See how FSU filmmakers brought a grassroots comedy pilot to life

Florida State’s College of Motion Picture Arts is the fourth best public college film school in America, boasting distinguished alumni such as directors Barry Jenkins and Wes Ball. Past its glitz and glamour is a thriving, independent student film community that creates without the film school’s funding, equipment, or faculty support.

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Miller Kiser has joined the ranks of these daring FSU student-directors, writing and directing the independent comedy pilot “Almost Men.” With grassroots resourcefulness, the film’s team scouted locations, found cameras, and raised, so far, over $1,000.

“I really wanted to sit down and develop it, and ‘start before you know how, run before you can walk,’ and I’m very happy that I have adopted that mindset,” Kiser said to the FSView in an interview. “If you’re beginning something or doing it for the very first time … there is no expectation placed on you by yourself or from others to be good. You can fail, you can mess up, it can be bad, and how delightful is that?”

From a freshman dream to ‘Almost Men’

The pilot follows four college friends – Henry, Danny, Miles, and Mac – as they navigate one fateful night of partying. During the night, Mac embarks on an odyssey to return home, Danny gets into a physical fight, Miles spirals, and Henry entangles himself with the party’s elusive host.

“Each of these characters has a very different idea of what it means to be ‘the man,’ and by the end of the night, each one of them realizes that they were wrong,” Kiser said. “It’s a lot to do with coming of age and adulthood.”

Kiser first imagined the show when he was a freshman at FSU. Before he turned that idea into a script in his junior year, he dabbled in several other creative ventures. Kiser worked with campus magazines Magnify Magazine and Diverse World Fashion and participated in theatre from high school through college.

Now, his creativity has landed him with “Almost Men.” The pilot sets the stage for a potential full-fledged TV series, mirroring the tone of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “The Office,” and “Atlanta.”

“We were like, ‘Oh, wouldn’t it be so funny if there was … some, you know, ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’-inspired show, but it was caricature versions of us,” Kiser said. “And so around spring break my junior year, I just began to really kind of hone in and start writing the script and think, ‘Okay, what themes am I trying to explore? What am I really trying to say with this?'”

With “Almost Men,” Kiser wanted to explore the vulnerability in male friendships and the confusing, messy transition into adulthood.

“I’m also exploring masculinity because I know masculinity is a really interesting topic that isn’t really explored or portrayed in the media very well, especially by male influencers,” Kiser said. “So I’m exploring the different, more vulnerable and tender, unique side of masculinity.”

An all-in cast and crew

With an estimated runtime of 50 minutes, “Almost Men” is a substantial undertaking for its student cast and crew. Kiser used social media to spread the word about cast and crew opportunities, drawing roughly 50 crew applications and 80 actor auditions.

For Production Manager Zira Brown, having people she can count on in each role has made the ambitious shoot easier to manage.

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“Being on set has been a breeze because every position that we have is filled by people we can trust to do the job,” Brown said to the FSView. “Everyone is so kind, and you can tell they really do care about the success of the film.”

The project’s first days of filming took place the weekend of Sept. 11, with the cast and crew eager to bring Kiser’s script to life.

“I’ve loved my time on set regardless of the long hours. On-screen acting is very new to me, so at first I was unsure what to expect, but I can definitely say I am pleasantly surprised,” Sebastian Prexl, who plays Miles, said to the FSView. “The entire team is dedicated to making this project come to life, and I can’t wait for the finished product.”

A few crew members are FSU alumni whose campus connections persisted into the professional world. One is Sebastian Valencia, who volunteered to edit the pilot after earning his bachelor’s degree in motion picture arts production and moving to New York City.

Valencia works as a post-production assistant at Senior Post, a studio known for its work on acclaimed series such as FX’s “The Bear” and Hulu’s “Ramy.”

While Kiser directs the overarching narrative, he relies on his crew to handle the technical aspects of camera work, lighting, and editing outside his expertise.

“I’m aware that this is a student production and everyone’s here to learn and have fun,” Kiser said. “So when my camera operators say, ‘Miller, I know it’s not in the shot list, but I want to try this,’ my answer is absolutely. I want them to have fun and to learn.”

The crew scouted locations, sourced cameras, and raised more than $1,000 to make the pilot. For Kiser, getting the project underway meant breaking out of a cycle of overthinking and accepting that he and his collaborators could learn as they went.

Grace Myatt is a Senior Staff Writer for the FSView & Florida Flambeau, the student-run, independent online news service for the FSU community. Email our staff [email protected].

This article originally appeared on FSU News: See how FSU filmmakers brought a grassroots comedy pilot to life

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Reporting by Grace Myatt, Senior Staff Writer, FSView / FSU News

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This story was originally published September 21, 2026 at 9:01 AM.