"Can I come out now?" A sheet of paper slid under the closet door as Zombos entered the room.

He stooped to pick it up. "Who's in my closet, and what's this?" he asked, looking at the sheet.

"Oh, that's Lance Weiler. I locked him in until he finished answering a few questions for the blog," I said, taking the sheet from him.

Zombos looked perplexed. "What's he doing in my closet?"

"I mentioned to him about your vast collection of horror-related trinkets. He couldn't wait to see it," I explained.

"You locked the director of Head Trauma in my closet?"

"Yes. It was the only way to convince him to write up the answers. He's so busy these days."

"The co-director of The Last Broadcast, the first digitally-rendered and distributed film, is locked in my closet?"

"Uh-huh."

Zombos was silent for a moment. "Make sure you check his pockets before he leaves."

"Of course," I assured him.

Zombos left the room. I took out the key to unlock the door.

"Hey, wait a minute." said the voice in the closet, "I didn't see what's down Aisle K. Man, this place is huge."

I put the key back in my pocket. While I wait for Lance to finish exploring the closet, here are his answers.

What motivated you to become an indie director/writer?

I got hooked on photography at an early age and thought that I'd become a photo journalist, but then I fell in love with movies. I started making movies in high school, instead of writing papers, and I was hooked.

What should budding independent directors be doing now to shape their careers?

Write, shoot, and edit as much as you can. The more you do it the better you'll become. Watch what others are doing. If there is someone that you respect, research how they made it to where they are. Don't give up. If you have the drive and the desire it will work out. Lastly, take the time to learn as much about the process as possible. The more you know about all the aspects of filmmaking, the better.

Which directors influence you the most and why?

Stan Brakhage for his daring use of image and experimental structure. I've seen Dog Star Man more than any other film, and I never grow tired of it. Roman Polanski for the atmosphere and tension he brings to films like Repulsion, The Tenant, Rosemary's Baby, and Chinatown. David Lynch for his independence and warped vision of the world. Inland Empire is a return to the strange and bizarre world that harkens back to Eraserhead.

You were a pioneer for digital filmmaking when it was a small blip on the industry's radar. Why, and what challenges did you face going all digital?

It was bleeding edge at the time. When Stefan [Avalos] and I started making THE LAST BROADCAST in 1996 the concept of editing on a desktop PC was a novelty. We had to build our own computers to do it. But we were determined to make a movie with pro-sumer gear. In the end we helped to spark a whole digital revolution not only in the way we made the movie, but in the way we distributed it. At the time, digital was treated like a bastard child. There was an attitude that if it wasn't shot on film then it wasn't serious filmmaking. A couple years later the attitude would change. Now digital is an accepted way to make work.