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About

Addict Undead Studios is Robert Flowers, a writer, director, and unreal artist who has developed a habit of making films and telling stories all over with colleagues all over the entertainment industry.

The son of a combat Marine and a school teacher, Robert's stories are rooted in characters straddling two different worlds, struggling to find their place. Often with a genre-bent such as sci-fi/thriller/horror.

His sports thriller, Welcome To Stillwater", about a new hockey coach discovering a scandal involving the program and his predecessor, won Best Thriller Pilot at The Big Apple Film Festival in December 2024. Robert is also a USA Today Bestselling author for his novella Snow Hill, as part of the paranormal fiction anthology Aged To Perfection, which he wrote under a pen name.

As a director, his work has won Best Sci-Fi at the LA Sci-Fi Film Festival. He recently won Best Thriller/Suspense at the Chandler International Film Festival. His work will be featured on the sci-fi channel, DUST on YouTube, this year.

Besides his narrative work, Robert has shot hundreds of heart surgeries all over the US and was part of the team that won an Emmy for the documentary The Latest Procedure. He has never fainted at the sight of blood...except his own.

Latest

BLOOD MONEY a horror short I directed in 2023 is nearing its festival run and has been selected for CHICAGO HORROR FILM FESTIVAL happening the last weekend in September, plus The LAMBERVILLE FILM FESTIVAL in October!

HONOR'S HALF-LIFE will be screening at HORROR HAUS FILM FESTIVAL in Santa Clarita in October

GOD HUNTER, my crime fantasy short, is picture locked and is headed to sound design.

Projects

Every creative venture is an act of definiance.

HONOR'S HALF-LIFE

Feature

Based on the short film

Writing Samples

Feature Scripts, Pilots, Shorts and Prose. Will post scripts in here. Until then, mmail me for samples

UMBILICAL

Feature

Contained Supernatural Thriller.

Budget is low enough to do!

I love practical fx tests! Especially when working with talented MU FX like @mamarosa_circle and @thedaniellaexperience

Love HONORS HALF-LIFE being in the trailer for upcoming South African Independent Film Festival @saindiefilmfest HONOR’S HALF-LIFE will have its screening in Joburg on December 7th! We international! Congrats team: @alyetibones @ky_saffron.wellington @ringweavers @merciesmay @gavinboothdirector @danny_dunlop @k___r___a @mitchell_branget @mothdustfx @gretagraves @natebergs @kevin.briand.568 @michael_price_art

Woops ! Forgot to show you what it looks like . Again thanks to @deanyurke for his tutorial. Can’t wait for the next one. #indiefilmmaking #indiefilm #unrealengine

Gonna use this feature in my next thing. thanks to @deanyurke for his tutorial. Can’t wait for the next one. #indiefilmmaking #writerdirector #unrealengine5

3 episodes in! Vince Gilligan! Rhea Seehorn! Brilliant!

Part 2 of directors meeting directors - my conversation with @directordaletcizmadia, where we talk a little more about my film BLOOD MONEY and his film @tomorrowundeadfilm #indiefilmmaking #writerdirector #horror

I had this idea a while back to do impromptu interviews with other filmmakers I meet at film festivals. This is the first one. I met @directordaletcizmadia in Chandler AZ after a screening of my film HONORS HALF - LIFE earlier this year and we kept in touch. When we both got into @chicagohorrorfest this year- him with his award winning @tomorrowundeadfilm and my film BLOOD MONEY, I decided this would be the best time to do one. So this is hopeful the first of many director’s meeting directors series from festivals…

It’s November and it’s vertical time. I’ve spent the last several months researching and meeting more creatives who want to explore this format in other genres- Thriller, Horror and Sci Fi. So this one is me tinkering with a post apocalyptic thriller idea in a vertical Unreal Engine, cause why not :) more to come!

November is vertical time! Putting a few together like EMILY#7
Logline: Jay gets more than he bargained for when Emily agrees to let him tape their evening in bed.

Written and Directed by
Robert Flowers

Starring
Brian Saenz
Sidney Mei Ruf-Wong

Director of Photography
Trey Betts

Production Design
Heather Hillstrom

Intimacy Coordinator
Jasmine Nicole

1st AD
Pam Carbonero
1st AC Jacob Millen
2nd AC Andrea Kam

Swing
Eric Toms
Omar Munoz

Make up
Rosa Menendez

#horrorfilm #indiefilmmaking #shortfilm Emily#7 #verticalhorror

Thanks so much to @latinofilmmakers and @latinxorcists for the opportunity to do a read from my horror feature UMBILICAL at Emerson College for this month’s series. Thank you @melissacarvajal @dash_rendar_007 @ellieksantiago @brolopic and Cat! For bringing those pages to life!!! Great time. Great panel afterwards! Met more cool peeps!

Thanks @horrorhausfilmfest! Thanks for having me. Saw some great films! But even better, met so many cool people! Hope to see you all again at the next one!

Thanks @horrorhausfilmfest for the nominating @alyetibones for his work in HONOR’S HAlF-LIFE. I’m looking forward to to screening this weekend and checking out all the films at this years festival!

I may take up pottery to de-stress. When I paint this red it should look close to a heart.. maybe 😂

Congrats @alyetibones on the nom! @horrorhausfilmfest takes place Oct24-26. I’ll be there for the screening at 445pm on Sat Oct 25th. It was a blast working with you. Thanks for bringing this role to life! #indiefilmmaking #horror #writer director

That’s a wrap on EMILY#7 this weekend. A female revenge horror film, starring @sydneymei and @brian_saenz done for this year’s @jakobowens horror contest. Festivals are next. In the meantime you can see it on my YouTube channel. #indiefilmmaking #writerdirector #horror

Last minute 5 min horror short due Monday at midnight for Jakob Owens #horror #indiefilmmaking #writerdirector.

Nice! Congrats wifey @janeflowerscasting on your casting work for this one!:)

What an incredible opening night at the @chicagohorrorfest Chicago Horror Film Festival! I had the honor of screening my independent horror film, “Blood Money,” to a packed house at the historic Logan Theatre.

It’s been amazing connecting with so many talented filmmakers and horror fans. Great seeing old friends and making new ones. A huge thank you to the festival organizers and everyone who came out to support indie horror.

HONOR’S HALF-LIFE is an official selection of @saindiefilmfest ! We international now!

@gavinmichaelbooth @merciesmay @alyetibones @ringweavers @ky_saffron.wellington @k___r___a @natebergs @anim8rgirl @michael_price_art @gretagraves @danny_dunlop @rockyottergaffer @bahareh.co @mitchell_branget @mothdustfx

HONOR'S HALF-LIFE is an official selection of @horrorhausfilmfest Looking forward to visiting Santa Clarita. Which is a short drive away (well short by LA standards)

@gavinmichaelbooth @merciesmay @alyetibones @ringweavers @ky_saffron.wellington @k___r___a @natebergs @anim8rgirl @michael_price_art @gretagraves @danny_dunlop @rockyottergaffer @bahareh.co @mitchell_branget @mothdustfx

What a great time directing a rom com short at @ladirectorslab this past week. It’s like going to a gym to get a workout, stay in shape with your directing skills. Not only that, meeting and connecting with more actors,, DPs and Intimacy Coordinators. Thank you @latinadirector for building this lab! @natalie.s.marceau @kamilqahar @vividlyintimate and Trey! Now back to editing for the screening !

BLOOD MONEY is an official selection of @chicagohorrorfest. Who wants to go to Chicago !!! I love that town! Woo hoo!! Congrats @iamramonguzman @shannonshae10 @ellieksantiago @jimmybaconator @david_michael_trevino @circus.actor @ivanakingston @hungrypicturesco @danielenriquebonilla @thedaniellaexperience @alanesque121 @rohinijadhav25 @tamimagaro @hyoguchi @enge.jon @lacomposerstudio @jcodybaker_cc @wylight #chicagohorrorfilmfestival #indiefilmmaking

Great time at WGA mixer ! Meeting more writers and catching up with familiar faces. @iamjerryjerome photographer extraordinaire (and helluva writer too)

One of the challenges in post is evaluating your edit. I’ve heard other directors talk about going through first cuts and subsequent cuts. There are stages of enthusiasm and despair and back. At this point, you’ve seen your footage a thousand times. You’re so embedded in the story that YOU know it well. But the fundamental question must be asked: Are you communicating that to the audience? You thought this through in prep, but now it’s time to see it executed. Can you take your perspective and shift it to the audience’s? This is a necessary skill. We must be audience first. When they see it for the first time, it should have maximum impact. I had heard of this hack- and I’m all about hacking my creative mind to get stuff done. Get out of my own way. This hack is making your footage black and white and flipping it.

For one of my latest projects- GOD HUNTER, with the talented @brolopic seen here - that I’m getting through post at the moment, I changed the cut to a stark black and white and flipped it horizontally. This is to make my brain evaluate what I’m seeing, so it doesn’t become a blur when I’ve seen it a thousand times. I wish I could remember who I had heard this idea from. If any of you know, feel free to say in the comments.

Even though the words are backwards because of the flip, I know what they say. And it’s an important world of story moment. Maybe it’s too fast. Maybe we need to hold onto one of those frames a beat longer, so the audience can clock it too? What about pacing?

Overall, this tactic gives me a chance to see the cut again with fresh eyes and have collaborative conversations with my editor @enge.jon when we go over the cut each time. Also even in black and white @dicerose_film cinematography skills shine! I’m looking forward to getting color, sound, score, and VFX done so we can get this short out to festivals. More to come.

Perspective is a powerful thing. Not only in filmmaking, but in life. #indiefilmmaker #writerdirector #genrefilm

Gonna do one shot like this. Rigged to C stand. I think I’ll move it to the side of the fence and go for a more flush angle. I’ll see on the day. I’m digging Blackmagic app. This LUT. This was requested by @dougpenikas:) so we doing it!!!

Getting ready for a short action shoot this coming weekend. So doing Some previz in unreal. Tomorrow is the action rehearsal so I’ll be doing more unreal pre-viz with that this week before we shoot.#unrealengine5 #indiefilmmaker #scifi

Learning to use splines in UE with black eye camera. Using this for stunt viz for next weekend, but wanted to see it in flight!

I had such a wonderful team that helped me make GOD HUNTER, my Proof of Concept short. Now as we’re slowly coming through post, I have a greater appreciation for everyone’s work each time I see the cut. More to come. Also the feature script is coming along nicely! I’ll do a proper post soon:)

All deliverables sent to distributor last night! Our short HONORS HALF-LIFE will have its premiere on DUST in September. Congrats team! This was a tough but fun shoot in the elements. More to come! @merciesmay @gavinboothdirector @alyetibones @ringweavers @ky_saffron.wellington @janeflowerscasting @danny_dunlop @rockyottergaffer @mothdustfx @michael_price_art @mitchell_branget @gretagraves @kevin.briand.568 @k___r___a @natebergs @garettmckelvie

New character redone in UE5.6 metahuman. With CC4 and Metatailor.

Just in case anyone was wondering I have not forgotten my horizontal roots. lol - 1.33 squeeze factor!!!

Working on my vertical scene more. exploring framing with intention in 9:16, rather than cropping or just doing boring shot/reverse shot. Lighting and composition and mood. #unrealengine5.6 #horror #indiefilmmaking #writerdirector

Sometimes your scene breaks and this is what happens :) my facial motion capture broke unreal ( actually it’s just me updating my character ) so on to take 2.

Congrats to wifey @janeflowerscasting and all the women who were named to WIF fellowship!

Okay @gavinboothdirector I worked harder!:) added some things. This started out as just a fun scene with Megascan in Unreal Engine. Now it’s sort of my Gonzo Horror, monster in a house vibe. On the fly, Grip and rip it filmmaking in 9:16 aspect ratio. Will put the Katana blade to use . I promise. Should be fun. We’ll see how far we can go. Sound done in Krotos. So what should the next event be? Creature by Darkstormfx made in Blender. #unrealengine5 #megascans #horror #indiefilmmaking

Can you go vertical in Unreal Engine? Why not? More genre shorts coming soon- action and horror! As I go, I’ll try to add more to each scene… So let me know of you A) want to se what happens next, or B) don’t care and want me to make something else. #megascans #unrealengine5 #verticals #horror

One of the things I am going to explore in this short action project is Motion capture.

So this was from the sword fight choreographed by John Tieng over at @swordplay_la . I used @move_ai_ to upload the first shot. It was wide enough and the camera was static enough that I thought it could work. I'm still using the metahuman I made from before is our stand-in.

@dougpenikas had our prop sword made and so I had him take several stills of it and then I had 3daistudio render a 3d file that I could then import into Unreal Engine.

The mocap was pretty close. I added a socket to the character in blueprint, to attach the sword's static mesh to the left hand. Then I baked the mocap animation to control rig so I could tweak the wrist to move the sword closer to the video reference. And this was the result.

Not too bad, but I know when we actually shoot with intention we'll have better results, especially when we get the second character in the scene.

Fun night at Formosa cafe last night for @nightofshortsnight Packed house. The audience was great. Met some talented filmmakers and actors too. Thanks @tomsfunny for MCing a great night. Will be back for future screenings!

Gonna be screening HONORS HALF-LIFE this Tuesday night June 3 at the Formosa Cafe as part of Night of Shorts Night! 8pm-10pm. Look forward to Hanging out and meeting other talented filmmakers!

Such a great meeting to hear the groups thoughts on my contained supernatural horror feature UMBILICAL. Latest draft just about done. This is gonna be fun to make! Thanks @latinxorcists

Nice! Congrats HONOR’S HALF-LIFE team for another festival.
@ky_saffron.wellington @alyetibones @ringweavers @merciesmay @gavinboothdirector @k___r___a @natebergs @danny_dunlop @mitchell_branget @mothdustfx @gretagraves @rockyottergaffer @michael_price_art

@ricardude here’s me keying out green screen in unreal after shooting talent against my homemade green room:)

Working getting camera tracking data from camera to Unreal Engine. Plus rotoscoping a challenging shot, seeing how we can pull it.

Getting into the R & D of our cyber punk action short using unreal and vfx. Testing some lighting rigs for my stand in character from a previous project. And 2D cards in 3D space with Doug who will be kicking ass in the short. Many thanks to @daniel.langhjelm from @becomecgpro teaching lighting in UE. More to come. #indiefilm #unrealengine5 #writerdirector

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