Local filmmaker Adam Engler contemplated moving to California to start his movie career, but reconsidered.
Rod Birleson, a film producer for Michael Moore, told him movies are coming to Michigan
‘I didn’t think so at the time,? Engler said. ‘I wasn’t seeing it, but I’m starting to see it now.?
Effective this past April, state tax breaks of up to 40 percent make Michigan very attractive to film makers.
“It’s had a huge impact ? a month or two after it was passed, a dozen films signed up to come to Michigan, said Scott Banks, media teacher at Clarkston High School.
“California is so expensive. If Michigan is cheaper, they’ll shoot here.”
The state will benefit as businesses take root to serve the growing film industry, Banks said.
“It’s good news for us. It’s great news for our students,” he said. “It’ll help guys like Adam, who have local knowledge.”
Michigan’s Great Lakes settings offer a great alternative to California for film makers, he said.
“You can’t tell the difference,” he said.
Many of his media students left the state for New York or California to work in film or television, he said.
‘Maybe now they’ll stay here instead,” he said.
‘I might stay all my life,? said Engler, who grew up in Clarkston. ‘We’ll see.?
Engler used a local setting last year for his film “Creepy Guy”: his alma mater, Clarkston High School.
The 2004 graduate used school hallways and classrooms as sets, Clarkston students for actors and extras in his film production, and Clarkston Public Access on Maybee Road, where he worked as an intern, as his editing studio.
‘The Clarkston High School people were really supportive,? he said. ‘They made it very easy to do it.?
He spoke to about 500 potential actors and hired the seven who auditioned.
‘The students did a good job,? he said.
‘They all worked for pizza.”
He shot the short film over several weeks, summer, 2007, sharing space with those in school for work and summer activities.
“The first day, they were apprehensive, but they got used to me and all my equipment,” Engler said.
The movie tells the story of a high school student treated poorly by his peers and teachers, and his supernatural revenge.
‘He gets picked on for no reason, his teachers misunderstand him, he has a hard time ? so he becomes the Creepy Guy,? Engler said.
The inspiration: an experience in theater-arts class. One day for a skit, he came to school dressed in a plaid blazer and thick glasses.
‘Everyone looked at me weird,? he said.
Engler premiered the movie at the Saginaw Riverside Film Festival.
‘It was definitely cool to see it on the big screen,? he said. ‘It looked good.?
His film was selected for screening among 18 shorts submitted.
He hopes to use Creepy Guy to help land a job in film making, as a cinematographer and eventually director.
‘Nobody knows who I am. Hopefully, that will change,” he said.
He has been making movies since he was in elementary school.
“The first one I made, I was 9 years old, using my mom’s new camcorder,? he said.
“It was called, ‘Killer Lumberjack.'”
He studied filmmaking at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. “Creepy Guy” is his student thesis, his exit project, demonstrating what he’d learned about use of color, composition, three-part story structure, and other aspects of filmmaking, he said.
“I wrote the script in high school,? he said. “I rewrote it, applying all the technical skills I learned to what I had.”
Engler was a motivated, creative student, Banks said.
‘Adam’s real creative,? the teacher said.
‘A lot of his work is cutting edge stuff, with subliminal messages ? really interesting,? he said. “He’s a hard worker, real independent as a student. We’d bounce ideas off each other ? he was so motivated.”
When the movie comedy “Semi Pro” arrived in Flint for filming last year, Engler was there.
On the set, as fellow extras tried to meet stars Will Ferrell and Andre Benjamin, Engler sought out filming crews.
‘They had a lot of insight ? I talked to the cinematographer, asking him questions about high definition, film processing costs,? he said. ‘It costs $22,000 a day just to process the film. It is all going digital. It’s just a matter of time.?