John Foutz

From an early age, John Foutz has always been a movie geek, and his mission has always been to entertain. His heroes were (and still are) George Lucas, Ray Harryhausen, John Dykstra, and Rick Baker. Seeing Star Wars in '77 was a mile-marker for the young filmmaker, inspiring him to begin making props and models and, years later, creating both stop-motion and live-action short films with his dad's Super 8mm film camera. John wrote his first feature length screenplay in high school, devised ways to make all the practical effects work, but then found out how much it costs to make a feature length film. The production was shelved. Following the footsteps of his grandfather, Doug Foutz (Painter, Illustrator), John went to college to be a commercial artist. Part of his curriculum was photography, which taught balance and lighting within the still frame. Within a year, John's attention turned back to making movies, and he decided to quit college and pursue filmmaking. Easier said than done. John visited many movie sets in NC but could not find steady work, so he took a few photography courses at the local community college to get back into the darkroom and better control his photographic images. His teacher hired him to work in a small TV studio in Charlotte, NC where John put his knowledge of still images in motion as a camera operator. Here, he also furthered his skills as a director, producer, and video editor. Hitting the ceiling at this job, he went back to school to get a degree in Commercial Art & Advertising, which led to a job at an Ad Agency/Service Bureau in South Charlotte until a pinched sciatic nerve forced him into physical therapy and he lost his job. During this time at home, John started his freelance career as an illustrator/designer. This slowly afforded him the ability to purchase some video equipment and a computer to write his scripts and to do some acting in films and on the stage. By '02, John officially made his way back to moving pictures, writing/producing/directing/shooting/editing his own short films and teaching some acting classes. Seeing the freedom in shooting and editing digitally, John teamed up with fellow creative Hannah Dennis in '03 to Produce/DP her feature film Bird in a Glass House with Hannah at the directing helm. In '04, John purchased better gear and directed the feature film Mind Breaker for Shadowdog Productions, which starred Vanelle. Since then, John has directed five feature films for Shadowdog (taking a supporting role in Dirt Cheap Therapy) as well as directing numerous projects for his own company, Foutz Studios, LLC. John's skill set covers every aspect of production in both the live-action and animation sides of entertainment. Currently, he is working closely with producing partner Vanelle (Magic-Tribe Pictures) on numerous upcoming projects, bringing balance to the force, so to speak, and making Foutz Studios a smoother running machine. John is the leader of the new venture, Made For Film, LLC, a global service directory for the entertainment industry.