Talenthouse Blog

Kiera-Rose Riley AKA Kizzy has composed and written music, worked as a photographer, a journalist, a make up artist, a designer, a model, an artist, an actress and a film maker — and she is only 18 years old.

She grew up in front of the camera (her mother filmed her entire childhood) and naturally became intrigued by the camera as she saw more often than her mother’s face. By the age of 6 she was directing her mother in short films — she joined her first modeling agency at 7, stayed with it for two years, but left at 9 because she didn’t quite understand it — at 14 she was designing pieces for her clothing line where she received many offers from the public to buy but she got bored with it and stopped — she tried to return to modeling at 15 but immediately ran into the size 0 epidemic, which she fell prey to but quickly smartened up and told them no — finally, at the age of 16, she realized that her career had been in front of her face the entire time: filmmaking!

She dropped out of school to pursue her passions and has never looked back. Throughout the next two years she carved a name for herself through sheer grit, with barely any qualifications. She has filmed news events (competing with the likes of BBC for shots), interviewed British TV comedy duo the Might Boosh on behalf of Myspace, won a Green Thing film competition, and has had her films played a sold out conventions in Los Angeles as well as on the big screen at local cinemas.

1.) What is the most important lesson you’ve learned about your career?
I’ve learned that you have to make your own opportunities. You have to continue to try your hardest not matter how well you think you are doing. And most of all I’ve learned that if you want something bad enough, you can get it. I am a perfect example. I dropped out of school at 15, shunned my exams and just went for my dream. Which so far, appears to be coming wonderfully true.

2.) Which film do you believe to be the one every filmmaker must see?
American Beauty. Some of the lines replay in my head constantly. It really speaks to people on another level; behind what is being said or what’s happening in the scenes, the films meaning just touches you unexplainably.

3.) Do you have a dream project in mind? If so, have you started it?
I am a huge fan of the 90′s tv show Xena: Warrior Princess, I’m a Xena lookalike and a known film maker in the xena community. I began film making through the show. I would make little music videos for youtube, I gathered quite a following and soon turned my attention to my own projects.

Ever since the show ended the fans have been divided and petitioning over getting a movie produced. I always wanted to see one made, but was terrified of someone doing it badly just to make a quick buck.
One day, even if its a small scale cult movie, I plan to revive Xena for one last butt kicking spree.

4.) Re-makes – a new take on the original or a waste of time?
If done right, they can bring a whole new aspect to the originals. Perhaps incorporating technology which was not available at the time. Though I believe too many re makes are made simply to draw in an audience they already know is there, regardless of if the film is any good or not.

5.) What are some of the toughest things to deal with as an artist?
For me, its a constant struggle to keep my passion for film once I’m being paid for it. On my own little projects, that no one cares about, I could work all night. But when its someone elses baby they are paying you to bring to life, you really have to motivate yourself sometimes. Especially when they want something that the creative side of you cringes at. You just have to bite your lip and do the best you can for them.

I don’t know about you, but I am impressed and inspired! Here we have living proof that you can make your dreams come true as long as you’re willing to work hard at what you’re passionate about. This does not mean that I encourage you to drop out of school, however I do encourage you to find success whichever way is best for you! Because that’s the only way you’ll be truly happy

Congrats on all of your success, Kizzy! You have your whole life ahead of you and we all look forward to watching your career take off!

Warlock and Bradford is a tag-team of musicians who compose original music for film and television.

Movies and music have always been a part of Lance Warlock‘s life so it only seemed natural to integrate the two for a career. Growing up, his father was a stuntman and Lance would always tag along to Walt Disney Studios to watch him in action. At the age of 12, Lance was asked by John Carpenter to be in some scenes for the final cut of “Halloween II” and he couldn’t resist! From there, he had more opportunities to work with his dad on different films as extras and stunt doubles.

Leon Bradford grew up in a diverse musical family, always exposed to different types of music, and began playing the piano at the age of 4. During his music career, he’s played various roles including a composer and music producer for a national children’s educational company, a music director for a radio station, and he also opened his own recording studio where he provided production/recording services for local bands. His greatest passion lies in writing emotional instrumental music.

Having passion for music and film is their main driving force, and their ultimate goal is to get their music heard around the world!

Hanski Goldenstein is a film artist formally educated in Folklore and Religious studies from Memorial University. She believes that subversion through performance/art is the central theme to a growing body of work that validates existence despite assumed norms often used to qualify said existence. Which basically means she could care less about anybody’s preconceived notions on what her work should be like.

http://www.talenthouse.com/vmarion07

Feartured Film Artist, V Ken Marion, is a storyboard artist and illustrator in the film and animation industry who earned a BFA in Digital Arts from Pratt Institute. He is also pursuing sequential storytelling and editorial illustration. He likes using various traditional and digital mediums to create and tell stories and is always looking to push the “wow” factor.

It is always exciting to see your hard work pay off and your dreams turned into reality. And this is now the case for Ashley Maniw, winner of our “Write a short horror script for Fewdio” competition. Her horror script was recently made into a short film that will debut at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con! Check out a couple stills from the film below:

Fewdio be premiering ‘Firsts‘ at their Comic-Con booth (#4116) this week on July 22nd through July 25th. So if you’re attending, make sure to check it out! They will also share it on their Internet sites shortly afterward. You can check out some more stills and learn more about the script at DeadCentral.com!

Congratulations Ashley! We can’t wait to view the film!

http://www.talenthouse.com/alessandrodirenzo

Alessandro Di Renzo is our Featured Artist in Film this week. He is an editor, director, and writer who enjoys developing ideas for art installations, commercials, music videos, and short films. He was living and working in Barcelona for 5 years as a casting director and editor, moved on to London in 2008, and is now working on some collaborations in Italy.

http://www.talenthouse.com/ainoue

Anri Inoue ventured to the States in 2003 to attend high school in Washington before moving to New York in 2006 for an undergraduate program at Pratt Institute. There Anri received a BFA in Digital Arts mainly focusing in 3D animation, 3D modeling, and texturing.

Anri plans to stay in New York to gain more experience and build a career as a 3D artist. Congratulations on being our Featured Artist in Film and best of luck with your career, Anri!

http://www.talenthouse.com/digitalkuang

Our Featured Film Artist Kuangheng Hwang was born in Taiwan and raised in the United States where he grew up with a strong interest in drawing. After seeing the movie Toy Story for the first time, he knew exactly what he wanted to do in his professional career from that point on: 3D animation.

He went on to receive his BFA in Digital Arts from Pratt Institute and hopes to utilize the skills he learned to contribute to the animation industry. Kuangheng has experience working in both fast-paced corporate and studio environments and he firmly believes he can adapt well and be of great contribution to the future successes of great projects made alongside great people.

We’re excited to see your progress, Kuangheng! Keep pushing on!

We encourage all of you out there in Talenthouse-land to head over and check out our friends at The Disposable Film Festival.

Fans of the festival have seen films from all over the world and in many different formats. Some of the most popular films have been created with iPhones, Flip cams and even photocopiers, the options are limitless and creativity is highly encouraged.

To find out more information, visit www.disposablefilmfest.com to check out past videos or to find out when they will have an event near you.

http://www.talenthouse.com/sandershernandez

Sanders Hernandez creates digital animated shorts as well as still images. His style is variable and depends on whatever happens to be on his mind – ranging from cartoon characters, to more serious aesthetics, to photo-realistic architecture.

He is a 3D Digital Artist located in Brooklyn, NY who graduated from Pratt Institute of Art and Design with a BFA in 3D Animation. He’s always had interest in the arts; drawing, painting, and now digital media. His major influences include architecture, music, and philosophy.

Congrats to Sanders for being a Featured Artist this week! Don’t forget to support him for your chance to win our giveaway!