Ethan Stephens
Not Now (2021)
updated
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Twitter @thethanstephens twitter.com/thethanstephens
Just Alpha was filmed in 3 hours, during the 2023 Oscar's Ceremony. It was edited in only 1 week.
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My portfolio & Socials: https://linktr.ee/ethanstephens
My Portfolio linktree.com/ethanstephens
Directed by me youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9n4Ke5GHwFdmU3ZOW1mB1mrMVKBtGsbb
I video edit full time, occasionally shooting music videos, corporate videos and narrative work. I also produce/direct/shoot/edit/pretty much anything my own low-budget feature films, which are all featured in this reel. If you're interested in having me involved in your project, feel free to email me or send a Twitter DM!
Email progressingproductions@gmail.com
Twitter @thethanstephens
Works Included (By Recency)
Feature Films:
Someday (2023) - Dir. Ethan Stephens DP. Mason Haggerty
What Can Go Wrong? (2022) - Dir. Ethan Stephens DP. Jesse Hernandez
Mountain Melancholy (2021) - Dir. Ethan Stephens DP. Ethan
Stephens/Mason Haggerty
Not Now (2021) - Dir. Ethan Stephens DP. Mason Haggerty
Adrenaline (2020) - Dir. Ethan Stephens DP. Mason Haggerty
Assassin (2019) - Dir. Ethan Stephens DP. Mason Haggerty
Music Videos:
KeRylo - Shine More (2022) - Dir. Ethan Stephens
KeRylo - Lost Love (2022) - Dir. Ethan Stephens
Short Films:
The Last Goodbye (2019) - Dir. David Over DP. Ethan Stephens
If not now, then when?
Noah, an aimless college dropout, spends his days serving in a hectic restaurant, and his nights partying, drinking and falling in love with a new girl every evening. Admist the fallout with a spontaneous "manic pixie dream girl", Noah falls for an enigmatic and elusive trainee, who teaches him lessons about life, relationships and romance.
I never thought I'd get here. I've finally ended up at the definitive version of this movie. In the 7 months since I've released this film, I've hardly been able to watch this. Creatively, I've never felt the same satisfaction with Not Now that I have with previous works. It's presentation on YouTube always bugged me, due to the site's heavy compression. The sound mix needed a few tweaks. There was a few cuts that I felt were imperfect. I left a couple names out of the credits. Most importantly, it's changing aspect ratio never seemed quite right. Because of this, I've finally decided to make the changes I've always wanted.
By no means is this a perfect movie, but I've done everything that I can, and I'm finally at the point to where I can call this a film I'm deeply proud of. This is the definitive version of Not Now, a film I've spent almost two years mulling over. It's not my calling card. It's not an accurate depiction of where I am as a filmmaker today. But the lessons I've learned between life and filmmaking make this one of the most important things in my life.
Not Now is a message to my younger self, a sign in the clouds telling me to be patient, that the things I've always desired (in life, not just romance) are coming. It may not come in the ways I'd expect it to, but at the end of the day, I'm more than the person I was two years ago, and in fact, more than the person I was when I first released Not Now in August, 2021. I hope others who find this film will get the same things out of this that I did.
As I pass every milestone in my life, I continue to set larger and more ambitious goals. It started off with writing my first short story. Then a novel. Then a short film. Then a feature. It's hard for me to believe that my second feature would be more of an accomplishment than my first, but it truly is, and getting it right was such a gratifying experience. I'm still going though. At the end of April, I'm filming what will be my third (scripted) feature film, fifth feature overall. It's similar to this, but about an entirely different lesson I've learned in relationships. Currently, I believe it will be my calling card as to what I am as a filmmaker, but I'm sure that once it's released, I will be a different person, with bigger goals, higher ceilings and more experiences under my belt. I may be in a much better position than I used to be, with a drive behind me that had faded over the two year journey for this film. I'm getting closer and closer to what I've envisioned, but I'm not that person yet, at least not now.
Thank you, I hope you enjoy this.
Writer & Director, Ethan Stephens
LIKE, COMMENT AND SUBSCRIBE!
For anyone wanting to financially support me and my efforts in filmmaking
paypal paypal.me/EthanS45
venmo @Ethan-Stephens-2
Instagram @NotNowMovie instagram.com/notnowmovie
Personal Instagram @EthanStephensFilms instagram.com/ethanstephensfilms
Twitter @NotNowFilm twitter.com/NotNowFilm
Personal Twitter @thethanstephens twitter.com/thethanstephens
Letterboxd letterboxd.com/film/not-now-1/?ltclid=1af04d84-8578-4477-b36b-e7b264be250a
IMDB imdb.com/title/tt13181484
This film is not being released commercially whatsoever. This is a passion project and is entirely non-profit. I am not getting ad revenue from this film nor have I posted it on any platforms that I'd receive revenue from in any form.
Dedicated to Ayo & Asa, two artists who inspired and challenged me. Rest In Peace.
Ethan, a chronic overthinker falls for a girl on a day out at the pool, but she's only in town for one more night. In a chaotic bout to impress her, him and his unpredictable best friend spontaneously plan and set up an elaborate party over the course of 2 hours, but everything that could go wrong, goes wrong.
This is my submission for Joel Haver's Oscars feature film project (youtube.com/watch?v=tkg858APzFk&t=284s).
We shot this during the 2022 Oscar's Ceremony. We ran into so many issues. People flaked, our camera's SD card broke, things were broken, neighbors were startled. Despite all of this, our team was able to create something that we're truly proud of, and we hope that everyone sees it in the same light as us. I thought that shooting a feature in 3 hours was impossible, but the graces of rolling continuously, quick thinking, improv and some lucky coincidences allowed us to make our idea come alive. It was an unbelievably stressful experience but it turned out very rewarding and helped us get an insight into how our next feature, Someday, will turn out. This film is about embracing the chaos, and living in the moment, and that's exactly what we did when making this film.
Thank you, Director Ethan Stephens
This is your reminder to like, comment and subscribe :)
If you're interested, we are releasing a new cut of my most recent feature, Not Now very soon!
Additionally, my first feature, Assassin: youtube.com/watch?v=QPV90qWWtbo&t=1387s
Again, like, comment and share this please!
For anyone wanting to financially support me and my efforts in filmmaking
paypal paypal.me/EthanS45
venmo @Ethan-Stephens-2
Personal Instagram @EthanStephensFilms instagram.com/ethanstephensfilms
Personal Twitter @thethanstephens twitter.com/thethanstephens
This film is not being released commercially whatsoever. This is a passion project and is entirely non-profit. I am not getting ad revenue from this film nor have I posted it on any platforms that I'd receive revenue from in any form.
Assassin is a outrageous action-comedy directed by Ethan Stephens and starring Landon Brooks, Miciah Auden, Cameron Payne and Nathan Orlando. It's based on the senior tradition of "Assassin" where you pay to enter the competition, are assigned target, and must shoot them with a nerf gun to advance. The winner gets prize money and bragging rights!
I made this film in my home town of Cypress, Texas, over winter break and with a measly $3000 budget (It's one of the cheapest movies ever made!). I was only 19 at the time and full of ambition. Assassin didn't come out as a masterpiece, but I'm certainly proud and wouldn't change a thing about it!
I hope you enjoy the film as much as I enjoyed making it. It was a life changing experience and not only did I learn lessons about filmmaking, I learned lessons about life. Filmmaking and storytelling is the only thing I see myself doing in the future, and this is only one of the first steps.
Like, subscribe and share! I'm currently filming my next feature and developing other projects, and they will be MUCH better than this. Big things to come, be a part of my journey!
Instagram: @theethanstephens
@adrenaline2020 (My next feature film)
@progressingproductions
Twitter: @thethanstephens
ASSASSIN stars Landon Brooks, Miciah Auden, Nathan Orlando, Cameron Payne & Trey Peyton and is written/directed by Ethan Stephens.
ASSASSIN is based off of the senior tradition in which everyone is assigned a target and must eliminate said target by filming themselves shooting the other with a nerf gun. Once you eliminate your target, you are assigned their target and so on. The grand prize? $2000. Last man standing wins.
Keep Updated:
website - progressing.productions
instagram - @progressingproductions @theethanstephens
twitter - @thethanstephens
Do you like how Levi dresses? Of course you do. You can get his sunglasses and more at alpha-chain.myshopify.com
SUBSCRIBE youtube.com/progressingproductions
WEBSITE progressing.productions
INSTAGRAM @ProgressingProductions
Keep updated on Ethan's twitter @TheEthanStephens
THIS IS IT, after half a day of exporting and uploading, JOKES ON HER is finally out, but first I'm going to make you watch the FIRST and SECOND installments.
Yes, Jokes On Her is more of a skit than a short film, the main purpose was fun, don't view this trilogy as art, but more so a tribute to summer.
The music used in this video:
(Give my man a listen!) Gil Summers - Anymore : soundcloud.com/user-76791173/anymore
Stilly Woozy - Goodie Bag : youtube.com/watch?v=zL3wWykAKfs
William Bolton - On My Way : youtube.com/watch?v=v142XiXphsU
William Bolton - DJ : youtube.com/watch?v=mJFYwTnxbO0
Lakey Inspired - Feelin' Good : youtube.com/watch?v=9FWb3RODKjg
William Bolton - Anti Love Love Songs Outro : youtube.com/watch?v=Pdn_hzbAivM
JOKES ON HER & The JOKES ON YOU trilogy is written and directed by Ethan Stephens, starring Nathan Orlando, Ala Ababneh, Nick Buzek, Lisa Ritchie, Remi Elvasto, Eli Guzman, Brandon Wright, Yvette Caratao, Jay Sanchez, Victoria Wilcox, & Abbas Jafri
SUBSCRIBE TO MY FRIEND @VEE WILCOX
youtube.com/channel/UCGIwq_pwI0Pxb0KVTLhW42g
"Jokes On Y'all" is a short comedy film that is a sequel to "Jokes On You" focusing on a new character. Make sure to stick around for the after credits scene.
This film is written and directed by Ethan Stephens, starring Ala Ababneh with Brandon Wright, Eli Guzman and Nathan Orlando making a small appearance.
The film's music
William Bolton - On My Way: youtube.com/watch?v=gWeKzJXpFlg
Still Woozy - Goodie Bag: youtube.com/watch?v=zL3wWykAKfs
Finals Week is our newest short film and our second attempt at horror.
Starring Nathan Orlando and Eli Guzman with the writer/director Ethan Stephens making a quick cameo.
Ethan Stephens is also the head cinematographer, editor and audio engineer, with Bryce Henley assisting in the crew aspect.
Music
youtube.com/watch?v=XVbvE0PJyss&list=PL9n4Ke5GHwFeDEUp_Vvukc64CNGdAcwot&index=5&t=0s
youtube.com/watch?v=33kGOYLe8Uk&list=PL9n4Ke5GHwFeDEUp_Vvukc64CNGdAcwot&index=7&t=0s
youtube.com/watch?v=lXl7VhqdqRU&list=PL9n4Ke5GHwFeDEUp_Vvukc64CNGdAcwot&index=11&t=0s
It took 6 hours to shoot and edit this micro-short I thought of during a quick car ride. This is mainly a warm-up for some more Comedy shorts coming up soon. I hope you guys enjoy!
Music: Still Woozy - Goodie Bag
Starring Nathan Orlando
Directed by Ethan Stephens
This film is easily my most ambitious project to date. It's reflective, it's challenging. Every detail in this film was planned out by me, like the drawings on the wall, the music and even the baseball bats. This is my piece of art, and I'm glad you're here to enjoy it.
Music Credits
Nomak - Everyone Has A Reason To Pray: youtube.com/watch?v=t3x7p6aZbv4
EDEN - Vertigo (Transition):
youtube.com/watch?v=qCNrkFtM0uM
Filmstro - Cougar
This film was made by Progressing Productions.
Email: progressingproductions@gmail.com
Website: progressingproductions.weebly.com
Instagram: ProgressingProductions
Music:
youtube.com/watch?v=paRR1vXGgck
youtube.com/watch?v=-zvQoPyY2XE
youtube.com/watch?v=v8KPX-KPsFU
Please contact me if you want me to take this down!
Cast:
Assassin - Hunter Gray
Rival - Annie Clark
Guy Who Dies Alot - Ryan Cowhey
Creepy Smile Guy - Shajid Hasan
Guy Who Runs - Brandon Wright
Shot From Behind Guy - Kayd Hibbard
Peace Sign Guy - Christian Earle
The Master - Mason DIaz
Directed, Written, Edited and Captured by Ethan Stephens


