First Act Break

Welcome to episode 22 of The First Act Break podcast, the show where we dive into the art, business, and hustle of breaking into the film industry, and help you build a career doing what you love. Today, we bring on Kayla Cunningham, a USC film director and editor, who shares her insights on finding the right path starting from new. We discuss her thoughts on film school, experience in the Trojan Filmmaker's Club, and advice on having a freelance career in this fast changing industry.Timecode:(0:00) - Intro(3:10) - Finding Your Path(4:49) - Projects Kayla Made(7:54) - Thoughts on Film School(9:34) - Editing as a Path(12:11) - Teddy and Elizabeth(14:14) - Trojan Filmmaker’s Club(18:36) - Other Art Forms(23:27) - Finding Inspiration(26:01) - Working with USC People(29:10) - Film Symposium Class(33:40) - Film Production Class (38:28) - Freelance Editing(48:34) - Taking Editing Notes(51:07) - Career Plan(53:00) - Advice for Freshman Year Self(54:16) - Being Optimistic (57:01) - The One Film(1:04:27) - Doing Theater(1:09:36) - Co-Writer(1:12:05) - Environmentalism

Welcome to episode 22 of The First Act Break podcast, the show where we dive into the art, business, and hustle of breaking into the film industry, and help you build a career doing what you love.

Today, we bring on Kayla Cunningham, a USC film director and editor, who shares her insights on finding the right path starting from new. We discuss her thoughts on film school, experience in the Trojan Filmmaker's Club, and advice on having a freelance career in this fast changing industry.

Timecode:

(0:00) - Intro

(3:10) - Finding Your Path

(4:49) - Projects Kayla Made

(7:54) - Thoughts on Film School

(9:34) - Editing as a Path

(12:11) - Teddy and Elizabeth

(14:14) - Trojan Filmmaker’s Club

(18:36) - Other Art Forms

(23:27) - Finding Inspiration

(26:01) - Working with USC People

(29:10) - Film Symposium Class

(33:40) - Film Production Class

(38:28) - Freelance Editing

(48:34) - Taking Editing Notes

(51:07) - Career Plan

(53:00) - Advice for Freshman Year Self

(54:16) - Being Optimistic

(57:01) - The One Film

(1:04:27) - Doing Theater

(1:09:36) - Co-Writer

(1:12:05) - Environmentalism

Welcome to episode 21 of The First Act Break podcast, the show where we dive into the art, business, and hustle of breaking into the film industry, and help you build a career doing what you love. Today, we bring on Noah Lee, a LA based freelance cinematographer and assistant camera, who shares his insights on building a career in cinematography. We discuss his thoughts on film school, and why he chose not to go, and advice on having a freelance career in this fast changing industry.

Timecode:

(0:00) - Intro

(1:25) - How He Got Started

(4:14) - Not Going to Film School

(19:39) - How to Choose Projects

(29:23) - What Makes a Well-Runned Set?

(42:16) - Should an Aspiring DP Move to La?

(49:15) - Vertical Content

(59:08) - Future Career Plans

(1:03:07) - Being Proud of Your Work

(1:05:09) - Thoughts on AI

(1:11:39) - Thought Experiment

(1:13:41) - Improving as a DP

(1:19:27) - Shot listing

Welcome to episode 20 of The First Act Break podcast, the show where we dive into the art, business, and hustle of breaking into the film industry, and help you build a career doing what you love. Today, we bring on Daeil Kim, a Sundance director and cinematographer, who shares his insights on life after college. We discuss his current career balancing both crafts, how his movie got into the Sundance Film Festival, and advice on having a freelance career.

Welcome to episode 19 of The First Act Break podcast, the show where we dive into the art, business, and hustle of breaking into the film industry, and help you build a career doing what you love. Today, we bring on Daniel Han, a recent USC film school graduate, who shares his insights on life after college. We discuss his current career working on KPOP tour groups, things he had to unlearn after film school, and ways he is rediscovering his own identity.

Welcome to episode 18 of The First Act Break podcast, the show where we dive into the art, business, and hustle of breaking into the film industry, and help you build a career doing what you love. Today, we bring on Alex Li, a USC film director, who shares his insights on the Chinese movie industry. We discuss the differences between with it and Hollywood, stories from Chinese sets, and experiences at USC film school.

Welcome to episode 17 of The First Act Break podcast, the show where we dive into the art, business, and hustle of breaking into the film industry, and help you build a career doing what you love. Today, we bring on Tammy Premchan, a freelance editor working in LA, who shares her insights on how to build an editing career in 2025. We discuss the art of editing, experiences at USC film school, and how to make the most of our time between projects.

Welcome to episode 16 of The First Act Break podcast, the show where we dive into the art, business, and hustle of breaking into the film industry, and help you build a career doing what you love. Today, we bring on Chase Shurtz, a professional camera assistant and cinematographer in LA, who shares insight on how to build a cinematography career in 2025. We discuss the state of the industry, how to build connections, and how to make the most of our time on set to maximize our career.

Welcome to episode 15 of The First Act Break podcast, the show where we dive into the art, business, and hustle of breaking into the film industry, and help you build a career doing what you love.

Today, we bring on Emanuel Ortiz and Ethan Go, both USC film directors. The four of us share our experiences at USC film school, our philosophies in life, and advice for young filmmakers trying to build a career in Hollywood.

Welcome to episode 14 of The First Act Break podcast, the show where we dive into the art, business, and hustle of breaking into the film industry, and help you build a career doing what you love.

Today, we bring on Kim Krizan the screenwriter of Before Sunrise and a writing mentor. We talk about how to build a career as a screenwriter in 2025, her approach to crafting personal stories, and her philosophies about writing.