Fire-Wired Blog

Tiny Explosions 2025 Horror 48 film "Jeff" (which screened as Decafitation) was a big winner. In a surprise turn it won't Best Film Runner-up and Best Director . having seen all the films in the competition, I thought we maybe had a chance at third place. I never know how these things are going go. I should not even attempt to guess and spare others the hype. Either way, very proud of our team and the weird, disturbing film we produced. Now winning Best Director, this is actually the fourth time we've won this award out the last five competitions . I'm quite humbled. There is no artist I revere more than feature film directors. To have my work as a director recognized with an award at any level is wonderful. When we first received this prize for Wheel of Death in 2023 I accepted the prize by saying the film was not my work but a team of artists who carried the project to that moment. I meant it, but not just for Wheel but every film we produce. Whether they ...

For the last couple years, in the hours before the 48 Hour Film Project Des Moines kicks off I've spent too much time thinking about how the next two days will be a wild mystery that produces a fully unknown film . Our 2024 film is a perfect illustration of this, I mean who would pre-plan to make a movie about a secret plot to force the dissolution of a homeowners association. And now nearly a month later, I get to break down the ridiculous short "Defund the HOA." Those who know Brian Hogan, know he is something of a collector of the nostalgic and peculiar. Somewhere along the line he purchased a flag that states "Defund the HOA." During our regular 48 brainstorm, this flag was brought up and the all other ideas were out the window. Given our penchant for ensemble pieces a plot formed about an HOA board and a terrorist-like threat. Just reeking in Tiny Explosions trademark of demented flair. Production and editing went smooth, the result is probably our best p...

Well it took 10 months but FINALLY..."No Shortcuts" is in the can. A one-man band short film I undertook in Winter 2021 to give myself a creative project when I had practically no free time is shot, cut, colored, scored, and ready to be submitted to a few festivals. Now looking back, I gotta say it was much more work than I was ready for. No Shortcuts has practical effects, computer generated effects, sound effects, compositing work and color touches that all together make it happen. Most films require a lot of post work, but science fiction requires an additional layer of care to make them work and not turn an audience off. Much of my efforts worked well, some will be nitpicked. But that's okay, I wasn't going for perfection. I was simply going. I will say I learned a lot about my tolerance for imperfection when tired and/or cold. I also cemented my belief filmmaking is meant to be a collaborative endeavor. Not only to produce a better end product, but get a grea...