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Chuck Hartsell and Chance Shirley formed Crewless Productions in the spring of 2001 as they began shooting
The Seven Year Switch, their first collaborative movie effort, on digital video. Both had previously
dabbled in moviemaking. Hartsell wrote and directed a student film called The Clock, and Shirley
co-wrote and starred in a no-budget short called Goodnight, Springton.
The public responded positively to The Seven Year Switch, especially in Hartsell's and Shirley's hometown of
Birmingham, Alabama, where Switch screened at the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival.
Encouraged by their success with The Seven Year Switch, Hartsell and Shirley began planning a follow-up. After
meeting local cinematographer Rick Snyder, Hartsell and Shirley invested in an Arriflex 16mm film camera. Together
with Snyder, they began work on Reciprocity, another short. It premiered at the 2002 Sidewalk fest.
In early 2003, Hartsell and Shirley put together Birthday Call. Originally shot as a gift for a friend,
the less-than-three-minute comedy/horror movie became the most successful Crewless production to date,
playing a few fests, including ZombieDance in Texas.
Birthday Call went over so well that Hartsell and Shirley decided to produce a feature-length
comedy/horror movie. They traded the Arri 16mm in for an Aaton Super 16mm and started shooting Hide and Creep
in late 2003.
Hartsell and Shirley were happy to premiere Hide and Creep, their first feature, at the 2004
Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival. The movie was released on DVD by the Asylum in the summer of 2005.
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