Authors — A.D. Calvo
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Screening Before the Storm: Drowning in Anxiety at Fantaspoa
The rain started just as our plane took off from Porto Alegre, sealing our narrow escape. Forty-eight hours later, the airport was underwater, as Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul faced its worst flooding in nearly a century. How could this happen? We had just premiered my new film there a few nights before. Was it a dream? A quick glance at my arm confirms otherwise. Like many filmmakers who attend the so-called “coolest” of the Méliès Federation’s consortium of fantastic film festivals, I got inked by Laiss, a native tattoo artist who specializes in blackwork. Mine is a simple line drawing […]
by A.D. Calvo on Jul 10, 2024 -
A Decade of Hope: A.D. Calvo on Loneliness, Passion and 10 Years of Filmmaking
2010 began with hope, as I wrapped a small indie that looked like it might have legs. But the film soon faded into obscurity and hope faded with it. Two more efforts received little attention, and my heartache grew. But optimism sprung up again in 2015 when I collaborated with indie veteran, Mike S. Ryan, and the first film we made together got into Toronto. It felt like things were turning a corner. With barely a breath, we jumped into another. And for a moment, I saw through rose-colored glasses. Sadly, however, like with most small films, they too faded […]
by A.D. Calvo on Dec 27, 2019 -
Strength Through Humility
You’ve heard it before: “It’s better to fail than never to have tried.” While this may be true, if you’re a director there’s no reason why you should trip over your own feet like I did. After making a few features, I learned you could get pretty far by just believing your own narrative. However, the “fake it till you make it” approach has its limits. While I was making feature after feature, deep inside I was actually harboring a growing insecurity, an insecurity for which, ironically, I compensated with more drive. Thinking I could do no wrong, my ego […]
by A.D. Calvo on Jun 11, 2018 -
So You Want to Make a Horror Film? On Jump Scares and Other Basics of Fright
If you’re looking to make a horror film simply because you think it might be an easy road to notoriety, you’d be dead wrong. This is a dish that’s best served cold by filmmakers who are fans — those who have long loved being chilled to the bone — so it should be in your blood. If you’re a filmmaker who’s new to horror, immerse yourself in the classics and study their techniques before you set out to try to create a monster of your own. The potential pitfalls you face when making a horror film are what’s really frightening. […]
by A.D. Calvo on Oct 28, 2013 -
Why Filmmaking is Like Software Design
Before becoming a filmmaker I spent 15 years designing software. Started out as a Mac OS programmer and then moved to Microsoft Windows. My endeavors included all things visual—from icon design and screen layout, to the more abstract design patterns found in system architecture and coding. What I discovered along the way was that the most elegant solutions—the products that worked best, most reliably, and resonated strongly with their user base—were always the most simple and minimalist in design. And there was always room for improvement via testing, focus groups, and refactoring (a techie word for the iterative process of […]
by A.D. Calvo on Apr 15, 2013
