Jason Starne is a producer and post supervisor on Whitetail
indieactivity: What is your experience working on the story, the screenplay, the production, the premiere, and the marketing?
Jason Starne (JS): Being a producer on an Indie film means you wear many hats. Many of us on this production did multiple job functions. My history has been primarily in post and VFX so I spent a lot of time building an efficient movie pipeline from onset editorial to finishing. I’m also a serial entrepreneur and love to build a business. I think making movies is just that. Your movie is essentially the product that you built a team to create and at the end of the product life cycle, you must sell the product, which is the distribution part of the movie business. So basically, I have my hands in every bit of it.
How did you put the crew and cast together? Did you start writing with a known cast?
Jason Starne (JS): A note about Dash Melrose. When I got attached to the project, I asked Derek where he was in the process of casting the child lead. He had looked at 75+ auditions and had it narrowed down to 2. I asked him to look at this kid Dash Melrose, which he reluctantly agreed to do. After watching his audition Derek was sold. Not to take away from the other actors that auditioned, because they were also good, but I think Dash really brought something special to the character of Donnie.
What and how long did it take to complete the script?
Jason Starne (JS): The script is mostly Derek. Being onset though, you get to throw out little ideas. Some out of necessity because of budget or some just because you have knowledge in specific things. This is one thing I like about Derek as a Director. He doesn’t pretend to know things, if he doesn’t know something he’ll flat out just ask. He’s not a gun guy and trusted me to handle all the weapon stuff. I hunt and am an avid shooter so when it came to the camper shoot-out, he really consulted with me. Uncle Frank accidentally shooting Ricky in the foot came out of those conversations.
When did you form your production company, Muscular Puppy, and what was the original motivation for its formation? What is your relationship like with your fellow founders and producers (Derek Presley, Alex Blackmon, Garrett Schwindt)?
Jason Starne (JS): I first worked with Derek in 2013 where I was hired as a colourist for his film Cronus. I met Alex and Garrett around July 2019 prior to shooting Whitetail. We all just clicked and had the same movie goals in mind. While we were waiting on the sound mix to complete for Whitetail we began working on Red Stone and decided at that time it was best to start up Muscular Puppy. Now in less than two years, we have three films completed and all with the distribution.
Is there anything unique about a Texas production? Any helpful insight about filmmaking and producing in the area?
Jason Starne (JS): There are some incredibly talented filmmakers and crew in Texas. The fact that it is a right-to-work state allows more creative control throughout your production. Texas is also very well marketed as a state. I don’t think there are many places in the world where you could ask someone if they ever heard of Texas and they would say “no”. The cities we’ve shot in have all been extremely film-friendly. You need that kind of support for indie projects.
What was the first project out of the gate?
Jason Starne (JS): Whitetail was the first project I could call “ours”. I think we would all reiterate that these projects are ours and not just “my” project. All the key department heads treated Whitetail as if it were their very own passion project and I think that it shows.
During the production of Whitetail, what scene (that made the cut) was the hardest to shoot? And why?
Jason Starne (JS): For me, that scene is probably where they have just finished having the shoot-out at the camper. When Tom meets up on the road with Donnie and Uncle Frank. That morning the crew was in T-shirts and by noon freezing rain was bouncing off of us. The weather in November in Texas is very unpredictable. I drove to and from the set every day for the movie except this day due to the road conditions.
Was there anything that worked really well during the production of Whitetail that might not have worked so well in another production?
JS: We were lucky enough to have everything we needed in a single location. We built the entire Production Office/DIT department in a bedroom of the house. Being so close to the production allowed us to be very efficient with media transfers and pulling stills throughout production.
You must have donned several hats on this film, the measure of your input required intellect, effort, tenacity, skill (…you know better). What did it take you to put out all these qualities to get the film done?
JS: This sounds cliché but you just pull up your sleeves and go for it. Communication is key. Make sure to lean on all your industry contacts. We live in a world where information is at our fingertips. You must be willing to discover it. I’ve worked mostly in Post my entire professional career but have been on both indie and studio movie sets and there is not a single person that has all the answers. None of us do, but when we communicate it’s only then we can find the answers.
What about independent filmmaking and the business do you enjoy most and what do you struggle with?
JS: I like the comradery and planning. I want to make films as efficiently as possible. I love having conversations about how we handle media and I also really like getting to know everyone involved. What I’ve struggled with the most is not knowing which decision is going to be the best for the distribution of the film. We’re figuring it out now and the landscape keeps changing. Ask me that in another year.
Where do you think your strengths lie as a producer?
JS: I’ve been working my entire career in media & entertainment. I’ve also been fortunate enough to work with start-ups, including my own and I’ve made great connections along the way. I’ve been a problem solver for Animation, VFX, and Post-Production in general for over twenty years now and I can bridge the gap between production and post. Having built start-ups has given me a leg up in how I handle the business of producing.
Let’s talk finance. How did you finance the film?
JS: Let’s talk finance. How did you finance the film?
Did you manage to stay within budget and how? If not, how much did you go over budget? How did you manage it?
JS: I won’t disclose the budget yet, but I can guarantee you’d flip knowing how much we made this film for. I am happy to say all our crew and actors were paid a decent wage and everything was on the up and up. You hear horror stories where people are promised this and that and then they never happen or points are promised on the back end and no one ever sees a dime after the shoot. I won’t work on a film like that. Austin Williams (Whitetail Producer) has a saying, “You pay people bananas, and you get monkeys,” I like that.
How important is marketing? Do you think a project can make a dent without it nowadays?
JS: I’ve always believed marketing can make you or lack of marketing can break you. We’re fighting through this now. We had acceptance at a big festival with Whitetail that was canceled because of the pandemic. This hurt us because we knew we had a festival film and it needed to be seen. Fortunately, we found a good sales agent in OneTwoThree Media (Alan Green) and a distribution deal was secured. Because we retained theatrical rights we stayed focused on marketing. We have a fantastic marketing and PR firm (Shinehouse Group) and they are leading the charge. Marketing is probably the last thing you think about when making an indie film but if you can manage to set aside at least 10% of your budget for marketing it will make all the difference in the world when it’s time to put your film out there.
Tell us about marketing activities or efforts on this project – and how it worked or didn’t work?
JS: Well, the festivals cancellations hurt us. Instagram was our biggest outlet before hiring Shinehouse Group. They should really be answering this question.
What do you hope audiences will get from the presentation of your film?
JS: My hope is for them to see this film and say Wow! Did they shoot that in 12 days?
What else have you got in the works?
JS: Personally, I’ve got something I want to Direct. Muscular Puppy as a company has lots of things in development. If we can get a couple of projects going simultaneously that would be amazing. We certainly have the know-how and talent.
Tell us what you think of the interview with Jason Starne. What do you think of it? What ideas did you get? Do you have any suggestions? Or did it help you? Let’s have your comments below and/or on Facebook or Instagram! Or join me on Twitter.
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