Local director Isaac Olsen did not attend film school and has little background in the industry but, nonetheless, he has been able to make a name for himself in local filmmaking.  

Born and raised in Tacoma, Olsen has been active in the local film scene, from participating in the Grand Cinema’s 72-hour Film Festival to offering a hand on several local film projects. He and his comrades recently released a DVD compilation titled “Schnelluloid: Adventures in Film Volume One,” which documents three of Olsen’s 72-hour Film Fest shorts made between 2006 and 2008. However, his biggest film accomplishment will hit the silver screen this month.

“Quiet Shoes” is Olsen’s first full-length film noir comedy. The project took more than four years to finish and was shot on location in Tacoma utilizing local actors. The film is the tongue-in-cheek story of Rick Savage, a private eye who is knee-deep in clues as he tries to solve his current case.

“This is the first big, legit film project,” Olsen said. “I just want everyone to come out and have fun watching it.”

The inspiration behind Olsen’s recent film accomplishment ironically follows a film failure. After spending time on a local film project that eventually fell through, Olsen used his resources, knowledge and talents to begin writing and directing “Quiet Shoes” with fellow filmmaker Kurt Kendall. The filmmakers chose the film noir genre for its adaptability.

“It’s a good excuse for interesting writing and a visually driven concept,” Olsen said. “You can do things in film noir that people don’t bat an eyelash at.”

After four years of filming, Olsen said he learned three hard lessons. The first is keeping a cast motivated, the second is keeping the locations consistent and the third is always having a backup plan.

Olsen’s movie will premiere on the heels of another locally shot film, “Bestsellers,” by Tacoma director Rick Gratzer. Although budget constraints play a major role in the increase of shooting in Tacoma, Olsen also credits the city for its versatility and its residents for their support of local movies.  

“Filmmakers here love it because you can be a big fish in a small pond,” Olsen said. “If you make a film here, damn it, people are gonna know about it. That’s one dreamy thing about making movies here.”

Although Olsen will not be making any 3-D movies anytime soon (he loathes the new trend for being a big distraction), he hopes to keep expanding on his film career.  

“I don’t know if you need to get huge to make a good movie,” he said. “You can do a lot without huge resources.”