At Distant Moon, we believe the right story can change everything. Our mission is to foster human flourishing through film—by bringing together two worlds that need each other to thrive. For brands, studios, and agencies, we deliver access to world-class film directors, crews, and storytellers who create work that captures hearts and moves audiences to action. For filmmakers, we provide the network, resources, and logistical muscle to unleash their full creative power. We are the bridge—representing today’s most exciting emerging talent and delivering end-to-end creative and production services for projects that aim to change the world.
Storytelling should do more than entertain. It should move people to think, to feel, and to act.
Distant Moon is a film production studio dedicated to promoting human flourishing through storytelling. We empower our partners with films that challenge audiences to grapple with life’s essential questions, deepen their understanding of the world, and connect with the Creator who made that world.
Wrestle with Life’s deepest questions
Understand the World around them more deeply
Come in Contact with the Creator of that World.
Why We’re Different
Everyone says they’re different, so we’ll let our partners do the talking.
World-Class Filmmaking
From working with the White House to a grassroots nonprofit, we’re creating content that rivals Hollywood.
Unreasonable Commitment to Quality
Our team stops at nothing to make the best project possible.
We Care More Than You Do About Your Project
Sound ridiculous? See what one of our clients says.
An extraordinary creative partner from start to finish.
Turn Your Vision to film
Mission Control is our multi-pronged process that captures your key objectives, risks, and messaging, ensuring that the project is a success.
Why build a cyc wall? Dont all cyc wall shoots just feel boring and white? Or some sort of underlit gray?
Last fall, our team @distantmoonhq built a cyc wall in our studio. Our objective was to have a space that was versatile and could be used for all sorts of quick hit interview set ups that didn’t need custom set builds.
This project, had a major creative objective: tie in the tone and visuals and feeling of medical research and sterility with abstract beauty and color.
Check out the finals shots and bts snaps from the prelighting day to see the after vs the before. directed by @matthewprojas, produced by @maktrob and @kacie.lynn_ and guided through post by @brandondetraglia, Caleb Symmons, segarsj, and many others at Distant Moon Post.
I thiiink I can say with accuracy that last year our team built the largest set ever made for an online course (if you know of one that beats ours, please tell me! I want to know!)
It is no exaggeration to say that the art department (which includes production design, set construction, set dressing, props, etc.) is often the most underrated and most visually important departments for any film.
I often think about the concept of faking it until you make it. The very first set we built. We had no idea how to build set flats. That was about eight years ago, and a client asked us what we thought the best location would be for the project and I suggested we simply build a set that looked like an Indiana Jones set. The client asked, “can you do that?” and with outward confidence and inward, trepidation, I said, “of course!”
Fast forward to today, and we build multiple sets a year for various projects, with art led by the incredible @d_cool20.
Production by @distantmoonhq cinematography by @mikecurry_dp produced by D cool, @kacie.lynn_ and @jeremiahreganhcoc
@hillsdalecollege’s upcoming series on Homer’s The Odyssey coming soon.
Pics/videos in this post: 1. Frames 2. Goobers messing up takes 3. Explanation of lighting a set like this 4. Sound mixer sitting in (is Andrew off IG now?) 5. Jeremiah taking pics of Video village 6. Video village 7.the ai reference imagery… 8. The real human made deal 9. More set build bts
Final frames in behind-the-scenes of seven different set ups for a commercial @distantmoonhq shot last year for @ndufoundation.
The brief was capture over 25 different set ups and scenes over the course of two days to tell the story of the premier national defense leadership training college in the world. With a small documentary team my co-producer and co-director @thejonathanhay and I leaned on mostly natural light setups with a handful of large soft sources to create shape for images in the large spaces and outdoor environments. Shoutout to my buddies @dehrenberg, @taylorroesch, and @julian_keene19 who really helped shape the light and cam angles and move quickly through a ton of setups.
Final shot shows the very simple negative fill and beadboard bounce setup for the exterior talking head segment.
It’s said that if you can light a beautiful interview, you can light essentially any scene. That thought has stuck with me for over a decade as the @distantmoonhq team, and I have worked to hone the magic behind shooting multi camera interviews in a whole range of locations.
Four years we have practiced framing wide shots with lights and grip equipment in the shot, knowing that our editorial and VFX team have the skill to composite the gear out of the final shots, but this requires taking multiple plates and backup plans to ensure the shots fully work once VFX has painted out the equipment.
For these shots, we took at least five plates per wide shot to ensure that lighting matched across the room when equipment was pulled out of the wides.
Frames for a special edition episode, we produced for @wordonfire_catholicministries, @bishopbarron interviewed Justice @justiceamybarrett.
directed by Caleb Symmons shot by @dehrenberg produced and edited by the incredible team at @distantmoonhq
It’s been a wild ride this past year. Thankful for friends like @bobbydownes who has been such a selfless guide and resource for both me and many many people at events we’ve held together. This was from a podcast episode we shot together back in October and it will be releasing soon on our YouTube channel as we start rolling out the Human Flourishing podcast.
One of the many things I’ve been learning about in depth this year is financing and distribution. I’ve been working professionally in film for 15+ years now, but In so many ways I feel like I’m only just at the beginning of my career.
For this interview, my friend and amazing do @dehrenberg and I wanted the vibe to feel polished yet like it was behind the scenes. Shot on our little white infinity studio and only lit with a few apature lights. Can’t wait yo share this conversation.
It’s been a full week since our movie released. Hard to believe. In some ways it feels like months ago. Time FEELS like it’s flying when you’re having fun?
Hard to believe that a week later we’re still the top rated popcorn meter in theaters (the movie was held over in a handful of theaters across the country after its super limited release).
Thank you again to everyone who came out and supported the film! So many exciting things in the works. Some of them include future docs. But also in the works are some movies and streaming shows. To everyone who has partnered and trusted me and @distantmoonhq over the years, thank you.
Here’s to the future. Here’s to human flourishing through storytelling.
Tonight is our last night in theaters. And in honor of the final screenings happening across the country, I threw together a little celebratory post for our status on Rotten Tomatoes!
With an audience score of 98% from hundreds of verified audience members, we received the verified hot logo for our film yesterday! On top of that, according to the popcorn meter we are the highest audience-rated film in theaters this weekend!! Not the biggest. Not the most popular. Certainly not the biggest box office (we were 12th for the weekend box office). But man audiences were generous with their reviews. What a blessing reading the incredible comments! Thank you to everyone who has shown up, supported, and celebrated with us! Thankful for all of you!
Release Day! And I’m so thankful for all the incredible support and love from so many of you. @yettanother and I feel so blessed by how kind and generous everyone is with their time and support for us and this project.
So, I want to shout out as many of the creatives who made this film possible as I can.
Starting off with our producing team, @jeremiahreganhcoc @kacie.lynn_ @d_cool20 @maktrob and @debgeo. Whether through funding, or logistics or hiring or contracts or a host of things I get very overwhelmed by, a film does not happen without incredible producers. Thankful for all of you.
My writing collaborators Jeremiah and John. Thankful for both the concrete insights and historic rigor you brought to the writing process.
My crew: DP @mikecurry_dp you make things that could feel boring look beautiful. @julian_keene19 you make production feel painless. Caleb Symons is a killer up and coming director who ran additional interviews for me and I’m so excited about his future directing!
@brandondetraglia @jesseeastmancreative for your incredible creative leadership and making sure this project was run smoothly through post and got across the finish line. @smgvideoeditor for pushing to make this film great in the edit. @nathancharlesfilm and @jongrahamcreative who were vital in the assembly stage.
@ryanmoorecomposer my friend and long term collaborator who has been dreaming with me for 15 years about making films for the theater and brought the film to life with his beautiful score.
@eli.ohearn and @thumbsupman who elevated the film to the next level with their incredible VFX that transforms this documentary into a visually immersive experience.
@gavin_buckland and @vokestudio who are always there to push creative boundaries with us.
Yo the entire team at @distantmoonhq led under the fearless guidance of @snjohnson1014 who make the company run and enable it to push and elevate the films we work in to new levels every time.
And the many other incredible people who acted as sounding boards, creative collaborators, late night warriors, pinch hitters, and carriers of that fire without which a project like this doesn’t happen. Thankful for you all.
Revolutionary America opens in theaters in FOUR days. And presales are going great! Excited for people to see this important documentary and the work of the incredible people who made it what it is!
In these frames, featuring @jeremiahreganhcoc, @michaeljknowles @ericmetaxas
Official Trailer for the documentary: Revolutionary America. Coming to theaters May 31.
A two-year labor of love involving incredible talent in front of and behind the cameras and screens. See their incredible work and important storytelling at the end of the month!
And just like that, Revolutionary America has passed a week of qc and was sent to the distributor. Next week: DCP testing in Burbank to make sure it’s ready for theaters on May 31! It’s so gratifying seeing final frames from the film and how everything the team has poured themselves into for the last year and a half finally holds together as a unified film. Featured in this post, shots that @thumbsupman and @eli.ohearn worked closely on with me. These two VFX wizards really pulled off shots that immerse audiences into the world of 1776. Can’t wait for the world to see their work. #revolutionaryamerica @hillsdalecollege @fathomentertainment @distantmoonhq
So excited to be able to finally announce that my feature documentary “Revolutionary America.” Is coming to theaters May 31-June 2!
Narrated by Tom Selleck. Produced by @jeremiahreganhcoc. It’s been a huge team effort and we’re just putting the finishing touches on the film right now. The @distantmoonhq team is working around the clock around the country on final sound mix, color, VFX, and all those little pieces that will hopefully transport audiences into the past to celebrate the country’s 250th in a way they haven’t before!
Much more to be said in the coming weeks. But this year and a half labor of love is coming to theaters near you soon!
03 —— Connect
Social Proof
Real Impact. Real Results.
Why build a cyc wall? Dont all cyc wall shoots just feel boring and white? Or some sort of underlit gray?
Last fall, our team @distantmoonhq built a cyc wall in our studio. Our objective was to have a space that was versatile and could be used for all sorts of quick hit interview set ups that didn’t need custom set builds.
This project, had a major creative objective: tie in the tone and visuals and feeling of medical research and sterility with abstract beauty and color.
Check out the finals shots and bts snaps from the prelighting day to see the after vs the before.
directed by @matthewprojas, produced by @maktrob and @kacie.lynn_ and guided through post by @brandondetraglia, Caleb Symmons, segarsj, and many others at Distant Moon Post.
I thiiink I can say with accuracy that last year our team built the largest set ever made for an online course (if you know of one that beats ours, please tell me! I want to know!)
It is no exaggeration to say that the art department (which includes production design, set construction, set dressing, props, etc.) is often the most underrated and most visually important departments for any film.
I often think about the concept of faking it until you make it. The very first set we built. We had no idea how to build set flats. That was about eight years ago, and a client asked us what we thought the best location would be for the project and I suggested we simply build a set that looked like an Indiana Jones set. The client asked, “can you do that?” and with outward confidence and inward, trepidation, I said, “of course!”
Fast forward to today, and we build multiple sets a year for various projects, with art led by the incredible @d_cool20.
Production by @distantmoonhq cinematography by @mikecurry_dp produced by D cool, @kacie.lynn_ and @jeremiahreganhcoc
@hillsdalecollege’s upcoming series on Homer’s The Odyssey coming soon.
Pics/videos in this post:
1. Frames
2. Goobers messing up takes
3. Explanation of lighting a set like this
4. Sound mixer sitting in (is Andrew off IG now?)
5. Jeremiah taking pics of Video village
6. Video village
7.the ai reference imagery…
8. The real human made deal
9. More set build bts
Final frames in behind-the-scenes of seven different set ups for a commercial @distantmoonhq shot last year for @ndufoundation.
The brief was capture over 25 different set ups and scenes over the course of two days to tell the story of the premier national defense leadership training college in the world. With a small documentary team my co-producer and co-director @thejonathanhay and I leaned on mostly natural light setups with a handful of large soft sources to create shape for images in the large spaces and outdoor environments. Shoutout to my buddies @dehrenberg, @taylorroesch, and @julian_keene19 who really helped shape the light and cam angles and move quickly through a ton of setups.
Final shot shows the very simple negative fill and beadboard bounce setup for the exterior talking head segment.
It’s said that if you can light a beautiful interview, you can light essentially any scene. That thought has stuck with me for over a decade as the @distantmoonhq team, and I have worked to hone the magic behind shooting multi camera interviews in a whole range of locations.
Four years we have practiced framing wide shots with lights and grip equipment in the shot, knowing that our editorial and VFX team have the skill to composite the gear out of the final shots, but this requires taking multiple plates and backup plans to ensure the shots fully work once VFX has painted out the equipment.
For these shots, we took at least five plates per wide shot to ensure that lighting matched across the room when equipment was pulled out of the wides.
Frames for a special edition episode, we produced for @wordonfire_catholicministries, @bishopbarron interviewed Justice @justiceamybarrett.
directed by Caleb Symmons shot by @dehrenberg produced and edited by the incredible team at @distantmoonhq
It’s been a wild ride this past year. Thankful for friends like @bobbydownes who has been such a selfless guide and resource for both me and many many people at events we’ve held together. This was from a podcast episode we shot together back in October and it will be releasing soon on our YouTube channel as we start rolling out the Human Flourishing podcast.
One of the many things I’ve been learning about in depth this year is financing and distribution. I’ve been working professionally in film for 15+ years now, but In so many ways I feel like I’m only just at the beginning of my career.
For this interview, my friend and amazing do @dehrenberg and I wanted the vibe to feel polished yet like it was behind the scenes. Shot on our little white infinity studio and only lit with a few apature lights. Can’t wait yo share this conversation.
It’s been a full week since our movie released. Hard to believe. In some ways it feels like months ago. Time FEELS like it’s flying when you’re having fun?
Hard to believe that a week later we’re still the top rated popcorn meter in theaters (the movie was held over in a handful of theaters across the country after its super limited release).
Thank you again to everyone who came out and supported the film! So many exciting things in the works. Some of them include future docs. But also in the works are some movies and streaming shows. To everyone who has partnered and trusted me and @distantmoonhq over the years, thank you.
Here’s to the future. Here’s to human flourishing through storytelling.
Tonight is our last night in theaters. And in honor of the final screenings happening across the country, I threw together a little celebratory post for our status on Rotten Tomatoes!
With an audience score of 98% from hundreds of verified audience members, we received the verified hot logo for our film yesterday! On top of that, according to the popcorn meter we are the highest audience-rated film in theaters this weekend!!
Not the biggest. Not the most popular. Certainly not the biggest box office (we were 12th for the weekend box office).
But man audiences were generous with their reviews. What a blessing reading the incredible comments!
Thank you to everyone who has shown up, supported, and celebrated with us! Thankful for all of you!
Release Day! And I’m so thankful for all the incredible support and love from so many of you. @yettanother and I feel so blessed by how kind and generous everyone is with their time and support for us and this project.
So, I want to shout out as many of the creatives who made this film possible as I can.
Starting off with our producing team, @jeremiahreganhcoc @kacie.lynn_ @d_cool20 @maktrob and @debgeo. Whether through funding, or logistics or hiring or contracts or a host of things I get very overwhelmed by, a film does not happen without incredible producers. Thankful for all of you.
My writing collaborators Jeremiah and John. Thankful for both the concrete insights and historic rigor you brought to the writing process.
My crew: DP @mikecurry_dp you make things that could feel boring look beautiful. @julian_keene19 you make production feel painless. Caleb Symons is a killer up and coming director who ran additional interviews for me and I’m so excited about his future directing!
@brandondetraglia @jesseeastmancreative for your incredible creative leadership and making sure this project was run smoothly through post and got across the finish line. @smgvideoeditor for pushing to make this film great in the edit. @nathancharlesfilm and @jongrahamcreative who were vital in the assembly stage.
@ryanmoorecomposer my friend and long term collaborator who has been dreaming with me for 15 years about making films for the theater and brought the film to life with his beautiful score.
@eli.ohearn and @thumbsupman who elevated the film to the next level with their incredible VFX that transforms this documentary into a visually immersive experience.
@gavin_buckland and @vokestudio who are always there to push creative boundaries with us.
Yo the entire team at @distantmoonhq led under the fearless guidance of @snjohnson1014 who make the company run and enable it to push and elevate the films we work in to new levels every time.
And the many other incredible people who acted as sounding boards, creative collaborators, late night warriors, pinch hitters, and carriers of that fire without which a project like this doesn’t happen. Thankful for you all.
Revolutionary America opens in theaters in FOUR days. And presales are going great! Excited for people to see this important documentary and the work of the incredible people who made it what it is!
In these frames, featuring @jeremiahreganhcoc, @michaeljknowles @ericmetaxas
Tickets at link in bio!
Official Trailer for the documentary: Revolutionary America. Coming to theaters May 31.
A two-year labor of love involving incredible talent in front of and behind the cameras and screens. See their incredible work and important storytelling at the end of the month!
And just like that, Revolutionary America has passed a week of qc and was sent to the distributor. Next week: DCP testing in Burbank to make sure it’s ready for theaters on May 31!
It’s so gratifying seeing final frames from the film and how everything the team has poured themselves into for the last year and a half finally holds together as a unified film.
Featured in this post, shots that @thumbsupman and @eli.ohearn worked closely on with me. These two VFX wizards really pulled off shots that immerse audiences into the world of 1776. Can’t wait for the world to see their work.
#revolutionaryamerica @hillsdalecollege @fathomentertainment @distantmoonhq
So excited to be able to finally announce that my feature documentary “Revolutionary America.” Is coming to theaters May 31-June 2!
Narrated by Tom Selleck. Produced by @jeremiahreganhcoc. It’s been a huge team effort and we’re just putting the finishing touches on the film right now. The @distantmoonhq team is working around the clock around the country on final sound mix, color, VFX, and all those little pieces that will hopefully transport audiences into the past to celebrate the country’s 250th in a way they haven’t before!
Much more to be said in the coming weeks. But this year and a half labor of love is coming to theaters near you soon!