SBP Podcast Mobile Filmmaking

Episode 216: This episode was recorded September 17, 2025 and published September 23, 2025. Filmmaker, actor and author Miguel Lopez de Leon comes back to talk about the feature film he made, Bellow. We also talk about his IMFF 2025 short film, Inner Voices, which won best Ultimate Mobile Film Category, and what inspires him to make films.  Miguel’s films shine a light on mental health in an enter...

Episode 215: This episode was recorded August 10, 2025 and published August 19, 2025. A conversation with Justin Ho about filmmaking, art and storytelling. Justin is back for the first time since he experienced the festival in San Diego. He joins me for a passionate discussion about the message film directors George Lucas and Guillermo del Toro just shared with their fans during their panel at SDC...

Episode 214: This episode was recorded March 26, 2025 and published May 20, 2025. Part Two of my conversation with Justin Ho, the winner of the Best Feature Film 2025 at the International Mobile Film Festival  in San Diego on April 27. Justin Ho shot “Broken Pieces” with the iPhone 14 Pro.  In this episode we discuss his feature film which was 1 hour and 23 minutes long. Justin discusses his film,...

Episode 213: This episode was recorded March 26, 2025 and published May 13, 2025. My guest in this episode is Justin Ho, the winner of the Best Feature Film 2025 at the International Mobile Film Festival  in San Diego on April 27. Justin shot “Broken Pieces” with the iPhone 14 Pro.  This episode is the first of a two part interview recorded March 27. Meeting Justin in person felt like the frosting...

Episode 212: This episode was recorded April 27, 2025 and published May 6, 2025. Feels good to be back with you and publishing episodes again. The 14th Annual International Mobile Film Festival took place April 25-27 in San Diego. During the festival, we scheduled the recording of this episode with a live in-person audience.  Jason Rivera began composing music when he was 4 years old. He’s been on...

Episode 211: This episode was recorded January 29, 2025 and published February 4, 2025. This is our first episode of the new year 2025! Erica “ET” Taylor is our featured guest in this episode of the Fade In To Film series. I’m stoked to have ET back again for this episode. ET is teaching film appreciation and other filmmaking topics at a new university. We discuss ET’s work teaching film at the un...

Episode 210: This episode was recorded December 21, 2024 and published December 31, 2024. New Year's Eve. Part Two of a two part series with our guest, Miguel Lopez de Leon. In part one we share who Miguel is, his passion for storytelling and his newfound challenge in mobile filmmaking. Join Miguel and myself now in part two as we discuss AI: Generating and automating as an artist, the film “28 Ye...

Episode 209: This episode was recorded December 21, 2024 and published December 24, 2024. Part One of a two part series with our guest, Miguel Lopez de Leon. Miguel was one of the attending filmmakers at this year’s 13th International Mobile Film Festival in San Diego last April. His short mobile film “Ghost Leave” had the audience laughing and loving it! Miguel has submitted again for the 2025 ed...

Episode 208: This episode was recorded December 14, 2024 and published December 17, 2024. First of all, we wish all of you the best during this holiday season.  In this episode of our Fade In To Film series, Joey Min and I team up to share some good tips and a few things we learned about what to do, and what not to do, on set of an independent film; and we’ll adapt some traditional on-set etiquett...

Episode 207: This episode was recorded November 27, 2024 and published December 3, 2024. Joey Min and Susy Botello have a fun discussion the eve before Thanksgiving and we run some cool gift ideas for mobile filmmakers. Of course, that opens up our conversation to discuss filmmaking insights.  Susy brings up how the industry is trying to catch up with the classification of cameras and smartphones...

Episode 206: This episode was recorded November 13, 2024 and published November 19, 2024. Joey Min and Susy Botello share a lot about the stories within our attraction for filmmaking. Joey brings us deep with gratitude and feeling thankful as an indie filmmaker. Why should someone like you make movies? Joey and Susy share why indie filmmakers make films and why the hard work is not only worth it,...

Episode 205: This episode was recorded October 30, 2024 and published November 5, 2024. Our topic for this episode is an introspect on the indie filmmaker’s dream.  Joey Min and Susy Botello discuss three phases: The production process and distribution; funding; and if the outcome predetermines the potential for the next film. Learn more about Fade In To Film on the SBP Podcast: http://fadeintofil...

Episode 204: This episode was recorded October 27, 2024 and published October 27, 2024. Surprise! This episode is off schedule to celebrate you and wish you a Happy Anniversary! It’s our seventh year with the SBP Podcast and I share why you’re such a big part of it. I can’t thank our listeners and guests enough for being a part of our show for seven years. 

It’s a very short episode for us, this...

Episode 203: This episode was recorded October 21, 2024 and published October 22, 2024. Join Levi Austin Morris and I as we comb through the technicalities of what it takes to get your feature film shot with iPhones distributed with streaming services.  Levi shares some of the details of his journey getting “Paralysis” into some major OTT streaming services. We discuss log format, audio, frame rat...

Episode 202: This episode was recorded October 13, 2024 and published October 15, 2024. The time you have to get the attention of someone who watches your video depends on a lot of things. In this episode, I’m going to share a trick I learned in video production and a tool I use from my journalism writing class, which I use for all my videos and other media projects. I share a bunch of insights wi...

Episode 201: This episode was recorded October 3, 2024 and published October 8, 2024. A really fun conversation getting to know the chairman of San Diego Comic Fest, Matt Dunford. SD Comic Fest takes place October 25-27, 2024. Matt is passionate about comics and has a connection to some of the most incredible celebrities in the industry, and yet, he is quite humble. Matt and I talk a bit about mob...

Episode 200 was recorded September 25, 2024 and published October 1, 2024. We made it to episode 200 and we made it special. We welcome back Aaron Nabus and Dhwani Shah to celebrate with Susy Botello. October marks our 7th year and this episode is a landmark. Join us for a fun and entertaining discussion with Susy, Aaron. It begins with the big news from September 19: Why is a movie filmed entirel...

Episode 199: This episode was recorded September 18, 2024 and published September 24, 2024. In this episode of Fade In To Film, Joey Min and I discuss storytelling by focusing on stories that are memorable and captivating, so that you can be remembered as the type of filmmaker whose stories make your audience feel and can have an impact in their life. We discuss how to connect personal stories to...

Episode 198 was recorded August 8, 2024 and published September 17, 2024. Come with me to Australia and meet RJ Baculo! RJ is an award-winning filmmaker, comic book creator, and mental health ambassador who uses visual storytelling techniques to explore important issues like mental health awareness. RJ won the Best Ultimate Mobile Short Film category at San Diego’s International Mobile Film Festiv...

Episode 197: This episode was recorded September 4, 2024 and published September 10, 2024. We are happy to bring Jason Rivera back to the show for this episode to discuss the topic of storytelling for your film with music. Joey Min and myself enjoyed an in-depth discussion with Jason. Jason is a film composer and he's scored many films. His technical knowledge and professional experience began whe...

Episode 196 was recorded July 18, 2024 and published September 3, 2024. Mark Hadlow is my guest in this episode. He’s also one our Honorary Ambassadors for the International Mobile Film Festival in San Diego. He was a protagonist in a feature film shot with iPhone in New Zealand with Jed Brophy, “Blue Moon.” 
 Mark was one of the judges for the IMFF feature film competition 2024. He shares his tho...

Episode 195: This episode was recorded August 21, 2024 and published August 27, 2024. Joey introduces a topic to discuss about mobile and indie filmmaking which we both work through together. We discuss the quality of film you can make with smartphone cameras. This episode turns out to be very inspiring! Topics in this episode: Filmmaking gear and YouTube videos YouTube views versus views in gener...

Episode 194 was recorded August 15, 2024 and published August 20, 2024. Michael Harlow says you can live a life worth living. Beginning August 23rd in San Diego, he is embarking on the adventure of his lifetime.  Michael is “embarking on a world-record attempt for the most adventures completed in San Diego County – 57 Adventures in a nonstop 57-hour marathon.” His wife, Melissa Harlow, will film i...

Episode 193: This episode was recorded August 7, 2024 and published August 13, 2024. Fade In To Film is back on track. This is our first full session with Joey Min. Joey and I share a great discussion inspired by one of our indie filmmaking friends, Caroline Spence. Topics in this episode: At which point do you take credit as a filmmaker? Is there such a thing as community filmmaking? Do we all ha...

Episode 192 was recorded July 13, 2024 and published August 6, 2024. Dhwani Shah's film, "Sapling" won the First Prize in the Short Film Competition in the International Mobile Film Festival in San Diego. Dhwani and her team attended the festival in person in April 2024. I had an introspective conversation with Dhwani about filmmaking and the making of her winning film. It’s evident in our discuss...