In his round three on the show, TriRig founder and gear wizard Nick Salazar returns… as a filmmaker. We dive into his debut feature, The Game of Life—a two-year, DIY passion project shot largely inside his home with a tiny crew (and a big family cheering and helping behind the scenes). Nick opens up about writing, directing, acting, and scoring the film, why he designed distinct color palettes for each act, and how switching from clean spherical glass to wild anamorphic lenses created those dreamy, in-camera flares around a mysterious “skeleton key.”

We get into the story’s themes—mental health, unreliable narration, radical acceptance, and the “I am” moment—plus the nuts and bolts: 24 shoot days in three blocks, proof-of-concept scenes to win buy-in, private screenings, and what “success” looks like for a first feature. We also wander into consciousness, AI, and why imperfect human art still hits hardest.

The Game of Life (Preview): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyRZ5jH0CSY

Nick’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nick_salazar 

TriRig: https://tririg.com/
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