Call Sheet Confidential

Michael sits down with his longtime collaborator Jason Benjamin, his partner on competition films 20-some-odd years ago and co-creator of America’s Bravest, for the show’s first in-person episode. Jason tells stories about: the most dangerous stunts he’s worked on getting caught in a flashover wearing shorts and sandals what Hollywood gets wrong about firefighters and cops a chess game with Robert...

“Can you make it look like an Apple commercial?” Every branded-content creator has heard it. Keith Thomas breaks down Apple’s latest work and the three production habits that make it feel premium. You can use all three on your next project, whatever your budget: Simplicity wins: everything extra in the frame competes with your story Lighting creates luxury: expensive cameras don’t make expensive i...

Why hasn’t AI replaced visual effects artists? Flame artist and colorist Jan Klier explains it with one simple example: the coffee mug problem. Jan was the lead VFX artist on GOOD BOY, the indie horror film told from a dog’s point of view that became one of IFC’s biggest openings ever. He talks about how AI is really used in professional VFX, as precise tools inside a real pipeline. The conversati...

Most videos lose their audience in the first 15 seconds. MrBeast’s don’t, and the reason isn’t his budget. Veteran filmmaker and TV producer Keith Thomas breaks down three principles behind MrBeast’s pacing that any creator can use this week, whether you make YouTube videos, commercials, documentaries or podcasts. 0:00 The 15-Second Question 0:17 Why MrBeast Wins 1:30 Takeaway 1: Start With the Pa...

What should you charge, and how do you get it? Michael and co-host Dave McCauley talk money: how day rates work in broadcast and cable production, 10-hour vs. 12-hour days, and when overtime kicks in. They also cover what to charge for your gear (and what never to throw in for free). Michael compares Dave’s day-rate world with his own consulting work for Fortune 500 clients and explains why a frie...

What happens when you ask your ad agency boss if his brand-new BMW was paid for in "creative satisfaction"? On this episode of Call Sheet Confidential, Dave sits down with veteran commercial director and filmmaker Tom Rowland for an inside look at the history of film and video production. Tom shares his incredible journey through the entire modern evolution of physical media—from shooting wind-up...

After nine episodes of technical deep dives, we are moving the needle. Welcome to Call Sheet Confidential! The name was a vestigial constraint that failed to reflect the reality of today's sets. We’re doubling down on our commitment to inclusivity, moving past the "Old Guy" optics to foster a production community that mirrors the actual diversity of talent currently executing high-end work. What t...

Episode Intro: Michael and Dave kick off the episode with a technical breakdown of secondary camera logistics. Dave evaluates the utility of the Sony Alpha 7R6 as a hybrid companion format to his primary FX9 payload, weighing its uncropped 4K/120fps output against a high price point and the absence of open-gate support. Michael introduces the parameters of the Canon EOS R6V —noting its 7K open-gat...

If you think modern LED programming on a cinema set is stressful, try operating an analog console while calling six carbon-arc Super Trooper spotlights over the roaring crowd of a 1970s Marshall Tucker Band stadium show. This week on Old Guy Tech, Dave McCauley and I are breaking down the massive industry news of the day—the end of an era as ARRI changes family ownership after more than a century....

This week on Old Guy Tech , Michael is flying solo in the booth while Dave is out in the field shooting B-roll. But we have an incredibly special episode as we welcome Michael's friend of over 20 years, Paul Jones! Paul is a music entrepreneur with over 30 years of global industry experience and the founder of the production music library, Auralation. If you’ve ever watched true crime hits like Sn...

NAB 2026 is in the bag, and the consensus from the "Old Guys" is... meh. Michael Samstag and Dave McCauley break down why the endless spec-sheet wars have hit a plateau. The most significant news from Vegas wasn't a camera launch, but the fallout from ‪@geraldundone‬ Gerald changing his content strategy and "retiring" from the exhaustive technical reviews that established his brand. We’re diving d...

Get ready for one of our wildest rides yet on Old Guy Tech. This week, Michael and David McCauley sit down with production veteran Tommy Gibbons for a deep dive into the "sordid land" of film history. Tommy’s career started with a Kodak XL Super 8 and a front-row seat to rock-and-roll history—specifically watching David Bowie in 1973. In this episode, we’re breaking down: The Legend of Hell's High...

Have you ever worked a set so chaotic your boss instructed you to throw a metal folding chair at him to avoid being electrocuted? If not, you haven’t worked Smoky Mountain Wrestling. In this week’s episode of Old Guy Tech , Michael Samstag and Dave McCauley sit down with DP, Owner-Operator, and 40-year industry veteran Pat Clark . We dive deep into the technical "war stories" of the freelance grin...

Analog Soul. Digital Heart. Real War Stories. In this episode of Old Guy Tech , Michael Samstag sits down with Chicago industry legend Joe Piscitelli, SOC , to break down a career that spans exactly 40 years behind the viewfinder. We start at the very beginning: Joe’s first official credit on the 1992 holiday classic Home Alone 2: Lost in New York . Joe shares the emotional story of taking his fam...

Welcome to the premiere episode of Old Guy Tech, the podcast where battle-tested industry insights meet modern production gear. Your hosts, industry veterans Michael Samstag and Dave McCauley, skip the unboxing videos and spec-sheet hype to talk about what actually matters: building a sustainable career, making profitable gear choices, and keeping your creative soul in a tech-obsessed world. In th...