Respect The Process

Rob Bagot has work for some of the world's greatest advertising agencies and many influential brands, as Chief Creative Director, Group Creative Director, even Global Chief CD. He's collected over 750 national, international and regional awards. At his very heart, Rob is a commercial storyteller, now as CCO of Storymachine Films , he leads a "full-stack" creative agency that writes, directs and de...

Dave Curtin joins me for a great talk about music in commercials. Dave is an Executive Music Producer, Music Branding specialist & Music Supervisor. Starting as a DJ and nightclub promoter in San Diego, his shows drew over 80,000 people to events through music, fashion and trendsetting themes. Since then he's managed recording artists, produced & licensed music for hundreds of commercials for majo...

Filmmaker Tamika Miller is an episodic, award-winning commercial and film director/writer.  She's directed the NBC television drama QUANTUM LEAP, THE EQUALIZER for CBS and STATION 19 for ABC/Shondaland. We chat about her indie feature HONOR STUDENT , a thriller starring Emmy-Nominated actress Kelly Jenrette (All American: Homecoming, The Handmaid's Tale) and actor Hudson Yang (Fresh Off the Boat)....

My friend and filmmaker Craig Melville has travelled the world directing comedy ads, television and films. He's profilic - over 120 episodes of broadcast television and more than 200 commercials for clients such as Pepsi, Disney, Expedia, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, Target, McDonald's and Honda. Craig has won at Cannes, Grand Prix at Spikes Asia, Grand Prix at Mumbrella BeFest, Au...

Sister Christian Kendrick and Lawrence T. Lewis are in-demand producers that find time to host an excellent podcast called the Producers Happy Hour. (My episode is here and it's a gem.) Each has worked all over the world and at every major production company going back a few decades. They share irreverent and brutally honest insights about the film production industry. Check it out here and well a...

Composer, songwriter, writer and director Chris Edgar has written music for film, theater, TV, and digital series. He's scored award-winning films, including The Breakout: A Rock Opera (Best Screenplay), Steve's Quest: The Musical (Best Animated Series, Best Music Score), and Ghost in the Gun (Best Music Score) His most recent feature project is "Playing With Beethoven," in which the actors perfor...

Hayden5 was dreamt up on the fifth floor of NYU's Hayden Hall in 2005. As film school freshman, Milos Silber and Todd Wiseman Jr, became collaborators, conquering the challenges of scrappy, New York City production. Today, Hayden5 is a powerful in video production, offering soup to nuts services. Todd explains the company's unique approach that allowed them to scale big time, and still offer consi...

My new pal Chuck Canzoneri claims he is the world's oldest working Production Assistant. Chuck works at P.A. Bootcamp and they have a session coming up June 10th and 11th in North Hollywood. It is a great program, as you'll learn. I did a guest lecture there once, but have no dog in the fight other than your success. 5 SPOTS LEFT!! So excited for our Second Annual Filmmaker Retreat in Joshua Tree...

Here's what Film Threat says of my guest filmmaker Cory Choy 's new film "Esme, My Love": "Choy morphs his film from slice-of-life relationship drama to jarring thriller with skill, contrasting peace with severity with ease. Paired with a compatible score, this is a solid feat in filmmaking." Adn here's a nice piece about the June 2, 2023 release in MovieMaker .    A founding member of Silver Soun...

Filmmaker Alon Isocianu and I discuss his many tools as a filmmaker, the importance of pre-viz and possibitly of soon sharing his treatments, among other topics. Alon's work is highly imaginative, visceral & visually poetic. I'm a sucker for how Alon blends together elements of live-action, motion design, 3D animation and VFX.  He is also the co-founder and Creative Director at  REACTIV , a motion...

Jaime Cabrera is an award-winning Creative Director at Innocean. He's got a wondeful book I devoured called " What's The Big Idea? An Idispensable Guide To Becoming A Kick-Ass Creative Director." Somehow Jaime finds time between steady gigs to host the popular podcast "Confessions of a Creatvie Director" - everywhere you pod. Check out Jaime's site by clicking his name and dive in! As a Commercial...

Steve Fuller is an Emmy award-winning Director, whose work shaocases an expertise in the integration of design and live-action to the production process, coupled with an ability to lead projects from conception to completion. Comfortable in a variety of mediums and genres, Steve's creative through-line is visual storytelling. His commrcial directing credits including major campaigns for McDonalds...

Little Farm is Erwin Fraterman 's editorial boutique in Los Angeles, where he and his team can do everything under one barn roof. He and I, along with Thom Reimerink, just did a successful mad dash for RAM Trucks and Razorfish Pubicis to deliver a fully cut, mixed and colored film, with VFX no less, in a mere 29 hours.  We talk about the process, the editor-director-agency relationship and so much...

Cinematographer Darrell Wonge tells his story from player professional basketbaall around the globe to getting hurt and watching YouTube to learn a new craft. And he's mastering it fast. Darrell's quickly gained extensive experience in fashion, beauty, alcohol and sports. Competent in capturing high quality images while displaying confidence and professionalism. Being a former professional athlete...

Filmmaker Digby started out as a New York PA and put in his time rising through the ranks on crew. Now he and his partner Ramon "Ra" Nunez run Baby Lion , A Black and Latino-owned creative production company, bringing authentic, cultural insights to every project. We dissect Digby's Resident Evil promo , shot live in one, four-hour take on the Santa Monica Promenade. I suggest you watch it now.  W...

Showtime declared Pat Hazell one of the five funniest people in America. His 25 years of experience as a writer, producer and director have made him a go-to guy for new American theater. Pat is one of the original writers for NBC's  Seinfeld , a  Tonight Show  veteran, a critically acclaimed playwright and a contributing commentator to National Public Radio. He is recognized for his genuinely funn...

Filmmakers that have taken any of my courses, either online or attended our senssational Commercial Directing Bootcamp or Filmmaker Retreat in Joshua Tree, are welcome to a free zoom Q&A about those spec spots. Dan Sorgen, Copywriter/CD, will join me. Many filmmakers have used his SpecBank.com to find scripts written by agency creatives to shoot. Imparitive if you're not a great copywriter. And wh...

Producer/Director/Writer Christin Baker had directed five feature films and co-launched seminal lesbian steamer Tello Films before becoming CEO of DIVAboxoffice.tv , a new streaming platform serving up premium lesbian and queer women's content. Given her experience making movies and distributing them, Divaboxoffice.tv is sure to be a hit with it's LGBTQ+ women's audience. Christin and I chat about...

My friend Daniel Cardenas is a talented director and producer, cranking out commercials and videos through his own Bakerbuilt Works. He's mastered brand stories, product videos and testimonials, but you can tell documentaries scratch Daniel's itch. We chat imposter syndrome, low budget filmmaking and his award-winning docu "Hopped Up" and a new project as well.  Stream "Hopped Up" on Amazon, check...

I'm inspired by legendary record producer Rick Ruben, who's been on the pod circuit pimping his new book, "The Creative Act: A Way Of Being"   He he says he's hired to share his opinion and taste, which has proven to help artists. As a commercial directors, our job is to have a distinct point of view on the agency script, and serve that script the way RR serves the album. Ultimately, leadership an...

Filmmaker John Grammatico returns to the podcast to talk spots, treatments, agency briefs and story. John has directed over 300 films for brands like M&Ms, Visa, Burger King and Ford. He's worked with numerous celebs and athletes including Chris Elliot, Anna Faris, NFL Hall-of-Famer Calvin Johnson and Duchess Meghan Markle ( Behind-The-Scenes ). I've posted some work at jordanbrady.com but you can...

My friend filmmaker Graham Nolte claims to have taught himself claymation at nine, editing at eleven, and that he still writes on a typewriter. Graham directs funny spots via his own Philly-based production company, Comedy Theory , and has honed his craft by shooting, scripting and shooting more. It's the best way to learn, in my opinion, and i am sure Graham agrees. Graham and I chat about his jo...

Exec Producer Austin Barbera of his own SIXTWENTYSIX explains how his creative studio operates. I found his model fascinating and love the spots, music videos and branded content on their snazzy site. Check out the spots for Turo, Samsung starring Future and more. In the spirit of sharing knowledge, they post wonderful case studies too.  EVENTS & COURSES My next  Commercial Directing Bootcamp  is...

I'll be in Tokyo, Japan with filmmaker Jeannette Godoy on December 9th for a Filmmaker Meet Up. Friday, December 9th, 2022 @ 5pm Tokyo time. We want to learn how y'all do it, get gigs, shooting practices, interface with ad agencies and more. We'll share filmmaking tips and tricks we've learned that I hope are univeral. Jeannette's movie, Diamond In The Rough , is out in the UK via Signature Entert...

Top 5 Tips to help you succeed on your commercial shoots and with your career in the longrun. Some are adages you;ve heard from me before but are worth repeating, and others are fresh for our times. DM me with your tips and post them in the Voodoo Lounge. It's free.  EVENTS & COURSES My next  Commercial Directing Bootcamp  is January 7th, 2023 in Los Angeles. Save $100 once you've completed either...