12.11 PulseFILMS - Hollow Skull Films

By Alex Kantarelis

Some talented people have stepped out of the shadows of Hollywood to create their own company ~ Hollow Skull Films ~ that totally embraces our local community of filmmakers in Massachusetts. The non-profit film production company was the brainchild of college students who just wanted to step out and make something happen.

The company’s goal is simple: they want to help aspiring young filmmakers hone their talent by guiding them in a way that a normal film job or internship cannot., lending a guiding hand with equipment, funding, and the overall organization that is required when working on a production, things that most people can’t afford on their own. One of the challenges of the film industry is finding a way to reach your goals ~ and that’s assuming you know what your goals are in the first place. Everyone wants to make movies, but it’s tough to decide which aspect of a film ~ and there are literally hundreds ~ is the best fit to pursue. That’s where Ali Caine comes in. The Sturbridge native is the COO and chairman of Hollow Skull Films, and ~ along with partners Alex Hagen (CEO and President), and Brandon Muir (CFO and Treasurer) ~ has found a way to help the young, talented, ambitious filmmakers realize what they want to do ~ and just as importantly, what they don’t want to do. For example, someone may think that he or she wants to be a producer, and then, while working on a Hollow Skull project as a director of photography, realize that photography is actually his true passion. In the “real world,” this person would have to work as a production assistant, which is industry slang for “coffee getter;” he’d never have the chance to focus his talent and attention and realize his dream.

Hollow Skull works very hard to sectionalize the crew and production team, giving everyone a specific job so that they learn exactly what it takes to work within that position on a film. “You get to focus on just your stuff, and you don’t end up spreading yourself thin,” Caine said. At one point, a film Caine was working on needed a horse for a scene. Because her job was to be the producer and nothing more, she was able to focus solely on the task at hand. “If I were producing, directing, and worrying about editing, I’d never be able to do something like that.” With this approach, HS gets the most out of each member of the crew, and if a Hollow Skull “graduate” decides to move to Los Angeles to become a Production Assistant, he’ll be a step ahead of other P.A.s who never had the opportunity to gain real, valuable, specialized film set experience.

Surrounding themselves with creative minds, the Hollow Skull crew got together earlier this year to work on one insanely ambitious project: the goal was to make a film in only 72 hours. They pulled in 10 people and started at noon with nothing more than the idea of making some kind of horror movie. “We started writing at about noon, had a script by 6 o’clock and started shooting around 7. We had wrapped by midnight the next day,” Caine said. The finished product ~ This Could Be Love ~ came together unbelievably fast, and premiered in a Boston theater just 72 hours after the original idea started.

Making a movie in just 3 days isn’t the only thing feather in Hollow Skull’s cap. Before that, they’d put together a film called Casanova Baby that they finished earlier this year. The 10 minute short was an exploration of adolescent love and at times the production had a crew of up to 60 people. And if by now you’re wondering where the name Hollow Skull comes from, Ali explains: “Hollow Skull is a completely random name. Alex has a tattoo on his wrist of the Alkaline Trio logo and a friend of ours came up with the name based on that. Also it’s kind of like “empty headed” or dumb, which is basically what Alex writes about and we both have our idiotic tendencies. Honestly, it doesn’t mean much of anything.”

Expect to see much more from Hollow Skull ~ who are anything but empty-headed ~ in the months to come.

Be sure to check them out on Facebook for more information. Their videos are available on their vimeo page.