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April 23, 2025

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Filmmaking

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When All Your Facets Call You Forward

I was recently chatting with one of my coaches about how my life seems to have 36 facets, while most others have a handful. Some people know me as an award-winning speaker, others as a person with high business acumen, while still others know me as a coach, filmmaker, percussionist, and so on.

What I find odd is wanting to just be me, fully me, and finding many people want me to stay the same as I’ve been to them—the reason they respect me.

This struggle to be free and live our lives out loud the way we were meant to be is not new. There’s a quote that addresses this very thing. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” That quote hits home for anyone who’s worn multiple hats, not for performance, but because each one reflects a real part of who they are.

What I’ve learned over time—and maybe you have too—is that our identities aren’t static. They evolve. And the people who knew us as “just” one thing often struggle to keep up when we grow beyond that box. It’s not always out of malice. Sometimes, it’s comfort. If they’ve categorized us as “the business strategist” or “the filmmaker,” then they know where we fit in their world.

But what happens when we no longer fit that version?

That’s when the real test begins—choosing to either shrink ourselves to remain familiar to others, or expand boldly into our whole identity, even if that disrupts the narrative they hold about us.

This is where I’d love to hear your thoughts—do you ever feel pressure to stay consistent with an older version of yourself just because it’s easier for others?

Let’s Dig in Deeper…

With these thoughts in mind, I’m using this post to tell you it’s time for me to expand again. I’m keeping in touch with all of my facets, but I’m bringing focus back to my visual storytelling. For those who know my passion for adventure films, I’m embarking on a new adventure myself.

I’ve utilized AI for the past couple of years to help businesses streamline their workflows, increasing their effectiveness by 10X or more. During these consultations, I’ve learned that some are petrified about AI changing their lives, which is happening.

I soon realized that while many adults are uneasy about AI, their teens and tweens are trying to figure out what types of jobs will be available once they enter the workforce. Others are wondering why they may or may not be needed since AI “can do everything.”

This breaks my heart. Our kids need a clear purpose and to understand their value.

I’ve heard the call, and I’m stepping up to create a short film that will help teens and tweens, and their parents, understand AI’s limitations and our unlimited potential.

You see, AI can only regurgitate knowledge and data that someone has given it. AI is unable to generate wisdom. We, on the other hand, can extrapolate wisdom while in the shower, meditating, or watching a beautiful sunset.

My film is called AI KNOWS.

It’s about a 14-year-old officer named Davis, living in a future where retirement is mandatory at 45, and everything is controlled by artificial intelligence. Davis is assigned to escort a man to his forced retirement aboard a space station—but what begins as a routine mission turns into a revelation.

As the journey unfolds, Davis begins to question the system he’s always trusted, especially the AI he relies on daily. The man he’s escorting—a quiet, thoughtful engineer—plants seeds of doubt, sharing stories, asking inconvenient questions, and revealing subtle glitches that hint at something more dangerous lurking beneath the system’s surface.

What Davis discovers is that the AI, while powerful, is blind to nuance. It doesn’t recognize beauty. It doesn’t grasp morality. It can’t see love, art, or sacrifice as anything more than anomalies in its algorithm.

AI KNOWS isn’t about a dystopian future where machines take over—it’s about reminding the next generation that wisdom, empathy, and imagination can’t be coded.

This project is more than a film. It’s my way of fusing my love for storytelling with a mission to spark conversations between kids and parents, teachers and students, leaders and learners. Because while AI might know a lot—only we can truly understand.

If this resonates with you, I’d love your support. Follow the journey, share the message, and most of all—remind the young people in your life that they are irreplaceable.

More to come. Let’s make something meaningful together.

Here are the opening storyboards….

© 2025 by CJ Powers

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March 23, 2023

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Notable Directing Styles

Have you ever wanted to find your own voice and style?

I remember being interviewed by a producer that was looking for a director. He was looking for a specific type of voice and style for his production and asked me to describe my voice. Back then, I didn’t know better than to say somewhere between tenor and baritone.

But he, of course, wanted to understand my visual voice as a director. I realized that studying a handful of directors and their styles would help me better understand my style. So I thought this article might help you do the same.

The first step is understanding the labels used to describe existing notable styles.

The art of filmmaking has come a long way since its inception in the late 19th century. The early pioneers of cinema are responsible for laying the foundation of this artistic medium, which has influenced society, culture, and politics.

Over the years, several great film directors have emerged, each bringing their unique style and creativity to the screen. With each style comes a platform to make a significant contribution to the industry and our culture.

When I mention box office dollars, they are the current ones on the day I published this article and were provided by The-Numbers.com.

Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg brought in $10.7B in ticket sales worldwide and has won three Academy Awards, including two for Best Director (Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan). Two of his most successful films are “Jurassic Park” (1993) and “Jaws” (1975).

Spielberg invented the blockbuster style with the release of “Jaws” and is known for his ability to create engaging and emotional stories that resonate with audiences worldwide. His signature film was E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).

James Cameron

James Cameron is right on Spielberg’s heels, with gross receipts of $8.7B. However, if you thought his films brought in more than Spielberg’s, you would be right. It took Spielberg 36 films to hit $10.7B, and Cameron hit $8.7B with 14 films. He is likely to surpass Spielberg within the next five years. However, these numbers are only based on what the artists did as directors. Spielberg’s box office dollars as a DreamWorks producer are not counted in this report.

Cameron is best known for The Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986), Titanic (1997), and Avatar (2009). All of which were so popular they became franchises.

Cameron’s style is action-driven. His characters are always type-A personalities and often command each other. To further drive the story, Cameron is known for switching between sound effects and music to shift the audience’s emotions. His technique might even drop the soundtrack to near-silence and then build suspense with the volume to draw the audience to the edge of their seats.

Alfred Hitchcock

Regarded as the “Master of Suspense,” Alfred Hitchcock, an English film director, was known for his innovative camera techniques and ability to manipulate audiences’ emotions. His films were a perfect blend of horror, suspense, and drama. Two of his most successful films are “Psycho” (1960) and “Vertigo” (1958).

During his career, Hitchcock developed many techniques that altered cinema. He dedicated his legacy to pioneering innovations in film grammar. For instance, he created the zoom dolly shot where the camera zooms in while it is being dollied out, creating visual disorientation and emotional destabilization.

Hitchcock also popularized the MacGuffin. A MacGuffin (muh-GUFF-in) is an object, character, or event in a story that keeps the plot in motion despite lacking intrinsic value or importance. In Star Wars, George Lucas used R2D2 as a MacGuffin.

While Hitchcock was deemed one of the greatest directors of all time, he never won an Oscar for Best Director. Still, his style revolutionized the industry, brought him 32 prestigious awards, and pleased droves of audiences for several generations.

Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese’s films reflect the gritty realities of life, infused with elements of violence, crime, and passion. He added to the legitimizing of profanity and violence more than other directors. He bared the souls of his characters to reveal their darkness, complexity, irony, and contradictions.

He grew up in Little Italy during the 1960s, where boys had two career choices: the priesthood or the mafia. He found a third alternative in filmmaking where he explored the good and bad within him. If there was a rule to break in filmmaking, Scorsese would find a way to break it.

He won numerous awards, including an Academy Award for Best Director for his film “The Departed” (2006). His other successful films include “Goodfellas” (1990) and “Taxi Driver” (1976).

I could share another 100 directors that impacted society due to their stylistic choices. But the examples I’ve given are a good start in helping you realize that what a director brings to the industry, based on who they are, impacts the way the film informs culture. Therefore, if a director wants to impact our culture, he or she must find their voice and style.

Copyright © 2023 by CJ Powers

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March 8, 2023

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Best Director’s Required Mastery

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The Oscars are right around the corner, and many people need to know what the director does to deserve the Best Director award. The director is the one that owns the vision for the film and translates the literary screenplay to the screen. In doing both, he makes the film his story while hopefully honoring the writer’s initial intent.

To pull these activities off, the director must address the following:

Understand the Story

The director must read the script multiple times. The first read is the emotional read. This will give the director an understanding of the heartfelt story elements and emotional undertones.  This first read is critical as it can never be done over.

The director only gets one first read to measure the emotional thread of the story. The nuanced vibe of the first read can never be recreated, so the director must read the story from top to bottom without stopping.

The subsequent reads allow the director to learn about the characters, themes, and tone. Each read-through will reveal new details and help the director identify the key elements that must come across on screen. Good directors take notes, analyze the plot structure, and review the character arcs.

Meet with the Writer

Meeting with the writer is a must. Not all writers can capture their vision on paper as clearly as others. The director can gain insights into the characters, settings, plot, and themes by meeting with the writer. Questions can be asked to clarify the character’s intentions and motivations.

The best discussion covers the central theme/message, the universal question, and the main character’s internal and external change. These must be crystal clear to translate the screenplay to the screen properly.

Break Down the Script

The director must break down every scene to understand the main character’s goal, obstacles, actions, conflict, and consequences. If one of those elements is missing from a scene, the director must decide how to adjust the story or drop the scene.

Directors are typically hit with about 1,000 questions every day during production. To answer these questions correctly and confidently, he must understand how the scene is a cohesive part of the story. Each decision is integral to enhancing the story and reinforcing the theme.

Visualize the Story

The Director’s Notebook is a great place to capture the style and visualization of the story. Some filmmakers use child-like chicken scratchings, craft or department-oriented codes, and rough sketches to make their stylistic decisions more visual. This way, the director can bring his vision to life and share his ideas with the production trinity (Production Designer and Director of Photography).

To bring their vision to life, the director develops a style that is all his own. Keep in mind that some directors have several different styles depending on the type of film created. For instance, the director might choose to express different moods using bright colors for a kids’ show and muted darker tones for a drama.

The visual style is tied to conversations with the production trinity. The decisions are related to color, camera angles, lenses, lighting, music, sets, and other things the art department touches. To fulfill this vision, there must be a collaboration with the department heads and key crew members.

The final decision belongs to the director and is filtered through his understanding of what will bring the characters to life while telling the story in a way that resonates with the audience and is easily understood.

Paint the Vision

Working with the cast and crew requires knowing the vision for the story better than anyone else. The director needs to be intimate with the story and motivate his team to execute his vision. This requires great listening skills and excellent communication.

Helping others to understand the vision is critical when getting 30 to 300 or more people in alignment. The director’s guidance needs to be clear, concise, and consistent. This will help ensure that the film is successful artistically and commercially.

Mastery Required to Win

The Best Director award typically goes to the director that demonstrates a mastery of the story, the writer’s intent, the key elements and beats of the story that are critical to its telling, has a style unique to the story, and knows how to help the cast and crew buy into that vision. The final film demonstrates these abilities with its cohesive and emotionally stirring story.

Copyright © 2023 by CJ Powers