"The Shut Up and Shoot " Series Does What It Was Supposed To…

A few weeks ago I received a very nice thank you letter from Deborah Grammatico, who has been using my Shut Up and Shoot filmmaking guides to help her son, Cruce, learn filmmaking.  Since I first published The Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide in 2007, I’ve received many such letters from all over the world , but this one really caught my attention on three accounts:

1) Cruce is only 14 years old, 2) he’s self-taught and 3)  his ghost hunter show, Michigan Uncovered  is in a word – tight.

This kid has mad skills, so I followed up with the Grammatico’s and Cruce offered to do a video testimonial.  When I say this kid has skills, this is what I mean…

…I only take exception to one thing in the above video…Cruce is no longer an “aspiring filmmaker” – he’s just a filmmaker.  The only criteria to be a filmmaker is to make films.  And Cruce studied the craft and just shut up and shot the visions in his head until he got good at it.

Stories like Cruce’s were my fondest hope when I started this company – that novices, amateurs, and would-be filmmakers of all ages, races and places on the globe  would feel educated, empowered and inspired enough to pursue their filmmaking dreams.  And to date, Down and Dirty DV has helped many people do just that based on the reader and fan emails  I’ve received through the years.

So to tell the story of Cruce and other Down and Dirty DV filmmakers like him, I’m starting a new blog segment entitled SHINE where I’ll showcase the work and stories of the readers, users and fans of Down and Dirty DV.

Check out the very first Down and Dirty DV SHINE segment featuring 10 Questions with 14-Yr Old Cruce Grammatico and a case-study of an episode of his popular ghost-hunting show, Michigan Uncovered:

Watch Cruce SHINE

(*If Down and Dirty DV has helped you with your filmmaking please drop me an email via the “CONTACT” link above, tell me your story and and include a link to your best video work and you just might be the next budding filmmaker to SHINE on on DownAndDirtyDV.com.)