Lighting in the Snow with Ben Sturgulewski

I could hear the wind whipping through the speaker of the phone as professional adventure filmmaker Ben Sturgulewski’s voice came through on the other line. Like a true snow junkie, Ben proceeded to conduct our interview from the seat of a swinging chairlift amongst the Alaska winter elements, only that much more of a testament to his commitment to fusing passion with his life’s work. …
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Invest In Yourself

“Get the inside right and the outside will fall into place. – Eckhart Tolle The Power of Now This doesn’t mean that once you focus on you the rest of your success will simply fall into your lap, it means invest in yourself because you are a platform for which all else will rise.…
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Nayla Tawa: The Road Back

While most of her peer’s flocked south in search of warm lazy beach days and dripping umbrella drinks, UCLA student Nayla Tawa’s spring break found her duct taped to her snowboard for 2 days with a broken back in three places, broken sternum and a severe knee injury in the remote backcountry region of Kyrgyzstan.…
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The Value of Feedback

I have to do what?? was my reaction when the Adventure Film School asked me to share my ideas and treatment with the rest of the group. Growing up, I remember sitting in art class and having fellow students lean over my shoulder obnoxiously asking “what’s that?”…
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Beginner’s Guide to Marketing, Promoting and Distributing Your Film

As a beginner filmmaker getting your work out there is a challenge. Where and who is your audience, how to maintain relationships, and how & where to distribute your work are all important aspects toward making your work known. 1. Marketing & Understanding Your Audience If you have ever read about marketing, this aspect is plastered across the internet and is seen in advice columns for freelancers of all walks; because it’s true!…
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What My Trip to the Olympic Peninsula Taught Me About Film

I had it all planned out. My friend JT was visiting Washington and we were planning to explore the rainforests and Mountain ranges of The Enchanted Valley on the Olympic Peninsula. Seeing as I had just spent the last three months of my internship at AFS learning how to prepare for the backcountry, I was eager to put my skills to the ultimate test of planning my own adventure.…
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