By The Keystone Newspaper KU filmmaker talks about his career so far and looking toward the future
By Byron Mantoan
Everything from mad scientists to ghost mayors can be found in the films of John Mahurin.
After being on YouTube since 2017, Mahurin has built up a sizable portfolio of short films and animated shorts. For his most recent short film, “The Nope Book”, Mahurin reserved the Rickenbach studio and got permission to use the CTM department’s equipment. “I think this is the most high-budget thing I’ve ever done,” Mahurin said on set.
Photo Credit: Kaitlyn Todd
During a rough patch in his childhood, YouTube and movies became an escape. “I started thinking that these people make me really happy and I’ve never even met them before.” Mahurin said about his favorite creators on YouTube. He created his YouTube channel at age 13 and started posting videos and short films. Today his account, John the Bopper, has over 3,000 subscribers.
“I always figured you live long after you die if people remember you, so that’s part of why I got into it,” Mahurin said. “I think it would be really nice to be remembered as somebody who did something good for other people.”
Photo Credit: John Mahurin
“The Nope Book” is now on YouTube. One of his previous short films, “Seeing Spots”, was featured on a billboard in Times Square, NYC.
Mahurin has founded a non-profit production company, “Roaring Penguin Productions” which donates 110% of its merchandise sales to charity, with Mahurin adding to all donations.
Filmmaking isn’t without its challenges. Everything from unreliable actors to experiencing sensory overload on set has happened. Some of the biggest obstacles in Mahurin’s filmmaking have been balancing work and rest. “I run into a lot of issues with deadlines; It’s really easy to work yourself to the bone.” When asked what keeps him motivated, Mahurin said, “The most rewarding part is always the finished product, whoever said the journey is more important than the destination was talking out of their ass.” His best filmmaking advice? “Don’t push yourself. Everybody’s always in a rush, and that ends up being more of a detriment than anything.”
After graduation, Mahurin plans to move closer to family. “I’ll probably move back to New York, and start making a name for myself there, working some smaller jobs, and just getting to know people in the industry.” Being a film teacher’s aide in high school, Mahurin also has an affinity for teaching. “After I retire, I want to be a film teacher. I want to teach other people the things that I’ve learned.”
Leaving something behind is Important to Mahurin.“To put it bluntly, it’d be nice to be immortal.”