In today’s solo episode I share a practical breakdown for capturing amazing raw footage on a “no-budget” production. Even if you are working as a one person crew without traditional resources, it's possible to achieve strong production value - this episode explains how to get there. Throughout the show, I unpack everything from choosing the right camera to the embracing available light. I also share anecdotes and workflows from my latest feature film, which is being shot using the same unconvent...
Jul 08, 2022•28 min
In this episode I am joined by acclaimed director Matthew Wade, a four time Slamdance filmmaker known for his feature films "How The Sky Will Melt" and "A Black Rift Begins To Yawn." Matthew's films are incredibly original both in how they are stylized and produced. We discuss his process at length throughout the interview, along with - shooting a feature film on Super 8mm film, creating an analog look when shooting digitally, scoring your own movie, festival programming tips, and loads more. Li...
Jul 03, 2022•1 hr 3 min
In this episode I am joined by acclaimed DP Liam Higgins for an in-depth discussion on cinematography, commercial filmmaking, and creativity. Liam has shot many commercial projects for Adidas, Grey Goose, SteamWhistle, and countless other brands, all while writing and producing his own narrative productions. Throughout the interview, we discuss Liam’s work at length and his career path - from freelancer to gaining representation with APA agency. We also talk about the benefits and drawbacks of o...
Jun 17, 2022•57 min
This week I'm honored to have filmmaker and Slamdance co-founder Dan Mirvish return to the show to talk all about his brand new feature film - 18 1/2. 18 1/2 is a Watergate thriller/comedy that stars Willa Fitzgerald, John Magaro, Vondie Curtis Hall, Catherine Curtin, Richard Kind, Sullivan Jones, Alanna Saunders, Claire Saunders and the voices of Ted Raimi, Jon Cryer, and Bruce Campbell. In just 15 days, Dan and his crew captured this amazing film that has a unique 1970s vibe and standout perfo...
May 28, 2022•1 hr 15 min
In this episode, I am joined by Brooklyn based micro-budget filmmaker Sujewa Ekanayake, for a discussion that re-imagines the way we approach making indie films. I first connected with Sujewa over Twitter, after discovering he and I share a similar filmmaking philosophy that prioritizes creative expression above budget. Throughout the conversation, we unpack this concept at length and discuss various strategies and unconventional tactics that can be used to execute any feature film. Links from t...
May 28, 2022•52 min
Joining me today are the founders of Film Up - Aryeh Hoppenstein and Christina Chironna. After meeting in college, Aryeh and Christina partnered to create a business that would fuse their love of filmmaking with their passion for business. The result was FilmUp.co, a powerful resource that automates the film production process, from crewing to payroll. To generate awareness and build a community around their brand, Aryeh and Christina developed a unique social media strategy that led to an Insta...
May 05, 2022•1 hr 7 min
In this episode I am joined by three amazing guests for a roundtable style discussion about crowd-equity fundraising for indie films. Our guests are: lawyer-turned film investor Michael Rekola, executive producer and actor Desiree Staples, and Ryan Pierce from WeFunder’s growth team. This in depth discussion covers tactics for raising funds through crowd-equity platforms (like WeFunder), painting a very clear picture of what it takes to succeed with this strategy. Topics covered include: Ideal g...
Apr 21, 2022•1 hr 3 min
In this episode I am joined by Joële Walinga, director of the SXSW 2022 documentary feature "Self Portrait". This is a brilliant experimental feature comprised entirely of footage collected from surveillance cameras, and produced with a highly unique creative process. Throughout the interview, Joële gives us a behind the scenes look into her four-year creative workflow, which involved sifting through thousands of publicly available surveillance videos and editing them together into a meaningful ...
Apr 17, 2022•52 min
In this solo episode, I share a behind the scenes look into my latest feature film, which is being shot with no crew and a highly unconventional workflow. I decided to experiment with this new filmmaking paradigm to test my own creative limits, and show that a great film can be produced on any level, regardless of budget or resources. Throughout the episode I outline how taking a "one-man-band" approach to filmmaking can actually increase production value, while also making for a more creatively...
Apr 08, 2022•38 min
Returning to the show is Emmy winning micro-budget filmmaker Marcus Mizelle. After directing a trilogy of micro-budget narrative feature films, Marcus turned his talents to the documentary filmmaking space, where he has recently found incredible success. His self-produced short documentary (Something In The Water) aired on PBS and was later awarded an Emmy. During the same period, he also directed a feature documentary (Belle Vie) which premiered last month at the prestigious Santa Barbara Film ...
Apr 01, 2022•1 hr
In this episode I am joined by experimental filmmaker and accomplished painter, Chris Peters. Chris' films have screened at numerous Academy Award qualifying festivals, including Slamdance 2021 (where he later served as a programmer), and winning the Peter Wilde Award at the 2020 Ann Arbor Film Festival. Throughout our discussion we cover a slew of creative topics - from our shared love of Super 8mm, to the use of AI in filmmaking. We also touch on the benefits of "no-budget" productions, insigh...
Mar 25, 2022•1 hr
Today I’m joined by director Daniel Lafrentz and producer Sean Flanagan to demystify the fundraising process for narrative feature films. Daniel is an award winning filmmaker known for his debut feature film The Long Shadow, which was awarded a jury prize at the amazing New Orleans Film Festival. Sean made his name in film distribution, having overseen the release of over 1000 films including titles for Sundance Institute, FilmRise, Paradigm, CAA and more. Together, they are developing a new fea...
Mar 18, 2022•54 min
I'm thrilled to be joined by editor and director Roger Nygard for an insightful discussion all about the editorial process. Roger is known as an editor for his work on television series like Curb Your Enthusiasm, Veep, Who Is America, and countless others. But he is also an established director, lending his talents to The Office and The Bernie Mac Show, all while spearheading his own feature film projects too. Throughout the interview, Roger shares his wealth of knowledge on the storytelling pro...
Mar 10, 2022•59 min
In this episode I'm joined by filmmaking duo Taylor Lewis and Burke Lewis. Taylor and Burke run a successful commercial production company (Atomic City), and produce high end content for brands like Amazon, Microsoft, and DJI. But they also have a passion for true micro-budget filmmaking, going so far as to make an entire feature film for just $1000. Throughout the interview, we discuss Taylor and Burke's strategy for growing their production company, how they've thrived outside of major film ma...
Mar 03, 2022•1 hr
In this episode I am joined by Bryn Woznicki (director) and Skye Emerson (screenwriter), the filmmaking duo behind Under The Influencer. After making a $450K feature titled Her Side of The Bed, Bryn chose to embrace the world of ultra micro-budget filmmaking. Through a collaboration with Skye (a recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan Screenwriting Fellowship at the Sundance Film Festival), the team was able to secure $25,000 in funding through We Make Movies to go into production. Bryn and Skye share ...
Feb 24, 2022•45 min
Today I am joined by award winning film composer and billboard charting producer Roman Molino Dunn. Roman has found incredible success in the industry, working on major projects for Netflix (AI Love You), Sean Baker (Red Rocket) and Paul Schrader (The Card Counter), among countless others. Last year alone, his work screened at 3 of the top film festivals in the world: Cannes, Venice and Toronto. Throughout the interview Roman takes a deep dive into his creative process, sharing invaluable lesson...
Feb 16, 2022•53 min
Today I am joined by filmmaking duo Brent Lydic and Tip Scarry, who are here to give us a behind the scenes look into their new feature film Spirit Quest. This micro-budget indie was made on a shoestring budget of just $7000 over the course of 14 shooting days. By taking an unconventional approach to production, Brent and Tip pulled off an impressive debut feature film that ultimately landed distribution with Gravitas, and is now widely available on VOD. Listen to the full episode for the entire...
Feb 09, 2022•1 hr
Today I am joined by writer/director Pete Ohs, here to give us a behind the scenes look into his latest feature film titled Youngstown. After debuting as a feature director with Everything Is Beautiful Far Away - a traditionally financed indie starring Julia Garner and Joseph Cross, Pete wanted to try a different approach. Despite the success of his first film (including distribution with The Orchard), the process wasn't what Pete was looking for. He wanted to make a movie that was more creative...
Jan 26, 2022•1 hr 6 min
In this episode I am joined by director Keon Hedayati, who is here to talk all about his debut feature film Karma Bums, which is now entering distribution. Despite a limited budget (under $100K), Keon was able to successfully craft a final product with the look, feel and polish of a high end studio feature. Throughout the discussion, Keon shares insight into how he achieved these kind of results by building the right team, taking them on cross-country road trip, and capturing lightning in a bott...
Jan 19, 2022•48 min
Today I am joined by filmmaker and host of the popular Crimson Engine YouTube channel, Rubidium Wu - who is currently in post-production for his latest feature film titled The Devil’s Fortune. Throughout the interview Rubidium shares a behind the scenes look into how he built his incredible YouTube Channel from the ground up, and how it serves as an asset in his feature filmmaking journey. He also touches on his distribution philosophy, editorial process, approach to working outside of LA, and l...
Jan 12, 2022•1 hr 20 min
Today I am joined by actor, author, filmmaker & entrepreneur Sara Quiriconi, to talk all about the intersection of business and creativity. Sara has found success across multiple mediums - from her renowned book titled Living Cancer Free to her popular blog, social media, and podcast channels. As a huge proponent of entrepreneurship and content creation for filmmakers, I was excited to have Sara on the show to unpack her experience at length. Throughout the episode she shares best practices ...
Jan 05, 2022•49 min
Joining me today is filmmaker Matthew Temple, who recently directed the documentary Hardball: The Girls of Summer, which was released by Vertical entertainment last year. Matthew also runs a great podcast, has written books on creativity, and holds workshops all over the world to help empower creatives. Naturally, all of this made for a great conversation that covers everything from creative blocks and how to overcome them, to the creative journey as a whole. He also speaks to his own experience...
Dec 23, 2021•1 hr 7 min
Today I am joined by the multi-talented Daniel B. Levin whose latest documentary Kevin Garnett: Anything is Possible just premiered on Showtime. You may also know Daniel from some of his other amazing documentary productions, like I Promise, which was executive produced by LeBron James and premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival. Throughout the interview, Daniel and I take a deep dive into the world of documentary filmmaking, using his latest feature as a case study. Daniel generously shares...
Dec 02, 2021•1 hr 3 min
Joining me today is acclaimed DGA director Mike Rohl, who has had an amazing directorial career in both television and feature films. Most recently, Mike directed Vanessa Hudgens in The Princess Swap trilogy for Netflix, but is also known for directing countless episodes of Smallville, The Outer Limits, When Calls The Heart, and many other iconic television shows. Mike got his start making DIY movies back in film school, which ultimately led to his first big break directing network TV, and later...
Nov 19, 2021•1 hr 5 min
In this episode, I share a recent guest session recorded live in my filmmaking community (The Backlot), featuring acclaimed ACE editor Vashi Nedomansky. Vashi is an expert on post production workflows, having worked as a consultant on DEADPOOL, House of Cards, The Good Doctor, Sharknado 2, and countless other projects. He’s been on the podcast before, and his first interview was a fan favorite. This time around, he is here to break down best practices for optimizing your editorial approach and w...
Oct 24, 2021•1 hr 8 min
Today I’m joined by documentary filmmaker Nick Scown, whose feature documentary Too Soon: Comedy After 9/11 was just released through Vice and is now available nationwide. As Nick shares in the interview, what started as a bootstrapped DIY passion project ultimately evolved into a larger production that attracted a ton of incredible talent. Despite the humble beginnings of this project, Nick was able to attract subjects like Matthew Broderick, David Cross, Janeane Garofalo, Gilbert Gottfried, Ma...
Sep 16, 2021•50 min
This week I am joined by filmmaker and film professor Marc A Hutchins, known for his directorial feature films Crossing Streets and Where Are You, Bobby Browning? After producing and directing numerous independent film titles - including a $300,000 feature - Marc decided to scale down his production approach and embrace the micro-budget realm. This resulted in the creation of a brand new feature film, shot for just $30,000 over the course of 12 days. Throughout the interview we chat about Marc’s...
Sep 10, 2021•50 min
In this episode I am joined by the amazingly talented Martin Blasick, who has worked in the film industry for years as a composer, music writer and music supervisor, and is now embracing the world of micro-budget feature filmmaking. Martin has contributed his work to countless film and television projects like Oceans 12, Magic Mike and The Newsroom- while also spearheading his own independent productions. Throughout our discussion, Martin shares his wisdom on all things music for film, giving li...
Aug 28, 2021•1 hr 7 min
In the episode I am joined by filmmaker and KTLA journalist Chris Gierowski, here to share his unique approach to independent feature film producing. Over the last decade Chris has produced countless narrative films - from micro-budget shorts to underground features that have reached cult status - and has learned a lot along the way. Throughout the interview, Chris provides listeners with key insights into the world of indie film production, along with his personal philosophy and practical appro...
Aug 28, 2021•47 min
In this solo episode, I share my in-depth thoughts on the merits of working in genre as a micro-budget filmmaker, and why horror, sci-fi, and thriller films often thrive on a smaller scale. Genre films offer some unique advantages to the micro-budget filmmaker, that make traditional obstacles (like securing name talent, prestige festival placement, and distribution) far less critical to the overall success of the film. Throughout the episode I discuss all of this and more, through the lens of my...
Jul 30, 2021•22 min
