A young man and his friend are members of the Siege race, an alien group that can manipulate energy and were sent to Earth to do “good”. They are being hunted by LEER, a trained body of henchman that wish for the extermination of all Sieges. Why? Perhaps you’ll discover in Episode II. This is not a Spielberg, it’s a Lobell, and his most successful online short film series yet, gaining a sold out premier screening of LEER Episode II earlier in October.
Jesse Lobell is a freshman Scottsdale Community College Film Production student whose interest and creativity for making films has always gone beyond the classroom. In the last two years, his production company Telemade Films had produced three films and Jesse aspires to take his talent “all the way.”
Now 19, Lobell has been making films for the past decade, and working commercially and making short films since 2010.
“I have known for a long time that I want to be some sort of entertainer,” Lobell said. “I started making music videos; I saw I could make money for [doing] what I love.
Lobell has consistently molded his talent to benefit all aspects of his life. While at OHS, his editing skills allowed him to go above and beyond on class assignments, and his videos were often shown in media classes as to set the bar high for other students. Jesse inspired them and desires to do so now by forming an importance in people’s lives through his films.
“I am addicted to feeling close to people,” Lobell said. I think I’d find a lot of satisfaction knowing that I was close with people thousands of miles away.”
Lobell’s personal connections before the creation of LEER are in part why LEER was possible to produce in the first place.
“There are a hundred kid shows that inspire the flashy science fiction of LEER, but the issues between characters are inspired from human interactions.”
His human interaction, that is. Jesse’s hobby has brought more that 75 people to the set, many of who are friends, co-workers and professionals. According to Lobell, a person that has always supported him is Matthew Bedsole, who plays Garrett in LEER and is the stunt choreographer.
“[Jesse] brings out such cool and creative thoughts in myself and is a blast to work with,” Bedsole said. “We just have a good time at the end of the day.”
Jesse only chooses to work with reliable, trustworthy, and hardworking people.
“Even though I’m the nicest, goofiest guy on set, if someone isn’t pulling their weight they hear it from me and they don’t get treated special,” Lobell said. “It is a group effort 100 percent.”
Between his job as the Video Motion Graphics Animator at Plexus Slim, attending SCC, and working on his own projects, Lobell has lost more than a few nights of sleep. According to Lobell, sacrifices have been made in order to manage his busy schedule, but the premier of his hard work made it well worth it.
“Honestly, LEER: Episode II is a film I am most proud of, and creating something so large in scale [without money] was pretty amazing,” Lobell said. “Nothing could feel better than having the support of 150 plus on a Thursday night paying to appreciate our work. I was completely humbled.”
LEER I and II are available on Vimeo and Youtube. Lobell is taking every aspect of his filmmaking journey to heart because he desires to create the best product. Lobell says that he has learned that “hard work and sincere dedication” are ultimately the factors that drive success.
Production for LEER: Episode III will begin soon, and according to Lobell a feature comedy is in the discussion phase. Lobell will be reaching out to students from Arizona State University, SCC and other various places because, “Filmmaking is much like playing poker, and if you don’t have a good hand to play you might as well fold. We always need extra cards.”
“The guy is a machine,” Bedsole said. “He inspires others to inspire. It’s a beautiful thing.”