NICKSAV Film & Music SHOW

John Lee Hancock is the director of films like The Rookie, The Blind Side, and Saving Mr. Banks, films that pleased both audiences and critics. One of his early hits came from writing A Perfect World, which was directed by Clint Eastwood. His upcoming film The Founder stars Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc, the business man who turned McDonald's into a world-wide brand. […] The post Writer-Director John...

Andrew Morgan Smith is the music composer for SyFy's upcoming film Ozark Sharks, set to coincide with the release of the phenomenon that is Sharknado 4. He's also done music for other shark-minded stories and similar creature features like Swamp Shark, Zombie Shark, and Arachnoquake. A shark film helped put John Williams on the map, so no […] The post Composer Andrew Morgan Smith on Cinema Sharks,...

Justin Roberts is the director behind No Greater Love, a documentary that follows a battalion from the front lines in Afghanistan to the challenges that come with returning to civilian life. The film has won a number of award at film festivals across the country and has recently secured distribution, which means it might be […] The post No Greater Love Director Shares Veteran-Transforming Vision a...

Update: the filmmakers behind Sidemen are in the midst of a crowdfunding campaign to bring their film to theaters across the country. To find out more or to support the campaign, please visit http://fb.me/2QeugfJRv. Sidemen: Long Road to Glory is a music documentary that premiered at this year's SXSW, was well received at Louisiana International Film Festival […] The post Director of Sidemen, Awar...

David Paterson's first foray into screenwriting turned into a film that got into Sundance and sold for a profit. Not all of David's filmmaking successes came that easily though. Bridge to Terabithia, the next feature film he wrote, took 17 years to bring to screen. It was based on the Newbery Medal-winning novel written by his mother, and he […] The post Don't Stop Believin' in Your Story – Screen...

Jordan Harbinger is one of the guys who runs The Art of Charm, a company dedicated to helping its students achieve peak performance in life, love, and work. He also hosts The Art of Charm Podcast, one of the top 100 podcasts in iTunes, and has interviewed guests like Tim Ferriss, Larry King, Brian Koppelman, Cal […] The post Art of Charm's Jordan Harbinger on Leaving Everyone Better Than You Found...

After attending the 2016 Louisiana International Film Festival, I share thoughts about the festival, my discussion with the festival's executive director, and recent filmmaking trends. I also talk briefly about celebrity culture and the troubling societal trend to trivialize or vilify opposing viewpoints. Plus, internet lessons from Werner Hertzog, dubious business practices, battles for sincerity...

The Louisiana Int. Film Festival launched in 2013 with the music documentary 20 Feet from Stardom. Later that year, the film went on to win the Oscar for best documentary. A number of the films that the festival has showcased in recent years, including Boyhood, Brooklyn, and Revenant, have also gone on to receive accolades. LIFF's film selections are certainly […] The post Louisiana International...

Chris Hochkeppel recently graduated from college and is already making a living as a full-time musician. He's the singer and guitarist for Burris and also hosts the singer-songwriter nights at Lava Cantina in Baton Rouge. Burris has done scaled-down acoustic shows, but at full-force the band is a seven-piece powerhouse that has a distinct rock sound with […] The post Burris Singer on the Wholesome...

BUKU Music + Art Project is a music and art festival in New Orleans that takes place at Mardi Gras World, where many of the Mardi Gras floats created by Kern Studios are stored. This adds a surreal quality to the festival, which meshes well with the electronic dance music performed there. While EDM is the […] The post BUKU Music Festival 2016 – Band Interviews & Personal Reflections appeared first...

Ron Dawson is the founder of Dare Dreamer Media, a video production agency and a content marketing company in Seattle. Throughout the years, the company has done work for companies like Adobe and Apple and a number of non-profits. Ron also writes a popular film blog and has hosted a number of podcasts. His most recent […] The post Oscar Ep. with Radio Film School's Ron Dawson appeared first on The...

Chris Stelly is the executive director of Louisiana Entertainment, the division of Louisiana Economic Development focused on growing the state's film, interactive, and music industries. Filmmakers who've shot in the area know Louisiana Entertainment as the entity that administers the state's popular incentives program, which offers tax credits to qualifying productions. Those tax credits can amoun...

Professional Sound Services is a preeminent dealer of high-end audio equipment in the United States. The company provides support, sales, service, and rentals to sound professionals who work in film, television, and music productions throughout the country and have offices in New York, New Orleans, and Fort Lauderdale. The founder of Professional Sound Services is Rich Topham Jr., who […] The post...

Professional Sound Services is a preeminent dealer of high-end audio equipment in the United States. In New Orleans, the Professional Sound Services office is run by Justin Ditch and Lukas Gonzales . They both set aside some time to show us some of the equipment they offer and share tips on how to record better audio. I shot and edited a video of their demonstration. In the video, we learn: a spec...

New Orleanian Larry Blake has been supervising the post-production sound on Steven Soderbergh's films since 1989, when sex, lies, and videotape came out. Over 25 years later their collaboration is still going strong, most recently on HBO's Behind the Candelabra (for which he won an Emmy) and two seasons of Cinemax's series The Knick. In this episode, Larry shares some […] The post New Orleanian La...

Getting established within an area's filmmaking, music, or design community takes some effort. Now imagine finding success in all three areas, and you'll start to understand why Clay Achee's resume is so impressive. Clay on set for Pacifico's music video "I've Finally Found What I'm Looking For" As a filmmaker, Clay has a page worth of credits […] The post Puppet Maker, DJ, & Filmmaker Clay Achee...

Joel Willson, founder of the Twisted Oak Music Festival, was a recent guest on The nsavides Podcast. After hearing Joel describe the caliber of musicians at the event and why it might be a life-changing experience, my curiosity was piqued. I decided to attend and do some additional coverage to recap the experience. From Longleaf's Instagram account Below […] The post Twisted Oak Music Festival 201...

Joel Willson is the violinist of the Baton Rouge chamber folk band, Minos the Saint. He's also one of the organizers behind Spontaneous Combustion, a live event that creates unique musical experiences and artwork based on the input of the audience. He came on the podcast to discuss his music outlook and his vision for […] The post Musician Joel Willson on the Creative Vision behind Twisted Oak Mus...

Part II of my coverage of the New Orleans Film Festival. At the end of this part I share details and reflections on my own personal festival experience. Below are the interviews included in this part. Part II My leisurely lunch at St. James Cheese Company Kevin Hughes, director on Louisiana short Tough Love, sound […] The post New Orleans Film Festival 2015 Recap Part II appeared first on The nsav...

I had the chance to do several interviews with various filmmakers, artists, industry leaders and festival guests at this year's New Orleans Film Festival. I've compiled all the interviews into one episode. At the end of Part II, I share details and reflections on my own personal festival experience. The interview came in at over 2 […] The post New Orleans Film Festival 2015 Recap Part I appeared f...

Michael Papajohn was on the first LSU baseball team that went to the College World Series. He would then go on to get drafted by the Texas Rangers, but he turned them down, which allowed his film career to develop shortly thereafter. As it happens, his movie career began on Everybody's All-American, the film that follows an LSU […] The post Stuntman & Actor Michael Papajohn: Spider-Man, Sports, &...

The 2015 New Orleans Film Festival takes place on October 14-22, and from the preliminary details the festival looks to be a strong one. NOFF is the flagship event of the New Orleans Film Society, and their executive director, Jolene Pinder, came on The nsavides Podcast to tell us more about the festival. Born to Be Blue, […] The post New Orleans Film Festival 2015: Advance Look with Jolene Pinder...

Hello friends of The nsavides Podcast. Good news, bad news for you. Bad news is that the show is on short hiatus. Look for more episodes after Labor Day. The good news is that it is so that I can focus on putting together the #KnowMonologues challenge with Laura Cayouette, an actress with over 20 […] The post The #KnowMonologues Challenge! appeared first on The nsavides Podcast | filmmaking | musi...

Laura Cayouette has over 20 years of experience and has appeared in some well-regarded recent shows like Treme, True Detective, and Now You See Me, but she is best known for playing Laura Lee in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained. She has also written Know Small Parts: An Actor's Guide to Turning Minutes into Moments and Moments into a […] The post Actress Laura Cayouette on Working with Taranti...

The short film Forever Waves is a testament to the power of collaboration. The film is directed and co-written by Jeff Roedel, a former editor of the Baton Rouge magazine, 225. The other co-writer is Kristin Diable, who also stars and sings in the film. Kristin is a New Orleans musician with a distinct […] The post Forever Waves, a Music Powered Short Film & Collaboration appeared first on The nsa...