Kevin Shepherd is a writer and producer based in Newhall, IA who serves as the head writer for Dojolo Films and the chief writer at Mediaverse Studios. A fan of movies and TV since childhood, he was drawn to creative storytelling from a young age. This early passion for storytelling naturally led to creative writing as he got older.

Shepherd’s screenwriting career began later in life when a friend challenged him to write a script for a sequel to the film We’re The Millers. Over the next few years, he honed his craft by writing over a dozen scripts, including feature films, shorts, and TV pilots. He created DoJoLo Films in the sixth year of his journey. He has created several short films with a variety of collaborators including Chinese Food and a Movie, Shut The Box, and Investigating Christmas. DoJoLo Films first feature is 5683. During the past year’s Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival, 5683 was a Gold Eddy winner in the Professional Feature category and Iowa Connection Award winner. It was also selected for several other regional film festivals and nationally as part of Kevin Smith’s Smodcastle Cinemas Film Festival in New Jersey in August.

Shepard believes in telling not just a good story, but a “great story”. His key strengths as a writer are world-building and efficiency in producing compelling pages. He advises other writers to trust the process, be open-minded to creative ideas and feedback, and learn to “think inside the box” by creatively working within the constraints of independent filmmaking, such as budget, talent, and locations. To overcome writer’s block, he suggests working on multiple projects in different genres to keep creativity flowing.

Beyond his writing, Shepherd is a hands-on contributor to film production, filling various pre-production and on-set roles including producer, assistant director, grip, and all-around good guy. He has been helping writers to refine their approach and guide them through screenwriting making it more accessible in concept, vocabulary, and useful tools to those looking to get started in shaping their ideas.