It's mainly people we are friends with, really good creative people that love the same type of stuff we do. TODD: We know a few composers, David Green and Sam Boxleitner that have lent their talents and SFX makeup artist Kate Klein has helped us on them all, as well as our DP Dave Jacobsen and Editor Nick Gartner. The scores, makeup effects and editing are really great too, do you have a team working behind you as well or do you do every aspect? The first time we saw it on the big screen, the entire audience ate it up. The cinematography is haunting, acting is natural, and the scare gets people every time. Also I love how it introduces something so menacing looking really early on, then you just watch the audience wait it out, knowing something will happen any minute. It's easily the cheapest short we've done, but there's something about how simple it is. TODD: Personally, I think I like MIKUS the best. Which short is your favorite? I know, it's like choosing your favorite child, but I have to ask! If the answer is yes, we got ourselves an idea.

Would we enjoy watching a short about an imaginary friend, or a witch who steals children by candlelight. ZAK: We try to live by the motto “what would we like to watch?” and we go into every new idea asking ourselves that.

Like MIKUS felt like a completely original idea, original looking villain and so on, whereas THE CANDLELIGHT WITCH feels like it could've been an episode of ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK. We've both seen a lot of horror films in the past and are just movie buffs in general, so we always try to do something completely original or something that feels like a distant cousin to something people love. TODD: We usually just get together or text back and forth and brainstorm until something we both feel is right hits. Where do these ideas come from? Your shorts are incredibly unique with their subject matter and I'd love to know how you created these monsters like Mikus or the Candlelight Witch?

The hope being that if you put real passion into something, an audience will respond to that, and so far, they have.

We sat there one night talking about how great it would be to make a horror movie, so the only way for that to be a reality is to actually go and make one. No one is gonna pick you up and guide you through. ZAK: Yeah, as much as a cliche it is, it really is true that you just have to make it yourself. If you've never visited Monsterpalooza in Pasadena, it's an amazing horror convention and shows how amazing and friendly horror fans really are. We've always been fans, but never fully pursued it and the horror community has been nothing but amazing. But then a couple of years ago we decided to switch things up and do some horror short films since we never really dove into that genre much before. TODD: Zak and I have been working together for nearly 10 years, mainly comedy sketches. How long have you been making shorts together? How did it all come about?

Midnight video