The Sky's the Limit for Happy Cloud Media

Southwestern PA is the new hotspot for major film and television. Often overlooked, but here before the boom, are the local filmmakers, working hard to turn their ideas into films. Happy Cloud Media, LLC is one of those hard-working local entertainment companies, bringing you independent movies, great books, and magazines from Washington County.

With a name inspired by their first film, Happy Cloud Pictures was formed in 1997 by Amy Lynn Best, Mike Watt, and Bill Homan. Its initial purpose was the production of The Resurrection Game, a 16mm “zombie-noir” feature film, which led to the production of more horror films. In 2016, Happy Cloud Pictures re-launched as Happy Cloud Media, LLC focusing on production, publishing and self-distribution.

Amy and Mike, both Pittsburgh-area natives, attended school at Pittsburgh Filmmakers, where Mike taught from 2015 to 2018. Bill Homan, a Maine transplant, rounded out the trio with degrees in special effects make-up and electronics from the Art Institute and AIP. “All three of us were life-long film devotees and careers in the creative arts were inevitable,” said Mike.

During the 1990s, independent filmmaking was reaching new heights, encouraging independent filmmakers to produce their own films. Sundance was bringing major attention to small-budget films, and following along that lead, Amy, Mike, and Bill set out to do the same. But it wasn’t as easy as they had hoped.

“Our goal was to join those ranks but the reality was too crushing,” Mike shared. “Making a film on film was our only option, but that brought with it a whole host of challenges and expenses that made making prints too cost-prohibitive. The Resurrection Game wasn’t “officially” complete until 2010. In the meantime, we moved to digital video and high-definition video to continue our productions.”

A perk of being located in southwestern PA is access to a variety of filming backgrounds. Many of their productions have been filmed locally or around Pittsburgh, including Laurel Caverns, Hundred Acres Manor, Scarehouse, and more. “We’ve shot all up and down the East Coast and found Pittsburgh to be one of the more co-operative (and least-expensive) areas to film.”

Waynesburg and Greene County have been the home to quite a few of their productions: Were-Grrl, Severe Injuries, Retreat, parts of Demon Divas and the Lanes of Damnation, and Razor Days. “For many years, it was the best of both worlds. We had friendly, helpful people offering us locations and services, often for free. Our neighbors opened their homes and land to us. Our own land was utilized for indie movies like High Stakes and Prometheus Rising. “

The main difficulty faced by Happy Cloud Media is maintaining an audience in the area. Being a small company competing with much bigger companies is often a struggle for independent companies. “The independent film industry is in a very strange place right now. While it seems to be easier than ever to get a film made, getting it seen by an audience is more challenging than ever,” said Mike. “For a while, all of our films were available on Netflix, now it’s difficult to get a single title listed there.”

The process is not without its rewards. Their horror films deal “with issues of abuse, abandonment, assault, rejection, peer pressure…all under the guise of zombies, vampires, cannibals, demons, etc…” Most with a comedic touch, or course. And they’ve found joy in the fact they’ve been able to create the films they wanted to produce, through their hard work and the hard work of friends and supporters. “If we never make another movie again, we can point to the dozen or so we had our hands in and say, ‘Those are there because of us.’ Maybe that doesn’t sound like much to you, but for an artist, it’s rare and, sometimes, all we have at the end of the day. “

The move from films into publications was a natural jump. Mike, an entertainment journalist, worked for a variety for entertainment magazines including Fangoria, Cinefantastique, Femme Fatales, and more. After a few bad experiences with publishers, Happy Cloud Publishing started printing Mike’s work and eventually moved on to other authors, and their own periodicals.

“We really grew our own reputation as being a part, but outside, of the Pittsburgh film boom. We’re an obscure, but known, quantity.“

Happy Cloud Media keeps pushing forward and staying busy. Their film Razor Days will be available to stream through Amazon by Halloween, periodicals Exploitation Nation and Grindhouse Purgatory will have new issues out this month and a new book, Shadows & Light by stuntman Gary Warner Kent, will be available for purchase October 1st. Amy and Mike will both be appearing at Cinema Wasteland in Strongsville, OH October 5-7th. For more information about Happy Cloud Media, LLC or to see more about their publications or films, please visit happycloudpictures.net. You can also check them out on Facebook @HappyCloudMediaLLC, Instagram, and Twitter.

Published in October 2018 GreeneScene Magazine.