From Passion to Production: The Journey of ‘The Cold Ground’

In an industry that often spends hundreds of millions of dollars to make a feature film, I am impressed with the courage of filmmakers to create films with little to no money and inspire a community to join in the filmmaking experience. 

“The Cold Ground” recently wrapped production marking this the 4th feature film by filmmaker Devin Hansen. When I came on set to visit the cast and crew I was impressed to see that their energy for the filmmaking process was still high despite making this film off and on since April 2023. 

“I absolutely love it” says Devin Hansen when asked why he makes films. “I love to work with people who I’ve been wanting to work with, and give those people a chance. I love giving people an opportunity, a chance to really explore their creativity.”

One of the actors Devin is working with is the talented Melinda Yeaman. 

“I find it valuable to do these kinds of productions” says Yeaman. “First of all, because they’re a lot of fun. We get to experiment a little bit.” 

Joining the cast is a familiar face in front of and behind the camera, Shane Morrisun. 

“I had never been a lead in a feature film before. And so that was one of my main reasons for saying yes to the project. Once I read the script, and I realized who my character was, and the flexibility and the fun I could have playing this kind of character, I got a lot more excited about it” said Morrisun. 

Working on low/no budget productions can allow the cast to experience roles that are not offered as often by larger productions.

“You get to do more things. The big projects that I’ve been on, for the most part, have been smaller roles. So it’s fun to have a lot of lines.” said Yeaman.

Shane has also been lucky to work on productions of all budget levels. 

“It seems like no matter what budget level you’re at, you’re having problems. The problems are just more expensive on the more expensive films. But with these, no budgets, it’s more relaxed, because it’s not costing anything, we just have to worry about getting it done.”

One of the most popular advantages of working on projects of this scale is the opportunity to meet other ambitious members in the film community. 

“Networking is a lot of why people do these low and no budget projects,” said Morrisun.  “We’re all close knit, not like in LA, where you don’t really know anybody unless you’re really in the thick of it. But here, everybody knows each other, and we just have fun time making movies.”

“I have been asked to do several roles just from projects like [The Cold Ground]” says Yeaman. “When people have worked with you, and they know how dedicated you are and how you work. Then you come to mind for other projects, which is awesome.”

When asked how it feels to be wrapping up production on “The Cold Ground” Devin Hansen said, “It’s been a lot of fun, and it’s sad that it’s coming to an end, but I’ve got more stuff in the works.”

About “The Cold Ground” – A newly assigned FBI agent must follow a trail of dead bodies leading to the capture of a notorious serial killer known as Jack Barlow. “The Cold Ground stars Shane Morrisun, Crystal Harris, Britani Bateman and Melinda Yeaman. 

“The Cold Ground” IMDB Page: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26255202/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm