Travis Hayward Joins the "WASTELAND" Movie

LANSING, Mich. - Nov. 17, 2014 - PRLog -- DJ Perry, CEO of Lansing based Collective Development Inc. started making MTV & SNL inspired home movies with his parent’s camcorder. This led to his teachers allowing him to create short film projects instead of book reports and even a few final exams. His interest/distraction had him writing scripts, creating storyboards, casting and organizing during school hours. This passion and love for movies has been what motivated him to produce over 50 films distributed throughout the world– writing and acting in many of them.

Another mid-Michigan talent Travis Hayward from Eaton Rapids, Michigan followed an almost identical path.  The creative medium of film drew him in and has led him to create several award winning short films with his STRIKE TO BURN PRODUCTIONS.

Most noticeable has been his successful fan film “Resident Evil: Red Falls” which has created a buzz within the social media world. While promoting his fan film on a news radio show he happen to follow an interview by filmmakers DJ Perry and Melissa Anschutz. They were there promoting their upcoming feature film “Bestseller,” a thriller adapted from Christopher Knight’s book of the same name.  This led to Travis’s work being reviewed and they liked what they saw.

“I could tell that Travis just needed a good opportunity. I saw myself 15 years ago in him and recalled the struggle I had from not having any mentors.” – DJ Perry

DJ & Travis sat down so they could discuss his goals and where he felt his strengths and weaknesses are. This lead to Travis assisting on some post work with “Bestseller” but the big break was about to come. Travis a fan of the Sci-Fi genre read that DJ Perry was co-starring and producing on a Sci-Fi western “Wasteland: Tales of the Desert Part 1” that will shoot this December in the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. Travis offered to assist with anything to be included on the project.

Travis’s own projects had created a nice demo showcasing his passion and what he could do as an artist.  Bypassing some other incredible talent Kevin Buchholz, the director of “Wasteland” agreed that this young man’s passion was noteworthy. It was decided that they would offer him the opportunity to serve as the director of photography on the film.

"I'm very happy to have Travis signed on as our Director of Photography. His previous work is very impressive and he shares the same raw passion for production with the rest of the cast and crew. With Travis on board, I know we'll have a fantastic looking film."       – Kevin Buchholz, director

So the young man from Eaton Rapids, MI who grew up making home movies will be flown to Las Vegas this December and paid to serve as the visual artist capturing the film’s action.

"I'm incredibly excited to be working on a film with such a wonderfully talented group of people. Kevin has brought on seasoned pros and I'm incredibly blessed that he has let me join in the ranks. I can't wait to help bring this dramatic vision of a post-apocalyptic landscape to life." – Travis Hayward, Dir of Photography

The lesson here is passion and hard work does pay off.