Stacy Misenheimer, 43, of Hot Springs Village, AR is a filmmaker. Like many other indie film-makers, he writes and directs his own scripts. What sets him apart from others is that he generally handles every aspect of action that goes on behind the scenes, not just writing and/or
directing. Everything. From inception to post production, to final product, he is the go-to guy for all things Swade.
As a one man show, I wanted to find out what Misenheimer’s biggest struggle was when it comes to filmmaking. For him, acquiring actors has been somewhat challenging. It’s not due to a lack of talent or interest in his work. Instead, it is because he gets nervous asking others to be a part of his films on a volunteer basis. “I feel like what I’m doing isn’t good enough for people to want to be in my films ‘cause there’s other people that are doing a lot more...”, said Misenheimer. But according to a few of his actors, that’s just not the case!
"I LOVE Stacy's passion! You can tell he truly enjoys what he does and it shows in his work. He's always making sure everyone on set is comfortable and well taken care of. I am grateful to have worked with him and I hope to work with him again soon!” -Karsyn
“As a director, he (Misenheimer) has a good vision of what he wants, but is always open to suggestions.” -Vaughn
“Stacy has a talent for dragging you into the movie making process. Regardless of your experience he presents what's needed in an easy to understand way, accepts input from veterans as well as newcomers, and keeps his entire team engaged from start to finish regardless of the role they are serving in. That amount of equality and equal-handed respect is rare in general, and I would think more so from a director producer.” -Justin
“He (Misenheimer) listens. He’s very respectful; He clearly loves what he does!” -Dennis
“Stacy is very humble and I love his passion for film making! He is always open to suggestions and is always upbeat and happy!” -Kent
“Stacy makes filming a fun experience. He knows how to set a scene and shoot the scene to move through it easily.” -Christi
As an actress myself (Allyson), I have had the opportunity to work on a couple of projects with Swade Productions. Most recently I was Cold Case Agent, Kaitlyn Frost in the second of the Arkansas Psycho series, Darkest Day. Unfortunately, Misenheimer ran into some red tape and had to pull the project not long after release. The good news, this is not the end for Arkansas Psycho! Misenheimer received enough positive feedback from his audience and cast that he has
decided to give it another go with both old and new cast members! My favorite part about working with Misenheimer? His humility. He is good at what he does, but doesn’t let it go to his head!
Aside from being a filmmaker, Meisenheimer is a family man. He said it can be tough to balance. His passion is filming but he knows family time is important.
Q'n'A with the Director
Q: Some people have said that most movies are all the same story told in different ways. Do you agree or disagree?
A: I agree with that, Everything's been done, it’s just a different version of it.
Q: In your opinion, what makes a film great?
A: If you go back to Jaws, the reason it’s my favorite movie is because each one of those charac-ters has a story... Don’t tell the audience what is going to happen, show them. There’s depth to the story. Now days, there’s not a lot of movies I watch and it’s partly because they’re so quickly thrown together. There’s no back-story...
Q: What advice would you give to someone wanting to break that cycle?
A: What I would suggest is for someone, no matter who or what they’re talking about, whether it’s filming or singing, or whatever, do you!... At the end of the day, you have to figure out what you want. The way you write it, tell it, film it, score it, or whatever. It is going to be YOU. For ex-ample, I’m trying to get that drama off the ground after Arkansas Psycho finishes. Ya know, I’ve had some good people text me, but I don’t have it fully cast yet. That’s what I want to work on, something like that. The horror and all that is fun to do and I enjoy doing it, but man I just
wanna tell stories; At the end of the day, I feel like that’s something, whatever it may be, you gotta do what you wanna do or your gonna wear out because you’re not doing what you wanna do. If I’m gonna do something, I wanna do it my way.”
Q: Speaking of your way, I know you are somewhat of a one man show. What are the pros and cons of doing everything yourself?
A: The pro is, at the end of the day, you learn every aspect of it (filmmaking). You may not do it as well... Ya know that saying, “Jack of all trades, master of none,” that may be the case. If I had sound people and light people and all that, I think the pro of that would be I could relax more on set because I could kinda give my vision to this person or that person and then you’re behind the camera... Everyone’s got questions, but at the end of the day, when you’re by yourself and you’re
trying to get everything situated, it’s pretty tough sometimes.
Q: If you had one piece of advice to give new filmmakers, other than, “do you,” what would it be?
A: Watch YouTube and don't rush equipment. Work on (learning) copying looks, light, angles, and such.
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