The Lost Fortune of Oliver Brody

Why did it take so long to get this project moving?

Well, partly because $15k of sponsor money fell through early on. Momentum down.

Then we gained a producer/DP/colorist in Casey Bohrnell. 3-in-1! Momentum up.

But then we had script and location problems that we greatly underestimated the difficulty of, which kept the film stuck in the starting blocks for what seemed like an eternity. Momentum way, way down.

Finally, we solved all those problems and were able to shoot something special.

And then, with our post-production team, momentum finally felt like it was on our side.

Between Casey and I, we knew the edit and color would be free. But we’d need more than our skillsets to get this film where we wanted it. And having already gone over budget, spending thousands more on post was going to be extra painful for yours truly.

Fortunately, we were able to get some top notch artists to help bring the film to completion for free (or very close to it) – and I think that was mainly due to the merits of the film itself.

Here’s how it shook out.

Recruiting Our Post Team

Music:

First I did some cold outreach to a cellist & composer named Julia Kent whose music I’d been listening to the entire time we were writing and prepping the film (it was even used as temp tracks in the rough cut).

I figured it was a long-shot… but introduced myself as a fellow Kent who was inspired by her music while making this film, and sent her a link to the rough cut.

Fortunately, she loved it and signed on to create the score despite our lack of budget – a huge relief. The snowball was rolling.

And as I suspected, she killed it and the score rocks.

Sound design & mix:

I figured I’d do the sound design myself and had made a lot of headway, but eventually realized I was going to do the film a disservice by not handing the sound off to a true specialist.

I took a flyer on reaching out to a super talented sound designer and mixer I’d met once named Colton Jackson, and he responded the same as Julia, and will even be making us a 5.1 mix!

His first pass came back a couple days ago and added so many great sound design touches I would never have thought of, while elevating all the sounds I had been working on.

I can’t wait to hear the complete mix in beautiful 5.1 surround at our upcoming premiere (if you’re in LA, click here to join the wait list for tickets!)

VFX:

I’d planned to not need any VFX for this film, but at the end of the day there were about a dozen shots where a VFX whiz could really solve a problem or elevate what we’d shot.

We figured, “We’ve come this far… why stop here?”

So I put out a call on this newsletter, and fortunately, a reader named Finley McNeilage with VFX credits like Spider-Man: Homecoming and The Rings of Power volunteered to take a look at the film, liked what he saw, and has been saving our asses shot-by-shot during his off hours.

I’ll be making a full breakdown of the post-production for this film soon (releasing it after the film itself), but I can tell you that every update from Julia, Colton, and Finley has been like opening an early Christmas gift. You click into an email, and suddenly your movie is stronger – what a feeling! Highly recommend.

Status Check

These wins in recruiting have spurred Casey and I to work even harder on bringing the rest of the film to the finish line – and even though we’re only about 90% done with the color, it’s already more polished and beautiful than I ever thought it would be.

He’s now considering creating a 35mm optical scan of the film – which seems like an insane thing to do… but if he’s buying and we got time, I’m here for it.

So in the end, even though it felt like we were building NO momentum in those early months where we felt completely stuck on this project – we actually were building a lot of steam, it was just delayed.

In those early stages we were solving really difficult challenges that other people wouldn’t or couldn’t, and finally breaking through those barriers allowed us to create a film that seems to stand out, and attracted more talented collaborators to join it… even though our pockets were empty.​

What’s next?

We still have to finish sound, a bit of color, the key art, and a couple of final VFX shots.

There’s also three last-minute fixes I want to make based on screening it to my family the past few days – hopefully they don’t set us back.

Then we take it to SimpleDCP to get a DCP made and preview the film in their small QC theater.

At the same time I’m tracking down the best theater to host a public premiere of the film, and filling out the rest of the show (since this short is only 12.5 minutes!)

The premiere will likely be in early February in Los Angeles, if you want to be notified when tickets are available, join this waitlist I’m setting up. It will be an awesome night with films, giveaways, and all kinds of fun.

​Join the Oliver Brody premiere waitlist!​

The film itself will release on the YouTube channel a week or so after the premiere.​

Wrapping Up The Year

Each year I do an issue about goal-setting and try out some new ways to stick to those plans – keep an eye out for that next week (as I figure out what my goals actually are for next year).​

Favorites this week:

📚 Book: Lonesome Dove​

I’d heard of this epic western novel before – apparently it was a major influence on Taylor Sheridan (writer of Sicario, Yellowstone, many more).

It took its time to get going, and I almost stopped reading for all the idle chatter on the front porch that kicks it off – but once the story really starts, you’re well invested in all the characters and I’ve been loving it.

Still a long way to go, but I’ve been switching back and forth from the Spotify audiobook (included with any Spotify plan) and the Kindle version to get through the 843 page book faster.

They turned it into a well-received mini-series in the 1989 starring Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones, looking forward to watching that afterwards.​

Let’s make some movies.

-Kent

PS – For the end of the year I’ve knocked $100 off my online film school, WRAPPED. If you’re interested in kicking off 2026 with a new film, community, and wealth of resources for all your future filmmaking needs, now’s the perfect time. Join today.​