Respect The Process

Part two, the exciting conclusion to my chat with Filmmaker Nema Vand. Presently, he is directing commercials at VaynerMedia and Eva Nosidam, the in-house production unit. A turning point came when Nema documented Mike Winkelmann's (Mr. Beeple) historic NFT sale, which gained him recognition as a storyteller and director. Now, Nema's goal is to direct feature films. As most directors start in comm...

Filmmaker Nema Vand has enjoyed an eclectic career in entertainment, from being an extra on David Fincher's set, to starting his own casting company to presently directing commercials at VaynerMedia and Eva Nosidam, the in-house production unit. A turning point came when Nema documented Mike Winkelmann's (Mr. Beeple) historic NFT sale, which gained him recognition as a storyteller and director. No...

Commercial director Jason Cook is known for his design-driven approach and ability to concept visually striking commercials that effectively convey messaging. We discuss his formative directing gigs like spots for Toyota and Maytag, where he also served as creative director. He provides advice on working with actors and improv techniques. Cook also opens up about passion projects like his award-wi...

My guest is Sacha Reeb , Chief Creative Officer at Manifest. Sacha shares insights into real collaboration and explains Creative Pushups - an internal exercise turned event series - sparked new ideas through contributions to "mini briefs" on Slack. Constantly improving ideas through collaboration or reflection is key. Sasha's real-world examples of how Creative Pushups evolved demonstrate how open...

Veteran commercial director Carolyn Chen returns to the podcast to offer invaluable career advice. like how storytelling remains key, despite changing tools. My friend Carolyn has since transitioned to life coaching, helping those in entertainment navigate challenges. She provided candid insights into the emotional toll of freelancing. Most fascinating was hearing Chen's metaphorical approach to c...

Thrilled to welcome back Jason Wolk - Founder, Managing Director, and Executive Producer of Spears & Arrows . As the leader of one of the top commercial production companies, Jason has a truly unique insight into the ever-changing advertising world and production. Jason and I explore the myriad ways the industry has evolved just in the past few years alone. From shifts in camera techniques and sto...

Life Coach Lydia Hurlbut , co-founder of the Filmmakers Academy along with famed Cinematographer Shane Hurlbut, joins me in a wide-ranging discussion about spirituality, wellness practices and nurturing creativity. Lydia is a Reiki practitioner in addition to her role at  FA , and shares insights from her own journey with mindfulness, energy work and more. She also demonstrated some Reiki techniqu...

Commercial Director Tom Kuntz shares more insights into his spots. We discuss his philosophy around collaboration over the years, from thinking input wasn't needed early on to now embracing other creative minds. The importance of respecting all involved in the process is emphasized. Valuable perspective is offered for any filmmaker on realizing their vision. This is the exciting conclusion to our...

Iconic commercial director Tom Kuntz kicks off Season Two. Over the course of his illustrious career, Tom has pushed creative boundaries with award-winning campaigns for Skittles, Old Spice, Tubi, Apple, Ikea, Bacardi, more Apple, Pringles with the guys hand stuck in the can... and so many more. He's won every award in advertising, including two Gold Lions at Cannes Lions for his Skittles "Beard",...

Our podcast editor Jake Brady is one most befitting interviewee for this very special 500th episode of Respect the Process. Jake provides his unique perspective on what he's learned from cuttig our guests and the behind-the-scenes process of editing. We discuss common themes from creatives and filmmakers and repeated stories I tends to bring up that he will omit, as well as the joys and challenges...

My friend and marketing expert Joel Pilger of RevThink joins me for another insightful discussion. Joel shares his expertise on positioning your company and putting yourself out there through LinkedIn outreach. He also stresses the importance of respecting the process and keeping at it until opportunities come your way. Joel also shares an impactful story of how he landed a major project through e...

Just me rambling for 10 minutes about how lucky I am to make commercials for a living, and more importantly, that my family is safe and healthy. That is never taken for granted. That I get to work with my sons, my friends and often their kids is a such a treat. Enjoy your time with loved ones. FLOW STATE Click  MAGIC MIND  and use this nifty discount code  JB20  and gobble it up daily with your co...

Jeanne Mailloux works on commercial sets as a union Electrician. (And spells out to me the difference between the Grips and Electricains.) She shares fascinating insights about her start in filmmaking meeting Nick Cage, working on "Birdman" and being a female Electrician in that male-dominated department. We delve into reflections on human suffering, ego, humility, and how Buddhism has shaped Jean...

Greg Hahn is the Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Mischief@No Fixed Address . Just moments before this insightful and engaging chat, Adweek named Mischief "US Agency of the Year" for excellent brand-building for clients like Tubi (you remember those Super Bowl spots), Peet's Coffee, Tinder and more. They also called out the stellar branding Mischief itself. Super impressive given they open...

Director Nur Niaz is a talented filmmaker creating stylish and fun films for Samsung, Toyota, BMW, Coca-Cola, Red Bull and many more. I met Nur via another filmmaker's instagram post of Nur's work an d loved it. He's living in his home country of Kazakhstan, yes it's a real place, so we zoomed and you'll love this chat.  Also check out Nur's treatments and templates you can use for your pesky Dire...

Managing Director/Exec Producer  Rebecca Niles offers us a masterclass in everything filmmakers need to know about joining a roster at a top production company. Rebbeca joined Art Class, one of the busiest shoppes working with brilliant filmmakers, and is dedicated to serving agencies and the next gen of filmmakers to make great stuff. She brings deep global production experience spanning advertis...

Director Ed Han started on the agency side and is now a busy commercial director, having helmed spots for Lincoln, Roomba, Hersey's and more. I love Ed's core philosophy of discover the overlooked, celebrate the journey, share the sublime. Those tenets certianly come through in his work. During our talk, he stressed the importance of ensuring "clarity in communication" when doing our job as direct...

Filmmmaker Jeannette Godoy screens her romcom feature film "Diamond In The Rough" on September 22nd as part of the NY Latino Film Festival at the Regal Union Square. Jeannette is a talented writer, producer, director and my lovely wife. She started in the business as a dancer/choreographer, choreographing Sir Mix A Lot's "Baby Got Back" before making her first commercial for Bridgestone Tires that...

Filmmaker Chris Overton directed "The Silent Child", written by Rachel Shenton, and won the Oscar® for Best Live Action Short at the 90th Academy Awards®. The film tells the story of Libby, a profoundly deaf 6-year-old girl, who lives a silent life until a social worker, played by Shenton, teaches her how to communicate through sign language . Chris and I discuss about that journey and how it led...

My guest is Jim DiPiazza , Founder & CEO of Area of Expertise , a full-service marketing collective. We built and maintain an invite-only roster of highly experienced talent – who have helped create some of the most famous and impactful brands in the world. As for  Jim - he's been around the country at agencies both small and big agencies during his 29 year career. He's worked on luxury brands, ir...

Steve Williams , Undnyable Partner/Exec Creative Director, joins me in an informative and entertaining chat about making commercials soup to nuts. (We've shot six fun spots for Kaiser Permanente, but we've never been on set together due to that pesky pandemic.) We discuss running the agency from concepting and strategy to shooting the spots. We cover the importance of being nimble with the ability...

Multi-disciplined filmmaker  Vikkal Parikh is an award-winning director and creative director at Ataboy . Born and raised in Mumbai, Vikkal trained as an architect before coming to the U.S. to get his MFA in computer art from Savannah College of Art and Design. After a stint at MTV and Red Car, he formed Attaboy. His clients include Burger King, Puma, HBO, Ad Council, Nickelodeon, Dell, and Verizo...

Josh Shelton is a multi-hyphenate producer, writer, director and composer who has worked for Netflix, MTV, ESPN, Participant Media and more.  Shelton was nominated for a Sports Emmy as a producer on Netflix's "We Are The Champions." He has also been at the forefront of the digital landscape for over a decade as a YouTube Award and Telly Award Winner, working with the joy-filled digital media compa...

Just lil' old me, Jordan. Aka Grandpa Brady, aka Poppa Jordan - ranting about how American Airlines pushed my flght to the next day forcing me to miss giving my seminar at the University Film and Video Association. But I've salvaged the presentation for "Agency Collaboration" - a zoom workshop Wednesday, July 26th 2023 from 4pm to 6pm PDT. Join me, details here. I also give my two cents on ageism....

Filmmaker Patrick Shelton is a partner, Director, and EP at Current Resident in Minneaoplois. Current Resident proudly proclaims itself "an independent production company and post-house that makes cool shit with good people." Ingrained with a deep love for both narrative and entrepreneurship Patrick is constantly looking for new and exciting ways to blend the two… When asked if he wants to direct...