Creator Spotlight with Filmmaker Ken Comito
This week, we are pleased to introduce filmmaker Ken Comito. Ken is best known for having written, produced, and directed Witching Hour, Witching Hour II, and In The Devil’s Courthouse. After reading Ken’s spotlight blog, be sure to follow Brain Juice Productions on Facebook.
What was the inspiration behind becoming a creator? What do you enjoy most about the creative process?
I was inspired to become a filmmaker at an early age, watching campy horror and science fiction movies on “Chiller Theatre” in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during the early ‘70s. I would try to re-create some of the costumes and special make-up effects from these movies and write short horror stories and then act them out with the help of my friends. From that point, after a family move to North Carolina, I made my first horror short/featurette. Along the way, I have written, produced, and directed three feature films that are currently in distribution and viewable on Amazon Prime Video and Tubi (Witching Hour, Witching Hour II, and In The Devil’s Courthouse.) I enjoy all aspects of filmmaking, but writing and editing are my favorite parts of the process.
Can you talk through your creative process? How long does it take? Does everything produce make money?
As an independent filmmaker, I am involved with almost every aspect of the creative process. Not because I want to be, but because I have to be. Filmmaking is expensive. My creative process begins with writing a screenplay. The idea for which sometimes might come from a dream or just a thought or question. From there, I work out how I want my story to begin and end. Everything in between may change, taking different turns than I had expected. Next, I break the screenplay down into scenes and then compile what is needed (actors, costumes, props, vehicles, etc.), where the scene(s) take place (interior/exterior), and when the scene(s) take place (day/night). Next, a shot list and storyboard are created that describe and illustrate the main point of the scene. Locations are then scouted and secured. Talent (cast and crew) are auditioned/secured and scheduled. This is all called the pre-production stage. The planning done in pre-production is crucial to successful production. But, there will always be unexpected problems or challenges experienced in that phase. During production, I like to keep my working day to a maximum of 8 hours. This keeps me and everybody on set sane and happy. I don’t really have a routine for post-production (editing, marketing, and distribution) as I only perform the editing portion. This entire process—from inception to distribution—can take years. Unfortunately, not all of my projects make money. Some (most short films) are just passion projects.
When did you first become aware of copyright, and why?
I first became aware of copyright and copyright infringement early in my career when George Romero and John Russo failed to obtain a copyright for the film, The Night of The Living Dead. This failure led to the film being available in public domain for years and leaving the filmmakers little to no return on their investment.
Have you experienced copyright infringement and, if so, how has it affected your personally and financially?
I have experienced copyright infringement with all three of my feature films. I have found my films on many different movie/file sharing torrent sites. These sites offer all kinds of media for free download. This, of course, does affect my share of distribution revenue.
What is your biggest copyright-related challenge?
These file sharing/torrent sites and the inability to counteract them are a huge challenge to copyrighted material.
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