About this project

Filmmaker James Pizarro and actor Mark de Jeu connected in July-2026, talking about their desire to practice and improve their filmmaking skills. The project: SceneWorks.

THE CONCEPT

Improve our filmmaking skills by making films.

Shoot high-quality scene reenactments and original short films at least once a month. Shoot fast/nimble with a small/skilled crew, talented local actors, and minimal budget with gear we own. Critique and review our work.

This is a self-funded educational venture with no commercial value or intent.

LOCATION

The SceneWorks Project shoots around the Cleveland, Ohio area.

THE PROCESS

Scene Reenactments
  1. Maintain a backlog/pipeline of scene scripts to reenact.
    • Ideas can be submitted by actors/crew participating in future shoots.
  2. Schedule shoot.
  3. Shoot in 2-4 hours.
  4. Edit within 7 days.
  5. Actors review in the edit bay.
  6. Post restricted Vimeo link for personal review.
Original Short/Proof-Of-Concept Films
  1. Receive/review short film scripts from sponsors.
    • Sponsor will be the film's Director and also responsible for any of a film's financing, marketing, distribution, contracts, and compliance.
  2. Refine/approve script.
  3. Schedule shoot.
  4. Shoot in 1-3 days.
  5. Edit.
  6. Actors review in the edit bay.
  7. Color/score.
  8. Hand off final rendered film to sponsor.
  9. Sponsor distributes reel clips to actors.

FINANCING

Reenactments are minimal budget. Crew, craft, and location fees are paid by James/Mark.

Actors are not paid (and do not pay).

Shorts and Proof-Of-Concept films have a 'sponsor'. Sponsors submit scripts to The SceneWorks Project and might participate in financing for the shoot. James/Mark do not charge for their time or kit.

REVIEW / FEEDBACK / CRITIQUE

Self-review, group review, and coach feedback.

After each shoot, actors meet in the edit bay for feedback and critique from the editor and each other. This can be the toughest part of the shoot, but it's also where we learn and grow.

Acting coaches can be enlisted to prep, direct, and review actor performances.

ACTOR REELS

Actors often ask about including this footage in their reels.

NOTE: For actors starting out, we do not need actor reels to book work. Lacking a reel is not keeping us from booking roles. Booking roles will be based mostly on networking, hustle, skill, and good fortune. For example, in Mark's first three years, he booked 20+ film/tv roles without having an actor reel. He's not alone.

Should you make an actor reel from clips you've commissioned with the sole purpose of adding those clips to your reel?

If casting directors are the target audience for your reel, then listen to what they say about demo reels made from clips you've commissioned (as opposed to clips from legit films/shows). The CDs I've heard or talked to say, 'don't do it' (or if you do, make sure the clips are amazing).

If independant filmmakers are your target, then commissioned clips might help the filmmaker get a sense of your acting range and chops. However, quality audition self-tapes might be enough.

Having said that, you get to decide if the short films we shoot could make a nice addition to your demo reel. For the reenactments we shoot, just be aware that including clips from iconic scene reenactments will surely work against you, unless you compare favorably to Pacino, Hoffman, and Streep.

The SceneWorks Project is on a mission to improve our filmmaking skills. Our focus is not on making clips for your reel, but we leave that choice to you.

JOIN US

James and Mark are collaborating with local actors and crew in Northeast Ohio. We want to continually refine our skills and see how good we can get at our craft. We team with others who share our desire to get better at this.

Have a scene reenactment or original short film you'd like to shoot for practice? Let us know by sending a note to info@sceneworks.net.

A NOTE ON SCENE REENACTMENT COPYRIGHTS

The SceneWorks Project respects copyrights.

Scene reenactments are short excerpts from original copyrighted works and are solely for private, educational purposes, with no commercial value or intent. They are practice tapes, for personal use and not for public distribution.