We're Making a Movie

Thinking about crowdfunding your feature film? Thinking about doing a “finishing funds” campaign? Before you hit that launch button… let's have a chat. We're on the brink of launching our own crowdfunding campaign to finish the post-production of our first feature film, and we've learned a lot. This isn't our first crowdfunding campaign, but it is our first feature, and the lessons have been compl...

Building a career as an independent filmmaker? Making the leap to longer and longer projects? Where do you even start? This week, we're sitting down with Jackie Nico to find out how she’s building a career for herself. She recently executive-produced, co-wrote, and starred in the award-winning pilot “The Ballad of the Bushmare” and is currently in pre-production on two feature films, “Margot My Na...

Editing a feature film is hard enough. Editing a movie musical? That feels like a whole different level of filmmaking wizardry. This week we're wrapping up our deep dive into post-production editing with Alexander Jeffery, Producer, Cinematographer, and Editor of one of our favorite indie films of the past year, Peeping Todd . We're going to ask about the unique challenges of editing a musical, ho...

Natalie is in Los Angeles this week as we gear up for our post-production crowdfunding campaign and film the Sneaky Pineapple Productions portion of our pitch video. So duh! This is the perfect excuse for a true Wild Card episode. We're checking in on where we are with Turns Out It’s the Apocalypse …We Think , how we’re doing since wrapping production, what’s keeping us up at night, what we’ve lea...

Our feature film, Turns Out It’s the Apocalypse… We Think , has a first assembly. A first edit. A rough cut. For the first time, all the pieces of the puzzle are on the table and flipped over. The scenes are in order, the story exists, and we can finally start to see the movie we've spent years talking about. Which means it’s the perfect time to check back in with our Director and Editor, Mike Hay...

Editing a movie of any size is pure magic. Fight us on it. And nowhere is that magic more apparent than in the fine edit—the moment you stop assembling footage and start truly shaping the story. Performances change. Scenes evolve. Entire emotional arcs can appear out of thin air. It’s wild. To dig deeper into the process, we’re sitting down with industry veteran Brice Beckham. Brice has worn a lot...

Let’s dig in on the editing process and start talking to some real deal editors! First up to bat, we’ve got Daniel Lowman. Coming from a documentary background but with hands-on experience in narrative filmmaking, Daniel lives in the realm of taking all of the footage, performances, and chaos from production and shaping it into something that actually works on screen. We’re taking a look at the ed...

Editing your first feature film!?!? We are right there with you! We’re officially kicking off our post-production era on We’re Making a Movie, starting with breaking down the editing process—what the steps are, who’s involved when, and what actually happens between “in the can” and “picture lock.” To be clear, WE aren’t editing the movie; our amazing director has taken on that mammoth task, but we...

it'sIt'sWe’re officially wrapping up the production chapter of this filmmaking podcast and diving headfirst into post-production research. Now that the movie is “in the can,” what’s next? When will it be ready? What is taking so long??? Well, turns out that getting the green light can take years, filming happens in the blink of an eye, but post-production takes for-ev-er! (Okay, maybe not… but it...

The Gaffer is one of those film jobs most people have heard of, but very few could actually explain. And honestly, even filmmakers can get fuzzy on where the line between G&E, grip, and electric really lives. But after making our first feature, we can tell you this… a great Gaffer changes everything. We’re sitting down with our Gaffer, Shane Hunter, who worked his magic on Turns Out It’s the A...

Our Script Supervisor, Rachael Agnello, is in the hot seat this week, and we are so excited to talk to her about her experience making this feature film. Script Supervisor is one of those jobs that does so much more than people realize. They’re tracking continuity, dialogue, takes, and details for the editor, and basically helping ensure the whole movie can actually cut together when production is...

If you’ve ever been on a film set, you know the person quietly keeping everything from falling apart is the First Assistant Director. From building the schedule to bridging communication between departments to keeping the entire shoot on track — the First AD is absolutely invaluable. On “Turns Out It’s the Apocalypse… We Think,” our First AD was Ryan Cagle, and hot damn were we lucky to have him....

Running the camera department for a feature film is a beast of a job. We’re sitting down with our Director of Photography, David Ogle, to break down everything that goes into leading the camera crew. From his prep process and how he approaches visual storytelling, to lens selection, shot design, and what it takes to actually film a movie on location — we’re getting into all of it. Indie filmmakers...

There is so much more to costuming a movie than just picking out cool clothes for your actors to wear. Who are your characters!? What are their tastes? Where are they emotionally in the story and how does that affect the clothes they would pick for themselves in that moment? And after you make all those important decisions, how do you keep it all organized for something as massive as a feature fil...

The Art Department- without it, your film would be very dull, very flat, very boring. They are responsible for numerous tasks from research, to set design, to set building, to props - you know - basically all the visual elements of your film. This week, we are diving into our incredible art department team: Production Designer Kevin Rigdon and Art Director Trish Rigdon. We’re going to talk through...

No filming recap can be complete without checking in with our Director and Executive Producer. Mike Hayhurst and Allison Moy Hayhurst of Evening Squire Productions are joining us to recount their adventures making our feature film, Turns Out It’s The Apocalypse… We Think . Although we were together on the same set for 12 days, we bet they’ve got their own fun stories from filming this crazy little...

Officially back from filming — and ready to spill all the beans. A lot happened in the month of February: a full week of prep once we landed in Huntsville, AL, two weeks of filming, and another week to wrap it all up. And yes… we’re going to talk about all of it. Consider this your friendly warning that some behind-the-scenes chaos is about to be revealed. Turns Out It’s the Apocalypes… We Think o...

We are two weeks away from rolling on our first feature film, and the pre-production scramble is very real. Brand partnerships are falling into place, clearances are getting locked, and deal memos are filling our inboxes faster than we can file them. This episode of We’re Making a Movie is a real-time look at what feature film pre-production actually feels like—everything that happens in the final...

Filmmaking is planning. A LOT of planning. Before you can roll a camera or bring your first crew member on board, there’s an enormous amount of pre-production work that has to happen. For us, that meant creating loglines, one-sheets, and location breakdowns to get a handle on logistics and scope. It’s a lot to manage, and while we’re lucky to have a four-person filmmaking team tackling it from eve...

Pre-Production organization on a feature film can be overwhelming. Spreadsheets. Calendars. To-do lists. There are so many things to organize and so many people to coordinate that it's easy to see why making a movie is so incredibly difficult. Enter into the picture an up-and-coming production workflow website called Collabrix that aims to help organize all your information and collaborate with th...

Fresh off a film festival, we’re back—and production is coming up FAST. We’re slated to begin filming our feature, Turns Out It’s the Apocalypse… We Think , at the end of February, and it’s officially all systems go. To get ourselves ready (and keep everything from falling through the cracks), our incredible Executive Producer, Allison Moy Hayhurst, put together a pre-production checklist so good...

Next year… We’re Making a Movie!!! The end of 2025 is almost here, and we can’t believe we’re filming Turns Out It’s the Apocalypse… We Think to kick off 2026. Before we close out this year, we want to sum up our favorite filmmaker advice, give you a behind-the-scenes look at where we are with pre-production, and, most importantly… What's our plan to get this sucker in the can before the spring? T...

Marketing your movie starts long before the cameras start rolling — and now that we’ve been greenlit, we are actively working to get the word out about our first feature film. But how? Lucky for us, the perfect people to ask fell into our laps! Filmmaking duo Kerry Carlock and Nick Lund-Ulrich, who are in the middle of premiering their second feature film, SUFFER, are joining the show today. We ar...

The less glamorous side of filmmaking is definitely paperwork. We are crossing “t”s in pre-production for Turns Out It’s the Apocalypse… We Think , and as 2025 winds down, our team has checked off some pretty important boxes. We finally have our LLC set up, we’ve brought on a lawyer (a real one!), and we’re diving into the exciting world of clearances, product placement, and all the fun paperwork...

“Hurry up and wait” is one of those classic filmmaking phrases that is feeling a little too real right now. We’ve officially been greenlit to make our feature film… and yet our personal to-do list is pretty small. The holidays are creeping in, other departments are handling their stuff, and we’re sitting here with nothing but anxious energy and spinning brains. So, what can we be doing at this sta...