Crazy D Lane was never satisfied with just making films he wants to be part of the community of Independent Film Makers that are reshaping an industry that is looking tired and bland. Today, sees the next chapter in his story and it starts in a shed, Crazy D Lane's garden shed...
Crazy D Lane, When we last spoke you were completing shooting for Invasion as the result of an intense finishing funds crowdfunding campaign. At the same time you were on tour with Wheatus (for a feature length documentary) and now you launch a production studio. Crazy? Are you insane??
So first off I'm crazy, I'm not insane... but isn't that what they want you to believe?, but to answer your question, you're making me sound way busier than I am, or should I say you make me sound way more busier on things I love than I actually am, the truth is, I'm not... I'm bound & shackled by a way of life that most filmmakers try to break free from & what I mean by that is, we have dreams we fight daily for, but some of us have a family that we must put first & that's what leads us into a world of pain I mean freelance, doing whatever we can to pay the bills, the rent & in my case ALSO years of loans that have helped with my 2 self/fan funded feature film projects.
This is why a lot of the time it feels to the filmmaker that we're stuck in creative quick sand, you're fighting harder to put food on the table than to get finished on your life's work, getting the balance right is never easy & as I always put it, I always feel as though I'm always letting somebody down, so this is an idea I've had for a few years, which is essentially me trying to take some of the power back, but at the same time hopefully I'll be able to help a few up & coming indie filmmakers along the way, it's also an idea for me to promote the services of my incredible 'INVASION' crew, so hopefully this is a win win all round, as I was saying just earlier today when you've got nothing to lose you've got the most to gain, so here we go...
If all goes to plan then this will free me up a lot more to spend time on my own projects, & not be riddled with anxiety over how we're going to survive from month to month, which is the reality of a lot of filmmakers when they put everything into their dreams, it's why there is so much mental health issues within the creative community & even that is something that needs to be addressed more, but it's impossible for artists to be open about how they're feeling as it could put people off working with them, hence why it's still a stigma related topic within the film world, but with social media, awareness is becoming a lot better & people are now feeling a lot more confident to discuss things openly, I myself don't care now what people think when I tell them I've had a breakdown in the past & that I still struggle, it's when you care too much, that's when your mind breaks down, it's time for us to stop over thinking & over caring & to be more open... to inspire & to help, to be a community that pushes people forward rather than attempting to bring them down, times are a changing.
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| Indywood Studios HQ |
Is that really your actual garden shed?
So for the last few years I had small work unit, which inspired me to call it INDYWOOD STUDIOS... we used it for my film 'INVASION OF THE NOT QUITE DEAD', for interviews for my 'WHEATUS YOU MIGHT DIE' documentary, a few music videos & a few promo videos, so it was kind of a small studio, as rough as hell & def not one anyone could overly take serious but it did what it needed to do... & I was proud of it since I'd spent nearly a year building a cabin inside of it... & then we finished all studio work on my film & along with a huge flooding issue which destroyed the floor to my beloved cabin, it was time to close the unit gates one last time, but I didn't want to give up on INDYWOOD STUDIOS as that had the potential in the future to be something, when I was ready for it to be something... & now I'm ready, so all of my equipment has been moved to the shed at the bottom of my garden, which has also been a set in my film, so without making anything seem bigger than it is, my garden shed is the NEW downgraded INDYWOOD STUDIOS, so when I launch this new business venture, people are seeing it from the very beginning, no making out we're bigger than we are... we have cinematic filmmaking equipment for hire & incredibly talented people who you can hire & depending on what your needs are will depend on what we can offer, but it's all very exciting, all run from a garden shed, sort of.
Indywood Studios has always been the production house for Invasion- what are you launching today that makes it so special?
So today we're launching an indie studio, but again, not so much the studio space, if anyone does want it, it's doable, I'd need some notice to move a few boxes & bits of equipment, in fact it sounds like I'm making a joke, we've already got someone wanting to use the right hand part of the shed for a short film, so it's not as CRAZY as it sounds... but we're mainly launching a production house, so anything from hiring me & my team depending on the scale of a project, we have our cinematic film equipment to rent out, we also do a lot of in house stuff like editing, visual fx, so don't count us out because we're based out of a shed, if anything that's what makes us hungrier to get out of the damned thing & into a proper studio.
What do you hope to achieve with Indywood and what makes it different?
I want to be able to bring in money from doing what I love doing, so that way I can keep making films & documentaries that excite, inspire & also raise awareness for things that need more people talking about, I have quite a few project ideas, but the way things are at the moment, I'm spending most of my time working for other people, doing projects that take up a lot of my time & so there's less time to work on the projects that matter to me, so I'm hoping that this business will change my life considerably, if my two features was about me, then Indywood Studios is about giving back to my family, making their lives better, for me to make them proud.
What makes it different? well... I would consider myself different to most people/filmmakers, I'm NUTS, but also very much a hands on kinda person, so who knows, but with the equipment hire, I'll be dropping it off & picking it up personally, so they may even get a bit of on set support/input if its needed... if I'm asked. I want to offer out my film equipment at reasonable rate so that everyday people can make a film/short/promo that could be aimed for the big screen, so it's about giving people more of a chance to get noticed.
You have pulled together some of the creative people you are working with for Invasion. Losers Club or Dream Team?
The ongoing joke has always been THE GOONIES, a filmmaking GOONIES & I stand by that, in many ways we're all a little bit broken & we've latched on to each other in an incredible way, putting that passion into our dreams, so the first thing I thought about when organising this venture was a place that could include all my favourite people & if someone has the right budget, we could all work together again in the future... apart from my own productions, haha.
What makes you so passionate and what keeps you driving forward with so many projects at the same time?
My passion for filmmaking will never die, but my love for life is tested on a daily basis, mainly from my own doing, my own stubbornness, I love my family, I love my friends, & I love my film projects, but when I spend time away from my family/friends & have no time to work on my passion projects I go to quite a dark place, this is me fighting for the light... & Indywood Studios is the answer, this will help me to provide for my family, to finish up my 2 features, to then have the creative freedom hopefully to carry on making more personal projects and to still keep this creative control I've spent the last decade fighting for, this is just the next step up the ladder for me, & for years I never felt ready, I've not had my own business since 1998 when I opened up Grimsby's first ever DVD shop, but that's another story altogether.
If film makers want to know more and find out how they can hire Indywood Studios where do they go?
You can find us at:
https://twitter.com/IndywoodStudios
www.facebook.com/indywoodstudiosUK/
Will you keep us updated with any developments?
absolutely... & I'm very excited about the prospect of changing other peoples lives as much as my own as we move forward with this new SHED STUDIO... it really is about making sure people don't ever quit their dreams & I hope in some small way we can inspire the hell out of people along the way, it's our TIME... to quote our GOONIE leader Mikey.
"Don't you realise? The next time you see sky, it'll be over another town. The next time you take a test, it'll be in some other school. Our parents, they want the best of stuff for us. But right now, they got to do what's right for them. Because it's their time. Their time! Up there! Down here, it's our time. It's our time down here. That's all over the second we ride up Troy's bucket."
Indywood Studios has always been the production house for Invasion- what are you launching today that makes it so special?
So today we're launching an indie studio, but again, not so much the studio space, if anyone does want it, it's doable, I'd need some notice to move a few boxes & bits of equipment, in fact it sounds like I'm making a joke, we've already got someone wanting to use the right hand part of the shed for a short film, so it's not as CRAZY as it sounds... but we're mainly launching a production house, so anything from hiring me & my team depending on the scale of a project, we have our cinematic film equipment to rent out, we also do a lot of in house stuff like editing, visual fx, so don't count us out because we're based out of a shed, if anything that's what makes us hungrier to get out of the damned thing & into a proper studio.
What do you hope to achieve with Indywood and what makes it different?
I want to be able to bring in money from doing what I love doing, so that way I can keep making films & documentaries that excite, inspire & also raise awareness for things that need more people talking about, I have quite a few project ideas, but the way things are at the moment, I'm spending most of my time working for other people, doing projects that take up a lot of my time & so there's less time to work on the projects that matter to me, so I'm hoping that this business will change my life considerably, if my two features was about me, then Indywood Studios is about giving back to my family, making their lives better, for me to make them proud.
What makes it different? well... I would consider myself different to most people/filmmakers, I'm NUTS, but also very much a hands on kinda person, so who knows, but with the equipment hire, I'll be dropping it off & picking it up personally, so they may even get a bit of on set support/input if its needed... if I'm asked. I want to offer out my film equipment at reasonable rate so that everyday people can make a film/short/promo that could be aimed for the big screen, so it's about giving people more of a chance to get noticed.
You have pulled together some of the creative people you are working with for Invasion. Losers Club or Dream Team?
The ongoing joke has always been THE GOONIES, a filmmaking GOONIES & I stand by that, in many ways we're all a little bit broken & we've latched on to each other in an incredible way, putting that passion into our dreams, so the first thing I thought about when organising this venture was a place that could include all my favourite people & if someone has the right budget, we could all work together again in the future... apart from my own productions, haha.
What makes you so passionate and what keeps you driving forward with so many projects at the same time?
My passion for filmmaking will never die, but my love for life is tested on a daily basis, mainly from my own doing, my own stubbornness, I love my family, I love my friends, & I love my film projects, but when I spend time away from my family/friends & have no time to work on my passion projects I go to quite a dark place, this is me fighting for the light... & Indywood Studios is the answer, this will help me to provide for my family, to finish up my 2 features, to then have the creative freedom hopefully to carry on making more personal projects and to still keep this creative control I've spent the last decade fighting for, this is just the next step up the ladder for me, & for years I never felt ready, I've not had my own business since 1998 when I opened up Grimsby's first ever DVD shop, but that's another story altogether.
If film makers want to know more and find out how they can hire Indywood Studios where do they go?
You can find us at:
https://twitter.com/IndywoodStudios
www.facebook.com/indywoodstudiosUK/
Will you keep us updated with any developments?
absolutely... & I'm very excited about the prospect of changing other peoples lives as much as my own as we move forward with this new SHED STUDIO... it really is about making sure people don't ever quit their dreams & I hope in some small way we can inspire the hell out of people along the way, it's our TIME... to quote our GOONIE leader Mikey.
"Don't you realise? The next time you see sky, it'll be over another town. The next time you take a test, it'll be in some other school. Our parents, they want the best of stuff for us. But right now, they got to do what's right for them. Because it's their time. Their time! Up there! Down here, it's our time. It's our time down here. That's all over the second we ride up Troy's bucket."
thanks for the interview, take care
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