Western Herald ? Western grad eyes career in Hollywood

Kaitlyn Mitchell
Staff Reporter

Michael David Marshall, a? 2010 graduate of WMU?s Film and Video Studies program, has been hard at work since graduation, writing, directing, editing and starring in his own independent shorts and feature films.

Marshall released his first feature-length film, ?Frank?s Plight,? this past November. He starred as Sparky, also directing and editing the project himself.

As a director, Marshall is known for his crazy, horrifying and hilarious film-making style.

?[The character of] Sparky is sort of making fun of me sometimes,? Marshall said. ?Sometimes I can be a little bit condescending when I give advice.?

Currently, Marshall spends much of his time releasing humorous short film clips on his YouTube channel once a week, most of them featuring Sparky from ?Frank?s Plight.?

?I came up with the idea for ?Sparky?s Corner,? where Sparky steals an iPhone and makes his own web series,? said Marshall.

Marshall wears a suit everyday to complete his image as a film director, but while filming for ?Frank?s Plight,? he found himself having to wear his character?s homeless costume quite often. As a filmmaker, he is meticulous about detail, from actor?s consent forms to providing breakfast for early morning shoots.

?If you wear a suit and a nice tie, people treat you so much differently. They respect you,? Marshall said. ?It?s like, I was ugly yesterday. I definitely use clothing as a way of communicating authority.?

Marshall is based in Detroit, but travels all the way back to Kalamazoo in order to film his projects. And in his spare time, Marshall researches history, philosophy and the art of film-making in order to prepare for a career in the industry.

?Most of my friends still live in Kalamazoo, so they?re all really far away,? Marshall said. ?It sucks being lonely, but at the same time, it forced me to be better, to be me.?

Marshall?s big influences include Oscar-winning filmmakers like Kathryn Bigelow, Quentin Tarantino and Michael Moore.

?When I was 17 and I decided that making movies was what I wanted to do, I remember I went and saw Sin City and it blew me away,? Marshall said. ?I didn?t even really know what cinematography was until then.?

Financial restrictions have thus far prevented Marshall from moving to a location more conducive to film-making, but he is hopeful that a change of scenery rests somewhere in his future.

?I want to go to Los Angeles, because that?s where the industry is,? Marshall said. ?[But] I want to be someone worth knowing before I go out there and try to work with people.?

But if Marshall won?t be making the big move any time soon, that means he may end up shooting his next film here in Kalamazoo?once the script is finished, that is.

?I want to shoot another feature before I go out there [to Los Angeles],? he said. ?I learned so much from shooting ?Frank?s Plight.? [The film] does have some obvious technical problems.?

Michael David Marshall?s numerous films are available to view, free of charge, on both his personal website and his YouTube channel. His Facebook page is also a good resource, providing updates on scripts he is currently working on.

Source: http://www.westernherald.com/arts-and-entertainment/western-grad-eyes-career-in-hollywood/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=western-grad-eyes-career-in-hollywood

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