Posts by Barry Simmons
The race to save a neglected national treasure
The race to save a neglected national treasure Date May 13, 2024 Category In production It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but a 100-year old schoolhouse in Spring Hill, Tennessee, held a secret for decades about its historic origin. Hidden behind dense overgrowth along a rural two-lane road stands one of the last…
Read MoreA nonprofit’s short fundraising film about a very long year
A nonprofit’s short film about a very long year Date Aug 11, 2024 Category Spotlight In this client spotlight, we talk with Katie Richards, the executive director at Siloam Health in Nashville, Tennessee. Siloam is a nonprofit clinic that serves Nashville’s immigrant and refugee population, and it depends heavily on donor support to continue its…
Read MorePost-Production: The process of assembly
Post-Production: The process of assembly Date Jan 22, 2026 Category Production 101 Post-production is where we take all the footage and finally begin assembling it into your film. From organizing the media and selecting the best takes to adding music, sound effects, and color grading, every detail is carefully crafted by a team of specialists…
Read MoreProduction: What to expect during the shoot
Production: What to expect during the shoot Date Jan 23, 2026 Category Production 101 After weeks of preparation, we’re ready to gather the production crew and execute our creative vision. Your producer has worked through all the logistics to ensure a smooth shoot, so now it’s time let the rest of the filmmaking team do…
Read MorePre-Production: Organizing the creative plan
Pre-Production: Organizing the creative plan Date Jan 24, 2026 Category Production 101 Pre-production is where we pull together all the elements of your creative plan — from scripts and storyboards to talent and locations — and translate them into an executable plan for filming. It takes tremendous coordination and attention to detail, but our producing…
Read MoreGetting started: The creative brief
Getting started: Preparing the brief Date Jan 26, 2026 Category Production 101 The first step in starting a project with Stonecastle Pictures is to submit a creative brief. This is the foundation of your project, and it contains all the important information we’ll need to shape the creative direction, make production decisions, and provide you…
Read MoreBringing history to life, with some help from AI
Bringing history to life, with help from AI Date Jun 11, 2025 Category New release As we planned the production of “Making History” we found a perfect use case for leveraging AI to create entire scenes from nothing but archival photographs. A tool for bringing the past to life Vanderbilt University’s Department of Medicine is…
Read MoreWe built an Interrotron
We built an Interrotron Date Mar 17, 2025 Category Stonecastle Labs If you’re obsessive about your interview subjects looking directly into the camera, then you probably already know what this contraption is. But to the frustration of many documentary filmmakers, you can’t just grab one at Best Buy. If you want an Interrotron, you have…
Read MoreThe making of a nonfiction healthcare campaign
The making of a nonfiction commercial campaign Date Mar 17, 2025 Category Spotlight Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, wanted a different kind of brand campaign. In the past, ad agencies came up with flashy commercials that succeeded in elevating Vanderbilt’s image as a regional leader, but now the marketing team faced a different problem.…
Read MoreTen questions for Barry Simmons
Q&A with Barry Simmons Date Sep 30, 2024 Category Interview Barry Simmons is the founder of Stonecastle Pictures. As the director for nearly everything we produce, Barry is usually the one sitting across from subjects asking the questions. But we turned the tables recently and sat him down to answer the biggest questions we get…
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