justin Powers spend an hour and a half going off about about their last "shitshow" experience. If you're wondering why we don't do much "local" work anymore, this pretty much sums it up, as the issues seem to be endemic at this point. Not to say that worki…

Nickie Morgan, Mandi LeBlanc, and William Basinger join Mel as they reminisce about his first movie, FADE TO BLACK (which they are all in). Well, as much as can be remembered, anyway. The discussion starts at FADE and covers everything from PLACEHOLDERS to the Muskogee Castle to Nickie having to deal with the fact that Mel was editing sleazy adult …

Lance "Fever" Myers has been a professional animator for over twenty years. His work can be seen in the feature films SPACE JAM, ANASTASIA, and Richard Linklater's A SCANNER DARKLY; as well as in over twenty-five successful video game titles, including Turok Evolution, NBA Jam, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Myers has written and directed twelve …

In which Mel discusses how Las Vegas, one of its most prominent magicians, rock supergroups, a Wayans brother, and horror genre illuminati have all recently been a huge part of his filmmaking landscape. It's basically a quick little update episode to let you all know what's going on in Upstart Filmworks Cinema-land! There's a reason while we've bee…

Mel welcomes guest (and recent on-set collaborator) Graham Skipper to the podcast. Graham is probably best known for essaying the role of Herbert West in REANIMATOR: THE MUSICAL…however, he's steadily been making a name for himself on the independent horror circuit with acclaimed turns in features like ALMOST HUMAN, BEYOND THE GATES, and THE MIND'S…

Mel rolls solo on this one again, pulling back the curtain even further on how he's managed to "barely live the dream" for the last couple years. Lots of candid talk regarding movie gigs, pre-production gigs, side gigs, part time jobs, being bi-coastal (or perhaps just bi-coastally curious), and how they all ultimately affect the bottom line. Addit…

This summer (technically spring/summer), Mel landed to back-to-back gigs on California-lensed genre features. Both were in the A.D. department…and if you're a fan of the podcast you might know that Mel has had some recent "issues" with that type of work. As such, it was definitely poised to be an interesting several weeks. He thought it might be a …

Mel, Chris, and Brittany are all in the same room once again, and this episode basically is a "debriefing" of the past couple months of production work in California. Which essentially means that Brittany ends up being our cinematic sin-eater. The upside is that, for once, Chris is WAY more frustrated and angry than Mel. The student truly has surpa…

Tim Wrobel, script supervisor and one-time star of the longest running direct-to-video horror franchise ever, drops by and gives us some sage advice from the scripty side of the monitor. What does a Script Supervisor do? Do we really need one on set? Should you listen to them because you're paying them to do a job and back you up? The answers to al…

Things get serious as we speak with our guest, actress Melanie Donihoo (Mel's wife) about performance anxiety, stage fright, and what to do when you hate doing something that you're really good at. Lately, Mel has found himself in that situation amidst a bunch of Assistant Director gig offers, so we all ponder what to do in light of Mel either 1) l…

Lisa Wilcox returns in this installment (much like she did in the Nightmare series) to discuss the impact and usage of social media in today's independent filmmaking landscape. We also get to do a bit of "Viewer Mail" from folks that checked out the previous episode with Lisa. Lisa Wilcox on the web: http://lisaewilcox.com/Scream Magazine: http://w…

Lisa Wilcox from A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4 & 5 joins us on this episode to talk about her particular journey in the industry...from General Hospital to Springwood to the Enterprise to raising a family and back again. Mel tries not to sound like a 12 year old fanboy. We also debut a new recurring feature: "Greenlit or Bulls**t?"Lisa's website: htt…

This episode is more or less the Chris Warren show, as Chris relates his most recent on-set experiences. Basically , Chris turned a whole production around and got them back on track...again. Aspiring AD's, this one's for you. Lots of great info within including the non-creative details/pitfalls of working with children (more stuff that no one seem…

Brittany and Mel discuss distribution issues, crowdfunding complaints, what happens when people who theoretically should support you don't....and the difficulties faced when attempting to deposit that paycheck you made working on an adult film. Also, Mel invites his enemies to the podcast - which includes pitching a TV collaboration with the Witchc…

This week, Mel takes the podcast in a different direction, talking "film fallout" with his oldest friend Domingo, and his wife Melanie. And his daughter, Regan, of course. (Also: I promise I only recorded in the car for the first three minutes).Special shoutout to the band Sense Field, who inspired the title/direction. R.I.P. Jon Bunch.http://www.o…

Brittany gets ripped off! (probably)Mel gets ripped off! (two possibles, one definite)Chris says something about a time machine!We also talk about approaching investors and what to tell them if you want their money, but most importantly...what to tell them if you want to be honest.Follow, like, share, rate!@upstartfilm@chriswarr54https://www.facebo…

Our final entry (for now) from "On The Road Filmmaking Diaries". Mel and Chris categorically go through most of the figurative ass-whippings they've taken in the name of cinema. Yes, Mel tells the Witchcraft 13 stories again, as well as those related to Fade To Black, Closet Space, Walking Distance/Psychic Experiment, etc. Chris talks about his tri…

We bring Brittany Miles (producer of the film 869) into the fold, and get her origin story, some on-set Charlie Foxtrot anecdotes, and discuss her writing and directing a Placeholders episode. Then Mel discusses his "lists" and Chris talks about allowing your talent to make the choice to kick a box.Find Brittany's movie 869 here: http://www.amazon.…

Jumping backwards in time with this super-sized (feature length!) episode: during the first, pre-Xmas return trip from the WICKED TRICKS shoot, Mel and Chris discussed their approaches to scriptwriting. We also dug into the collaborative process on the IMAGO/IN THE BLOOD script (which was a first for both of us).After that, Mel goes on a Axel Foley…

Our comedy series PLACEHOLDERS has begun its multi-platform rollout! In honor of that milestone, we talk about the series' humble beginnings, the road to the syndication deal, the stuff we had to do to make the shows fit the criteria, and the related creative processes.Also by request: some quick and dirty definitions of terms we cavalierly throw o…

Recorded the week of Christmas, 2015, as Mel and Chris were returning back to Texas after the first leg of production for WICKED TRICKS. Things went really well...for once. We discuss our successes, challenges, and newfound allies.We also talk about our favorite docs about making movies.Lost Soul - http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Soul-Journey-Richard-St…

Filmmakers Mel House and Chris Warren welcome you to their inaugural podcast, recorded straight from the trenches as they trek cross country to work on an independent feature.In this episode, Chris and Mel talk about their experiences in the Assistant Director position. Plus more horror stories.EXPLICIT CONTENT - we curse a lot.Here are links to so…

In our continuing efforts to "keep it real", Mel goes off on his own and gives an inside look into his situation, his current mental state, and other related items. No, it's not a cry for help.Follow us!Twitter: @upstartfilm and @cwarr54Web: upstartfilmworks.netBy Mel House

Filmmakers Mel House and Chris Warren welcome you to their inaugural podcast, recorded straight from the trenches as they trek cross country to work on an independent feature.In this episode, we set the stage and mention a few touchstones and horror stories. Shots fired, for sure. EXPLICIT CONTENT - we curse a lot.Here are links to some of the stuf…