Local filmmaker Matt Sconce to premiere his feature film this Friday

We’re all about local film here at Dumb Drum, and this Friday one of our fellow filmmaker buddies, Matt Sconce, will be premiering his first feature-length film “Stricken” in Avenal. Despite being incredibly busy getting everything ready for the big night, Matt found time to “electronically” sit down with us for an email interview.

Dumb Drum: Congrats on finishing your film! So how did you first get involved in filmmaking?

Matt Sconce: I got involved in filmmaking after winning an American Idol Music Video contest with my wife in 2004. I have always loved to tell stories and I decided to move in the direction of writing and directing. In 2006 I made my first comedy short “Nine to Five Ninja” for a www.dvxuser.com film festival contest and then my first serious short for the same festival “Stricken”. Stricken won best sound design and was nominated for best horror film of the year at the Action on Film Festival in Pasadena and that motivated me to write the feature script based on the short concept.

DD: How did you come up with the idea for “Stricken”?

Matt: The short was based on a concept by my friend David Gilders. I based the feature loosely on the short, but took it a completely different direction. The supernatural may come into play…

DD: Funding is always a concern for indie filmmakers. What was your budget like on “Stricken” and how did you raise funds?

Matt: We won’t specify numbers, but we spent a lot of money and put in a lot of time as well. The money appeared as we went along. People that believed in us stepped forward and invested as they saw the product developing.

DD: Compared to most indie films “Stricken” had a small budget, but you still had great production values. How did you pull that off?

Matt: Our motto was “Never Settle”. We said, “If we settle now, then everything has been for nothing.” We would shoot a shot until it was exactly what we hoped for. We would make sure the makeup was perfect. My father, Gary Sconce, would build any equipment we could not afford and save us the out of pocket expense. 21 foot cranes, Steadicams, dollies, lights, etc. We planned extensively for the production shooting. Planning makes perfect.

DD: Tell us about the Central Valley locations you used for “Stricken.”

Matt: We shot all around Fresno. We shot from the tops of buildings, by the water tower, with driving rigs through the streets at night, in my front yard with projection setups for rain. We also shot for 2 weeks in Avenal Hospital, and filmed in Madera, Bass Lake, Coarsegold, Clovis, and North Fork (where we built a 3-story greenscreen wall onto my parents house and hung actresses from it by wires).

DD: Do you think Fresno has the potential to be an indie filmmakers mecca, like Austin, TX? What can we do as a community to make that happen?

Matt: Frankly, the city needs to wake up. There is tremendous potential in income generation and snowballing if the city would just get behind the idea. Ray Arthur has done an amazing job on this front and we could not have made this film without his help. More features need to be filmed here and then sell well so Fresno becomes a viable filming area. I think it has the potential, definitely.

DD: What other filmmakers inspire you and your work?

Matt: I love Tim Burton. I love that he will take risks and accomplish his vision, even when others do not share it. He believes in his dream and makes it appear for the world to see. Peter Jackson boggles my mind due to the amount of life he spent to make “Lord of the Rings” exist on screen. Paul Haggis is a writer I respect and the amazing director of “Crash.” There are so many I admire. Locally, two directors really stand out to me. I love the passion and thought Jessika Satori puts into her films and I love the fire and drive of Troy Ruff. He was an amazing assistant director [on Stricken] and he is moving up in the world. He has grown by leaps and bounds and is a great director.

Thanks Matt for taking the time! We highly encourage everyone to get out there and support Matt’s film and local filmmaking in general. “Stricken” premieres this Friday, June 25th at the newly restored Avenal Theatre in Avenal, CA. Tickets can be purchased online here or by calling (559) 386-1600. The 6pm and 8:30pm showings are sold out, tickets are still available for 11pm. “Stricken” will also play at The Met Cinema in Oakhurst, CA, on July 9th at 9:30pm, only 200 tickets are available. Call (559) 683-3456 to pre-order tickets. And finally the LA premiere will be at the Action on Film Festival on July 27th at 8 p.m. Tickets available at www.aoffest.com.