Crossing the Axis - The Commercial Side of Film Production

Paul Killebrew boasts experience as both a seller and buyer within the production industry. His tenure in sales cultivated his fondness for smaller boutique production firms over larger ones. Now, with nearly a decade on the buying side, Paul has honed distinct views on what captures his attention and fosters enduring partnerships. Tune in to glean insights and best practices for collaborating wit...

In the business of commercial film production, making brand case-studies are often seen as just a step above an infomercial. But that’s when they are done poorly. When executed well, they can transcend advertising and become content that not only provides information but also entertains and delights. That’s the value proposition SHEP Films offers their clients. Listen to hear Brice Budke talk abou...

Get to know Nicholas Incorvaia and hear his take on what motivates him to hire production companies, and what doesn’t. Nicholas is a leader in producing corporate marketing content for almost two decades with brands like T-Mobile and Amazon, where he currently serves as Head of Creative Operations. Nicholas is a laser-focused client-type whose commitment to reaching marketing goals is only matched...

Whether you realize it or not, your production company has a culture. It is shaped by the owners, the employees, partners and your clients. But, should it be more than just the sum of the parts? Should it be curated and developed to such a degree that it is a specialty or has a particular affinity - potentially turning away some folks but drawing in others? In this episode, we talk to Sam Kelly fr...

This must-listen episode welcomes Nate Barr to help you navigate the very difficult path of using your own original narrative content to attract client work. Nate knows what he’s talking about too, with over 20 years of experience in all aspects of content making from producing narrative films, to operating his own creative agency, to leading the client side of many marketing initiatives for brand...

Meet Thig Gishuru, a creative director with over 10 years of experience in both the agency-side and client-side of advertising; primarily creating, producing, and marketing content in fashion. In this episode, Thig candidly shares his story, needs, and tips about what he wishes he heard more often when being solicited for projects.

Meet Justin Hooper and Steve Williams, partners at Undnyable, an advertising agency with a reputation of turning heads with their funny, creative and sometimes outrageous client campaigns. In this episode we hear about their creative approach to client work, their criteria for choosing production partners, and how production companies should sell to agencies.

Max introduces James Keblas as the future host of Crossing the Axis. Get to know James and how he plans to lead the show moving forward. Max shares his thoughts and observations on the video production business after three years building the Pipeline tech-tool for video production companies and running his own video production company for over 15 years.

This week we interview Alan Nay of the Seattle powerhouse World Famous . World Famous  works as a full-service agency with Nike, Wendy's, T-Mobile, Microsoft - you name it. But! World Famous started out as a production company - just like you. Today, we talk to World Famous founder Alan Nay about the choice to go from production company to agency. What's worked, what's been tougher than expec...

I sit down and talk to Chris Donaldson and Julien Scherliss of Moment.film (www.moment.film) about what it takes to regularly put out great, personal creative work outside of the daily grind of our production lives. Moment.film, during their first 2 years in business has put out a ton of commercial work for Seattle agencies and beyond but at the same time they've also produced a 10 minute and 20 m...

Channel Your Passion into Client Success Max talks to Caleb Young, creative director at world-class video production company, Hand Crank Films of the Pacific Northwest.  Learn how Caleb went from someone who thought doing corporate video was “selling out” to someone who learned to love the process of turning his passion for film into beautiful videos for his clients that are anything but typi...

You seriously need to take budgeting seriously. Basically, budgeting is the activity that makes or breaks your operation. How you handle it makes all the difference whether you're just getting started, or you've been at it for a long time. Take a moment to listen to Max & Jake's tips for making this process fast, efficient and productive.  You won't regret it. In this podcast we breakdown...

Today Jake and I got to sit down with Ryan Koral, the head of Studio Sherpas. Studio Sherpas is advertised as "Everything You Need to Grow Your Video Business" and they are not kidding. Ryan has dedicated a sizeable chunk of his career to helping video production folk become more successful and happy in running their companies. Ryan hosts a podcast which has over 420,000 downloads!   In addit...

John Sherman is the CEO of StoryFarm out of Baltimore, Maryland. John and his team have been (very) successful creating a host of different types of videos for clients like Dell, McDonalds, ExxonMobile - you name it. The unique thing about StoryFarm? In this age of decentralized, on-demand video work, they've decided to stick to the old ways of doing things and keep all of their employees salaried...

Imagine bringing in revenue of $3.5M one year only to find that you’re actually $1M in debt? That’s where Guy Bauer found himself at the end of 2018. His production company (Umault) was more successful than ever, however, due to poor financial management, and lack of direction, Guy was only months from bankruptcy.  Listen in as Guy shares candidly with us how he successfully relaunched his co...

In this episode we meet Cole Heilborn of the pacific northwest production company, Portside Productions. We at Crossing the Axis call Cole "the hustler" because there's nothing Cole's afraid of to move his craft forward. Here are some things Cole is doing that are quite out of the box in order to get the kind of work he wants. Hosting his own podcast interviewing marketing people who are the type...

Emma Wilson of Wengen, Switzerland makes the most beautiful wedding films you've ever seen. Forget about the cheese that can sometimes sneak into this industry. Emma creates from-the-gut, perfectly crafted mini-features to celebrate her client's special day.  Her films are a testament to the idea that it's never the subject matter, or the corner of the industry, but always what you bring to t...

Today, as a celebration of finishing 10 podcasts, we’re going to do a recap podcast where we go back and cover incredible tips we’ve learned from our guests. Hiring Your First Sales Person for Video Production Don’t call them a salesperson A sales person must be an integral part of your team They love video A “pro” salesperson will rarely work as a video sales person The Seasons of Sales Know your...

Max and Jake break down the importance of making a profit, what you can do with the profit, and how to insure that you make the profit you need. What profit is? Why profit is crucial to growth? The "No Profit" Trap People Fall Into How Much Profit Do You Need? How To Calculate Your Profit Into Your Job Budgets?  "Bottom up" example from Jake How to apply profit metrics to each and every job P...

Max and Jake speak with Blake Barnett of Blare Media about how they have successfully scaled their operation through very unusual and clever tactics like having multiple satellite offices (they have 10!!) and mastering the art of SEO. Blake goes on to talk about Blare's strategy to hit $5M in revenues with his new venture Shoots. Video, an online listing service for production companies and produc...

Hear what industry veteran Shane Dillon sees as the difference maker between the good and the great production companies. Shane and his company LightPress (www.lightpress.tv) do post for so many of the big agencies and production companies in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. We thought it would be interesting to talk to Shane about what he sees as the difference maker between the good and the gre...

Max talks with Aaron Straight of Soulcraft Allstars, a production company that has proven you can be the change you believe in. Aaron and his team have done work with Amazon, Addidas, Gates Foundation, Seattle Foundation, Seattle Pacific University and more. With Soulcraft Allstars, Aaron has turned a a passion for making the world a better place into a great, globe-trotting gig for he and his tea...

Max interviews creative director, writer, director, production company-owner Tony Fulgham of All is Well (www.alliswellstudios.com) about how to create a truly creative-first production company. Tony shares a huge amount of great advice here for anyone looking to make their production company creative-first, like:  The importance of writing The importance of getting paid for creative Tony tal...

Max & Jake discuss how you can (and should) create systems to help grow your video production company.  We also include some examples of systems that you can copy for your own company.  What is a system?  Why do we need systems?  What’s an example of a basic system that has made a big difference?  Where did you learn about systems?  Importance of starting small an...

Max talks to uber Producer Jennifer O'Brien about going after "low hanging fruit" to increase sales and even out your sales cycles. Jennifer has over 10 years experience as Project Manager, Producer and Sales Manager for creative production companies. Clients included Microsoft, Amazon, AWS, Expedia, Starbucks and more. Jennifer helped her last company grow from $1M to $2M in sales. Content from t...