The Rough Cut Club

In today's episode of The Rough Cut Club, we chat from outside our usual studio with Barton Damer, the owner behind Already Been Chewed (ABC) Studios. He shares his journey starting from filmming skateboarding videos to nearly quitting graphic design before finding a renewed passion in motion graphics. We'll also dig into how to gain traction in your career by tapping into sub-cultures and offer a...

Dallas Film Commissioner, Tony Armor brings so much value to this weeks podcast for feature filmmakers and talks all things funding, hot genres and how Texas can continue becoming a big player in the film industry. Tony is also shaking things up in Dallas by bringing new celebrity showcases, educational courses and film jobs to Dallas with his new initiatives as commissioner. It's great to have a...

In this episode, we chat with Andrew Holzschuh about his motivation behind creating so many short films and his drive making feature films. Andrew shares his insights on using LEGOs for scene planning, being "director-minded" as a DP and how to come up with and visualize film ideas. Give this episode a listen and discover more about his creative process and journey in the filmmaking world! GET CON...

Join us as we sit down with Brett Bentman, the filmmaking expert behind 20 feature films - from heart-pounding Lake Shark thrillers to the dusty trails of Westerns. As an "actor's director" with a clear vision of the entire film, Brett reveals his unique approach to screenwriting. He also talks about the birth and success of B22 Films, the hustle of balancing short films with a 9 to 5 job, and mak...

Behind the Broadcast has over 180k+ followers on IG and today on The Rough Cut Club we interview the founder of the viral channel, Parker. Parker has remained anonymous for years but now takes his place in front of the camera for our show today, telling us all about his experience in broadcast television, how to climb the ladder in broadcast crews, the pressure you face in getting "the shot" right...

Nick Schroeder shares his story about becoming overnight success from the hard work he had put in over 20+ years in the making. You read that right! Sometimes it feels like you aren't going anywhere but all it takes is that one big step, one connection or moment that can change everything. Nick explains how he entered the acting world in Hollywood but ended up in Texas for a life changing opportun...

In this episode of The Rough Cut Club, we talk with a good friend Michael Bradley who has worked on several feature films, music videos and corporate productions. Michael learned how to balance the business and art of filmmaking along with having a family, so new dad's and mom's listen up (spoiler alert there is no right/one answer)! Find out how Michael worked his way up in his career, what he th...

From a failed t-shirt company to a literal burning tractor on his family farm, Wes Meyers rose from the ashes of both to create the power house VFX studio, Burning Tractor based in Dallas, Texas. Listen to Wes explain how he went from cramming 30+ VFX "shots" a day to installing $100,000+ security systems to be approved by all the major Hollywood studios as a VFX house for major motion pictures. I...

Joey Nicotra (host) and Shane Reitzammer (co-host) take an episode to discuss how they were able to advance in their film career from freelance videographer to a media production company and college graduate to DP. The freelance world is sometimes hard to navigate with varying rates, expectations on set and different personalities that you work with but we hope some of these tips help navigate the...

Tammy Lane, founder of  @capernaumstudios9162  and creator of  @washingtonsarmor2989  joins Joey Nicotra and Shane Reitzammer on the Rough Cut Club podcast to discuss how she got started in filmmaking by following her faith. Listen in as we hear how her faith fueled journey into filmmaking took her to India, Africa, Central America and her first feature film, created at her own...

This episode is fast and furious (see what we did there?) with the legendary Max Fuerst who owns the fastest camera car in Texas. Max, with a skateboarder background much like our host Joey Nicotra, got introduced to film via his passion for fast cars. Max unpacks how he came up in the industry from creating a company, to selling his share and starting a new media and experience agency called the...

Have you ever wanted to know how to shoot for Porsche? Listen to how Micah Autry has grown his production company, Aume into a successful media company and has worked for some of his top dream clients. Alongside building a company and being a filmmaker, Micah has also taken up public speaking and his own podcast called Secret of Silence. We were honored to have Micah on this episode and shared som...

Are you to the point in your career you are considering creating a video production company instead of just freelancing? Find out from The Rough Cut Club's co-host Shane Reitzammer on what it takes to make it in the industry as a business rather than a solo freelancer and if it is worth it. Have you started your own company already? What struggles did you face or lessons you can share to help our...

Corey Cannon has done it all from crazy stunts, feature film acting to line producing. He's even produced his own feature film called Shadow's Creek. On this episode of The Rough Cut Club, Corey gives tons of insight on what it takes to make it in the industry from feature film funding to distribution. We were honored to have Corey on our podcast as our first official guest and still can't believe...

HOT topic today on the podcast for anyone in high-school or considering higher-education in the film industry. Joey and Shane, both graduates of North Texas University discuss their experience and what it really takes to enter into the industry. What is your opinion after watching? Is film school worth it? YouTube Episode Version https://youtu.be/IA9YgDTwYLg INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/the...

The battle is on in this episode as we welcome our first ever podcast guest Andy Baeza. Andy is the senior editor at CinemaStory and is well versed in multiple NLE platforms. He along with Shane Reitzammer and Joey Nicotra, dive into the advantages and disadvantages of each NLE along with process and workflow tips. Andy Baeza started in the audio industry and has made major moves in the video and...

Film set expectations come in a variety of challenges and enjoyment. In this episode Joey Nicotra and Shane Reitzammer unpack 18+ combined years of different types of sets and what to expect on them including: Commercial sets, music videos, corporate videos, narrative feature films, wedding films, event videography, documentaries and reality TV. Comment on YouTube or Instagram your favorite types...

Learning the balancing act of art and business in any industry is difficult, but in media where artist and budgets collide the balancing act sometimes becomes a battle. Join us as Joey Nicotra (art) and Shane Reitzammer (business) duke it out in the discussions on how to approach the filmmaking industry as a freelancer and production company in all things art and business. We would love to hear yo...

Oh boy, buckle up as we take on the great gimbal debate of what type of system is better: Motorized or gravity-driven gimbals. Find out what tool Shane and Joey prefer in this weeks episode on The Rough Cut Club. We'll cover Steadicam, Glidecam, Ronin and Movi setups with our case studies on each, pros and cons lists as well as a guide to get started learning all things gimbals. YOUTUBE (watch the...

Interested in being a DP on a feature film set? Find out how Joey Nicotra (host) broke into the feature film world, lessons he learned and things that he did to make his vision of becoming a feature film DP come true. Already secured your first DP gig but need to know how to prepare? Listen to the steps that Joey took in prepping for his gig. Seasoned pro feature film DP? Give us a listen and tell...

We might get sued after this episode! The school of hard knocks in filmmaking are mistakes you only want to make once and we hope these stories will help you avoid ever making them at all as you progress in your film career. Turning failure into fortune in this week's episode is what this industry (or any industry) is all about. Get up, try again and never make the same mistake twice. We would lov...

Don't know where to start but have a passion for filmmaking? In this episode Joey Nicotra and Shane Reitzammer discuss how to get started as a filmmaker from their early beginnings in the industry dating back to 2010 to more relevant challenges of the 2020's. From technical challenges, defining your artistic style to the art of business, hear first hand how you can jump into an industry that might...

Becoming a full-time freelance filmmaker is not all sunshine and rainbows. In this raw and rowdy educational podcast Joey Nicotra, DP and Creative Director at CinemaStory Studios along with his co-host Shane Reitzammer, Producer and CEO at CinemaStory Studios discuss all things art and business of filmmaking. Stories from their collective 18+ years of filmmaking along with interviews of other film...