Creative Haven

Natalie Cass is a corporate photographer and filmmaker at Cass Studios: an entertainment, commercial photography, and video production company.  In this episode, we talk about how her knowledge of psychographics led her to create content for brands she wanted to work with; how music, being active in nature, and optimizing her health and wellness helps her leverage her flow state to be more creativ...

Bill Kearney is a video producer, former aerospace engineer, creative technologist, and founder and CEO of LightShift Video, a video production company based in Austin, Texas.  We talk about how the accessibility of camera equipment and editing tools allows filmmakers to focus on storytelling while helping underserved companies with high-quality content, how he uses his experience and background i...

Andrew Miller is a storyteller, cinematographer, filmmaker, producer, and owner of Dox, a full-service production company specializing in telling strong stories, particularly with documentaries. Andrew has also worked on feature films such as True Grit, Spy Kids 4, and A Bold Experiment. In this episode, we talk about how there's still valuable experiences and benefits to gain from attending film...

Wes Evans is an actor, writer, director, and filmmaker for Icarus Burning Productions, a full-service video production company based in Austin. Wes has worked with several clients including, The University of Texas, Tastemade, eHow, and Livestrong. In this episode, we talk about how to reach a compromise with clients and find ways to collaborate with them to complete a project that fulfills both t...

Heather Mansfield Jernigan is the executive producer of Castleview, a video agency in Austin that creates video content for brands to elevate their products and services. We discuss the benefits of using internal video as a holistic approach for current employees and customers to elaborate your company's values; the importance of time blocking and scheduling your tasks by the hour to optimize prod...

Koji Steven Sakai is a writer, producer, screenwriter instructor, podcast host, and founder of the production company, Little Nalu Pictures. Koji has written seven feature films and produced five films such as Last Girl, The People I've Slept With, and the television series, Comedy InvAsian. In this episode, we discuss how his desire to become a "student of life" by experiencing new things helps h...

Nick and Josh Holden are award-winning directors, writers, actors, and co-owners of the film and video production company Mishnoon. They have written and directed hundreds of commercials, feature screenplays, and have won numerous awards for their films and projects.  In this episode, we talk about how they separate creating videos for clients and writing movies for themselves to continue to pursu...

Mark Haynes is a cinematographer, director, and owner of Manifest Imageworks, a production company based in Dallas, Texas. He has been working in the film industry since 2007 and shoots for clients in the advertisement, corporate, and entertainment industries.  In this episode, we discuss how his love of movies and desire to recreate them led him on the path of filmmaking, cinematography, and ligh...

Ricky Holm is the founder of the virtual reality and 360 video production studio, Chocolate Milk & Donuts. His company specializes in creating unique and riveting experiences for their clients; including a number of noteworthy brands such as Pepsi, Hasbro, and Make-A-Wish Foundation. We talk about how his love for films led him to create Chocolate Milk & Donuts, how he shifted his approach towards...

Allie Yaldezian is the account director at Public Haus Agency, a PR, marketing, and creative content agency. Allie has worked with a wide range of companies like Verizon, PAWPatrol, and Chevron. In this episode, we talk about the importance of asking clients many questions to learn more about how the company is performing to develop an effective marketing campaign, how to be immersed in culture to...

Frank Bocchino is a writer, marketing director, and graphic designer for businesses by day and scriptwriter and script doctor for producers by night. In this episode, we discuss why it's important to really love what you do as a writer and creative so you can change between mediums and genres without feeling uninspired; why writers groups are important for writers because you can get help from peo...

Tom Dever is the Head of Writer Success at Coverfly, which is an online platform that connects emerging writers with the Film and TV industry, guiding writers to improve their craft and career through partnerships with top competitions, fellowships, and coverage providers.  In this episode, we discuss how Coverfly is using data to categorize and organize scripts so that producers can discover writ...

Matthew Rogers is the Chief Operating Officer at MontaVega Media - one of the top video production companies in Austin, Texas. In this episode, we talk about how developing a relationship and trust with a client is important when you're creating ideas to achieve their goals, using past creative work to guide clients towards a decision when choosing what type of content they want to invest in, the...

Evette Vargas is an award-winning writer, director, producer, and immersive storyteller that was named by the New York Times as an "Artist to Watch."  She has worked with Amazon, MTV, Bravo, DirectTV;  produced interactive content for Fast And Furious, the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, and Madonna, plus executive produced, wrote, and directed her digital series Dark Prophet which was in contention fo...

Mitchell Ruiz is an entrepreneur that specializes in mindset coaching, network organizing, and real estate.  Born and raised in the Bronx, NY where his disenfranchised upbringing inspired his unique perspective on success, which he now uses to empower his community through education and coaching. In this episode, we talk about how poetry helped him make sense of the world growing up as a disenfran...

Langely McNeal is an ex-Pro Skier that has competed at the World Cup and X-Games and is now a Partner and Head of Community at Summit. In this episode, we discuss the importance of healthy habits for optimal performance and how her training regiments as an athlete helped her transition into a new career, how journaling can help you find your purpose and passion, the process of creating live and on...

Michael Dumlao is an artist, author, brand director at Booz Allen Hamilton, and activist who is equipped with twenty years of advancing diversity, equity, and social justice through award-winning brand management, digital marketing, and creative storytelling in corporate, federal, academic, and non-profit environments. A sought-after speaker on audacious authenticity, brand elevation, and social e...

Laura Sheridan is the founder of Viva La Brand, a company that consults businesses on Brand and marketing strategy. In today's episode, we talk about the importance of writing copy and speaking in your customers' language to sound relatable to your audience to attract your ideal clients; how to figure out what job you are doing for your customer so you can write your marketing to attract potential...

Patrick Dillon is the CEO and Founder of the digital marketing agency, WISE Digital Partners. His companies have been featured in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, TechCrunch, and one of his companies, The Deal Current Network, was listed in Entrepreneur Magazine's list of '100 Most Brilliant Companies' in 2011 and later acquired by a global media company.  He has also worked with nat...

Patrick Dillon is the CEO and Founder of the digital marketing agency, WISE Digital Partners. His companies have been featured in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, TechCrunch, and one of his companies, The Deal Current Network, was listed in Entrepreneur Magazine's list of '100 Most Brilliant Companies' in 2011 and later acquired by a global media company.  He has also worked with nat...

Josh Emerick is a Cinematographer, Editor, Director, and producer that has worked in the music video industry for over 9 years with his company, J. Emerick Cinema & Photo.  He's also an educator online and teaches other filmmakers how to grow their careers and businesses in the video and film industries. In this episode, we talk about the power of delegation as a video creator and business owner,...

Tamika Lamison is an award-winning writer/director/producer and actor, who is currently a supervising producer for the series Monogamy on Amazon Prime. She also created and founded the non-profit organization, Make A Film Foundation, which grants film wishes to children who have severe or life-threatening medical conditions and teams them with film industry professionals who help them create short...

Reed Shelly is a Marketing and Operations Executive with a proven track record driving start-up, mid-sized and mature organizations to new levels of revenues, profits, and market share with his own company called Brand X Consulting, which is a full-service marketing and operations consultancy for small, medium and early-stage companies. Reed also worked as an executive and writer in the TV and ani...

Lexi St. John is the VP of Content and Head of Global Networks for QYOU Media, a Gen-Z and Millennial-focused global entertainment brand which includes television networks, original series, and influencer marketing campaigns.  Lexi helped launch and runs QYOU's television networks in India and Poland, and is now the creative lead for QYOU's Influencer Marketing agency in the US and heads QYOU Crea...