The following article was published in the Winter 2009 issue (Volume 11, Number 1, pp. 10-11)

of CROSSROADS - A publication for Sage College of Albany and Sage Graduate School alumni

My Story

Crossroads is launching a new feature, called “My Story,” featuring essays by alumni on topics of interest to them. Have a story – about a personal passion, professional expertise, or how your Sage education influenced your life as an alum? Please e-mail [email-masked].

In this first installment, an independent filmmaker talks about his journey from his business degree at Sage to one of the “scariest” figures on the local arts scene.

On Sage and Screen: Jeff Kirkendall '88

I’d like to begin this story by speaking about my years at Sage. I really liked attending the then-Sage Junior College of Albany from 1986 to 1988 and found my time there to be very rewarding. College life was liberating compared to the rigid structure of high school, and I quickly became engrossed in the variety of interesting coursework required for my major. I was one of only nine business majors at the (mostly arts) school; still I felt  much like a liberal arts major because of all the interesting electives. I think this course diversity, along with the supportive faculty, helped me excel and become engaged in learning. Achieving high honors and an Excellence

in Business Administration Award were proud accomplishments. Additionally the school atmosphere was  friendly, and I enjoyed time at the campus center when not in class. I have fond memories of friends and I engrossed for hours by the small pinball machine near the cafeteria, and continually feeding the record jukebox while we were there. This is where I remember first hearing classic rock singer Meatloaf and Bat Out of Hell, an album I came to love and one I still consider to be among the best rock records ever.

After Sage, I earned degrees at Siena College and The College of Saint Rose. I studied video production as part of my communications degree, and began theatre study through electives and private instruction. This thespian pursuit led me to audition for independent movies, and after landing some roles and being on set, I became interested in filmmaking.

I expanded a dramatic script for a class project into the story which became my first feature Terror of the Master. (I had become a big fan of the horror genre back when I was a teenager after seeing A Nightmare on Elm Street on video. This movie really captured my attention because it was so imaginative and visually groundbreaking, while also being compelling drama.)

For Terror of the Master, I borrowed video equipment to produce a tale of two sisters battling a vampire and a criminal gang. The movie was challenging to make, and provided me with a crash course in guerilla filmmaking.

It was shot on weekends over six months, and I worked hard to coordinate cast and crew schedules while at the same time focusing on technical aspects such as lighting and audio.

The biggest lesson I learned was the importance of having talented people working with you rather than trying to produce something alone! This was 1996, and the era of affordable, high-quality digital video really began several years later. So in that regard I’m proud to have taken a stab at independent movie production early on.

Next I teamed with area actor/filmmaker Timothy Hatch to produce three short horror movies before jumping to digital video (DV) in 2000. I switched to DV because of the improved picture quality of the format, as compared

to older analog video formats like VHS and 8mm. Also DV cameras make transferring footage to a computer for editing easier without any loss in quality. Armed with a DV camera I produced The Temptress, about three suburban women battling a vampire cult. It was one of my most accomplished efforts, and also my longest movie shoot to date, encompassing two years of weekend filming.

I then went about promoting the upstate New York premiere with posters, mailings, E-mail, and a new website called Very Scary Productions. These efforts proved successful and also helped me sharpen my skills writing press releases and incorporating visual media such as pictures and video clips into the promotions. Encouraged by a packed area premiere and good press, I began another DV movie in 2003 - the short comedy Of Theatre

& Bikinis (my first non-horror picture), about a college student who wants to become an actress and goes on a quest to meet a Hollywood director she believes is coming to her town. I didn’t make a deliberate decision to switch from horror to comedy, but rather just came up with an interesting story idea and went with it. Of Theatre

& Bikinis was an easier movie to make than some of my previous pictures, because it was all daytime shooting, which meant no lighting equipment or overnight shoots. Also there was not elaborate makeup involved, as there

is with horror movies.

Since producing that movie, I’ve been involved as an actor, cinematographer, and associate producer/editor on feature films directed by other filmmakers. Video editing has become a specialty, and I’m extremely grateful

I learned traditional tape-to-tape editing in school, followed by computer editing with programs like Adobe Premiere. And the majority of projects have been independent horror movies, so I’ve kept working in my favorite genre.

While continuing with my own movie projects, I’ve prioritized helping promote other independents in upstate New York. I’ve collaborated on events with The New York State Museum and The New York State Library, including independent film festivals, classic horror film fests, and filmmaker discussions. I’ve hosted screenings at Albany’s Madison Theater and Hudson Valley Community College, among other venues. At the independent events my movies have been screened along with the work of other filmmakers, and this has helped raise awareness of the thriving local movie scene. It has also complemented the overall arts scene by introducing another type of media and bringing artists together. So I’m thankful for the support of all involved and pleased how things have progressed. I look forward to watching the scene continue to develop.

Scenes from Jeff Kirkendall's movies

As with many independent artists, filmmaking is primarily a night and weekend endeavor, which means lots

of collaboration. Fortunately I’ve continued to work with dedicated individuals passionate about their crafts. Additionally I’m very pleased with my current occupation at The New York State Library, working with statewide library grants. The Cultural Education Center, where both the library and museum reside, is a great place to work and there are many people who have helped facilitate the film events. It’s a unique place (a perfect fit really) for someone with a passion for visual arts. (I even have a friend at the museum who’s an archeologist – how cool is that!)

Currently I’m preparing for my next project, the killer clown movie Die Laughing.

Unlike my previous scripts, which have originated from my own ideas, the story for this movie came from Joe Bagnardi, a filmmaker friend whom I’ve worked with in the past. Over the years my method for script writing  usually involved developing an idea for a single character, scenario or scene, and then expanding outward from there. Also sometimes I’ll think of a great ending for a story and then write everything up to that conclusion. I feel my stories have been uniquely my own, although I’m sure I’ve been influenced by the plethora of fright films, and non-fright films, I’ve seen over the years. (A Nightmare on Elm Street, for example, demonstrated the importance

of having at least one strong, identifiable character for the audience to relate to.)

I also watch a lot of movies from other low-budget filmmakers, and always take note of what people are doing using limited resources with styles, shot composition and so forth.

At this point in my career I feel very satisfied. I’ve had many high points, including releasing two movies on DVD worldwide over the internet, appearing in a television commercial for the Gazette newspaper, and co-hosting a film festival featuring actress Betsy Palmer (Friday the 13th). I’ve enjoyed acting through cameo appearances in several movies, and I’ve been fortunate with media support as well as lots of fan correspondence, which for an independent is encouraging.

For more information, about my projects please visit http://www.veryscaryproductions.com/.