The Spark That Lit the Fire

For a decade, I’ve been chasing stories. Short films, music videos, commercials, you name it. But lately, I’ve had an itch for features. I’ve wanted to go big. Enter Pure Vortex, our first no-budget comedy feature, born from a crazy idea and a lot of guts.

Early this year, Branden Garrette, a buddy of mine, also a Stage 32 member who I met on the platform, dropped an idea: “If we want to make a feature, we’ve gotta do it ourselves.” I grinned. “I’ve got a screenplay, I can direct it, shoot, edit, whatever it takes. I’ve got Leya as the cinematographer and part of a crew. But no money and no actors.” Branden shot back, “No problem. I’ll find actors, we’ll pitch in, and we’ll make it work.” That’s how it kicked off, a leap of faith, no permission needed.

Lesson: Don’t wait for a green light; light the fire yourself.

What’s Pure Vortex About, Anyway?

Pure Vortex is a comedy about Nick, a frustrated mechanic who fakes a rock band with his buddies to snag artist visas and chase a better life in LA installing air conditioners. Spoiler: it’s a mess, deportation looms, chaos erupts, but love and a real future sneak out of the wreckage. Why comedy? Life’s absurd, and I wanted to lean into that. Why no budget? Well we tried, private investors, state funds, nobody cared. We’re nobodies with big dreams. Only one local drink company tossed us crates of water and soda for filming and I’m immensely grateful for them. Because every little bit helps. We’re proving that we can do it ourselves. The goal? Make a damn good movie, then figure out what’s next. It’s the opposite of every “how to make a film” guide, and I’m okay with that.

Lesson: Dream big, even if the budget’s zero.

Rewriting for Reality

The screenplay wasn’t no-budget-ready. Time was tight, Branden was only in Slovenia for a couple of months, so I roped in Leya’s sister, Iza Kokoravec Povh (a Stage 32 member too), to help rework the screenplay. We brainstormed for weeks, tweaking scenes to fit local spots we could get for free. Nick jets to the US in the story, but flying the crew to LA? No way. So, we got creative: Branden would shoot iPhone clips at cool LA spots, playing his character on a “video call” while he was there. We’d film those on a laptop screen here, making it look like a video call. Production value, no cost. We wrote multiple versions of key scenes just in case we didn’t get the locations. If we didn’t score them all, we’d still have what we needed.

Lesson: Write for what you can shoot and constraints spark cleverness. Where there’s a will there’s a way.

Hustling Free Locations

Locations were our biggest puzzle: a newspaper office, used clothes store, music studio, car garage, biker clubhouse, two airports, and an airplane. In Slovenia, public space permits are easy, no need unless you’re shutting down streets or something. But we still had to charm our way in. A newspaper editor loved our pitch, gave us their office for a weekend, and sent a film-loving reporter to chaperone and write an article. What a great article he wrote! A clothes store near my mother-in-law’s opened up on a Sunday. My neighbor, a music producer, is willing to let us use his studio and signed on to score the film. A biker buddy of mine hooked us up with a biker clubhouse, where we had already shot a music video years ago. Iza’s husband knew a guy with a car garage. An airplane? Begged my way in and it will work.

Lesson: Relationships are your budget, build them, credit them, thank them always.

Casting Chaos and Accents

Casting was tricky. Branden landed most main roles, but side parts were tough. I write in English (don’t ask why), so we chose English for broader appeal. But how do you show Slovenian characters “speaking Slovenian” in English versus LA folks’ speaking in “English”? I remembered ‘Allo ‘Allo!, a British show using exaggerated accents on TV from when I was a kid. Our Slovenians rock a slight Slavic vibe, think action-movie bad guys. While LA characters lean into an American accent. It’s not perfect English by design, easing actor pressure. For what we didn’t have, we roped in friends and family. Leya’s and Iza’s mom and dad were in (after some clever pitching). Our cast was talented, passionate, and problem-solving, even helping with wardrobe and on set. Early hiccups? Sure, but we trusted we’d always find a way forward.

Lesson: Cast creatively, accents can solve story issues, and passion trumps polish.

Gear, Grit, and Teamwork

We had the gear covered, our trusty Pocket 4K camera, borrowed lights, and mics. Leya, our cinematographer, and Blaž, our lighting wiz, pooled everything together. We went handheld to move fast, since time was our enemy. Leya and I spent 10 days shortlisting and storyboarding 250 shots, mostly two-shots and mediums for speed. I built props, posters, and desk papers. While Leya sketched storyboards. Blaž’s quick fixes, like rigging lights on a dime, are going to save us. We had no sound person for every day that we needed? Yikes, but we’ll deal with that later, banking on 32-bit lav mics and post-production software. We planned every setup, knowing schedules were tight.

Lesson: Know your gear, lean on your team’s strengths, and plan like you’re broke. Well because we were. Good software can save your butt, too.

Rehearsing Like It’s a real Movie Already

Rehearsals were intense, daily Zoom calls, 1.5 to 2 hours, for weeks. I worried that virtual wouldn’t cut it, but it was a blessing. Actors performed for a camera, not over-rehearsing for a stage. They were pros, nailing lines early, so I focused on answering their questions and tweaking delivery. By 10 days before shooting, they were killing it, better than I’d hoped or imagined. What a cast! An international cast! We have people from Slovenia, Italy, the US and more, a whole international production. Wow!

We started on a holiday at 6 AM. The schedule? Ambitious, 12 days, down from 18 after timing scenes and setups. Long days, sure, but doable. I hope! The crew and cast’s effort blew me away, wardrobe, ideas, everything. Everyone was pitching in and doing more than their share.

Lesson: Rehearse smart, Zoom works, and pros make directing easier if you trust them.

What Surprised Me

I’m always floored by the support we get. Leya’s sister Iza, her parents, her husband. They’re always there, making time outside their day jobs. Our actors brought more than performances, they brought wardrobe, ideas, and heart. They tracked their own outfits through scenes since we had no wardrobe department. My friend Gregor, a producer, gave us his studio for the day and showed up daily. My good friend, also a Stage 32 member, Michael William Hogan from LA, nearly flew into Slovenia, to help out and to cheer us on. What a guy!

Location owners amazed me, too. The newspaper editor, the reporter who played an extra, the biker club, they were all up for it. Seeing shots in editing software, hearing the dialogue, laughing at how funny it looks? Magic.

Lesson: Passion projects thrive on passionate people. Building the right team is everything and there’s no room for grumpy grips or gaffers.

The Day Before production (Freaking Out)

The night before production, I was a wreck. A heatwave hit, and I couldn't sleep. I was up every few hours, sweating over locations and schedules. Were 12 days enough? Would the actors work in person? Leya slept like a champ, but I was a zombie by 3:30 AM, packing gear, triple-checking lists. I knew our team, Leya, Iza, Blaž, Gregor, Branden were all rock-solid. The story was great, the actors really ready. Still, doubt crept in. Driving to set, I was quieter than ever, running scenarios in my head. Could we pull this off? Did I over estimate the schedule, what will go wrong?

Lesson: Nerves are normal, but trust your prep, your crew, and the chaos. It’s filmmaking, not brain surgery, and we’ve all done it before, just in smaller chunks. I learned to say “Make lemons from lemonade” and deal with any problem that comes our way.

What’s Next for Pure Vortex

We hit the ground running that first day, more on that in the next blog.

Pre-production taught us that we could do this. Locations, cast, gear, they all came together through hustle and heart. The schedule is locked, props ready, and we’re diving into production with no money but tons of faith.

This blog series will track the shoot’s chaos, post-production grind, and what’s next.

Will Pure Vortex be a gem or a lesson in what not to do? I’m stoked to find out and from what I’ve seen of the material I’m betting on our team. Early shots look awesome.

Lesson: Start where you are, zero budget doesn’t mean zero chance. Your real assets are the people you work with. Stay tuned for more of the filmmaking madness.

My Hopes for This Journey

Why do this? Features are my dream, and Pure Vortex is the first step. After a decade of shorts, I’m ready to tell bigger stories that hit differently. Leya, Iza, Blaž, Gregor, Branden, and our crew are the magic behind it, no budget doesn’t mean no heart. I hope this film proves we can make something great, maybe catch someone’s eye for the next feature (my next feature The Procedure is waiting, wink, wink). Mostly, I want to look back and say we did it our way, with people that we trust. If we pull that off, I’ll be a happy camper.

We all came together with the idea to make our first feature film, everyone with their own motivation but making a film together in the end, even though we’re not making a dime, but actually spending money.

Imagine what we could do if we had a budget!

Lesson: Dream big, build it with your tribe, and you’re already winning.

Let's hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Got an idea for a post? Or have you collaborated with Stage 32 members to create a project? We'd love to hear about it. Email Ashley at blog@stage32.com and let's get your post published!

Please help support your fellow Stage 32ers by sharing this on social. Check out the social media buttons at the top to share on Instagram @stage32 , Twitter @stage32 , Facebook @stage32 , and LinkedIn @stage-32 .