Mike Barkhoff

The Creator of CreateMore, Mike Barkhoff, is an American filmmaker, musician, writer, actor, editor, and artist based in Iowa. Barkhoff has been interested in filmmaking from a young age, but became seriously invested in seeing his ideas through to the screen after viewing the AMC TV Series "Breaking Bad".

## Biography

In 2013, Barkhoff, a then Middle Schooler, was assigned a film project in a Tech Class. Rather than make something simple for an easy "A", Barkhoff assembled his friends to be actors in a film. The film was based off an idea Barkhoff had years earlier in his youth, based off of films such as "Back To The Future" mixed with "Carlito's Way". The short film, entitled "Timeline", was seven minutes (though he planned for it to be ninety) and had a combination of subpar audio, camera quality, and more.

Barkhoff enjoyed the experience, however, and, when gifted a camera, set to begin working on web series, such as "The Happy Murder Spree", a remake of "Timeline" (this time being thirty-five minutes), a concept of James Bond and Batman fighting ("Bond V Batman"), and more.
Barkhoff worked alongside Jarrod Van Hauen for much of these. Their collaboration resulted in a half-half business premise entitled Barking Vans. The duo picked up heavy acclaim from students and teachers at their High School when they made a trailer for the novel "Into The Wild" in 2017. Their work secured them the highest grade in the class and, due to this, saw them present it in the local theater in front of their peers.

Following this, Barkhoff released a horror short film, "Candlelight", to rave reviews and healthy views on YouTube - it is, to this day, considered by many to be his magnum opus.

In 2018, Barkhoff made his debut feature film entitled "INFINITE.", which released to moderate success and positive reviews from an online community. Barkhoff and Van Hauen briefly disbanded in 2019, but reunited once more as a distributing platform connected to Barkhoff's new film outlet, Live Free. Barkhoff envisioned Live Free as a platform for artists to function "free of restrictions" under the guise of a mentor, as he describes it, "a healthy record label".

2020 saw Barkhoff release his second feature film "Windfall" without prior announcement. Filmed in 2018, it was intended to be the first season to a web series before Barkhoff took a hiatus due to personal matters. "Windfall" was met with even more acclaim and saw even more success - it was released under Live Free and Barking Vans.

Intended to be his third feature film was "Doppelgang", which ended up being a short film released as a 2020 episode of Barkhoff's acclaimed web series "Chapters.". In 2021, however, Barkhoff had a change of heart following a viewing of Zack Snyder's "Justice League" Director's Cut. He rereleased "Doppelgang" in it's entirety to critical acclaim and further success.

Barkhoff also spent 2021 helping Jarrod Van Hauen craft his debut feature film, which Barkhoff starred in and wrote. "Death, My Darling" was met with critical acclaim for it's arthouse esque moments, and, though it hasn't managed to make as much of a splash for viewership, Barkhoff is helping Van Hauen follow it up with a sophomoric entry, "Knock", slated to release in 2022.

The aforementioned "Chapters." released its first six episode season in 2018 to raving reviews - the seasons' first and fifth episodes are both considered highlights released on the Barking Vans platform. The second season, subtitled "Atrocity Exhibitions" and released in 2020, saw Barkhoff address a different form of addiction for every episode's theme. The third season followed in 2021. Subtitled "Bad Things Happen At Noon", it saw Barkhoff return to the series' root of a more anthological nature. It was, however, carried by the general theme of a fatigued friendship. A fourth season is being written currently.

Barkhoff released his comedic and existential web series "Living Free", somewhat biographical, in 2021 to further rave reviews. Season 2 began airing in 2022, and the series has been renewed "until completion". Drake Vegas, the creator of web content provider Drakoloid, has joined the series as Associate Producer.

### As Editor

Find works I've edited here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxbKATZiDU3Pil50mfCmn3w

## Contact

Mike Barkhoff via email at mikebarkhoff@gmail.com