Rising Stars: Meet Scott Essman

Today we’d like to introduce you to Scott Essman.

Hi Scott, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
After my first 20 years in the New York City area as a writer and songwriter, I relocated to Los Angeles in 1986 for the purpose of immersing myself in the world of the entertainment arts, primarily motion pictures. After writing some screenplays and getting a few nibbles, I decided to self-produce my own projects under the banner of Visionary Cinema, which I had actually formed in 1988 in NYC. In the mid-to-late-1990s, several of these projects came to fruition, and I decided to take things further, self-producing a live multimedia production in June of 2000. The show involved a cast of 16 performers, all of whom were in specialized custom-made costumes and makeups (12 of which required prosthetics), several complete onstage sets, and myriad video, audio, and lighting cues. It was a very complicated effort, and the entirety was captured by a multi-cam audiovisual crew and turned into a DVD. Throughout the 2000s and early 2010s, additional projects followed, mostly geared toward one-camera video shoots. Among these, a film about baseball was selected by the National Baseball Hall of Fame film festival and library, and a film about jazz, Trane and Miles, was screened at other festivals. In the mid-to-late-2010s, I endeavored to teach film, media, and many other such courses at a variety of colleges. Now, in the early 2020s, I have planned my ultimate dream: a science-fiction feature film based on an 80+-year-old short story, which has been exponentially expanded for the large canvas of the silver screen.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I have found that the struggles which hamper most creative types are, first and foremost, financial limitations and also the machinations of assembling a dedicated cast and crew. In my stage work, people are generously donating time and talent. Ditto with my short films. I found that relegating their commitment to one-to-three days works best.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
For a long while, I specialized in live events production and short film production. That evolved into longer pieces, with the hope of making a feature film version of a long-gestating science-fiction film idea. Though others could speak to my work better than I, the hope is that I create projects which are unique in many ways – not only the content but also in my approach.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
My longtime mentor was screenwriting instructor Phil Messina. I took many things from his classes which I now incorporate into my own classes. Phil had a way of analyzing a film segment-by-segment in various genres so to reverse engineer what elements comprise a top-quality project.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.visionarycinema.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scottessman
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/scottessman
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-essman-4088561
• Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/scottessman
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/scottessman

Image Credits
Sheri DiPietro – TRANE AND MILES photograph Deverill Weekes – JACK PIERCE photographs in collage Glenn Gottlieb – TRAFFIC SCHOOL graphic designer