Filmmaking Conversations Podcast with Damien Swaby

Urban Dictionary defines 'pop' as "the derivative of crackle, which is the derivative of snap, which is the derivative of jerk, which is the derivative of acceleration, which is the derivative of velocity, which is the derivative of distance...." Which we feel is the derivative of awesome. ​ It's through this idea that Pop Sound has been able to contribute to so many award winning projects. As a c...

Megan Arnold, director, editor, and writer. BA (May '21) in Digital Media/Video Production + Public Relationships/Strategic Communications ​ Passions include video editing, graphic + print media design, social media management, product advertisements, and website design. ​ Strongest assets include full capability of the Adobe Suite (Premiere, Photoshop, AfterEffects, InDesign, etc.), prominent kno...

🎧 Episode Summary:In this soulful and inspiring episode, Damien Swaby sits down with jazz vocalist, composer, and storyteller Toni Jannotta, whose artistry has spanned decades across dance, acting, music, and multimedia storytelling. From her early years on stage as a dancer and actress to becoming a jazz musician with international acclaim, Toni shares the rich tapestry of her creative life—and...

Reagan Pasternak is a Canadian born actress from Toronto, Canada. She's the youngest of four siblings, with two sisters and one brother. She began singing at age seven and soon after fell in love with theater, training in The Meisner Technique, among others. She also performed in award-winning improv groups and musical theater productions and was awarded a full scholarship to college for performin...

Mylissa spent her early years in Moab, Utah then as a teenager in Oregon. In high school she took to skateboarding and photography, photographing bands and making super 8 skate videos. It was during her last year of school she was introduced to documentary filmmaking. After 15 years making doc films she made the transition into narrative films and writing. Her films include, Long Way Home, Mercy,...

Jordan-Paige Sudduth is a 19 year old writer, actor, director, filmmaker, daily vlogger, and author. Born on April 13, 2001, she was born and raised in Georgia, left the state for a bit of time to attend college, and is now back in the great peach state. She began gaining her interest in acting first at around age 8 after performing a small skit for an elementary school project. The next year, she...

In his own words "I am the Co-founder and CEO of Beyond the Porch (BTP), a full-service video production company that we launched six years ago, shortly after graduating from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. Through our subsidiary, BTP Media, we produce high-quality, cinematic films for brands, marketing agencies, and communication firms. Our clients (and associated brands) include: Omaze, Fraser C...

Rob Meyer is an award-winning writer and director who works in features, documentaries, television, and commercials. His films, including A Birder’s Guide to Everything (Ben Kingsley, Kodi Smit-McPhee), Little Boxes (Melanie Lynskey, Nelsan Ellis, Christine Taylor), and Aquarium (Jeremy Allen White) have won awards around the world including at the Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals. He is the cr...

Formerly Atlanta Film Chat, now with a brand new name and logo, but with the same great indie film coverage! From the current center of the filmmaking universe, Atlanta, Georgia, producer and screenwriter Chuck Thomas interviews film industry professionals, screenwriters, directors, actors, producers and more. Learn how to make your own projects, navigate set protocols, gain distribution, and much...

Geoff got his first camera, a Brownie 127, when he was 8. From then on his career was clear. He went through a range of cameras getting better every time. In his own words "I was trying to celebrate 30 years of shooting commercials by making a "favourite 10" video. I couldn't do it so there are 11 :-) Starting in 1985 a lot are from SD and uppressed but they seem to hold up pretty well. I started...

Among Debra McGuire's many accomplishments as a FINE ARTIST, FASHION DESIGNER and COSTUME DESIGNER, she has been best known for her 10 year run on the hit show FRIENDS and for designing many of David Mamet's film and theatre projects including PHIL SPECTOR (starring Al Pacino and Helen Mirren), nominated for 11 Emmy's and in which she was nominated for BEST COSTUME DESIGN. Debra has also designed...

Dawn Robson formerly of En Vogue and Lucy Pearl! With 30 years experience in the entertainment industry, Dawns brand is a force to be reckoned with! Dawn brings to any project hands on experience, amazing talent, creativity, INSTANT brand recognition, a left of center trendsetting sense of style and a ready made global fan base of millions! Her significant contributions to En Vogue and Lucy Pearl...

John Painz started his filmmaking experience with "8 for Vegas", a 9-episode web series that he wrote, directed, produced, shot, and edited. What started as a fun project soon turned into a career. He was hired to shoot and edit three other web series, produced a TV pilot (Untitled Zombie Project), and, in 2013, produced, shot, and edited his first feature film, Enchantments, for director Kelsey O...

Rachael Wotherspoon is an Award Winning New Zealand Actress and Filmmaker based in Los Angeles. Rachael (nickname Rey) has been Acting since she was a child and has always had a strong interest in Art; throwing herself into Drama and Art classes in and outside of school throughout her Primary and High School years. Fresh out of High School Rachael began working full-time to help support family mem...

Robby Baumgartner began his film career 28 years ago in New York City. His interest in lighting inspired him to choose the unconventional route to DP via Gaffing. This career path allowed him to light films and learn from some of the most talented DP’s in the business: Rodrigo Prieto, Chris Menges, Robert Elswit, Dante Spinotti, Darius Khondji, Janusz Kaminski, and Emmanuel Lubezki. Some of the fi...

Williams was born Cynthia Ann Williams in Chicago, Illinois, to Charles, a police officer, and Beverly, a medical lab technician and raised in the Pullman neighborhood on the south side. She spent parts of her early childhood in Indiana, where she sang in her grandfather's church. Williams attended Bennett Elementary School and Dunbar Vocational High School before moving with her mother to Muncie,...

Loretta Sarah Todd | Bio Loretta Sarah Todd is a visionary leader in Indigenous media, considered a true artist with entrepreneurial energy and deep cultural knowledge. Her first dramatic feature, Monkey Beach, based on the iconic novel by Eden Robinson, recently launched to strong audience and critical response, screening at TIFF (Industry Selects), opening the Vancouver International Film Festiv...

Julie Sokolow is an award-winning film director, musician, and writer. She directed the feature documentaries Woman on Fire (2017) and Aspie Seeks Love (2015). Woman on Fire follows Brooke Guinan, the first openly transgender firefighter in NY. The film received praise in IndieWire and the Village Voice and first aired on Starz in November 2017. Her film Aspie Seeks Love chronicles David V. Matthe...

Benjamin Madrid is an Actor/Comic/Writer/Producer from the Midwestern portion of the United States. 'Connected' and multi-talented in the business of show.' In addition to acting, he has a Masters of Science in Communication and a French wife. He is the star of Indican Pictures' new true-crime drama, No Place. Synopsis No Place stars Benjamin Madrid (The Lumber Baron) as Mac, a grifter on the hunt...

Suzan was born and raised in the Caribbean. Broadcast includes - Independent Lens, PBS, World Channel, Lincoln Center. BAG IT - winner of the Britdoc Impact Award, televised in over thirty countries. URANIUM DRIVE-IN - Sundance Institute, Good Pitch and Hot Docs Pitch Forum. Documentary Excellence by the Alliance of Women Film Journalists. MASSACRE RIVER - ITVS funded, Latino Media Market, Points...

Like to have a ASC cinematographer as a mentor? Have you thought of upgrading your cinematography game? Would you like to have an ASC Cinematographer mentor you for free? Join veteran cinematographer Suki Medencevic, A.S.C. (Disney, Pixar, FX Networks, Netflix, American Horror Story). He teaches you how to create beautiful images using three lighting techniques he has mastered on film sets over hi...

Morgan (Mo) Heim MA - Environmental Journalism, BS - Zoology Once upon a time, Morgan spent her days studying things like dam removal or how killer whales communicate in the dark waters of British Columbia. Now, she's a science groupie, working with researchers, NGOs and media outlets to connect nature's stories with broader audiences. She loves helping wildlife…and people, and wants them to do a...

Hey there, I’m Melissa Center. I’m an actor, filmmaker & “social entrepreneur” working and living in Hollywood. Ever since my parents took me to see ET & The Nutcracker, I knew my destiny was to work in Showbiz. As a child with an active imagination & a penchant for song and dance, I LOVED to perform! Those passions coupled with my bright mind led me to seek excellence in life as an actor, creator...

JERRY CICCORITTI (DIRECTOR) A founder of the Buddies In Bad Times Theatre Company and long one of Canada’s most prolific and influential film and television directors, Jerry Ciccoritti is known for both his innovative and dynamic visual style, as well as being one of Canada’s best actor’s directors. His features have been invited to festivals throughout the world and, in television, his work has e...

Geoffrey D. Calhoun is the author of The Guide For Every Screenwriter. His screenwriting career began over ten years ago and was almost completely by accident. He initially studied photography but it wasn't until he was approached by a close friend that he dived into screenwriting. There he truly found his passion. As an autodidact, Geoffrey threw himself into the craft which has resulted in sever...