Description

The inspirational rise and fall (and rise again) story of how Whitestone Motion Pictures came from the brink of throwing in the towel, to shooting a project for The History Channel.

If you've been listening to this podcast since the beginning, you know that there is only one person who's been featured on the show more times than show regulars JD and Yolanda. That person is Atlanta filmmaker Brandon McCormick of Whitestone Motion Pictures. After posting last week's bonus episode about Brandon's incredible database of feature film screenshots, it occurred to me that out of all the episodes in which he's appeared, I've never really given any kind of in-depth story about the history of Whitestone and his journey as a filmmaker. So today, that's what I have. This week's episode is a tad longer than normal, but I promise you'll savor every inspirational minute.

We cover such topics as:

• How and why they do the kind of work they do
• His affection for nostalgic and period pieces
• His thoughts on artists vs. artisans and the significance of the difference
• The trials and tribulations of almost making their first feature film and the lessons he learned
• How the History Channel project came about
• And of course, it wouldn't be a Brandon McCormick episode without some profoundly poignant ending that makes you wanna go out and conquer the world!

Music in this Episode

In order of appearance, the music in this episode:

• Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairyby Kevin MacLeod (CC BY)

The rest of the songs are from the soundtrack of "That's Magic," music and lyrics by Nicholas Kirk, courtesy of Whitestone Motion Pictures. All rights reserved.

• Invocation
• Second’s Glance
• The Mysterious Woman
• There’s No Such Thing as Magic
• Second’s Glance

Click here to learn about Creative Commons licenses and meanings.

Whitestone's Work

Click here to see a clip of the Roanoke Film. Left/Right is the New York production company that handled the shoot and post. Brandon and his team handled the creative (writing, directing, exec producing, production design, etc.)

Here are some other films worth checking out:

• That's Magic: The film that inspired this episode.
• Tiny Little Words: The touching story about the first heart transplant. All shot in one take.
• Blood on My Name: This was the film that got Brandon and Nick meetings in Hollywood: their "southern gothic Americana folklore musical."

Learn How Stillmotion Tells Emmy Award-winning Stories

Stillmotion’s Muse Storytelling is the process they use to tell the kind of stories that has helped them garner five Emmys, and go from shooting weddings to shooting the Super Bowl. They’ve generously offered our listeners a special offer. Details are in the episode.

Grow in Your Craft and Career

We're also supported by YOU, the listeners. Become a Dare Dreamer FM Premium member and gain access to bonus episodes, ebooks, templates, and other resources to help you grow in your craft and career.

Speaking of which, click here to go to the blog post where Premium Members can listen to two bonus tracks:

• An early access to the extended 15-minute bonus clip mentioned in the episode where Brandon gives more details about the History Channel production.
• My old "Crossing the 180" podcast interview with Brandon from 2010 that has more specific details about Whitestone's history: how Brandon got started at 12Stone; their production process while there; the importance of story; and much more.
• My follow-up "Crossing the 180" interview with Brandon about the making of the Whitestone film "The Candy Shop: A Fairytale about the Sexual Exploitation of Children", using candy as a metaphor for under-aged girls. It's a powerful and creative film about an important topic. It stars the famous character actor Doug Jones ("Silver Surfer", "Pan's Labyrinth", and "Arrow", to name a paltry few) as The Candy Man.

Only Premium Members will get access to these bonus clips, so sign up today.