Murfreesboro filmmaker Ricky Burchell debuts 'One More Dream' on Friday night
Local filmmaker Ricky Burchell on Friday night will premiere his latest movie, "One More Dream," at Premiere 6 Theatre in Murfreesboro.
The coming-of-age film includes rising stars David Rand and Sam Brooks, and features Omar Gooding and Brittany Goodwin. Red carpet festivities for the premiere of "One More Dream" start at 6 p.m. at Premiere 6 Theatre (810 N.W. Broad St.). The movie hits the screen at 7 p.m. Tickets are $6 to $10 and can be purchased at murfreesboromovies.com or at the door.
Burchell, a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University's Department of Recording Industry, directed and wrote the film. He also co-produced it with Kendall Gray, Tel Ganesan and Kumaresan "Nepoleon" Duraisamy. Burchell spoke this week with the Daily New Journal's Nancy DeGennaro about filmmaking, his stint as a Christian rapper and advice for aspiring filmmakers and writers. His answers are edited for clarity.
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What did you do after graduating from MTSU?
"I began a career in music. I did Christian rap, Christian hip-hop, gospel rap. I traveled the world performing music. I worked with Kurtis Blow, Bushwick Bill and Bizzy Bone — and some other hip-hop legends.:
How did you get into filmmaking?
"I started writing songs and producing songs for other people. People started showing me. I started learning how to run a camera and doing little things until I learned to write a script, produce and direct."
How did you learn to write screenplays? It's much different than writing lyrics to a song.
"When I first had an idea to write a movie, I just wrote it down like a normal story. I didn't understand about format, character, dialogue, action. I began to show people and ... they showed me how to do it. I found people to help me along the journey."
How did you learn to work behind the camera?
"I started seeing people doing camera work, I convinced some people I could shoot a commercial. But I didn't know much. Once I got the job I had to figure out camera work. I hired another company that I was doing some work for and they did the videos I was hired for. But I was behind the scenes learning it."
What is the most important thing you did for your film career?
"Sometimes it can be very intimidating. Once I got in my mind that I could pull it off, I just did it. There were a lot of failures along the way, but I just decided 'I'm going to go for it.'"
What do you enjoy about filmmaking, as opposed to the music business?
"When you make a film, you can dive deeper into the stories, into the characters, into the setting. A lot of times, my films have deeper meaning than just the story."
What would you tell aspiring filmmakers and writers?
"Once you get a vision of what you want to do or story you want to tell, you've got to break it down into bite-size pieces. Then there's a lot of elements you've got to have in place (camera and lens, lighting, sound, location, talent, legal services, insurance). Some of those things are not as expensive as you think they are. So you need to pool your resources."
Premier of 'One More Dream'
What: Premier of Ricky Burchell's latest film
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Premiere 6 Theatre (810 N.W. Broad St., Murfreesboro)
Cost: Tickets are $6 to $10 and can be purchased at murfreesboromovies.com or at the door
Reach reporter Nancy DeGennaro at degennaro@dnj.com. Keep up with restaurant news by joining Good Eats in the 'Boro (and beyond) on Facebook and follow Murfreesboro Eats on TikTok.
This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Getting to know Ricky Burchell, the filmmaker behind 'One More Dream'
