Meet Colin Charles Dale of Strange Place Productions in Mid-city

Today we’d like to introduce you to Colin Charles Dale.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I grew up making films. As a little kid, I’d run around with my dad’s VHS camcorder and my friends and we’d make movies in our neighborhood, almost all of which were pure hilarity. We made Indiana Jones spinoffs, Star Wars spinoffs, our own original stories, I even remember a heist movie we made with cap guns (my cousins would definitely remember that one). While other kids were interested in playing sports, I remember these times I spent making movies being the most exciting times. That’s why I really do feel like filmmaking is something I’m destined to do as a career. I’ve been compelled to do it my entire life, literally.

In middle school and high school, I started experimenting with short stories and poetry (I still write poetry; it’s so much fun…and I will probably get back into prose as I have a few novel ideas brewing), and I took a film class (the only one) in high school that completely shifted my perspective on films. I started to analyze them as I was watching, and I was able to see the process at play in real-time as I watched cinema. I was so compelled by this that I decided to start writing screenplays, thereby combining my love for writing stories with my love for film. From there, I started taking filmmaking much more seriously, and I made my first “actual” short film. And I haven’t stopped since. I always have a project in progress.

Long story short, I attended USC’s film school, which was a fantastic experience that changed my life. Right after graduating from USC, I shot my first feature-length film, titled “Magnolia Flowers”. I wrote, produced, and directed that project. It’s in post-production currently and will be released Summer 2021.

I’m ALSO attending the American Film Institute currently on a screenwriting fellowship. It’s a really grueling program, but I’m already growing monumentally as a writer.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Nope! I’ve struggled for much of my life with undiagnosed Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which is a widely misunderstood mental illness that has (and continues to) ruin so many people’s lives. Some really famous people have had it (some diagnosed, some not), including Howard Hughes and Howie Mandel. Unfortunately, the struggles of those two very famous men have also been trivialized in the media at many points. People don’t understand why Howie is afraid to shake people’s hands, and they often make jokes about it. What people need to understand about OCD is that, for a lot of people, it convinces you that your downfall is right around the corner, or perhaps right before your eyes. When Howie Mandel won’t shake your hand, it’s because he thinks he will die if he does so. This same thing was true of Howard Hughes, and it’s true of so many people with OCD. Living with OCD can feel like living inside of a Greek tragedy sometimes; I know that sounds extreme to people, but that’s because it is an extreme disorder.

For me, it was undiagnosed for many years, and those were scary years. I am in treatment now, and it has changed my life. OCD is a serious disorder, it is widely undiagnosed, it is widely misunderstood, and it is widely considered to be “untreatable”. I DO NOT believe that it’s untreatable. Nor does my therapist. So, for those of you out there who have it, you don’t have to live in a nightmare. I promise.

My OCD has placed countless obstacles in front of me. But through therapy, I’ve overcome so many of those.

Strange Place Productions – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Strange Place Productions, Inc. is a brand new production company specializing in film content (we will enter the TV space!). Our debut feature film, “Magnolia Flowers”, is coming out Summer 2021.

Strange Place Productions focuses on thrusting audiences into unique, bizarre worlds, ones that feel real and grounded in an emotional sense but look and sound like something out of a nightmare. Each film will put you in a strange place and hopefully change you for the better in the process.

We make quality films in a highly efficient and cost-effective manner. Our first film is going to be direct evidence of that. It was made for around $40,000 but looks and feels like a 1 million dollar movie.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
It actually happened yesterday. I released the first trailer for “Magnolia Flowers”. People were so affected by the trailer. It made me so proud and excited for what’s to come.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://strangeplaceproductions.squarespace.com
• Phone: 781-635-7504
• Email: [email protected] OR [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/strangeplaceproductions/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StrangePlaceProductions

Image Credit:
All BTS images by Lexie Piepmeier.

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