- Born
- Jacob Viness took an interest in movies at a very early age, citing going to the theater to see The Lion King (1994) as one of his first memories. Growing up, he went to the theater whenever he could. In high school, he began to learn the craft of film making in his video productions class. This is where Viness began working with his frequent collaborator Justin McEver. Also in high school, he got a job at the local movie theater where he further studied films and what films the audiences seemed to enjoy. It was there where he met his frequent Director of Photography,Joey Kopanski. Viness, McEver, and Kopanski put together a crew of friends and started making short films for fun and for experience. Viness wrote and directed each film they made. Viness soon began writing scripts constantly and studying many of the technical aspects of film making on his own through books and the web, while also attending Georgia State University's film school and later a local technical college. In 2013, Jacob Viness wrote and directed Sexual Dysfunction (2013) a character drama that focused on sexual addiction, religious guilt and redemption. The film received and honorable mention at North Carolina's SkyFest in November of 2013. Also in November of 2013, the film won The People's Choice Award for best film at the Athens VHS Festival. Off the attention of Sexual Dysfunction (2013), Viness began working on multiple projects in 2014. He wrote and directed a short noir drama film, The Hit, a story focused on a business meeting between a hitman and his client. The film focuses on similar themes to Sexual Dysfunction, including religious guilt, and innate evil in man. He also wrote and directed Rear View Mirror, a dark comedy about a hitman and his client who accidently kill the wrong guy and must clean up their mistake. The film screened locally at Get Connected in Atlanta, GA to strong reviews. Also in 2014, Viness wrote and directed Pool Party, a Richard Linklater-esque short film that intervenes in many conversations at a pool party, channeling lost Generation X tropes, all in one long fifteen minute take. Viness's films often have longer takes, dolly shots, whip pans, long dialogue scenes, crime elements and religious themes. He cites Paul Thomas Anderson, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Steven Spielberg and Richard Linklater as some of his biggest influences.- IMDb Mini Biography By: anonymous
- Jacob Viness cites Paul Thomas Anderson as his biggest influence.
- Attended Sprayberry High School with frequent collaborator Justin McEver, where they were anchors together on the school's morning announcements.
- Viness worked at a movie theater with five of his cast and crew members on Sexual Dysfunction (2013). They were Andrew Bazzell, Joey Kopanski, Jake Kopanski, David Stratmeyer and Joseph Kazim.
- His favorite films are Raging Bull (1980), The Dark Knight (2008), There Will Be Blood (2007), Chinatown (1974),Boogie Nights (1997), Schindler's List (1993),Pulp Fiction (1994), Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) Goodfellas (1990), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) Taxi Driver (1976), and Saving Private Ryan (1998).
- Art needs to be dramatic and that often means you have to exaggerate things so instead of making a story about a self-conscious horny religious kid, I exaggerated it and made him a sex addict. Therefore it's much more interesting and engaging for the audience.
- I believe in the constant moving camera. At the same time, a completely still shot can be amazing if used properly. The point is with both, you aren't doing a wide shot then cutting to a close up of one person and then the other or whatever. Cuts are great if used properly, but the MTV generation has too many cuts and too fast cuts. There isn't much artistically pleasing material in a lot of close ups. I like it better when the camera pushes in or Dolly's or really any movement to tell the story than a simple cut up close. That's how older films did it. It's slower paced, but I like it. It's also more natural to the eye in my opinion. My eyes can't cut from one person the other, but I can follow behind Ray Liota in Goodfellas and walk through the kitchen and swivel my head around at everything happening. I can also stand still and watch events unfold so I think a well-placed still shot and dolly shots are more pleasing to the eye because we can somewhat manipulate what we are seeing on screen in real life.
- One: art is expression of self. My faith is important to me, so in expressing myself, my faith is naturally going to manifest itself in my art. Two: I believe the art of storytelling can be a very spiritual experience. Jesus used the art of storytelling to teach us spiritual lessons through the parables. This film I set out to make a parable. I wouldn't say the film is necessarily 'religious', but the themes are and the symbolism and many of the meanings behind it are just as the parables are. Many of the parables themselves aren't religious. The story of seeds falling in grass and rock and soil isn't religious. It's the idea behind the story, the theme that makes it spiritual. I find that moving and also possible to reach broader audiences than you would with a 'Christian' film where often times, in my opinion, you sort of preach to the choir.
- In the writing stages I'm a writer. On set I'm a director. You laugh, but it's true. When I'm writing a script, I'm simply focused on writing a good story. When I'm on set, or in the editing room, I'm focused on getting the best story on screen told and that's not always the same on paper. I wrote all of Sexual Dysfunction and I think the script is wonderful, but when shooting and editing, I cut things out because, as a director, I realized some of the wonderful things that work on paper don't work on screen. Writing and directing go hand in hand, they are both storytelling. Not every director writes and not every writer directs, but for those like myself who do both, you are exactly that, both.
- Justin is the easiest person for me to direct because I feel our thoughts on film are very similar. We think the same way when it comes to film. At the same time it also helps that he's my wall that I bounce my tennis ball off of when I'm working on a story. He's there to brainstorm with me. Often times it's just me expressing my ideas and he's simply being an audience for me, but he's seen how I developed whatever character, in this case Andy, from the beginning to where he is when we film.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content