Backyard Movies

BACKYARD MOVIES is a monthly improvisational film collective based out of Arlington, Texas, founded by filmmaker Frank Mosley and run smoothly with the help of associates Gideon Seaman, Frederick Trevino, Robby Storey, Nicholas Blanton, and others. It is a club for limitless members, only those who wish to be a part of telling good stories about real people. People that we know. People we are. For all our sins and flaws, for all our quirks and idiosyncracies. This is the place to blur fiction and reality, to show the beauty of imperfection. This is a place to experiment as an artist, to do something other than the ordinary without worrying that something has to be sacrificed. This is the sanctuary for short films, ones whose legitamacy is not determined by their running times. This is the stomping ground for actors. We encourage the use of non-actors just as much as the actors we hope will be intrigued by our projects. Enthuasiasm tends to go a long way. And passion. I'd rather have an inexperienced actor or unsure boom operator than a bragging diva and a crewman whose nose is higher than the boom itself. This is the place for actors to get dirty. It is not a place for makeup. It is a place to show the human face as a canvas of truth. Everyone has a story to tell and everyone brings their level of technique (or lack thereof) into every art they do. Let this be the melting pot of styles and ideas, of wounds and memories. All the films have to be shot over the course of one week's time, and shot with a handheld camera of any format. Editing can take as long as necessary until the essence of the story is found. The other requirement is that there is no script. There can be an outline as detailed as you want with character descriptions, plots, and arcs, but the actual dialogue will be found in front of the camera. There are movies that require lots of lights, effects, and crew. This is not that place. This is the place for seeking purity in minimalism. I grew up making a movie a day on analog Hi-8 with my friends in the backyard using only a handful of resources, but sometimes achieving the most charming of results. Hence the title. Embrace the limitations. Only then will you see outside the box. Everyone has a story to tell. Do you want yours told? For more info, go to www.frankmosley.com. LEAVE has screened at the 2007 Dallas Video Festival and the 2008 Mid Valley Video Festival (Salem, OR), where it was nominated for a Golden Pioneer Award for Best Narrative Short. LIONS' DEN has screened at the 2007 Lone Star International Film Festival, as well as the 2007 Dallas Video Festival. MEMORY LANE debuted at the 2007 Dark Horse Film Festival (Dallas).