Meet Kyle Bastin

We recently connected with Kyle Bastin and have shared our conversation below.

Kyle, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
The hardest thing for any artist is a blank page. No matter the medium (an empty canvas, storyboard, notebook, or track), the possibilities are limitless and therefore seem impossible. So, how do I begin when I’m starring into an abyss?

The trick is, I wait until that blank page is a necessity. There just has to be something on my mind that I need to not necessarily share with the world, but work out within myself. Sometimes though, there’s just nothing that makes me feel the urge. I was talking to one of my friends about this very feeling of not having that creative inspiration and what she told me will stick with me for my lifetime. She said “As an artist, you need to breathe. You’re not any different from anyone else. When you’re not feeling inspired, inhale the life you have around you, and eventually you will exhale those experiences into your art.” This way of thinking has helped me so much, not only in the amount of my creative output, but also in the quality of my work. Every piece I create now feels inspired and true to the one audience member that I need to please: myself.

The harder task now is being able to call myself an artist when I’m taking in those inhales of life. There’s SO much pressure with social media and even the people around you when you live in a city like Los Angeles to always have a project you’re working on. For me, I’ve realized it’s not about having that current project, it’s about having that long term goal. When I tell myself deep down that I’m going to be writing and directing for a living someday, I know that I’ll always jump back on the saddle, even when there isn’t a project that’s currently happening. Plus, in order to be a good artist, you have to live a life worth telling stories about. Sure, I could spend all my time writing aimlessly, but in my experience, the heart of it shows when you pull from things that truly mean something to you. You aren’t going to be able to obtain that truth unless you willingly step away from your art from time to time. If you truly believe deep down that you can make it and truly want it, there’s nothing stopping you other than that blank page. And if that blank page is putting too much pressure on you, go out and breathe, because you’ll still be an artist when you return.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My name is Kyle Bastin and I’m a filmmaker from Greenwood, Indiana. After making multiple short films throughout high school and college and working as a production assistant in Indiana, I made the jump to live in Los Angeles in 2021. It was a terrifying move but it allowed me to make my dreams a priority. If I wasn’t going to do it in my early 20s, when would I?

I’ve been making movies since I was 8 years old when I used my LEGO mini-figures to create stop motion videos on my mom’s Sony 8mm tape camcorder. From that long ago, I’ve always known what I wanted to do: be an artist. I’ve dabbled in other art forms like playing music in a band in high school or shooting photography, but I’ve always been drawn back to film because I feel it combines every medium into one. It’s like this magical combination of theater, music, and photography that also works as a window into the perspective and time period of those who make it. I genuinely find it hard to put into words how much I love film, both making them, and watching them. Roger Ebert once called cinema “an empathy machine” and I couldn’t agree more. Growing up in small-town Indiana, movies allowed me to expand myself beyond the bubble that I lived in at an early age and see different people and perspectives from all around the world. In my own films, I hope that my perspective can help someone see the world just a little differently and hopefully, more optimistically.

I don’t really like to narrow myself down into any specific genre (I’ve done drama, comedy, horror, western, and documentary so far), but I feel the through-line between all of my films is that there is a deep internal conflict within the main character. I feel like this has naturally happened in my work over the years because I’ve faced so many internal conflicts within myself. Should I move away for college? Is filmmaking worth leaving my family for? Is this a story even worth putting the effort into? My goal is that for each film, the audience gets to see a piece of myself on screen. I have definitely put myself into my films and I feel like my art is the truest way of knowing my deepest thoughts and feelings.

My most recently released short “Tinted Love”, which came out in August of 2023, tapped into my perspective on relationships and how toxic the end of them can be. My newest short “freestyle” premieres in February of 2024 at the TCL Chinese Theater as part of the Golden State Film Festival. It tells the story of a rapper who seeks the advice of his friend when struggling with writers’ block. We shot the entirety of that film on Super 8mm film. I also recently finished writing a feature film script that I’m currently attempting to get made. You can check out all of my past projects at BastinFilms.com and follow me on Instagram @BastinFilms.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I think the best skill I learned early on as a filmmaker is how to edit. If you know how to edit, I feel like there’s genuinely nothing stopping you from creating something. For the script, pull out a notebook. For the actors, use your friends or siblings. For the location, use your place. For the camera, use your phone. Everything else is doable other than that intimidating editing software. There’s no shortcuts around that one, but once you master it, you’ll feel like there’s a way to make any story you have the urge to tell.

Another thing that I learned is absolutely crucial to filmmaking is sound editing. I feel like my time as a drummer and singer in my band in high school really made me pay attention to audio faster than most beginner filmmakers, and it has been the thing that has made me stand out the most. Bad video can be an artistic choice. Bad audio however? No one wants to hear it. Once you learn the basics of audio editing and mixing (I’m not talking about 5.1 mixes, just simple stuff in your editing software), your films will jump up in quality because the audience will be able to focus on and hear what truly matters most: story.

Writing is something that I am still improving and will always still be improving. Looking back, whenever I’ve made a film that doesn’t do as well, it always comes back to the script. There has been times in the past where I make something with a clear social agenda or message. I looked outwardly and tried to harness things I deemed important. Now however, I first look inward. My flaws, my dreams, my struggles, my personal experiences…and turn them into something that’s so deeply personal that it inherently becomes relatable. I try not to judge myself on the page for the first few drafts and it’s really made my scripts seem so much more authentic to myself. Hopefully, the audience has felt this way too.

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
I owe everything to them. My dad’s determination, creativity, and leadership. My mom’s faith, empathy, and humor. They made my childhood one where I learned to value those around me before myself and they demonstrated it perfectly by how much they loved me. My dad moved out of his parents’ house in Indianapolis at 17 and worked countless jobs, including joining the Army to make things work for himself. Through all of his hard work, even when faced with the circumstances he was dealt with, he managed to build a life for himself that he was proud of leading. He made me believe that I can accomplish anything that I set my mind to. My mom grew up just south of Chicago in Merrillville, Indiana with 7 siblings. I feel like she’s been caring for people her entire life, especially now in recent years with her parents getting older. She has set such an incredible example of always being strong for those around you, even when all you can give is a listening ear. She has taught me to always look at others as their own individual person with their own individual stories to tell.

Through all of this, the most important thing they’ve taught me is passion. Have passion for what you do. Have passion for those around you. And hopefully the world will respond with that same passion.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Luke Bastin, Robbie Acevedo, Joe Angeles, Alberto Carranza Hernández, Collin Stroup

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