Wayne Schotten Proudly Presents Wild Strawberry Films

SAN FRANCISCO - July 10, 2014 - PRLog -- Filmmaker Wayne Schotten grew up in Hubbard, Ohio.  He attended the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music where he received his first acting lessons.  By the mid-1960’s, Wayne Schotten moved to Los Angeles.  In 1968, he graduated from UCLA receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Cinema.  He also received training for acting at the Bennes Marden Workshop in 1965.  During his time in L.A., he completed many apprenticeships where he learned about the various facets of filmmaking.  In 1975, he moved to San Francisco to work independently on productions.  He produced “The Knight in Glass Armor” as a cinematic exploration of improvisational storytelling techniques.
In the mid 2000’s, Mr. Schotten started Wild Strawberry Films.  The company was named after three inspirations which were Ingmar Bergman’s film, Wild Strawberries, the metaphorical meaning of a beautiful and surprise discovery, as well as the literal meaning of finding a strawberry that is fresh on the vine, with a sweet aromatic smell found on his father’s farm.  The fundamental concept of Wild Strawberry Films is about learning and discovering.
Mr. Wayne Schotten loves the organic sense of film sets with other’s ideas that give goosebumps, as well as enjoying the generosity of collaborative work and the entire process.  His current project is a historical miniseries called Chatelain.
He is truly a filmmaker’s filmmaker as he loves to be on set and interact with the cast and crew.  Mr. Wayne Schotten believes that in order to be a good director, one needs to possess that inner-self-confidence of being able to believe he or she can produce worthwhile work.  He noted that he would like to have a crew and cast who believed they were the best at their roles because it would lead to the overall project having even more cohesiveness as well as the best product possible.  One must believe in themselves enough to be able to confidently present their ideas and creativity to others.  Through that confidence, trust is built and maintained on set.  On set, it is that intimate, creative endeavor of problem-solving in a collaborative effort that Mr. Schotten thrives on.
Wayne Schotten can best be described as the type of filmmaker who is blue collar in digging in and doing whatever it takes to get the process done as well as fully enjoying the process of people coming together.
He was first inspired to become a filmmaker since he was a child watching movies in the theater on Friday nights.  After seeing Cecil B. DeMille’s The 10 Commandments, and being amazed by the famous stunning scene of the Red Sea parting, he wanted to become a filmmaker.  He was also influenced by Ingmar Bergman’s film Through a Glass Darkly, which had a profound impact on him, as it provoked intellectual thought in him long after the film ended.
His creative writing process can stem on the basis of a single idea in which he builds upon as well as from reading historical books on Medieval European history.  He believes that the best and most promising, fruitful ideas are those that have no bottom, in which there are always new things to discover.  He notes that the key is to always write what you know.
He is inspired by many renowned filmmakers such as John Huston, Ingmar Bergman, Billy Wilder, Sergei Eisenstein and Alfred Hitchcock.  Wayne Schotten believes that what makes a unique filmmaker is one who is willing to reach out and try new things.
When asked about how he feels his creative work has evolved over the years, he commented that when you are committed to your craft, there will always be new ways of telling the story.  Over the years, he has learned how to not repeat himself, be less obvious and more proficient, as he depends on his instinct.  As the end product is inevitable, it is satisfying to accomplish your vision within the set parameters, in which there is nothing left to do.
His upcoming project is a psychological thriller, in which there are a series of concentric circles by which a team of psychologists determine which concentric ring to place the criminals in.  Once they have learned and developed better understanding and behavior, the prisoners will be able to enter the next outer layer of the circle.  Each subsequent outer circle has more privileges for the prisoners who have demonstrated that they have been learning and changing their ways for the positive.  However, two prisoners work to outsmart the system.  Will they succeed?  Find out in Escape From Bullseye.
Mr. Wayne Schotten also has comprehensive expertise in the convergence of film and video technology and technique.  He has the rare ability to find the optimum expression for film and video productions from inception to post-production.  He is the technical and aesthetic master of the San Francisco film community.  His cinematography ranges from nuanced, visually gorgeous images that serve rather than overshadow the story.
For Wayne Schotten, the best part of being a filmmaker is the interaction with other creative people, along with the feeling of working in concert with others, and experiencing the richness and depth of everyone’s collective contributions and collaborations.  No matter what genre, Wayne Schotten believes that story is everything.
For more information on Wild Strawberry Films, please visit www.wildstrawberryfilms.com.