Respect The Process

Veteran comedy director Rick Friedberg has written a book you must buy. You learn and laugh as this "rule book" for success tells you, as the title says, how to survive the Hollywood machine.  We chat comedy, managing a career, and a long-lost project we shared together and so much more. Buy the book on Amazon , click here or off www.rickfriedberg.com  today! thanks, Jordan Commercial Directing Bo...

Dynamite directing duo Jeff & Pete , aka Jeff Gonick and Peter Novosel, are following their dreams by leaving their cushy advertising agency jobs as creatives to become helmers of comedy commercials. And boy are they good. Landing at top shoppe Caviar, they've helmed funny stuff for Dr. Pepper, SunTrust and more. Plus their fun fellows. After their origin story, we chat about their process and how...

Commercial Directors are not well-served by montages of shots. Advertising agency folks and clients want to see you can tell a good story in :15, :30 or :60 seconds. So for years, I have resisted the montage reel. But friends, this weekend I succumbed to the siren of the montage. After listening to the new breed of filmmakers, like Oren Kaplan and Matt Enlow (Of Just Shoot It Podcast fame) and oth...

Filmmaker Tony Ladesich proves my point you do not have to live in New York or LA to be a working filmmaker. Tony shoots national commercials for Sprint,  all while living in beautiful Kansas City. We discover we know some of the same filmmakers there, as well as we share a positive outlook toward balancing personal projects with our professional ones. A great chat. Click his name to see his great...

Whenever he's shooting a commercial, actor David Lautman spends his time between takes studying every crew member's job and how she or he does it. This film school by astute observation, combined with his infectious personality has helped David branch into directing. We chat about writing our own stuff to shoot, doing those Tongal contest spots and the importance of not waiting for the golden tick...

Joseph Matsushima stopped by to talk about the Blocker AR app. Blocker is an augmented reality director's viewfinder. It makes it easy for filmmakers to communicate their vision. Place 3D characters on set or in your living room, frame your shots. The website says to then create storyboards to share, but I'll use it more for previsualization. I tried it and it is badass and in the iTunes store. Th...

Filmmaker Demetris Campbell started shooting with the fabled Fisher-Price PixelVision 2000, an early video camcorder that recorded onto audio cassette tapes. Then his wife got him shooting for her wedding clients. Now Demetris runs Doughnut Media and has gathered a slew of clients. His social videos are top-notch. Check out their Vimeo page or pop over to jordanbrady.com and be happy. We also chat...

Commercial and content director Robjn Taylor has always made films sense he can remember. And that passion is still alive. You hear it in his tone when we talk about career, being a DIY filmmaker, and tricks of the trade. I love how Robjn is finding his voice as a filmmaker and honing that with each spot he makes. Very evident in his work. Check out his site and the spot I posted at jordanbrady.co...

By going off the grid for just 72 hours, I returned with a fresh attitude towards my work. Look folks, I love the hustle and thrive off it, but clearly I needed a reminder that human connection is vital to a rich, fulfilling life. My lovely and talented wife, filmmaker Jeannette Godoy, showed her film "Free 2 Be Me" to open the Esalen Inspirational Film Festival this week. They also screened "I Am...

Filmmakers Matt Enlow & Oren Kaplan are not a team, they have thriving careers as comedy directors independent of one another. But they do host a stellar podcast all about filmmaking called "Just Shoot It" . I love their show so when they had me on, we decided to share the dual interview. More a conversation really. Learn about branded content, promos, pitching and working in the digital branded s...

Joseph Matsushima , Co-Founder of Denizen Company, makes true viral hits for big brands like Disney, Warner Bros., Star Wars or just for the fun of it. We chat about his company ethos and how they operate. Check out their work and case studies and soak it up like a sponge. I love how they thought to put Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow on the Pirate of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland and marve...

I shot a ton of fun Buick work with uber talented writer Dan Birney and his equally dashing art director/partner Dan Councilor of Engage M1, and together we all knocked it out the park. You've frequently heard me on the show bless the creatives for coming up with the stuff for us to shoot, and here we dive into how the creative team chooses you shall helm their project. We also discuss the new age...

Creative Director Pat Pujolas is a writer, be it novels, jingles, witty commercial copy, or quirky sitcoms and animation. Pat has done it all and done it well. We talk about collaboration, specifically ours working on the Scooter the Neutered Cat spots for givethemten.org to save cat lives. Pat's confesses he went insane in a wintery cabin while writing a book, and it's a barrel of laughs hearing...

Commercial Directing Voodoo is my first paperback book, really a handbook, packed with valuable tips and filmmaking tricks I've learned making commercials for twenty years now. It's $10 on Amazon and you'll love it. Free when you attend Commercial Directing Bootcamp , by the way.  It's meant for you to scribble in and jot down notes during your projects. Hope you like it! thanks, Jordan This episo...

Filmmaker, storyteller, entrepreneur: Justin Andrews of Animus Studios is all those things. We met via a Facebook group and I'm delighted to have had an in-person chat with Justin. Click here to see the great stuff he and his Animus team are doing for major brands. And also check out the trailer for his film "Dare to Remarkable" .  Justin and I share the belief that you must lead your clients to s...

Corinne Bourdeau and Christine Leuthold run the Esalen Inspirational Film Festival , taking place in the breathtaking Esalen Resort in Big Sur, California. The intimate, curated festivals run April 22 through 27, 2018 and features a line up of cherry picked films that inspire, enlightne and ignite positive change. Yes, I'll be there with "I Am Battle Comic" and look forward to close interaction an...

Comedy Director Ian Pfaff has a demo reel that cause me to have a paradigm shift in thinking towards montages. His reel rocks. He cut his teeth at Funny or Die, Nickelodeon and more, and is no stranger to working with top celebrities.  We chat about career goals, defining one's self and more. You'll be inspired by my chat with a new friend. Shout out to Andrew Furtado for posting Ian's reel... cli...

Comedy Director Ira Rosensweig saw his funny spot with Peyton Manning premiere on Super Bowl LII and shares his tales of directing celebrities. Alec Baldwin, Zach Efron, Blake Shelton, Storm Troopers and more have felt the deft touch of this helmer. A great chat with Ira. Check out his stuff at hsi site or at his WaveMaker Creative site. I've put the Peyton Manning spot, for Universal Orlando Reso...

My favorite 2018 Super Bowl commercials and why I liked them. Just me rambling for 15 minutes. Congrats to all that made them! Cheers, Jordan Commercial Directing Bootcamp is April 21st, 2018 in Los Angeles.

Director J.P. Brennan drops so much knowledge in this episode. Not only does he share how he shot a music video entirely underwater, but he breaks down the four tenets of lighting.  Thank you J.P. I've posted The Trash Mermaids video at jordan brady.com so check it out. Cheers, Jordan Commercial Directing Bootcamp is going to sell out for our April 21st seminar in Los Angeles. Sign up today, limit...

"Not A War Story" Director Tim O'Donnell shares stories about the making of his hit feature documentary. The docu is a fly-on-the-wall look at how an all-veteran cast & crew make "Range 15", an over-the-top, cult horror zombie war movie. Oh, and it's their first film so they hit every obstacle you can imagine. You do not need to have seen "Range 15" to love "Not A War Story" but why not watch both...

RevThink.com 's Joel Pilger returns to the show to help filmmakers, graphic designers and animators grow their business. Check out his website RevThink and his Jumpstart program. It's next level learning for any creative studio. Enjoy. Jordan This episode is just over an hour. Commercial Directing Bootcamp is Saturday, April 21st, 2018 in Santa Monica, Ca.

Production Designer Shawn Graves attacks every project with the same passion, whether it's a web series, a private gathering or a studio feature film. We chat about collaboration and her process. Please check out her website and enjoy this fine talk. Happy 2018 everyone. Jordan Commercial Directing Bootcamp is April 21st, 2018 in Los Angeles.

Cinematographer/Producer Jordan Levy returns to the show and brings documentary filmmaker  Michelle Kath Sinclair with him. Michelle's debut feature documentary is "Chicago: The Terry Kath Experience" , a delightfully charming search for her guitar-shredding father, a founding member of Chicago, who died when Michelle was two years old. The film was a hit at the Toronto Independent Film Festival....

AbelCine CEO Pete Abel discuss his company's long-standing commitment to educating our filmmaking community. In addition to their sales and renting the hottest new gear, AbelCine has a series of training workshops that keep us filmmakers up to speed. Pete and I share the philosophy that the tool must serves the story, and you'll love his origin story that got him in the game. Full disclosure, Abel...