My friend and recovering colleague, Erik Schmidt, now a fancy schmancy technologist at Yahoo! interviewed me more than a year ago about the evolution of independent films with new media. With Judas Kiss ready to roll in less than a week in Seattle, he followed up with a blog post about our particular leap of faith.

I quote the post below, but you should subscribe to his blog, Skin of a Living Thought, and follow him on Twitter (@erikschmidt), for his always keen insights into technology and culture.

— /carlos

By Erik Schmidt

Most folks know at least one or two people who inspire them through their example. My friend Carlos is one of those inspirations for me.

I met Carlos Pedraza in 1997, the year Great Britain handed control of Hong Kong to China and Microsoft gave Apple Computer a $150M lease on life. Carlos worked at the Corporation for National Service, ably slashing his way through the bureaucracy.

A few years later he started writing scripts for fan-produced Star Trek shows, including “Blood and Fire”, an episode he co-wrote with famed original Star Trek writer David Gerrold. He also co-produced “World Enough and Time”, the Star Trek New Voyages: Phase II episode that starred George Takei and was nominated for a Hugo Award.

In 2007, seeking to explore opportunities beyond fan film, he teamed up with his friend J.T. Tepnapa to create movies under the banner of Blue Seraph Productions. Last year I conducted a lengthy interview with Carlos and posted a transcript in three parts. He pointed out that fan productions are truly independent in a way that no studio can match:

Independent studios today aren’t really that independent. They know that they have avenues through the traditional studios and their distribution capacity to have a venue for their work. We’re not in that position. We have to create our own venue.

Fast forward fifteen months. Carlos and J.T. are now filming Judas Kiss, a feature film they co-wrote. They obtained seed funding, raised over $10,000 for equipment through Kickstarter.com, signed on actors who have appeared in TV and big screen projects, and created serious online buzz with everything from magazine interviews to a webcomic and a podcast. Their product placement manager (yes, they have a product placement manager) even pulled in Voss artesian water and Aqua VI clothing.

In that interview last year, Carlos said:

Once someone figures out a system that works, it helps all of us to expand that system. We may never make the kind of money that people in Hollywood make. But do you need to? There are plenty of people who are willing to earn the same amount of money they work for now, but doing something that’s a lot more fun.

If you’re going to talk the talk, you’ve got to walk the walk. Carlos is certainly doing that. It’s inspiring to witness.