A local content creator unexpectedly recognized his work in a big movie production.
Cody Epp of Eppic Media specializes in photography and creating epic videos. His passion for creating viral content is what kickstarted his business.
“I live a fairly epic life, you could say. And I've just been filming stuff along the way the whole time, and I decided to turn that into a business. I edit videos for Youtubers, and I added content for some leading companies.”
Recently, he went to watch the movie, ‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever’ as his friend was an extra in it.
“I was like, ‘Cool. Let's go see you on the big screen. That would be neat’. So, we gathered up all the families, and planned everybody to come there.”
A transition scene came up and it caught Epp off guard.
“I was like, ‘Wait a minute, this looks super familiar. I've seen this before. Hold on, that's a clip that I filmed from my drone’. I was like, ‘Whoa, I had no idea, that's wild, that's cool’.”
He tried to get the attention of his friends to share his realization.
“You don't want to disturb everybody. I'm just like in my seat and it was very funny.”
The Steinbach Keystone Cinema was sold out playing a large-budget Lionsgate film, so this was an incredible moment for Epp.
“I had no idea that my clip was going to be in this movie at all. I just upload to a bunch of stock websites. I'm part of a special guild that I have been accredited as a very good videographer and I sold this clip in the last year like a bunch of times, and I made a bunch of money on it. Most money I've ever made from any clip that I filmed from my drone before, but I had no idea where it was going. And then I saw it on the big screen here, I was like, ‘Wow, this is so cool’.”
Epp shares that he’s been all over the world and just films ‘stuff’. He says it’s actually the most boring stuff that usually makes the most money.
“This shot that I filmed, it was super snowy, it was a nice sunny day. The sun was coming through nice like it just looked really good. So, I was filming, it's a 10-second clip and I'm filming half a mile an hour is how fast my drone was going just over Reimer Ave. And because I'm a commercially certified drone pilot, then I'm allowed to sell this stuff.”
He has worked hard to become an accredited videographer and ensure his content meets high standards.
“I’m not just some guy running around on his phone. Then it's available to anybody that wants to buy it, and they're going to spend a decent amount of money on it. People aren’t going to spend money on your phone video. But if you have high-quality video, stuff that looks cinematic, all that stuff, good enough for Hollywood, apparently. Then they can buy it and away we go.”
Epp filmed the clip around five years ago and he had completely forgotten about it but immediately recognized it once it played during the movie.
He says projects he’s done have gotten his business into weird and cool places, like making videos for a well-known Youtuber, ‘Whistlin’ Diesel’.
When you check out ‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever’, make sure to watch for a transition shot looking over Reimer Ave. in Steinbach!
With files from Corny Rempel