Photo by Daria Huxley
Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Joseph Hall.
Hi Justin, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Making movies started for me in middle school. I would use our old recorder to make school projects with friends for an easy A. This was back in the ’90s and we were kids without an editing machine, so we’d record our music and voiceovers to CDs and then I’d re-record the audio by connecting our video camera to the VCR and recording separate audio. Finally, when I got my own computer, I immediately began researching movies and how to make them.
After completing college a love interest at the time gave me the final push to start applying to jobs in New York City. I landed a poor-paying job making DVDs and CDs (I even did a run of Book of Mormon). Alongside my day job, I would pick up freelance jobs to improve my post-production skills and learn how to shoot and be precise. I was constantly imitating Hollywood productions to get my work closer and closer to the filmic look and feel we love to experience at the theater.
I was truly committed to my craft, and it was that commitment to quality that paved the way for me to work with amazing people, and have those people who want to work with me time and time again. There are so many elements involved in making a polished Hollywood film, but the most important element is knowing how to preserve quality from the story’s inception through post-production to final delivery.
I have mastered the art of post-production work because I focused on developing my skills. This allowed me to develop connections and be invited to work on projects that were featured in the Sundance Film Festival, HBO, PBS, the Brooklyn Film Festival, and more. In 2014, with my career on the rise, I decided to establish Fourwind Films Productions. This company was composed of my network of talented friends. Our goal was to come together to create bigger projects, solidify a brand that produces high-quality entertainment, and share authentic and diverse stories through film. We focus on bridging the largest equity gaps in Hollywood films, equal representation of the Latinx community, people of color, and women.
Our films mainly consist of stories either directed, written, or filmed by multi-talented and often overlooked groups throughout America. I love how our team’s diverse stories allow us to explore new and unique blends of storytelling perspectives behind and in front of the camera lens.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Ha! Funny. Well, money in independent filmmaking is always a struggle. Most folks without passion flake out of the industry. Those who do stay usually end up settling for high-paying gigs delivering quality work for other decision-makers. I believe because Fourwind Films has developed a unique vision of supporting fresh voices in storytelling and technique, we have been successful in making several award-winning short films at some major festivals.
Our next goal is to move towards deeper storytelling through longer films. Currently, we have three feature films planned for release in the coming years. One documentary and two fiction narratives are in production. Our documentary, Frames of Reference explores seven cultural perspectives on education from a multi-continental approach by talking to people directly affected by an education system on a daily basis: Students, teachers, parents, and administration.
This film is currently in post-production and we are halfway done with the cut and exploring fundraising opportunities to complete it.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I specialize in visualization and juxtaposition. Basically, the fundamentals of the film are the juxtaposition of visuals and audio with time. I also love exploring relationships of all kinds between people, shots, reverse shots, and colors. There are so many choices that go into making a film and you have to make them one at a time.
I love going through the process of filmmaking, especially post-production, it is my specialty. I may work 10 or 20 times on a single cut in a movie, and there may be upwards of 1,500 cuts by the time a feature film is completed. On top of that, carefully choosing where to place the camera, what to ask interview subjects or directing actors, or selecting the right music to set the mood of the scene. I enjoy this process, because in the end if I am able to enhance the mood through building emotions and feelings, I can leave a lasting impression.
I think the other thing that many people talk about but give up when the going gets hard is their desire to have a positive impact on the world. We’re not just artists for the privilege of creating. Creating for oneself is fun, but it leaves the artist to starve, and I don’t want to starve. That is why I created Fourwind Films, an independent production company where we give something positive to the world and expect payment for the art we create.
Our short films have touched on the Dominican-American immigrant experience, Women’s choice over their body even in marriage, grieving the loss of a life partner, thoughts of harming one’s newborn baby or lover, children refusing to hunt with their father because of a sick friend, the experience of parole, documenting climate change protesters, and even the maybe most personal, how to make a career by being creative.
This diversity sets us apart. Listen to those stories. They come from Black, Latinx, Immigrant, Midwestern, Coasties, Women, Men, and that’s all from the company I created and where I put all of my money, time, and effort. The only thing that gets as much attention from me as my work is my family and friends who keep me grounded and support me through whatever difficulties arise from being a creative entrepreneurial artist.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I love the Chess.com app. It allows me to think about something else other than filmmaking, so I still get to challenge my brain,
I enjoy both podcasts and books for sure. Of course, Fourwind’s two associated podcasts: Feature & a short, and We Don’t Even Know, are places to meet amazing creatives and learn more about the person behind the craft.
This American Life and Radiolab are my north stars on what storytelling should sound like. They are insanely diverse in their content and seamless in their delivery. They hire diversely and it shows. They maintain high-quality craftsmanship and it shows. Although I love those two the most, I also really love Planet Money. I am very interested in the regulated circulatory system of money.
I think right now Team Deakins is a must for anyone in the industry. Listening to power couple Roger and James Deakins talk to the industry elites as the most respected team behind the camera probably in cinema history (one good thing that came out of the COVID-19 pandemic was this podcast).
I have also recently been getting into the horror/mystery stories of Hondelatte Raconte, the French languages’ most famous podcast about mostly murder mysteries and crimes.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@fourwindfilms.com
- Website: www.fourwindfilms.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fourwindfilms/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fourwindfilms/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/fourwindfilms
- Other: https://www.fourwindfilms.com/feature-and-a-short/
Image Credits
Fourwind Films
