SOLANA BEACH — From behind the camera lens, David Marchesani is bringing his creative visions to life as an independent filmmaker. Last month, Marchesani’s first feature film, a coming-of-age story entitled “The Road Ahead,” was released nationwide on DVD. But it took several years — and a change in career paths — before Marchesani’s dream became reality.

His interest in movies and filmmaking began when he was a child, however, the blue collar New Jersey neighborhood where he was raised was not an environment rich in the creative arts. “I didn’t really know any screenwriters or directors when I was growing up,” said Marchesani, 33. “My parents wanted me to live a ‘normal’ life and they said filmmaking wasn’t a real job.”

As the years went on, Marchesani developed a keen interest in entrepreneurship, which led to a degree in finance from Indiana University and a 10-year career in the investment industry. “For me, it wasn’t like I hated my job,” said Marchesani, a Solana Beach resident. “I equally loved both filmmaking and investment management.”

In 2000, Marchesani was laid off from an investment firm and he took the opportunity to pursue his other passion. He moved to the San Diego area and took classes in filmmaking and scriptwriting. He also earned his master’s degree in entrepreneurship from San Diego State in 2004.

Marchesani said he learned a lot about filming techniques from DVDs, which often include director commentaries in the “special features.”

“When you’re getting into an industry you don’t know a lot about, your first inclination is to feel intimidated by it,” he said. “But listening to those director commentaries showed me that making a movie is often very simple and straightforward.”

“The Road Ahead” follows three college seniors (Joe, Danny and John) who assume their stress-free college lifestyle will continue forever. As graduation nears, the friends grapple with the stress and anxiety of job interviews, relationships and entering the “real world.”

Marchesani first began thinking about the storyline in 1996, when he was a senior in college. “Every college movie I saw was a crazy over-the-top story like ‘Animal House’ or ‘Road Trip,’” he said. “My friends and I never put a horse in the dean’s office or burned down a rival fraternity house. There weren’t any elaborate schemes. We were just normal kids trying to get through college.”

Marchesani used his idea for the film as his thesis project at San Diego State. He began recruiting actors from the San Diego and Los Angeles areas, and within two weeks he was flooded with more than 400 responses.

The movie was shot in 18 days at locations such as a bar in Pacific Beach. According to Marchesani, it cost approximately $8,000 to film the movie and another $10,000 for marketing, promotion and distribution.

San Diego resident Charles Hayes, 27, played the role of “Alex” in “The Road Ahead.”

“I’ve worked with directors who started a movie and never completed it,” Hayes said. “David followed through on his vision in 2 1/2 weeks, which is very impressive for someone who had never made a film in his life.”

Carlsbad resident Jake Tapia collaborated with Marchesani on the marketing for “The Road Ahead.”

“One of the neat things about David is he’s so open to other peoples’ ideas,” said Tapia, who is one of the founders of the graphic design company Studio Demiurge. “If an idea works, he’ll latch onto it. He has a very positive attitude.”

Marchesani compares the role of an independent film director to that of a CEO of a startup company. “The director of an independent film is more of a symphony conductor as opposed to a violinist or a harpist within the symphony, and that’s what really appeals to me.”

For more information about “The Road Ahead” visit www.theroadaheadmovie.com.