Film Stuff podcast

In this episode, Leigh talks about the brilliant editing in the movie 'Don't Look Up' and explores why it's so refreshing. Editing may be an invisible art, but it’s one that deserves the spotlight—and this film proves why. Plus, a deep dive into why Meryl Streep makes the ultimate villain, and some thoughts on making better film.

In this episode of Film Stuff, Soo Zee talks about Squid Game and why it was successful. Interestingly, Western media and Eastern media reports on the series differently. Leigh only occasionally butts in with rants about copyright and geo-arbitrage. Enjoy!

In this episode of Film Stuff, Soo Zee and Leigh talk about how storytelling can change the way fans perceive the sports they follow. There's a big difference between more established sports and newly emerging ones, and we talk about the pros and cons of both and how their media landscapes differ. Find out how Soo Zee got into Formula 1, how Leigh looks at professional tag, and what they both thin...

Lots of creators—especially young, successful ones—publicly admit to being emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausted by their channels. Why is that? And while we know burnout is a real and serious problem, we have to wonder. How much burnout is true burnout, and how much is because many creators are new this: new to managing professional life, new to making art, and new to the notoriously de...

The film world we were brought up in works on an apprentice system, where you attach yourself to a person or team, and usually work on the projects they land. In the world of modern video making, where creators can be full-time and video is a huge part of marketing, that world is evolving. Now there's tons of openings for filmmaking jobs. They're not all good. Some are gold, some are garbage, and...

Our friend Mickey had a simple question about audio mixing. The answer isn't quite so simple, and led us to have a full on film stuff episode about the ways that making films for mobile devices isn't the same as making films for televisions, computers, or projectors. We talk all about it in this episode, including: audio mixing, screen real estate, and why you should never watch Maze Runner on a p...

Coronavirus has affected many parts of the world and during this quarantine/self-isolation period many of us have been consuming media more than ever. Which bring us to this episode, where we talk about how COVID-19 has affected the film industry as a whole and and foremost how it will affect the business side and the creative side of movies and tv in the future. • Vox article that describes how 9...

Another analytics episode! All too often we hear people talk about "good" videos and metrics as if they're universal. They aren't. Case in point: e-learning videos on sites like Khan Academy and Udemy, adult-only videos, and both the ultra-long and the ultra-short (e.g., live sports and TikToks). We lay out how you should approach making a learning video differently, which metrics you should be wa...

I quiz Soo Zee about the meanings and origins of terminology used only in the film world. It's tricky because if you search online for some of these terms, you won't get the thing you're actually looking for. That's why it's a game! Here's the full list of terms we went over: • ADR/Looping • Stingers • C-47s/Bullets • Alan Smithee • Dead Cat • Windscreen • Champagne Roll • Martini Shot • Abby Sing...

Parasite (Korean title: 기생충) made headlines in May when it won Cannes Film Festival's prestigious Palm d'Or prize, the first Korean film to ever do so. Now it's November and suddenly people around us who are not so familiar with Korean cinema are starting to talk about it as it's being distributed in America and Europe. It seemed like a good time to talk about director Bong Joon Ho (Korean: 봉...

Lots of people like to lump dance movies in with musicals, but we think they are a genre all their own. In this episode Soo Zee and Leigh discuss all the key elements of a dance movie and which dance movies make their list of all-time favorites. We're hard to predict; we hate on Swing Kids even though we think Do Kyung-soo can dance. We defend Step Up even though we think it's cheesy. We disagree...

Genius or jerk? In this episode we give a few anecdotes from the work and business practices of seminal Walt Disney that only begin to touch on this complicated question. There's a reason why Walt holds a record for the most Academy Awards, and why Mickey Mouse is one of the most globally recognized figures. We talk about Walt Disney the man's vision and insane attention to detail, and Walt Disney...

We absolutely adored Netflix & Black Mirror's new choose your own adventure movie experience "Bandersnatch." It was incredibly well constructed both technically and narratively, and had all the mind bending hallmarks of our favorite Black Mirror episodes. Leigh explains all about the technology they used to make it seamless. Soo Zee harangues our fellow filmmakers for failing to grasp why Bandersn...

In this episode we dive into the almighty algorithm and talk about how it's changed the way filmmakers tell stories. Soo Zee makes a good argument for why this is a bad thing, and Leigh reveals how much we pay attention our own YouTube analytics. We talk about Netflix's recommendation engine and why it's simultaneously the best and worst thing to happen to streaming video. We also compare iTunes M...

This episode is about this year's YouTube Rewind video, the video YouTube produced to recap all the internet trends, memes, and (on YouTube at least) hits from 2018. They've been doing this every year since 2010. The reaction this year has been pretty cold online, but somehow we still have warm fuzzy feelings for YouTube. We explain how. Also Soo Zee touches on the difference between "big" and "bi...

This episode is about why movies are starting to look more like television, and why television is becoming more like movies. Also, we reveal our favorite YouTubers and which predictions about the future of social media we agree with. We also talk a lot about the new Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald movie because it's basically impossible to talk about successful episodic storytelling or wor...

More music! This is the second of our episodes all about picking music and figuring out how to best use it in your videos. We cover three specific techniques and also talk about what you should look for in a song. Leigh hates fade outs, and in this episodes she explains why. Soo Zee also explains what the biggest filmmaker sin is and gives some advice on how to avoid it. Wow, this one turned out a...

Music is one of those topics we seem to get endless questions and comments about, so finally we've created an episode all about it. It's too much to fit into one episode though, so we made two. This is the first, all about the artistic part of picking music: why it's important, where to find it, and how to know if you did it right. Then we introduce something Soo Zee finds hugely entertaining. It'...

We are fashionably late to the Black Panther party. In this episode of film stuff we dig deep into culture, starting with Afrofuturism: what it is, why it's awesome, and what it has to do with Los Angeles's Koreatown. Show notes: • At the top of the episode we talk about Janelle Monáe and her genius Afrofuturist operas. Some more details about her work here https://www.vox.com/2018/5/16/17318242/j...

Today we deep dive into the relationship between art and commerce. We start with a discussion about why it looks like every YouTube video is the same. Next we talk about how it's not enough just to make art. You have to be a skilled promoter and business lady and community builder too. Lastly we talk about how hard it is to strike that balance between on one side, making art that's true to your vi...

This part two of our two-part look at what it's actually like to be a video or film editor. Soo Zee makes up a fake short film and we talk you through the whole edit process. How long does transcoding take? How many cuts do you usually go through? What's all that exporting mumbo jumbo? All this and more in this episode! Show notes: • What is the RED Camera of which we speak? More here http://www.r...

This part one of our two-part look at what it's actually like to be a video or film editor. We cover all the feels that go into the edit room: what it feels like to have the whole production look at you to put the film together, what you fight about with the film's director, and what elements of the film are beyond your control. Leigh also goes on a tirade about her filmmaking pet peeves so that y...

How exactly do you get a job in the film industry? The same way you get any job: a good network and a good ask. In this one we talk all about the ask. It's our guide outlining how to successfully cold contact people - that includes people you know and people you'd like to know - without coming off like the world's biggest douchenozzle. We also tell you straight up how to work with us. Soo Zee even...

It's a hard question to answer, since where (or if) you go to university and what you major is a personal question. Soo Zee never went to film school. Leigh went to film school. Twice. There's some pros and some cons to going to film school and we go over them in detail in this episode. We also talk about why we hold the unpopular opinion that going to a prestigious film school is better than goin...

We tried flying a drone! Here are some of the things we learned, some things we didn't expect, and the details of what you need to know to fly a drone in Korea. Despite how much we rant about our drone stress, we actually love aerial photography. Helicams, quadcopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), oh my! Show notes: • We mentioned how some militaries are training eagles to take out drones....