Mark Shell
Mark Shell is a multi-talented filmmaker who has been involved with every aspect of filmmaking, from script writing, to directing, editing, camera, acting, special effects, foley, and music composition. I am a senior level information technology and marketing director (Director of Information and Creative Services), where I converged IT and Marketing to creating extremely targeted and effective marketing. I turned around a company that was experiencing growth of -5% or worse. I have been in the movie industry since 2008, when I experienced "brain trauma" while working for the IRS - yes, the people there were so horrible and brain dead that it was sort of like a zombie thing. I used to be extremely left brain, very analytical, logical, and technical. While working for the IRS I noticed people in their cubes knitting, painting, and doing different artistic things. I though that was odd, but then again the people there were simply odd, so I brushed it off. But after a year or so my brain began to hurt, headaches, etc. because I was never assigned any interesting work, about the most I ever had was to create some stupid report or chart when we didn't even have data, so my left brain was not being used and eventually just sort of died. Think of it like a drug addict trying to go cold turkey, so my left brain was extremely active and engaged for many years and then simply went cold turkey and didn't use any part of my brain, I had contracted the IRS zombie disease and it had only been one year, I knew I had to get out of there before becoming a total useless idiot, but it would take some time to find a new job during the severe recession. Then one day I grabbed a canvas from my daughters art room and painted a painting. WTF? How did I do that, I had never really been artsy, but it happened. Bored off my ass at the IRS I needed to occupy my brain and I started writing, books, movie scripts, and more. One day after an encounter with a horrible manager, I decided, you know what, I'm going to show this woman how much of an idiot she is, I don't have any experience making a movie, but I'll make one, and I did. I had to learn everything, I had to buy everything, and I did and I learned how to use the camera and how to edit with FCP7. So I completed my first movie "Autumn Rage", which is not that entertaining, but it is a feature length movie, but it was more for practice, learning how to do things. After Autumn Rage, I decided to make another, then another, so I could learn and develop my techniques. I realized that there was potential money in making movies, so why not learn this better, so I began to progress. I created a long term strategy of how I could keep progressing the quality and content of my movies, so each one was iteratively better and made more money. I didn't go for the "I'm going to get into theaters or a large distribution deal" because that's a sad reality that won't happen until you have mastered the craft and made the right industry connections. I wasn't sure if I really wanted to pursue filmmaking as it takes a lot of time and you might not get a return. My second movie was kind of a disaster with cast availability, locations, weather and so much more, I nearly gave up, but I stopped that production and started filming another, one that was easier, and I completed that one, so my second release was actually my 3rd movie. I then went back to the 2nd movie "Black Water Creek" and completed it. I was not too happy with it, but it was a decent movie. I landed a distribution deal and boom, there it was for the world to see, but not everyone watched it, but enough to bring me some financial returns and keep me interested in movies. I did take a long break, perhaps 5 years before I decided to make another. During my break from movies I was writing books and I lost all of them as they were on a thumb drive, so they are lost forever, until I re-write them in some form Oh how my brain was turning when I came up with 8 Ball Clown, a killer clown that shoots people up with dirty heroin to kill them, that was sinister. 8 Ball Clown will be released in September 2018 and I'm currently filming 8 Ball Clown II. I also partnered with Erik Kristopher Myers and along with my son funded part of his movie "Butterfly Kisses". As part of the agreement, Erik is working with me on 8 Ball Clown II which we will complete in August 2018 and we are discussing an additional movie perhaps filming in 2019. We found an awesome large house in the middle of Pennsylvania, but the damn realtor never responds. I'm married with two children and my family appears in most of my movies and/or they are part of the crew. My son was doing camera work for me at the age of 5 and he actually directed a movie at the age of 11. I think my wife is an unwilling participant, but she plays along, even if the role is horrible and a clown attacks her. My daughter can be a challenge, especially with my drug addicted clown wielding a syringe (she's deathly afraid of needles). I have run for US Congress in 2016 and 2018 although it's more about getting fodder for movies than anything else. Hell I'm even considering running for President in 2020 just to get the B roll. Anyways I'm out there making movies and making money and I continue to reinvest my profits into the next movie and each one is better than the last. Will you see one of my movies in a theater? Perhaps, but I'm not counting on that because it's a hard game and I need more connections. Now I will say that the script I created along with Erik Kristopher Myers has the potential for theatrical distribution and I would like to get an actor such as Danny Trejo to play the role of Deumus, but things have to fall into place in 2019.