Show Don't Tell: Micro-Budget Filmmaking

Today, I am excited to be joined by Jens Jacob - an acclaimed film producer, entrepreneur, and founder of the startup Saturation.io. Throughout this episode, Jens shares his journey building his new budgeting platform for filmmakers. One that re-imagines film budgets from the ground up, making them more accessible to emerging filmmakers, and more powerful for studio level productions. Jens also sh...

Today I am joined by editor, writer, and producer Gray Jones - who holds no less than 290 credits in film and television, and also runs a prolific stock footage business. Throughout this episode, Gray shares lessons from his new book Make Six Figures With Your Smartphone, which serves as a practical guide for filmmakers looking to build passive income using footage they may already have sitting on...

In celebration of this milestone 200th episode, today I return to the origins of the podcast with a solo episode - all about my experience making our latest feature film (Disappearing Boy) with no crew. Throughout the episode, I break down the highly unconventional workflow that went into this production, which spanned the course of a year, 30+ locations, and multiple shooting blocks. I also unpac...

In this episode I am joined by filmmaker Tom Levesque to share the story behind his debut feature film Shut Eye . Shut Eye is the first feature film that delves into the strange world of ASMR, and is inspired by Tom’s own experiences with insomnia. Throughout the episode, we take an in depth behind the scenes look at this project, from concept to budgeting to distribution. Tom speaks to his docume...

In this episode I am joined by filmmaker Josh Guffey, here to share his journey and a behind the scenes look into the making his debut feature film "All Gone Wrong". Throughout the interview, we cover the process from end to end - discussing the realities of working with limited budgets and resources, and how Josh navigated these challenges at each step. Josh also details his collaboration with ac...

Today I am joined by folk filmmaking pioneer Dan Lotz, here to talk about his impressive body of work - which consists of no fewer than 19 feature films. Throughout the episode we discuss Dan’s innovate approach to filmmaking, which has allowed him to create movies under incredible circumstances. From making a feature film on an 8 day vacation, to shooting an entire realtime movie in just 3 hours....

Today I am thrilled to have writer/director/photographer Carter Smith back on the show to talk about his latest micro-budget feature film Swallowed. Carter’s first short film ( Bugcrush ) won Sundance in 2006, and led to his feature film work which includes The Ruins, Jaime Marks is Dead , and multiple recent Blumhouse movies. His latest feature though, is a departure from larger studio production...

Returning to the show today is writer/director/editor Pete Ohs, who you might know from his feature films Everything Is Beautiful Far Away, Youngstown, and his most recent - Jethica. Jethica was produced with no crew and on nearly no-budget, but that didn’t stop it from premiering at SXSW or securing theatrical distribution. Pete’s story is an amazing case in point for the power of DIY filmmaking,...

In this episode I am thrilled to be joined by David Rock (AKA DRock), who you might know as Gary Vaynerchuk’s Executive Creative Director, and the man behind many incredible content pieces and social media innovations. Throughout this episode, we talk all about DRock’s career trajectory, from meeting Gary to making his first video to scaling their content empire. DRock also shares his wealth of kn...

Today, I am joined by filmmaking duo Evelyn Lorena (writer/director) and Maris Lidaka (producer/editor) - the team behind Gabriela , a new short film. Evelyn and Maris were able to leverage the success of their short film to secure a filmmaking grant and fellowship from Netflix, making them another great case-in-point for green lighting your own projects. In this episode we discuss their journey t...

Returning to the show is acclaimed director and editor Mike J. Nichols, here to talk about his latest feature doc John Waite - The Hard Way. Mike’s latest feature was put together under incredible constraints, and was fully edited in just 9 weeks. Throughout the episode, we discuss some of the benefits and challenges of working this quickly, and Mike’s creative workflow from end to end. Mike also...

In this episode I am joined by actor, comedian, and filmmaker Marisela Grajeda Gonzalez to talk all about navigating a career as a filmmaker. Marisela began her filmmaking journey at age 35, when she went back to school to study acting - eventually graduating with a BFA at almost 39 years old. Since, she has forged her own path as a filmmaker by producing her own work. Throughout the interview, Ma...

Joining me in this episode is script supervisor turned television director Faye Brenner, who just made her directorial debut at age 69. As a script supervisor, Faye has worked on feature films like "Stand By Me," "Ghost," "Father of the Bride 2," and "Clear and Present Danger" to name a few. After decades in the business, Faye was able to break in as a director on "The Rookie" by showcasing her ta...

In this episode I am joined by filmmaker and entrepreneur Matt Osterman, known for his feature films "Ghost From The Machine", "400 Days", "Hover", and now "Bitcon." "Bitcon" tells the story of a missing hard drive with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency, and the issue of trust in the modern era. Throughout the interview, Matt generously gives us a behind the scenes look into this...

In this episode, I am thrilled to be joined by filmmaker Chris Sharpe - who you may know as the co-founder of the wildly popular Yoga With Adriene YouTube Channel. Over the past decade Chris has grown the YWA channel to an incredible 11 million+ subscribers, and today it dominates the Yoga category on YouTube. As a big fan of the channel and a huge proponent of audience building for filmmakers, I...

Joining me today is producer, founder and CEO of JPA Productions - James P Axiotis. James started his career at NBC and quickly became one of the network’s youngest producers while still in his early 20s. Since, he has worked for Disney, as producer on Clint Eastwood's Bridges of Madison County, and countless other Hollywood shows and films. James now uses his expertise to create films for non-pro...

In this episode I am honored to be joined by Mike Wohl - an award-winning filmmaker who has written, directed, and edited multiple independent films and shorts. Mike is also the author of many nonfiction books on the art and craft of filmmaking, and was one of the original designers of Apple’s Emmy-award winning software Final Cut Pro. Throughout our discussion, we cover Mike’s time with Apple dur...

This episode was originally recorded as a private stream in my Backlot filmmaking community. Our guest speaker for this live session is Paige Feldman - a writer and filmmaker with a decade of experience working in independent film and TV sales, financing, and production. Her projects have won Emmys, been shortlisted for Oscars, and premiered at festivals such as Cannes, Sundance, Berlin, TIFF, Tri...

Today, I’m thrilled to be joined by filmmaker and assistant film professor (at the University of Memphis), Marty Lang. Some of Marty’s project highlights as a director, producer, actor and show runner include projects like The Ride (Sundance, 2022), Being Michael Madsen, Out of My Hand (2016 Indie Spirit Nominee), and his feature films Rising Star and Stay With Me. Throughout the interview, we tak...

In this episode, I’m joined by writer/director Spencer Whiteout, producer Andrew Baer, and editor Alex Vollman - the filmmakers behind Space Waves, a feature film. This inspiring filmmaking team produced their first feature film while still in film school, beginning with a budget of just $8K. Over three years they faced massive obstacles, but ultimately overcame every setback to create a fantastic...

In this episode I am joined by filmmaker Zachary Gross to talk about his new sci-fi feature film "Harmony", which was produced for just $35,000. Throughout the interview, Zachary shares his 7 year journey with this project, from idea to final cut and distribution. We discuss tactics for maintaining high quality visuals on a budget, why Zachary shot additional material during post-production, navig...

In this episode I am joined by Daniel Garber - editor of the feature film "The Drop", which premiered this year at the Tribeca Film Festival.  Daniel’s creative and technical workflow on "The Drop" was really unique, as the film was shot with no formal script and was largely improvised. Throughout the discussion, we talk about this at length - as Daniel shares his method for shaping the best scene...

Today I am joined by micro-budget filmmaker Tory Jones. He is known for his slate of genre feature films including the "The Wicked One", which developed a cult-like following after being released online and going viral. Throughout the episode we talk about Tory’s experience making The Wicked One for just $12,000, and how the film achieved viral success without any paid advertising. Tory also share...

In this episode I am joined by Whit Ingram. You may know her as “wittyfilmgirl” from her popular Instagram account, where she shares a behind the scenes look at her creative process as a filmmaker. Over the years, Whit has built up an impressive social media following that has led to paid work, creative opportunities, and the ability to spearhead her own passion projects. Throughout the episode we...

In this episode I am joined by the multi-talented Bryan Mason, here to talk all about his creative approach, career path, and latest feature film (now on Hulu): "Good Luck To You, Leo Grande" Bryan is an accomplished cinematographer and editor, often working in both capacities on the same film. Throughout the interview, we talk about Bryan's ability to balance production work with post, and how we...