Jack Presnal, founder CFSSB |
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My Vision.
When I was a young child, I was fortunate enough to live in a town where there was a vibrant community theater (yes, even back in prehistoric times). From the age of 6 until I was 18, that theater was a second home to me. I was given the chance to learn all aspects of putting a stage production together: lights, sound, sets, costumes, props, and even performing. We were never paid a thing but the joy of working in the troupe felt to be payment enough. We did it because we loved the theater. In fact, it was this early introduction to telling stories to an audience that combined with my love of photography to become the seeds of my future film career. As a professional film producer, I have felt that same sense of 'troupe,' of family, on my film sets. We work hard long hours all intensely focused on one thing...doing our very best to contribute to the collaborative art known as film. The sad part of this, however, is that after each film wraps, most of the people who we have developed friendships with on set disappear. And, nowadays, with the advent of digital camera systems and computer-based editing, it is easier (and cheaper) than ever to make a movie. I have felt that sense of 'troupe,' of family, on my film sets. |
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One day, back in 2009, I had a thought...would it be possible to take the magic of community theater - putting on a show for our friends and neighbors, doing the work because we love it, not for pay - and combining it with the new technology create original feature length motion pictures for such a small price tag that simply showing to our friends and neighbors right here in our own backyard would recover enough of the unavoidable costs of production so that more films could be made. What I had imagined had never been tried before. We founded the Community Film Studio Santa Barbara in 2011 as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation. And by 2013, we had managed to complete our very first feature film, The Bet. This first "trip out of the gate" came very close to proving the model...that we could make a film for very little actual money and manage to return that money when we screened the film and sold DVDs. No one gets paid, no one gets rich, any money made goes right back to the studio to help make the next film.
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Sadly, I had some life changing events in 2013 that compelled me to have to leave Santa Barbara and my "baby" CFSSB before we could continue to work out the wrinkles. The good news is that one of our founding board members, Phebe Mansur, has taken on the responsibility for continuing the work we started as the current President. And, I am so proud of her work to keep this idea alive and the fact that the studio is now moving forward with new movie plans.
I sincerely hope you will join CFSSB. It doesn't matter if you know a thing about making movies...there will be someone there to mentor you. I guarantee you this: you will have the more fun, working harder, than you imagined alongside others who all want the same thing...to make the best possible movie. And the pride you will feel when the lights go down and YOUR movie comes up on the screen will make you want to work even harder on the next film. I hope to see you at the next premiere. JK "Jack" Presnal Founder Community Film Studio Santa Barbara |