Check Out Dark Hoffman’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dark Hoffman.  

Hi Dark, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I began my love of film at a very young age watching late-night horror, Lost in Space, and Batman on TV. Then my babysitter took me to see 2001-A Space Odyssey because I loved science fiction. I didn’t know what I was watching, but I loved it, and I wanted to know how it was made, so living in Florida my first 5 years and then moving to Michigan, I led a very bohemian life and moved whenever my mother wanted to pick up and go. I would pick up movie magazines and devour them while riding in the car. We finally moved to California and, after a while, located ourselves in Los Angeles, where I went to school in Huntington Beach and learned more about filmmaking in community college. At 17, a friend introduced me to a special effects man that did work like rain, snow, wind, explosions, and anything practical. I started doing films and commercials, working for him for about 5 years and then off on my own, building props and miniatures for various companies and studios. I then landed a job as a propmaster and designer for a sci-fi show, Babylon 5 for 5 years and learned a lot. Using and learning Photoshop and 3D programs designing the props on the show, I started doing digital matte painting for VFX companies and have been doing that up to this day for 30+ years since 2000. I went through stage 4 head and neck cancer in 2016, had 2 surgeries, and still going through reconstruction but needing to stay creative, I took up writing and wrote my first script, a Star Wars fan film, that we decided to make into a film. But then in 2018, my partner/producer and I decided to move from LA to Michigan to take care of his mother and also decided to shoot the film here, and we did, called The Blood Crystal. We found a great group of filmmakers in Flint and shot it around Vassar and Bridgeport. We had a showing in the Vassar theater, and it’s online to watch. The filmmaking and scriptwriting bug got me, and I had to make more. I wrote a short horror/thriller called The Shack we shot in 2 days near Vassar, and we have won many awards and it’s still going through festivals, but it’s also available online. Next, I wrote an award-winning script called Dominus, based on stories from The Exorcist franchise. We already shot 3/4 of the film and are now shooting an additional 20 minutes to make it into a feature. Living here in Michigan, I found a new family in filmmakers and many creative types that I look forward to collaborating with. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I think the biggest bump in my journey is my fight with cancer. No one ever thinks it will hit them, but when it does, it’s scary. But my creative side took over, and it helped me get through the rough times healing, and with the help of my partner, I survived and will continue to push and survive and create. 

Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
In my career, I’ve worked on many big films and commercials, and I am proud of everything I’ve done. I think I was happiest being a propmaster on “Babylon 5” because we had such a great family in cast and crew on the show, and after 5 years, it was tough to say goodbye. Traveling was a big highlight before all the lockdowns, and now we are all remote. I worked in Japan, London, Australia, New York, and Chicago, with many companies in Los Angeles as a digital matte painter. I also very much enjoy writing and directing my own films and have been very proud of what I’ve done so far. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.darkgrafix.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dark.hoffman
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darkhoffman/
• Youtube: https://www.facebook.com/thebloodcrystal
• Other: https://www.artstation.com/darkgrafix