Show Don't Tell: Micro-Budget Filmmaking

On this episode, I’m joined by acclaimed filmmaker and editor Mike J. Nichols, known for his amazing work on countless documentary features like Last Play At Shea, Echo In The Canyon, and (most recently) Zappa. Mike generously shares his wealth of knowledge gained through an incredible career in post-production, leading off with a wild story about how he broke into the business by creating an unof...

Many would-be filmmakers dream of leaving their day jobs to make films, but few ever take the leap. Today’s guest is certainly an exception to the rule. Michael Rekola spent years working as a lawyer in the political world, and even served as the Communications Director for the U.S. House Of Representatives in 2014-2015, before leaving it behind to pursue a career independent film. Throughout our...

On this episode, I’m joined by Mihai Crasneanu (CEO) and Tess Fenn (Director of Communities & Impact) to hear all about their incredibly innovative streaming platform - Beem. Unlike SVOD or TVOD platforms like Amazon and Apple that offer viewers an endless library of film titles, Beem is focused on creating special live virtual events for films, in a sense mimicking the in-person theatrical experi...

Joining me today is actor turned auteur, Chris Riggi - here to talk all about his debut micro-budget feature film Good Luck With Everything. This film was shot in just 5 days on a shoestring budget of $1300, with Chris not only stepping in as the writer/director, but also DP’ing, producing, and editing the film. Chris is also an acclaimed actor, with leading credits in shows like Gossip Girl and m...

On this episode, I am joined by Steven Pierce - a multi-hyphenate filmmaker with a wealth of experience in both tv & film well as advertising/commercial production. Steven's career has led him to edit four seasons worth of material for Saturday Night Live, direct content for brands like Hulu, Amazon & Jaguar, and direct live shows for artists like Ed Sheeran, Twenty One Pilots, and Sheryl Crow, ju...

In this special crossover episode with the Filmmaker's Corner podcast, I chat with writer/director Michael Bachochin and producer Brooke Lorraine about their micro-budget sci-fi feature film Parallax. Over the course of our discussion we touch on the entire creative process behind this ambitious feature, go into detail on the business strategy behind the movie, and discuss the unique distribution...

Joining me on this episode is documentary feature filmmaker Josh Tsui, whose new film Insert Coin premiered earlier this year at SXSW and is out everywhere this week! The film tells the amazing behind-the-scenes story of one of the greatest video game studios of all time – Midway Games. This is one of the most fascinating documentaries I’ve seen in a long time, and learning how it was made only ma...

On this episode, I am joined by Noam Tomaschoff (yes, another Noam!), to talk about his upcoming debut feature film Tankhouse. While many filmmaker's first features are bootstrapped on a micro-budget using DIY tactics, Noam was able to defy the odds on Tankhouse by raising a large enough budget for a 30 - 40 person crew, and strong ensemble cast featuring known actors like Christopher Lloyd and Ri...

This is episode features my recent live interview with Bryan Hill from AFM 2020. Bryan is an acclaimed screenwriter known for writing shows like Titans, Ash vs. The Evil Dead, and the upcoming Power Rangers movie. He was on the podcast back on Episode 75, and that interview has since become a fan favorite. This time around, the focus of our chat is Bryan's upcoming micro-budget feature film. We ta...

This week I'm joined by UK based filmmaker Damien Swaby, who hosts the popular Filmmaking Conversations podcast. I was fortunate enough to be interviewed on Damien's show a couple years back, and thought it was about time to have Damien on my podcast for an updated chat. Over the course of our interview, Damien outlines his unique journey as a filmmaker, which started years ago when he transitione...

This week I'm thrilled to be joined by Emily Best, the Founder and CEO of the wildly popular crowdfunding platform Seed & Spark. As many of you know, Seed & Spark takes a very different approach to crowdfunding, one that is specifically tailored for filmmakers and content creators, which is what makes it so uniquely valuable. Over the course of our discussion, Emily outlines exactly what it takes...

This week I'm joined by filmmaker John Woosley, who is here to talk all about his latest short film Mason & Jay Save The World, which was shot almost entirely on an iPhone. Over the course of our chat we talk all about this unique short film, how it was pulled off from a technical perspective, and why John plans to continue shooting movies on iPhones moving ahead. John also shares best practices f...

My guest this week is acclaimed filmmaker Mike Pecci, who you may already know from his incredible filmmaking podcast In Love With The Process. After getting his start with silent films two decades ago, Mike went on to launch his production company which has since produced content for brands like Bose and Sam Adams, and music videos/treatments for artists like The Wu Tang Clan, Lucius, Killswitch...

Joining me this week is David Thies - Emmy award winning producer, prolific television director, local 600 DP and one of the driving forces behind the smash indie hit The Peanut Butter Falcon. The film stars Shia LaBeouf, Zack Gottsagen and Dakota Johnson, and was directed by Mike Schwartz and Tyler Nilson. Throughout our discussion, David walks us through exactly what it took to get this film mad...

Joining me this week is none other than Dan Mirvish, co-founder of the iconic Slamdance Film Festival and the director behind indie features like Open House, Between Us (Julia Stiles, Taye Diggs, Melissa George), Bernard and Huey, and 18 1/2. Throughout our discussion we get into the nitty gritty of what it takes to get an indie film made and distributed, covering everything from raising seed mone...

Today I am thrilled to be joined by writer/director/actor Chelsea Devantez, whose 3 minute film Basic was programmed this year at SXSW, Santa Barbara International Film Festival and many others. Chelsea is a case-in-point for what's possible when you embrace your limitations to create meaningful content that can reach a wide audience. Basic may have been crafted using minimal resources, crew and g...

Last year I had the fortune of interviewing Hannah Black & Megan Petersen all about their feature film Drought for Episode 64 of the podcast. As a refresher, this is the creative duo whose debut feature was crowdfunded on Seed & Spark before landing a $50K investment from the Duplass Bros, the film’s Executive Producers. While our first interview was centered around the origin story of this featur...

My guests this week are co-directors Rebecca Kahn and Abishek Prasad, whose short film Who Among Us was programmed at SXSW 2020 and gained distribution through DUST. Over the course of our chat, we cover a lot of ground - talking all about what it takes to get a short programmed at SXSW, tips for financing and producing your next short, how to navigate feedback and post-production, and so much mor...

Today I am very excited to share my interview with Stephanie Pearson, who is not only the star of my feature film Psychosynthesis, but an incredibly talented producer in her own right. Stephanie has spent years on both sides of the camera, and joins us today to share her words of wisdom on all things filmmaking.   Using our recent feature film collaboration as a launching off point, we discuss the...

On this episode I am joined by writer/director Rick Caplan who recently completed and released his feature film Mr. Misfortune. This micro-budget production was shot for under $10,000 in just 10 shooting days, and was brought to life in a truly unique way.   As Rick outlines over the course of our chat, he had to wear a lot of hats on this production to make it a reality. Not only did he write and...

Joining me this week on the show is filmmaker turned author Josh Folan. Over the course of his career, Josh has not only produced 3 micro-budget features (each of which have a budget under $250K), but most recently wrote a book about his endeavors called: Still Filmmaking The Hard Way.   Over the course of our discussion, Josh outlines how any filmmaker can make their passion project a reality, wi...

To celebrate the release of my feature film PSYCHOSYNTHESIS on Amazon Prime, today I am sharing a behind the scenes look at our entire process on this micro-budget indie. The film itself was made for only $25,000 in just 9 shooting days, which resulted in a highly unconventional workflow both on set and in the editing room. Throughout the episode I outline every practical step that we took to brin...

This week, I'm honored to be joined by my guests Richard and Colleen Halsey - a prolific husband and wife editing duo who are collectively responsible for editing countless iconic feature films over the years. Their credits include movies like Edward Scissorhands, Beaches, So I Married An Axe Murderer, Sister Act and Rocky - the latter of which Richard won an Oscar for. Throughout our discussion w...

This week on the show, I'm excited to be joined by Tessa Markle and Carolina Alvarez - known for their awesome podcast: Femme Regard. I was fortunate enough to be a guest on their show last year and had a blast, and this time around they're joining me on Show, Don't Tell to discuss all things indie film. I really wanted to hear about Tessa and Carolina's experience building an online brand. This i...

Returning to the show this week is Joshua Caldwell, here to talk all about his latest feature film INFAMOUS, which stars Bella Thorne and Jake Manley. The story follows a reckless woman and her new boyfriend as they become social media sensations when she streams their cross-country robberies online. Throughout our interview, Joshua outlines the A to Z of his journey with this feature, contrasting...