B.C.F.N. SPOTLIGHT - FILMMAKER DALLAS BOX

I recently had a chance to sit down and talk to Houston filmmaker Dallas Box. The young filmmaker recently released a new short film titled "Stand," which follows a African American teen from being shy and withdrawn through his transformation as he confronts the bullies from his school and triumphs in the end. The idea for the film was given to him from a former co-worker where the teen has to go through the process of standing up for himself.

Dallas' favorite parts of the story were actually the scenes where the teen is in his bathroom getting prepared to do what he has to do.

We also talked about his thought process for making a film in which he says the following.

Ben Franklin said something along the lines of, “The door to education never closes” and I add, “DSLR are extremely cheap to experiment with. Everyone should shoot as much as possible. Even if the camera is only rolling for a few seconds on a dying insect… the stories that life presents us are constantly around us. He goes on regarding the theme of “Stand” on whether or not he had a personal experience to draw from.

I have been bullied, but it never really affected me in the way most of these “physical/verbal” bullying scenarios lead on. I just kind of “chinned up” and continued life without worry of little things such as that. Thus, I did not draw from personal experiences when making “Stand”, because I was not emotionally connected to that type of pressure in my younger life. It hurts me far worse to see someone else being bullied or ostracized because I am highly against the idea of a person being excluded or treated unfairly, simply for being different. These are themes I have yet to touch on in my projects.

One of the challenges was working with the client and staying with budget while still coming out with a good story to tell.

During our conversation he brings this up again when he has to explain to local rap artists when they ask if something can be done in their music videos and whether or not it's within their budget.

His short films and music video work is for his startup LotD Films. Dallas has other projects as well. Recently he and the team from GoBo Productions competed in the 48 Hour Film Project where teams work to complete a short film in 48 hours after getting a theme, a character name, a line and a prop that they have to use in the film.

Dallas has a BFA in digital filmmaking and video production from the Art Institute of Houston, and is constantly in communication with the Houston Film Commission. In 2005, his passion grew from a hobby to a career as he attended the New York Film Academy to study production and shoot several short films on the Universal Studios’ back lot. Having worked on 50+ video shoots, he has gained hands-on experience in numerous producing, editing, and camera operating positions. He previously worked in the marketing department at a film equipment manufacturer, Ikan Corp.

There are also other projects being talked about as well including ideas for a feature film he'd like to do. We’ll have to talk about those projects in a future article.

For more information on this talented Houston filmmaker visit his website @ LotDFilms.com