RAY CRITES ~
“My characters are real… and I fucking love them for that!”
WHO THE HELL IS RAY CRITES?!
Simply put… I’m Ray Crites and I’m a storyteller.
Growing up in the GenX era, I spent a whole lot of time watching great movies, TV shows, reading books and listening to great music! That left me with a burning desire to become a filmmaker like my idols, Lucas, Spielberg, Coppola, and so many others.
When I got older, I met the girl of my dreams, and before I knew it, we started a family. Luckily for me, my wife has always been supportive of my dreams, but I quickly found out back then that sometimes dreams have to take a backseat in order to support a family. So, I did what I had to do, as a husband, as a father. I put my dreams on hold and got one of those “real” jobs. Years went by and life moved on, but I never regretted that decision. I was raised a street kid and never learned to give up, so as soon as I could, I bought a camera and filmed whatever I could with what I had. It wasn’t much, but it was honest work.
CUT TO:
Years later, when my two amazing sons discovered their talent for making music. I chased those poor boys around with my camera, proudly filming every show they would let me.
When the boys grew up and started their own lives, I went in a new direction and started Silver Apple Video, a small boutique production company that specializes in video analysis for investigators and attorneys, as well as the occasional commercial project, here and there. Not exactly the most creative of ventures, so I had to find my artistic outlet in other places. As a kid, I always dabbled in writing. Short stories, poems, vignette scenes, here and there, notebooks of scribblings and whatnot. It was a great way to express my thoughts and feelings, but it somehow never quite scratched that itch. Never gave me that unexplainable “EUREKA!” moment when your creation comes to life and you feel the immense godlike rush of power! That feeling always eluded me. That was until… I wrote my very first screenplay.
That’s when it hit me. Like a brick to the forehead.
My true passion is… SCREENWRITING!!!
From then on, I wrote whenever I, and I kept writing, and writing, and writing some more. Carving out stories that just had to get out of my head… out of my soul. Crafting characters out of thin air. Watching them become real!
It was magic. It was amazing. It was fucking AWESOME!!!
I’ve been screenwriting ever since.
The thing I love most is writing about broken, bruised and beautifully flawed people. About rebels chasing redemption. Angsty teens carving the pain out of their souls, mothers crying out for their lost children and soldiers battling grief. I have this need to write about life, as I’ve seen it over the years. Happiness. Tragedy. Love. Loss. Everything in between.
All the ingredients that make up a great story. Add in a great soundtrack for flavor… and BOOM! The recipe for perfection!
The truth is, at their core, my characters are basically just different versions of me, or inspired by people I’ve met, known, loved, hated, hurt and have hurt. Sometimes they’re strangers. Sometimes they’re friends, anybody, really, who’s made an impression, good or bad. My characters are fucked up, flawed, nice, hopeful, petty, prideful. They laugh, they cry, they fight, they fall.
Sometimes they get back up. Sometimes they don’t.
But most of all, my characters are real… and I fucking love them for that!
Professional Background
EXPERIENCE
- EXPERIENCE: 25 years of screenwriting, commercial video, music video and short film production, graphic and web design, as well as criminal video analysis and production.
- OWNER: SILVER APPLE VIDEO LLC., a boutique video production company that specializes in commercial video production.
Clients include AVISTA Utilities, TWIST, as well as The Monties (music groups), LC Investigations, Reid Legal Office, and more.
SKILLS
- Screenwriting / Script Editing / Concept Creation
- Film and Video Production
- Graphic Design / Photoshop
- Multi-Camera Staging / Lighting
- Editing
- Client Collaboration
SELECTED WORKS
SCREENWRITING
- TRIGGER (Drama, 2025)
After surviving a brutal roadside ambush, a battle-scarred soldier returns home — only to battle PTSD and the guilt of his best friend’s suicide. As his grip on reality slowly unravels, one desperate act could become his final stand. - EVERGREEN (Drama, 2025)
When a bullied high school loner falls for a broken goth girl, only to watch her fall prey to his sadistic tormentor, he makes a fateful decision that could shatter all their lives forever. - BANSHEE (Thriller, 2025)
When her daughter vanishes, a drug-addicted mother claws her way through the underbelly of a corrupt town to unravel a tangled web of abuse, trafficking, and betrayal — leaving only a trail of blood and reckoning in her wake. - SLUMBER (Animated Short, 2024)
A quiet, aching portrait of a lifetime of love and loss through the eyes of a young woman. - HOMECOMING (Short, 2024)
A weary young soldier embarks on a lonely journey to reunite with the love of his life — only to discover the cost of never having to leave her again.
FILM AND VIDEO PROJECTS
- KFGS 40th ANNIVERSARY (Video, 2024)
A celebration of 40 years of the Kettle Falls (Biomass) Generating Station and AVISTA Utilities. - VIEWER DISCRETION (Short Film, 1999)
A provocative exploration of the effects of violence as seen through the eyes of a young boy. - THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL FT. LEE CARLETON (Music Video, 2015)
Producer | Editor - TWIST – LIVE AT SHOWALTER HALL (Music Video, 2014)
Producer | Director | Editor - TWIST – RETURN TO THE KNITTING FACTORY (Music Video, 2015)
Producer | Director | Editor - TWIST – LIVE AT THE HOP (Music Video, 2014)
Producer | Director | Editor - TWIST – LIVE AT EWU (Music Video, 2015)
Producer | Editor - TWIST – LIVE AT THE KNITTING FACTORY (Music Video, 2014)
Producer | Director | Editor - TWIST – LIVE AT SHOWWALTER HALL (Music Video, 2014)
Producer | Director | Editor - MULTIPLE MEMORIAL VIDEO PROJECTS (2000 — 2023)
Write | Producer | Editor
Contact info
✉️ MESSAGE ME HERE
🌐 raycrites.com