Comfort found behind the lens

Making movies requires a vision, something Brian George Smith takes with him to work every day.

As the owner of Southpaw Digital, Smith is well versed in filmmaking and editing. But usually, it's somebody else's 30-second commercial or corporate video he is producing, not his own screenplay.

"I do it every day for a living, but I'm not usually this compressed," he said of his schedule, which included five days of shooting more than 50 scenes. "I usually have a little bit more time to work with."

"The Roosevelt Tree" is Smith's third feature-length project. After moving to California from Anchorage, he wrote and produced "SOL." His second film was "Dixie Blue Summer," completed in early 2001, the same year he moved back to Alaska. Now living in Palmer, Smith said he is finally home.

"It took me 20 years down there to realize this was my home," Smith said.

"The Roosevelt Tree" is his largest project, but he is hardly a rookie in the world of filmmaking.

In addition to the two feature-length films, Smith has spent his career writing and directing commercials and other film projects, both in Alaska and in California. Early in his career, he wrote, shot, directed and edited many short films.