James Burns is a film director with a career that includes multiple short films in Tribeca film festival and has been working with Vice directing content for over a year. James has a unique story having been in and out of the prison system since he was 6 years old. He has spent time in solitary confinement which has shaped his perspective and current drive to bring to light issues within the prison system. After turning his situation around, his life’s story was written and produced into a Hollywood movie titled “Jamesy Boy.” Following the film James worked to create a career in film as a writer and director.  Now with years of success under his belt, James focuses a lot of his storytelling on the underprivileged and marginalized trying to give a voice to the voiceless. Using his unique vantage-point, James gains access to subcultures shining a light on society’s problems in an attempt to start conversations on ways to improve these issues.

Episode 30 - James Burns

The Art vs. Commerce podcast is a conversation with creative industry professionals who have made a career out of their art. Our discussions range from their personal history, breaking down famous scenes they helped create and learning how they manage to maintain their personal aesthetic in an arena that demands compromise. As a cinematographer for commercials, documentary and narrative, podcast host Jared Levy enjoys these conversations and learning from these talented industry professionals.

TV & Film

Michael Slovis, ASC, DGA started taking pictures as a teenager and was a winner of the New Jersey State Teen Arts Festival with a photograph that earned him admission to Rochester Institute of Technology's renowned photography program. There, one of his teachers said his pictures told stories like movies and advised him to look into filmmaking. Slovis studied cinematography at New York University and began working professionally as a gaffer on motion pictures, commercials and television. He started his career as a director of photography in independent films in New York. In 1995 Michael photographed the Sundance Film Festival favorite Party Girl, which opened the door to independent films, television films, theatrical films and pilots.Returning from Europe, following the traumatic events of 2001, Michael wanted to stay closer to family and was fortunate to transition to episodic television with the series, "ED" for Paramount/NBC. In 2007 Michael completed two and a half years as director of photography on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation for which he won the 2006 Emmy award for outstanding cinematography and was nominated again in 2007. Since 2008, Michael has made AMC his part-time home shooting four seasons of the critically acclaimed Breaking Bad, for which he has earned three Emmy nominations.In recent years Michael has photographed the pilot for ABC's Castle, the episodic shows Fringe (Fox), Royal Pains (USA), Rubicon (AMC), Running Wilde (Fox) and 30 Rock (NBC). In 2010 Michael was honored to join the American Society of Cinematographers.

Episode 73 - Barry “Baz” Idoine

Episode 72 - Michael Slovis, ASC, DGA

Lauren Sick is a writer and director, known for her music video work with artists such as Chromeo, MØ, Foster the People, A-Trak, American Authors, El-P, Vampire Weekend, A$AP Ferg, Anderson East, and Pentatonix. She recently directed the first teaser trailer for MGM Studios' biopic RESPECT, starring Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin.Lauren grew up in the dark woods of suburbia, screening inappropriate horror movies at slumber parties. A lover of horror and genre filmmaking, she was a creative collaborator on the feature film SCARE ME, starring Josh Ruben, Aya Cash, and Chris Redd, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020.A multifaceted director, Lauren's work spans both the narrative and branded space, having grabbed the attention of clients such as New Balance, Nike, Garmin, Fendi, FADER, Nasdaq, Soulcycle, and Beats By Dre. The spot she directed for Zola.com provoked international attention when the Hallmark Channel removed the ad for its depiction of a lesbian wedding. The piece (since re-instated on the network) was written about in the New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Rolling Stone, and Deadline, and was parodied on Saturday Night Live.Lauren brings a youthful and adventurous expression to her filmmaking, coupling raw emotion with a cinematic style that's rooted in her background of theater, punk rock, and dance. Her work has been recognized by Indiewire, BBC Worldwide, AdAge, Shots, Little Black Book, Shoot Online, AdWeek, and more. Her experimental "short shorts", which she wrote, directed, and starred in, were broadcast in Germany and France through Souvenirs from Earth, the first cable network in Europe dedicated to video art, film, music, installation, and performances. The 2015 fashion film that she directed for the Kering Group, shot in New York, London, Milan, and Paris, had its world premiere at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Lauren lives and works in Los Angeles. She is currently developing her first feature film. Find her @laurensick

Episode 71 - Lauren Sick

Newton Thomas Sigel, ASC photographed Bohemian Rhapsody, the exquisite portrait of Freddie Mercury, the rock band Queen, and their extraordinary appearance at the Live Aid concert of 1985.

Sigel went on to earn a Best Cinematography nomination for his work on the film at the 2019 EE British Academy Film Awards. Bohemian Rhapsody also took home the 2019 Golden Globe for Drama Motion Picture, along with Rami Malek nabbing a multitude of accolades -- including an Academy Award -- for his portrayal of Freddie.

Having completed Dhaka in early 2019, the action-packed Chris Hemsworth starrer produced by the Russo Brothers, Sigel also recently wrapped principal photography for director Spike Lee’s upcoming war drama, Da 5 Bloods.

Since the early days of his career, Sigel has earned a powerful position amongst visual storytellers starting with his work on cult classic The Usual Suspects for director Bryan Singer. The two went on to collaborate on nine more films, including the X-Men movies, Superman Returns and Valkyrie.

Sigel’s seminal use of exotic film stocks and innovative negative processing methods on Three Kings laid the foundation to new avenues of cinematography. In 2010, he photographed Nicolas Winding Refn’s Hollywood debut, Drive, which won the Best Director Award at Cannes and is universally praised for its dazzling look.

Other credits include: Bob Rafelson’s dark noir tale Blood & Wine starring Jack Nicholson and Gregory Hoblit’s Fallen, starring Denzel Washington. Sigel then went on to photograph Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Leatherheads with longtime collaborator George Clooney; Terry Gilliam’s The Brothers Grimm; Alan Ball’s directorial debut, Towelhead; and Reginald Hudlin’s Marshall, starring Chadwick Boseman as the United States’ first black Supreme Court Justice.

Notably, Sigel has also collaborated with Master Yuen Wo-Ping, the Grandmaster of Martial-Arts Cinema, on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; with Robert Redford on The Conspirator; and with Halle Berry on Frankie and Alice.

In addition to his cinematography credits, Sigel directed HBO’s Point of Origin, as well as co-directed The Big Empty, starring Selma Blair, with his wife J. Lisa Chang.

Sigel began his artistic career as a painter and experimental filmmaker while studying at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. He transitioned to documentaries while covering the Central American wars of the 1980s, which included working on the Academy Award-winning Witness to War: Dr. Charlie Clements and When the Mountains Tremble. Catching the eye of legendary filmmaker Haskell Wexler, Sigel got his first narrative opportunity on Latino, a film based on Sigel’s own experiences while photographing Nicaragua: Report From the Front. The documentary chronicled the front lines of the war in Nicaragua from both sides of the conflict, becoming the first film to ever capture the contras. This led to second-unit work with Oliver Stone on Platoon and Wall Street.

Sigel is a member of the American Society of Cinematographers, the Director’s Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He is based in Los Angeles and is represented by UTA.

Episode 70 - Newton Thomas Sigel, ASC

Zak Mulligan is an American cinematographer known for his work in film and television. His film We The Animals premiered at Sundance 2018 and was nominated for five Independent Spirit Awards including Best Cinematography. His other work includes the HBO series The Outsider based on a novel by Stephen King starring Jason Bateman and Ben Mendelsohn and the film Obselidia which premiered at Sundance 2010 where he was honored with the Excellence in Cinematography award.

Zak’s TV work also includes Ava Duvernay’s CBS TV pilot, For Justice and Netflix’s House of Cards, the Showtime series Seven Deadly Sins and the FX original, The Most Dangerous Animal of All. In 2013 he lensed the Academy Award nominated HBO documentary Open Heart about Rheumatic heart disease in Africa. Zak was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in 2019.

Other feature film work includes the forth coming Benh Zeitlin film, Wendy, the Jessica Biel and Zosia Mamet helmed, Bleeding Heart and Custody directed by James Lapine and starring Viola Davis and Ellen Burstyn which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2016.

Mulligan’s commercial client list includes Google, Nike, Reebok, Samsung, and American Express.

Episode 30 - James Burns

Download our free app to listen on your phone