Today we’d like to introduce you to Ethan Hawthorne-Dallas.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’m an artist and filmmaker born and raised in Seattle, WA before attending SCAD for film and TV.
Along the way, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to push myself as an artist and filmmaker through various mediums. In my sophomore year of College, I started on an Animatronic Fortune Telling Machine called “Zarbalatrax” — think Zoltar meets the Devil. For the next two years, my friends Laura Perkins, Corey Kreisel and I developed and iterated on it until it became a fully functional machine with over 100 unique fortunes, its own animation software, and a short film. We learned a ton as it was our first electronics project.
Shortly after starting on Zarbalatrax, I shot a short film called “Time Cop”, that I wrote, directed, acted, edited, and did the visual effects for. Alongside my friend Caleb Green who created an entirely original soundtrack, sound designed and sound edited the film. The two of us were a powerhouse team, and the film went on to win awards at various film festivals and generate a small following in the SCAD scene. The short film itself was inspired by a Math Project that I made in my sophomore year of high school.
Over the next year and a half, I worked with Alyse Landry, Cole Terra, Caleb Green and many other talented artists to develop the pilot for a show called “Timeless” — which is entering its festival run now. It’s inspired by the world and characters of Time Cop but adapted to be taking itself more seriously.
At its core, the film was my personal artistic therapy, dissecting my relationship to drugs, addiction, and corporations. However, on the surface it’s a neo-noir action film.
I did this for a lot of reasons, but mostly because I want to make films and art that I want to see, that I would sit down and watch. For me, that’s the most exciting thing about filmmaking, and while I did try to imbue the episode with these themes, I didn’t want them to be so explicit that it would be suffocating.
The story wasn’t the only thing different from the original Time Cop; our team expanded greatly, as we were able to create a full writers’ room of seven talented writers, 6 post-sound crew members, and immense work from every department on set. We were also able to collaborate with Atlanta’s own LA Stunts, who played an integral role to the film in making sure the action both looked amazing and was safe for our performers. I also gave up playing the main role and brought on some insanely talented VFX artists.
We were lucky enough to shoot on SCAD’s XR Volume, with a set constructed by Marissa Coppola and unreal environments from Alfonso Hinojosa, which really added a layer of depth to the film’s world and characters. We also collaborated with comic artist Ben Young to develop a series of transitions and world-building that further drove the aesthetic and comic book style of the film forward.
Beyond this, we teamed up with an up-and-coming Colorado-based production company called Cookie House to help bring the film to life and throw an insanely cool rave-premier of the film. I am so immensely proud of everyone who had a hand in the film and I’m honored I was able to be the leader of such a crazy project. Needless to say, it’s been a very long time coming.
It took a village to make the film, and we are so incredibly proud of where it’s gotten in just a short time. We are incredibly excited to see what audiences think and to shop it around for distribution.
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?
Nothing is ever a smooth road. I grew up in a very complicated and unique family, which was not without its troubles. My sister has struggled a lot with drug abuse and addiction, mostly with prescription drugs. It’s definitely put a lot of strain on some of my relationships and been a hard thing to wrap my head around. She is in rehab and I’m very proud of her and I hope she continues to recover.
Beyond that, I’ve been incredibly lucky to meet so many like-minded and talented people along my path and to have been supported wholly by those around me.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am first and foremost a filmmaker who is passionate about telling compelling and exciting stories.
I’m known for my eccentric approach to genre filmmaking and my ability to perform under pressure. I’m also known for putting everything I have into my projects.
I am a writer and a director, which means I get to see my vision from the page to the final edit.
I am most proud of my latest project, Timeless, which I think combines all of my passions into one while being able to give so many artists an outlet for their own creative expression. It truly is its own ecosystem, with comic books, action figures, raves, and more to come.
My biggest passion outside of film is for animatronics and kinetic art. I am also a sculptor and a traditional pen and paper artist on the side.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I have a lot of positive memories from my childhood, but I’d have to say my favorite memory was when I first enrolled in my high school film program. It was application based, and there was one day in the summer when I ran to the high school, introduced myself to the film teacher, Matt Lawrence, and submitted my application that day. It was the first time in a long time that I was genuinely excited for school to start.
If not that, then it would have to be my first time flying. In high school, I put together my own study abroad program to Japan, and I had never been on a flight before heading there. We bought my plane ticket with miles, so I had five flights with an overnight layover in Tokyo and a 4-hour bus ride to get to Himeji. It was a really exciting time and the first time I felt I had true autonomy over myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.schlung.us
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/schlungus
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethan-hawthorne-dallas-6ba8818b/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5qMltV08K34Iet3toVFbOw
