Meet Josh Feldhake | Filmmaker & Owner of Lethal Hobo Productions LLC

We had the good fortune of connecting with Josh Feldhake and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Josh, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I think I’ve always been a creative person. Originally, I had intended to go into architecture until I was about 16 and had the opportunity to team up with a small group of friends who made short films. Once I saw what could be accomplished with a like-minded, creatively driven group of people after that first informative weekend, I quickly pivoted toward filmmaking. Since the age of 16, I have been a part of every step of the filmmaking process– from writing, producing, directing, camera operating and, my personal favorite, editing. In the beginning, I was really hungry to learn, so I self-taught myself a lot of editing programs with the help of a few internet icons like Andrew Kramer and Ryan Connolly. Over the past few years, I decided that the only way to improve is to focus on a singular aspect instead of continuing to wear all of the different hats in the process. I’ve broadened my team and together, we can produce some really high-quality stuff.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
By day, I work at the Kyrene School District as the SOLE Video Production Coordinator for the entirety of our 26 schools. I started out in the corporate world by first working at Mesa Public schools for 5 years and then transitioning to the private sector and becoming apart of a start up golf company for a year. I’ve been with Kyrene now for going on 6 years and am always finding new ways to highlight our district, focusing on why our schools have so much more to offer than any other valley school district.

By night (or the weekends), I run Lethal Hobo Productions LLC. Our main goal, as of late, is focusing on narrative films that tell a meaningful story. My big pet peeve is when people spend all of their time and effort making a film that, at the end of the day, doesn’t really say or offer much to the human experience. Every time we set out to make a film, whether it be a 5 minute short film or a 25 minute film, I want to be SURE that there is intent in the story that we are telling. I have also done some freelance corporate work in the past, which, I’ve been lauded for– however my main goal is to narratively entertain and tell a story that is captivating and thought provoking.

It wasn’t easy to get to where we are now. As I alluded to earlier, I started out very much solo. Being a video editor, its nice to sit in a dark room and just cut footage to my heart’s content. However, going that route with traditional filmmaking isn’t easy. Being a recluse makes it hard to network and open up the doors of possibilities to what’s achievable. I was stubborn for awhile and tried to do everything– write, direct, cam op, edit, etc, but it proved to be a bottleneck of my talents, I feel. Once I connected with my creative partner Kenny Sabian, things started to change. We specifically set out to find people who could fill the roles that were so desperately needed so that Kenny and I could have the flexibility to do the tasks we really wanted to do– editing for me and sound mixing for Kenny.

Being a no to micro-budget production house (for now) makes it 10x harder to find people for roles in which people generally expect to get paid to do (and for good reason). My thought process then shifted to searching for people who maybe didn’t have the experience to be a “Director of Photography” on a full blown corporate set, but has been in the camera department, for instance. I found that (for the stuff we are producing now) even though we have nothing in the budget to pay for crew’s time, what I COULD offer was the opportunity for those to gain experience in roles that they were aiming for so that they could go and then put it on a resume and land those bigger jobs due to them having experience. I’ve found that method has netted our company some pretty high caliber people in roles they may not have had the chance to take on had they continued trying to work their way up the paid corporate ladder. Another added benefit of sourcing our crew this way, is that you tend to find pretty hungry people who will do nothing but their best work because they have the opportunity to be a department head.

At the end of the day, as long as we are in the realm of passion projects, i.e, zero to micro budget narrative films, I’ll always pass up a paycheck first so that my crew can take home something for their hard work. The next step in our journey is finding the funding so that becomes a reality!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
As a homebody, this question is challenging for me, ha. However, I think the answer really depends on what type of year the person is visiting. If its not too hot out, its great to get out and explore some of the mountains around the valley. Growing up in the east valley, i’ve always been partial to the Superstitions– some great trails in there.

I’m also a big fan of our Arizona heritage when it comes to the wild west. Goldfield ghost town is always a cool spot to visit, as with Rawhide. You can certain learn a lot about Arizona and just the wild west in general by visiting those two spots.

I am an avid board gamer so Games U in mesa and Gamers Guild in Tempe are favorite places of mine to hit up and try out a new board game or peruse through their shelves and see what there is to discover in the world of board games and Warhammer 40k.

I have a personal goal of avoiding any big national chain restaurants when we go out to eat, and as such, I often gravitate toward Oregano’s for the ol’ comfort meal now and then or I like going to downtown gilbert or queen creek to find a new mom and pop place to try out. Big fan of Liberty market in downtown gilbert!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Because filmmaking is SUCH a collaborative process, I can’t do what I do without the other voices in the room. Big shoutout to my Lethal Hobo Crew– You are a big reason as to why we are able to do what we do.

As of late, my core group (which I’ve dubbed “The Braintrust”) has been my colleagues, Tyler Elder, Freddy Pinon, Martin Reyes, and Emma Van Horn. My main artistic partner, Kenny Sabian, and I go back to high school and are in constant lock=step. Without him, I don’t think I could have continued to grow and reach the heights that our company is reaching right now. Kenny and I had drifted apart for a small gap of time due to life and whatnot, but I can honestly say that had we not reconnected, I may very well not be walking the same career path that I am today.

Of course, my wife, who constantly encourages me to pursue my goals and be creative. She is unfathomably my most reliable person and without her constant push and encouragement, I would not be as driven as I am now. She very often sacrifices her weekends so that our kids are taken care of while I go off and play make believe with my team.

My parents have always been supportive of my career goals and have never really doubted any path I had decided to go down– my dad, especially. He’s been involved in EVERY project I’ve done since I was 16 and he’s always been there to support us as a group and do what needs to be done. He often jokes that he is my “agent”, but truly, so many opportunities have opened up BECAUSE of him and I am forever grateful to have him in my corner as the hype man for not just me, but my entire team. He is our MVP, without a doubt.

Website: www.lethalhobo.com

Instagram: @lethalhobo, @lethalhoboproductions

Youtube: www.youtube.com/lethalhoboproductions

Image Credits
Steven White (Insta @Subytech)
Clifton Williams (insta @cliffywilli)
Ron Pekara (insta @r2p2productions)