The Honest Filmmaker

Send us Fan Mail #stuntman #hollywood #thelastofus Want to be a professional student performer and work on big films and TV shows? Well, this week I’m talking to Stunt Performer Adam Basil.  Adam’s been in blockbuster movies like Fast X, Mission Impossible Fallout, James Bond film No time to die, Justice League and Wonder Woman.  He was Tom Hardy’s stunt double in both Venom movies and even played...

Send us Fan Mail This week I thought I'd give you my tips on selling a film either through a sales agent or direct to a distributor. I've been through this process many times before so have tried to give you some of the techniques to avoid not getting paid and some of the things in a contract to look out for.  This isn't a definitive list so please do write in the comments your own...

Send us Fan Mail #gameofthrones #actingadvice #doctorwho  Hi, I’m Jim Eaves and you are listening to the honest filmmaker podcast, career advice from people in the business. Today I’m talking to Actor and performer Ross Mulan. Ross is an accomplished stage and screen actor. He’s toured with big theatre productions, he’s a voice over artist and has played iconic characters in television and film in...

Send us Fan Mail #crowdfunding #filmmaking #indiefilm Today I’m joined by writer/director MJ Dixon.    MJ has directed so many shorts and features I struggled to find the exact number but they include;  Slasher House (2012), Legacy or Thorn (2014), Cleaver: Rise of the Killer Clown (2015), Hollower (2016), Slasher House 2 (2016), The Haunting of Molly Bannister (2019), Mask of Thron (2019), Pandam...

Send us Fan Mail #marvel #guardiansofthegalaxy #makeupsfx This week I chatted to special effects make up artist Jon Moore.  It was difficult for me not to geek out on this one as Jon as worked on Marvel Cinematic Universe  movies like Captain America the First Avenger, Avengers Infinity War, Avengers Endgame and all of the Guardians of the Galaxy Movies as one of the team that makes up Dave Bautis...

Send us Fan Mail #drone #filming #careeradvice This week I’m talking to drone expert and pilot Alex Baker.  Alex has worked as a drone pilot on television shows, films, adverts, corporate videos and documentaries. He’s droned on land and at sea and also works as a camera operator.  If you are looking to get your drone pilots license this is a real insight from someone who is an expert in their fie...

Send us Fan Mail #FilmIndustry #mythsdebunked   #FilmStudents Jim talks about some of the things students hear when leaving uni or trying to get into the film industry. Two of the most common statements you might hear from people working in the industry and how to work around them. In this video, we debunk some common myths about the film industry that are often told to film students. We'll d...

Send us Fan Mail #filmpodcast #kidstv #teletubbies #careeradvice #filmmaking #career  This week I chat to Children’s TV Producer/Director Matt Rene. Matt’s worked on massive kids shows like the Teletubbies, Topsy and Tim, Bear Behaving Badly and the recent BAFTA winning Apple TV show Lovely little farm.  Matts also worked as a producer on Celebrity Big Brother.  Matt worked his way to where he is...

Send us Fan Mail #sound #benwheatley #themeg2 Today I’m talking to Sound Recordist Rob Entwistle.  Rob's been sound recordist and mixer on a ton of projects including almost  all of Ben Wheatleys films including Free Fire, Kill List and The Meg 2. http://www.thehonestfilmmaker.co.uk HONEST, OPEN ADVICE ABOUT YOUR FILMMAKING CAREER Are you about to leave Uni with a filmmaking degree? Or want t...

Send us Fan Mail Today I’m joined by writer/director Graham Hughes.  Graham has directed four feature films and joins us fresh from his latest film ‘hostile dimensions’ premiere screening at this years fright fest film festival, as well as screening at a number of high profile genre festivals since.  We talked about film festivals, getting into them, talent labs and how they worked and some things...

Send us Fan Mail Today I’m talking to professional puppeteer Olly Taylor-Wyatt. Olly’s been working on big budget movies and tv shows, including Star Wars The Force Awakens, Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Muppets Most Wanted and as one of the lead puppeteers on the Netflix Dark Crystal Series: Age of Resistance.  This one’s a real insight in how to get into being professional puppeteer, what its lik...

Send us Fan Mail #career #film  #sellingascript #hottosellafilm #filmmaking #writing #scriptwriting  On this episode I’m joined by writer director and film lecturer Pat Higgins. Pat has directed  a whopping 9 films, both features and anthology pics. His last film was the number one project on kickstarter and closed out the 2022 Fright Fest Film Festival. Pat has also written a number of scripts, s...

Send us Fan Mail Today I’m joined by filmmaker,  editor, pixel pusher and owner of boutique video agency The Red Red, Jake Hawkins Jake’s been working with some of the biggest brands in the UK for the past 10 years on all types of productions as well as co-directing the micro budget horror movie Zombie Resurrection. In this chat I asked Jake for his tips on setting yourself up as a freelancer, how...

Send us Fan Mail Normally I talk to people within film and TV, but I also like talking to people in any creative industry and today its books.  So I’m joined by published author Bev Sanford. Bev has 7 books out and more on the way. She’s written fiction, non fiction and recently contributed to the BBC’s Doctor who Target Story book and I am the Master.  Since this is not my area of expertise I was...

Send us Fan Mail #career #film  #distribution #hottosellafilm #filmmaking #writing #scriptwriting  Today I’m joined by Creative Director and head of Acquisitions for Evolutionary Films, Ross Boyask. We talked about sales and distribution, how the basics work, the best way to make contact with a sales agent, genres that are selling at the moment and the importance of figuring out what your film is...

Send us Fan Mail Hi I’m Jim Eaves, I’ve made shorts and features and I’ve been working for an NGB as video manager for the past 20 years, producing, filming, editing, hiring freelancers and working with agencies. Having mentored students who are studying film and chatted to people coming into the industry it became clear to me that while their knowledge of the technical side was really good there...