Indie Film Hustle® - A Filmmaking Podcast

This week I have the pleasure of having directing coach Mark Travis on the show. I was introduced to him after I watched his stellar workshop Hollywood Film Directing, which he co-instructed with Gil Bettman (he’ll be on the show soon).  Mark Travis has developed a new way to directing actors called The Travis Technique. Mark teaches directors how to direct the character (not the actor) in order t...

Why You Need to Get Off Your Ass NOW & Make Your Film I think the title speaks for itself. Every once in a while I need to hear some stories that inspire me to get off my ass and make sh*t happen. I hope this episode helps inspire you to get off your ass and make your film happen! Right click here to download the MP3Download on iTunes DirectWatch on IFH YouTube Channel LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONE...

How to Build a YouTube Empire with RocketJump Co-Founder Dez Dolly So I want you to get ready for an epic podcast. Have you ever been surfing through Youtube and come across a channel with 5, 8, 10 million followers and ask yourself: "How the hell did they build that audience?" I do all the time. Over the last year, I've had the pleasure of working on a killer new show called Dimension 404 for Hul...

So after I posted the video below I was slammed by emails and messages from the IFH Tribe asking for details on how I shot 96 pages of a visual effect heavy series in just 4 days. The series is called The S.P.A.A.C.E Program and I was hired to direct and post the series by Legendary Pictures Digital and Nerdist.  I decide to pump out a podcast detailing my techniques and tips on how to shoot large...

If you want to see a self-distribution pathway to get your film on iTunes and actually make some money meet writer/director Brad Raider. His film Kensho at the Bedfellow was released on iTunes this year and he shares his marketing and distribution strategy with us in this episode.  With This is Meg being released on iTunes in the summer I was ALL EARS. Here's a bit about the film: A 30-something N...

Have you ever kept seeing an actor pop up in all your favorite films and television shows? Well, that guy is probably Greg Grunberg. I've been a fan of Greg before I knew who Greg was. Greg Grunberg has been in some of the BIGGEST films and shows of all time.  Yup! Greg Grunberg has been around. He's the definition of a working actor. It's worth a listen just to hear his stories from Comic-Con and...

How to Write a Super Natural Hit Film with Beetlejuice Creator Larry Wilson If you were a kid of the late 80s or early 90s then today's guest definitely had an impact on your life. Larry Wilson is the co-creator of the cult classic Beetlejuice (directed by Tim Burton), writer of Addams Family and worked on the legendary television show Tales from the Crypt. Larry wasn't always a screenwriter, he w...

Cinema Lenses MasterClass with Matthew Duclos Today we are going deep down the cinema lenses rabbit hole. I was lucky enough to sit down and speak to the "Yoda" of cinema lenses Matthew Duclos. Matthew has been working on lenses for most of his life. Most cinematographers in Los Anges (and around the world) consider him an expert in the field. I was hearing Duclos' name on set as far as I can reme...

Adventures at Cinequest with the Cast of This is Meg It's a been a long journey but This is Meg finally had it's World Premiere at the Cinequest. I was fortunate enough to have a bunch of the cast make the trek up to San Jose, CA from Los Angeles. We had an amazing time. Cinequest really loves and supports filmmakers. They treated us like royalty. So in between screening, parties, and meetings I g...

How to Make $250K Indie Film Look Like $25 Million Blockbuster with Gaelan Connell Every once in a while I come across a filmmaker who is just a bit crazier than I am. This is true for writer/director Gaelan Connell who's film Blood Sand and Gold is a true indie film miracle. This mad man decided to raise $250,000 (much of which was out of pocket) and go off and make a big budget action film, just...

The Reel Truth on How to Survive Making an Indie Film with Reed Martin Have you ever wish that you could avoid pitfalls and mistakes that other filmmakers made before you? Today's guest does just that. Reed Martin is the author of the best-selling book The Reel Truth: Everything You Didn't Know You Need to Know About Making an Independent Film.  Reed Martin is a former adjunct professor at NYU's S...

How NOT to Shoot a $50,000 Short Film So as filmmakers we all want to make the best films we can. Sometimes filmmakers think that a bigger budget is the answer, that bigger is better. This is what I thought when I went down the road and create my short film Red Princess Blues. After going down this road once before with my first short film BROKEN, I thought bigger had to be better. If $8000 was go...

Lessons Learned from Running Indie Film Hustle I wanted to put together this episode to share with the IFH Tribe the amazing lessons I've learned over the past year and a half running both IndieFilmHustle.com and the IFH Podcast. I wanted to show you how these lessons can be applied to your filmmaking or screenwriting journey.  When I started IFH I really had no end game. I knew I wanted to reach...

Turbo Kid & How to Create an Indie Film Ecosystem with Shaked Berenson I speak a lot on IFH on how filmmakers should create their own ecosystem and revenue streams, today's guest has done just that. Shaked Berenson is Co-Founder of Epic Pictures Group, a film financing, production, and international/domestic sales company based in Beverly Hills, CA. Shaked has produced films like the cult hit  Tur...

6 Mistakes To Avoid Your First Day On a Film Set 1. Arriving Late If you’re not early, you’re late. I aim to get to work at least 15 minutes early each day on a film set. This gives me time to setup, read my call sheet and sides, cram in some extra breakfast and make my boss a coffee. If you are late on day one you instantly create a bad reputation for yourself and this industry is built on reputa...

Why I Edited My Feature Film on DaVinci Resolve I've been editing features, shorts, commercial, and everything else shot on film or video for over 20 years. Editing on almost every non-linear editing system you can imagine I know what I want and like in an NLE. When it came time to edit my directorial feature film debut, This is Meg, I knew my good old Final Cut Pro 7 wouldn't cut it.  So I decide...

How to Sell Your Idea to Television with Agent Matthew Doyle SPECIAL SUNDANCE EDITION of the Indie Film Hustle Podcast Today's guest cracked open a door to a part of the industry I had no idea about, television. Matthew Doyle is a television lit agent at the Verve Talent and Literary Agency.  He's an up and comer in the industry and definitely a hustler. My co-host Sebastian Twardos and I wanted t...

Jason Michael Berman - Producing 5 Sundance Films & Making it in Hollywood SPECIAL SUNDANCE EDITION of the Indie Film Hustle Podcast I had the honor of speaking to Jason Michael Berman at Sundance this year. He's a Sundance vet. He has premiered 5 features at Sundance over the years and has the record for the highest selling film at Sundance ever, The Birth of a Nation which sold for $17.5 million...

How to Break into the Film Industry with Stage 32's RB Botto SPECIAL SUNDANCE EDITION of the Indie Film Hustle Podcast One of my most downloaded episodes ever was my interview with Film Industry vet and CEO of Stage32.com, RB Botto (Click here to listen to that interview). Ever since then I've been wanting to bring him back on to the show. The stars aligned at Sundance and I didn't just get him on...

Disrupting Sundance & Helping Filmmakers with Slamdance Co-Founder Dan Mirvish SPECIAL SUNDANCE EDITION of the Indie Film Hustle Podcast In our journeys through the Sundance Film Festival, we ran into the David to the Sundance Goliath, Slamdance Co-Founder Dan Mirvish.  Dan has been a rebel, author, filmmaker, disruptor, festival creator, and true indie film hustler.  This interview is one of the...

Chasing Sly and the Family Stone Documentary for 12 years with Michael Rubenstone SPECIAL SUNDANCE EDITION of the Indie Film Hustle Podcast We all hear stories of filmmakers working on films for years and years. Well, I don't know about you but I've never met one until now. In my journeys at Sundance and Slamdance I met one of these crazy and passionate filmmakers, his name is Michael Rubenstone....

Sydney Freeland: Working with Netflix & Maintain Creative Freedom SPECIAL SUNDANCE EDITION of the Indie Film Hustle Podcast I ran into many filmmakers while fighting the blizzard at this year's Sundance Film Festival but one of the most impressive of the bunch was director Sydney Freeland. Sydney has had a challenging journey to become a director and her story is inspiring, to say the least. Prior...

Rebel in the Rye & How to Become a Producer with Jason Shuman SPECIAL SUNDANCE EDITION of the Indie Film Hustle Podcast Every once in a while we get a real Hollywood producer on the show. Jason Shuman is a producer and director, known for Lone Survivor (2013), Role Models (2008) and Bangkok Dangerous (2008) and this year's Sundance hit Rebel in the Rye (2017), written and directed by Danny Strong....

Inside the Spec Script Market with Agent David Boxerbaum SPECIAL SUNDANCE EDITION of the Indie Film Hustle Podcast We all have heard about screenwriter selling a spec script for seven figures (see Max Landis) but who is the power brokers who are helping that process along? Enter Paradigm Literary Agent David Boxerbaum. David is a senior agent at Paradigm, and his impressive client roster includes...

Creating a Brand & Making Killer Films with Elijah Wood and the SpectreVision Team SPECIAL SUNDANCE EDITION of the Indie Film Hustle Podcast I wanted to do something special for the Indie Film Hustle Tribe this year. I'm in Park City, UT interview some AMAZING filmmakers, producers, agents and actors. In celebration of Sundance I'll be releasing a podcast a day during the week. I wanted to launch...