John Foutz

John Foutz began making short films with his dad's Super8mm film camera when he was in the 7th grade. He would have his friends come over after school and fill the 3 minute reel with stories of Cowboys vs Indians, Bank Robberies and Shoot-outs, and Claymation/Stop-action. By the time he was in high school, he decided to write his first screenplay, a horror movie. Without a means to acquire the budget to shoot on film, the project was shelved. Through the process, though, John began studying the work of Dick Smith, Rick Baker, Rob Bottin, Tom Savini and others in order to do the practical effects for the movie. When "The Evil Dead II" was being shot in a high school gym in Wadesboro, NC, he made several visits to the set, meeting both the practical FX team as well as the stop-motion team. A year in college (Commercial Art & Advertising Design) was all he could commit to, as he was so distracted by filming in NC. He then landed a job in a small broadcast studio in Charlotte, NC, based upon his photography skills and stayed there for four years before returning to college to complete what he started after high school. In 1994, he started Foutz Design Studios, INC which was dissolved eight years later to form Foutz Studios, LLC to encompass making commercial videos. In 2003, he produced and lensed the feature film "Bird in a Glass House" with writer director Hannah Dennis. This was followed by directing six feature films (for Shadowdog Productions), two animated series, five music videos, and numerous industrial and short films.