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Jeffrey Stoltzfus

Writer, Director, Storyboard Artist

Personal Details

Name: Jeffrey Stoltzfus

Last visit: Oct 6, 2008

Contact: Send message

Web site: Click here

Interests

Movies, psychology, football, nature, history, art.

Books

Chuck Palahnuik stuff. The dictionary.

Movies

Saving Private Ryan, Shawshank Redemption, Usual Suspects, Braveheart, Fight Club, Office Space, Momento, Seven, Narc, Citizen Kane.

Television

House, 24, Daily Show, Colbert Report, Scrubs, Family Guy, Simpsons, anything on the history channel.

Blog

Movie trailers in decline.

I'm a fan of movie trailers. They're quick little bursts of hope. And over the years I've prided myself on becoming incredibly accurate when judging a movie from its trailer. Saved me from quite a few horrors in the theater (only to see them later on cable with a self righteous smile).

However lately I've discovered a disturbing trend. The television trailers have become increasingly vague as of late. They show snippets the movie - but not the plot - and then focus on the cast (and any awards they seem to have won, ever). This is nothing new as far as using stars to sell a movie. But this new trend of avoiding the story (aka the movie) isn't going to pull people to the theater.

Let me pepper you with some examples. I first noticed it with Nicholas Cage's action movie Bangkok Dangerous. The television trailer showed Nicholas Cage's character shooting everything that moves followed by his V.O. of "My name is Joe. This is what I do." Oh well sign me up. I can't buy enough tickets for this one. And how did the movie fare? Not well. It topped the first weekend with such a low number (because nothing else was out) that it would have been buried during the summer.

The crappy trailer phenomenon continued into other movies: Righteous Kill, Body of Lies, Pride and Glory, Nights in Rodanthe, Miracle at St. Anna. I'm not saying any of these movies are crap. And maybe their theatrical trailers were much better. But the state of television movie trailers seems to have shifted from quality to confusion. "Just show the stars." seems to be the new order.

Or maybe they're just trying to hide the fact that all these movies are terrible.

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About Me

Grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania. Spent seven years in live television news. During this time I wrote and directed several short films and two feature length independent films. I have storyboarded a number of projects including feature films and commercials. I also teach classes on the storyboard/previz program Frameforge 3D Studio. Often I can be found dispensing and debating screenplay knowledge. My motto, "Always be learning, always be practicing."

Goal

Write and Direct movies.

Services

Learn Frameforge 3D Studio 2
Fee: $70.00 per hour

Pre-visualization / Storyboarding
Fee: $30.00 to $40.00 per hour

Professional Experience

Storyboard Artist
2006 - Present

Both free hand artist and Frame Forge 3D Studio. I have storyboarded a number of feature films and commercials.

Director
2002 - Present

Directed two independent feature movies and a number of short films. My second feature, Victim's Song, recieved a great deal of attention and won the award for Best Film in 2007's Big Bang Film Festival. www.victimssong.com

Screenwriter
1999 - Present

I have written several screenplays spanning various genres. My favorites are thriller and dark comedy.

Floor Director
Comcast Cn8 News
August 1999 - June 2006

Manage and maintain news studio.

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