Ben Hoene
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Actor
- Writer
Ben Hoene is a director, writer, producer, actor, editor, cinematographer, musician, and photographer. He was born September 5th, 1987 in Effingham, IL. Hoene's initial career goal was to be a music artist named The Haniac. His preferred genres were hip hop and EDM. His artist name is derived by his often mispronounced last name, Hoene(Hay-Nee). The name was given to him while performing a parody workout video project in high school to the 80's pop hit "Maniac" by Michael Sembello while wearing a shirt that said "Hoeneac" on it. Hoene still uses the nickname to this day.
Unsure of what to do with his music talents, he decided to search for a career that would give him a platform to perform his music. He enrolled to Eastern Illinois University (EIU) in 2012. Since he had no formal training in music, he would have to choose a major other than Music. He decided to become a Mass Communication major with a concentration in Electronic Media Production. He thought this would be a route to learn how to make music videos for his songs.
Hoene's love for filmmaking first sparked after working on his first video narrative for a class project. He found delight in the challenge of the film making process and this began to surpass his dream of being a musician.
EIU didn't have a major in film production. Their programs are geared toward news and radio broadcasting. Students who wanted to pursue filmmaking had to use their own resources to practice their craft. A group of students at EIU started a student organization called the Alternative Television & Film Club (Alt-TV). With the exception of the founders, Hoene was the first member of the organization. At the time, Alt-TV had virtually no backing from the school and wasn't even invited to some of the campuses Comm Studies student organization events. Everything was provided by the members themselves.
As the years went on, Hoene was considered the "go-to" actor by the group and this is where he began to grow as an actor with no formal training. Hoene became one of the veteran presences in the group that led Alt-TV to be a highly acclaimed, expanding, organization on campus that would always fill up the venues they had their screenings at.
Hoene's most memorable project during his time in college was a personal project that wasn't school related nor Alt-TV related. It was a mini comedy series titled 'Indian Ben'. What was supposed to be just one fun video for his friends from India turned into a 12-episode series that played a new episode once a week that gained an audience on his Facebook. The production was mostly done by Hoene himself with the help of his parents for occasional parts. All of the episodes were literally made up on the spot as he began filming them. Hoene refers to this experience as the time he began to have a self-sufficient, self-reliant, and self-starting attitude to his craft.
Hoene graduated from EIU in 2014 with Cum Laude honors and was in the top four of the students in his graduating class. He was accepted to Baylor University for graduate school for a MA in Film & Media Production in 2015, but had to decline the offer due to a lack of funding available for him. Now graduated, Hoene decided to start a production company called Haniac Productions, which he is the only member of.
Hoene's first production came a few months after his graduation when he made his Indian Ben series into a feature film in the summer of 2015. With very few connections and being virtually unknown by the film community he was in, Hoene had to do most of the crew and setup for the film himself just like he did for the series. Indian Ben got accepted to six film festivals.
Hoene is inspired by professional wrestling when it comes to character development for his characters. He is an avid fan of Bollywood and has stated before that he would like to be the Hollywood equivalent of Amitabh Bachchan. Directorial influences are Alfred Hitchcock and John Carpenter. Hoene is a devout Roman Catholic and has stated that film making is a vocation for him just like a priest or nun have a vocation. Hoene has cited legendary Catholic writer Flannery O'Connor as a major influence for his writing.
Unsure of what to do with his music talents, he decided to search for a career that would give him a platform to perform his music. He enrolled to Eastern Illinois University (EIU) in 2012. Since he had no formal training in music, he would have to choose a major other than Music. He decided to become a Mass Communication major with a concentration in Electronic Media Production. He thought this would be a route to learn how to make music videos for his songs.
Hoene's love for filmmaking first sparked after working on his first video narrative for a class project. He found delight in the challenge of the film making process and this began to surpass his dream of being a musician.
EIU didn't have a major in film production. Their programs are geared toward news and radio broadcasting. Students who wanted to pursue filmmaking had to use their own resources to practice their craft. A group of students at EIU started a student organization called the Alternative Television & Film Club (Alt-TV). With the exception of the founders, Hoene was the first member of the organization. At the time, Alt-TV had virtually no backing from the school and wasn't even invited to some of the campuses Comm Studies student organization events. Everything was provided by the members themselves.
As the years went on, Hoene was considered the "go-to" actor by the group and this is where he began to grow as an actor with no formal training. Hoene became one of the veteran presences in the group that led Alt-TV to be a highly acclaimed, expanding, organization on campus that would always fill up the venues they had their screenings at.
Hoene's most memorable project during his time in college was a personal project that wasn't school related nor Alt-TV related. It was a mini comedy series titled 'Indian Ben'. What was supposed to be just one fun video for his friends from India turned into a 12-episode series that played a new episode once a week that gained an audience on his Facebook. The production was mostly done by Hoene himself with the help of his parents for occasional parts. All of the episodes were literally made up on the spot as he began filming them. Hoene refers to this experience as the time he began to have a self-sufficient, self-reliant, and self-starting attitude to his craft.
Hoene graduated from EIU in 2014 with Cum Laude honors and was in the top four of the students in his graduating class. He was accepted to Baylor University for graduate school for a MA in Film & Media Production in 2015, but had to decline the offer due to a lack of funding available for him. Now graduated, Hoene decided to start a production company called Haniac Productions, which he is the only member of.
Hoene's first production came a few months after his graduation when he made his Indian Ben series into a feature film in the summer of 2015. With very few connections and being virtually unknown by the film community he was in, Hoene had to do most of the crew and setup for the film himself just like he did for the series. Indian Ben got accepted to six film festivals.
Hoene is inspired by professional wrestling when it comes to character development for his characters. He is an avid fan of Bollywood and has stated before that he would like to be the Hollywood equivalent of Amitabh Bachchan. Directorial influences are Alfred Hitchcock and John Carpenter. Hoene is a devout Roman Catholic and has stated that film making is a vocation for him just like a priest or nun have a vocation. Hoene has cited legendary Catholic writer Flannery O'Connor as a major influence for his writing.
