Chris Bollinger
Filmmaker, Publisher, Educator
Trailers and Selected Works
Kelsi Davies - Darker (Music Video)
Kelsi Davies - Darker (Music Video)
Kilroy Trailer
Passing Through - Trailer
Passing Through: The Documentary (Color Correction Test)
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About
Past
I grew up across the US in a military family. We moved roughly every two years, but I spent the majority of time in Pittsburgh, South Carolina, and Southern California, attending high school and graduate school in Pittsburgh, but undergrad in South Carolina. Following college, I began work for a law enforcement focused textbook publishing company, designing covers and editing before also taking on their IT needs as well. As of December 2017, I took over operations for the company and continue our pursuit of providing relevant resources to our nation's law enforcement officers.
Present
I am a filmmaker formerly based in Pittsburgh, where I received my MFA in Film and Digital Technology. Shortly after graduating, I moved to Los Angeles, where I am currently pursuing writing and directing opportunities while teaching K-12 filmmaking and entrepreneurship classes throughout Southern California. My primary focus is in writing, directing, and shooting, but I am extremely comfortable in post-production as well. I am well versed with various cameras and editing platforms, color correction/grading, as well as very simple animation/graphics. In my spare time, I practice music production, particularly recording voice and guitar.
Future
Throughout 2017 - 2021, I have directed five narrative feature films, edited two, produced numerous others, and shot one feature documentary. I have remained open to freelance projects and continue to seek any opportunity with which I can grow as a filmmaker. In addition to these, I also released a documentary short, telling my story of a passion-project gone wonderfully awry. It is my goal to continue writing and directing, while developing a viable craft and brand I can maintain for years to come.
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Past Photography
Recent Projects
Sugar, Silence, Everyday Violence
This project was born of two elements: a desire to tread the paths of old-guard masters of the horror genre like Carpenter, Craven, and Raimi, while borrowing from contemporary masters such as Wingard, Saulnier and Whannell, and a fortunate turn of events that necessitated the creation of a film nearly out of thin air on a remarkably thin timeline.
In early October of 2020, our team was greeted with a proposition: we could have complete access to an under-renovation house for filming, but with only 7 days for principal in a tight window with less than a month to develop it.
We immediately went into overdrive, turning out a script in roughly 2 weeks, with barely another 2 weeks for pre-production, casting, and every other task one can imagine is necessary for a film.
Given the fact that we were in the middle of a global pandemic with Covid-19 seemingly lurking around every corner, famously bringing Hollywood to its knees during that time, we managed to guarantee everyone's safety by enforcing a closed set, with effectively the entire cast and crew living together for the duration of production with negative tests proven upon entry. This cannot be said enough, there is no way this film should have worked.
Fast forward past the shoot, and the film was edited in just under a month, with the remainder of the script being shot some months later.
I am immensely proud of this film, as it's the most ambitious project I've taken on, and though every minute presented a new challenge, I am thankful for the tenacity, ingenuity, and will of the crew and the ways they helped me grow as both a writer and director. In short, I cannot wait for this film to get in front of more eyes!
Passing Through
The MFA in Film and Digital Technology at Chatham University was largely project based, and as such, many of the assignments were short films, scripts, or even websites. My latest project was my thesis film and paper, consisting of a 25-35 minute fully-produced film and accompanying thesis.
My film was to be entitled "Behind Us" and was supposed to be a narrative drama involving a 14-day roadtrip from Pittsburgh to LA, but when we lost our actors, funding, and producer one week before production started, we were at a loss for options. We continued with the trip and incorporated test shoots into a documentary about the entire process.
From a theory perspective, I was largely focused on the relationship between modern technology and its effects on creativity and media as a whole. The final thesis was around 150 pages and the film is currently available on Amazon Prime.
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