No Set Path: Entertainment Break-In Stories

Evan McGahey, staff writer on Season 8 of Outlander, breaks down how he worked his way up in TV from support staff to staff writer; how he recently sold his original TV pitch to a major studio; and what he predicts with future writers given Hollywood's contraction and battle over A.I.

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

1:30 - Writing a first episode of Outlander

3:00 - Lessons from writing an episode after working as writers room support staff

4:20 - Experience co-writing an episode with another writer

5:00 - How Evan landed a support staff role on Outlander

7:26 - How Evan made the connections who ended up referring him for the interview

10:00 - How to sell an original show to a major network

15:45 - Choosing a production companies

17:06 - Landing a manager

18:30 - Co-writing a pilot

20:10 - Getting started in TV writing: first jobs—

26:20 - Writer’s PA vs. Writer’s Assistant: how to maximize each job

28:20 - Why Evan chose Outlander over staying at NBC’s The Black List

35:00 - We Survived ’til ’25, now what?: How to navigate the current contraction as a writer

39:50 - Writers vs. A.I.

43:40 - From going to USC to become a doctor to switching to pursuing screenwriting with a biology degree

44:00 - underGRAD

47:46 - Having a dedicated creative space for working

50:50 - TIME CAPSULE

KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:

All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow

www.NoSetPathShow.com

bio.site/nosetpathshow

In this episode, guest Becca Mann joins to discuss New Year's Resolutions - what makes them actionable, when to share them, and thoughts on submitted resolutions from people on both coasts!

BREAKDOWN:

1:30 - Becca’s professional swimmer update!

3:30 - Resolutions vs. goals: family, work, hobbies, emotional/spiritual, bucket list items

4:42 - Discernment: what excited me, what drained me, what did I learn?

5:45 - Navigating social media

8:20 - Rebecca’s update

12:20 - Save money & spend time with loved ones

13:30 - Goals you can control vs. ones you can’t

16:50 - Quit a bad job

19:25 - Find a full-time job

20:00 - Not sure what to resolve

21:32 - Direct another feature or more shorts for anthology feature

23:50 - Vote for “The Last Ranger” from Darwin Shaw!

24:38 - Find a home for comedic scripts

25:33 - Is a “resolution” actionable?

26:23 - Get more direct-to-client work

32:45 - Bartend in order to work on writing

36:40 - Write another feature and pilot

38:00 - Should you tell people about your goals?

KEEP UP WITH GUEST BECCA MANN:

IG: @becca__mann

TikTok: @beccawmann

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All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow

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Juan Luis Bravo has worked as a storyboard artist in animation for shows like Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures and LEGO Dreamzzz.

Today het gets into the steps from a digital media specialist making corporate videos to storyboard artist for a Star Wars based show; how to actually yield results from networking events; and how to tap into your power as a member of a marginalized community.

EPISODE BREAKDOWN (updated - 2:36 is actually 1:43)

1:43 - Young Jedi Adventures: years in the making!

2:13 - Starting off as a Digital Media Specialist internally at Disney

4:52 - Getting aggressively poached from a show

1:27 - What’s the best way to follow up/advocate for yourself with a new connection?

13:27 - How to get someone to want to help you

18:07 - Landing & leveraging a first job toward your long-term goals 

23:52 - Identifying opportunities for further education past college

26:57 - How to decide to leave your “steady” job to pursue your dreams - and convince the next hiring manager you can do it (leaving helping to cut Marvel animatics to pursue storyboarding)

33:07 - Cultivating relationships from college into long-term professional relationships 

34:47 - How to balance being direct about what you want without being an egomaniac 

39:17 - Friends from college making the Black List

40:27 - How to say what you want 

44:37 - The right questions to ask in a cold email or mentor outreach

46:33 - Living situation impact on creativity 

49:22 - If you hate LA…

50:17 - Were there moments of wanting to quit? 

57:52 - How to tap into your power as a member of a marginalized community 

1:00:55 - TIME CAPSULE

Instgram and X: @juanluisbravo_

Devin Berko is a producer at the Walt Disney Company, entrepreneur and matzo ball enthusiast. He moved to Los Angeles in 2018 after running a successful production company and has since focused on creating diverse content, whether through his work as a food photographer, commercial producer, or director.

Today Devin gets into how to get hired by Disney and what Disney corporate producers look for in a director and production company to work on commercials for the Disney parks, faking a documentary to propose to the love of your life, and the philosophy he adopted from his fianceé that will give you the best shot at getting what you want.

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

1:15 - start

1:35 - Devin’s job at Disney producing commercials for the Disney Parks

3:35 - Tiana’s Bayou Adventure!

4:55 - From making TikToks for a company to working with Disney IP   

7:05 - Being a part of something bigger

10:33 -working inside a bureaucracy / large company 

23:15 - set your own path; short-term opportunity vs. long-term strategy 

29:45 - wedding company gets ghosted

34:05 - Producing for TikTok

35:25 - When is too late to start? (Age)

38:45 - The “get-out-of-bed” rate

41:55 - Don’t Ask, Don’t Get

44:45 - How to get hired by Disney

51:15 - Matzoball Documentary

56:25 - Faking a documentary to propose 

1:01:03 - TIME CAPSULE

KEEP UP WITH DEVIN:

IG: @devinberko

KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:

All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow

www.NoSetPathShow.com

bio.site/nosetpath

Rebecca Doyle and Michael Ritter react to submitted career regrets and how to avoid them yourself!

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

1:30 - Not coming to LA earlier

6:10 - Not avoiding drama

9:35 - Not taking digital seriously + creative PR for indie films and digital vs. traditional 

23:00 - Not begging for your job back? 

27:38 - Not saving more money 

29:30 - Not pursuing acting as a child 

31:44 - Leaving a TV assistant job to go write samples alone

34:12 - Picking the wrong gig 

 36:20 - Focusing too much on a day/high-paying job and not making time for personal creative projects with friends 

38:44 - Being convinced by an agent to turn down a conscripted writing job 

40:48 - Don’t burn bridges, even if the people suck 

41:35 - Accusation of interview questions

42:03 - Leaving an office job to pursue personal stuff + not seeking mental health support earlier 

43:18 - Focusing too much on personal projects and not taking more union high-level work early

44:25 - Getting an entertainment-related education

45:26 - Getting sidetracked in reality TV

46:20 - Allowing senior employees to create insecurity 

48:20 - Not making your own content 

48:30 - Not stealing Michael Eisner’s rolodex

50:55 - Worked with (bad) influencers

52:24 - Not doing corporate or agency time early on

54:14 - Not asking for help 

55:26 - Snippy comments / picking this industry at all

56:05 - Sign with ICM instead of CAA

57:05 - Choosing VFX as a career

57:55 - Hollywood is the hardest thing, so we got this! - But start your S-corp early 

KEEP U

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

1:00 - The question: if you’re making six figures, how did you do it? 

1:40 - Have a good attitude 

4:38 - To diversify or not diversify?

14:08 - Freelancer —> tech / marketing / entrepreneur 

16:55 - $100k+ as a DP - with rates ##

19:16 - Have multiple projects in various phases + be careful of talker$

22:30 - Does having multiple projects help burnout? 

23:17 - Work on long-running shows

23:38 - Apply for government funding (Canada, Europe etc.)

26:08 - Pay bills with branded + build portfolio  

32:50 - A dissenting opinion!

33:30 - Meeting 2 of 3 criteria for taking a project

35:40 - Getting hired through DPs + good attitude ($500k+)

37:50 - Work insane hours + go out and get what you want

38:27 - Get referrals, the jobs find you 

39:20 - Cold email

39:58 - Music videos —> self-funded features?

41:10 - Union DIT

42:29 - Corporate videos

43:20 - Building a portfolio, following up on connections years later

KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:

All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow

bio.site/nosetpath

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Tiffany Kim Stevens's feature directorial debut, Trigger Happy, is currently finishing its festival circuit and will have its Southern California premiere at the Newport Beach Film Festival on 10/18/24 and 10/24/24. Tiffany is a USC alum and currently managed by Gavin Lurie and Najeeb Khuda at Zero Gravity Management. 

Today we are getting into how Tiffany ended up finding financing for her feature in Silicon Valley, the key things to have in place for a fruitful relationship between director and writer and how a business proposal ended up landing Tiffany representation as a director at Zero Gravity. 

BREAKDOWN:

2:00 - Tiffany’s feature directorial debut, Trigger Happy 

3:45 - Landing funding and distribution

10:30 - The key element to a good working relationship with a writer

15:40 - Signing with Zero Gravity Management after pitching a movie business plan 

19:00 - Steps of working with managers on the next big project 

21:10 - Tiffany’s early directing endeavors + short film

30:12 - How living in LA impacts creativity / social capital culture

33:33 - What to do if you’re just starting out

35:00 - Are film fes=tivals worth it? 

39:35 - TIME CAPSULE

CONNECT WITH TIFFANY:

Instagram: @TiffanyKimStevens

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Gorby Shih is a director and producer whose work includes "Killer Maid" for Tencent Pictures, which is being adapted into a TV series for Legendary Entertainment; and two drama series for app ReelShort. Gorby has his BA in Film & Television Production from USC (2014) and his MFA in Creative Producing from Columbia University (2024).

Today we’re getting into different ways to land attention on your work and directing jobs, how the market in China has changed over the years and what pieces you should have in your portfolio to be a sought-after director. Let’s jump into the interview. 

BREAKDOWN: 

2:37 - Directing vertical content: business model, story structure differences, company players in the game

11:40 - Is digital media just a stepping stone?  

20:20 - What should a director have on his or her reel to land these jobs? 

22:00 - Going back to film school + becoming a director vs. creative exec vs. producer

25:46 - Making a short that led to signing with UTA and moving to Beijing to direct

31:27 - Directing his first feature for Tencent in 14 days (“Killer Maid”). 

37:20 - Gorby’s origin story + how represents

40:00 - What are people doing who have left the industry? 

43:00 - Script “Sinuous” 

48:12 - How accolades affect receptivity to your script or new project

50:05 - The best way to “network”

1:01:35 - TIME CAPSULE

KEEP UP WITH GORBY: 

IG: @gorbacevmofoshih

REEL:

https://vimeo.com/951351677/c15853b64a?share=copy

WEBSITE: www.gorbyshih.com

CONNECT WITH THE SHOW:

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Today’s guest is Parissa Koo, an actress, singer, and model who has appeared on the Disney Channel, USA Network, Funny or Die, For the Record Live Onstage, Pixel Playhouse, and the Norwegian Cruise Line Escape. You can catch her in commercials for Capital One, Freeform, and Chevron but more imminently - this weekend in HBOhNo…It’s a Musical!

Today we get into the often overlooked place to find jobs in entertainment, how to make a first impression that leads to lasting collaboration, and the one question you should ask while trying to network.

BREAKDOWN: 

2:30 - HbOhNo…It’s a Musical!

5:30 - Meeting a longterm collaborator on a cruise ship 

8:00 - The key to creating a lasting relationship

10:00 - Creating your own work, taking control of your art 

14:00 - Liking genres that aren’t see as “high art” (shoutout Glenn Powell)

19:25 - Say yes, stay in touch - people come back around

21:00 - be genuine in networking 

23:00 - rejection: push harder or walk away? 

24:30 - What to ask for when networking!

27:00 - Auditioning for American Idol

31:50 - Auditioning for the Glee Project & getting noticed by Robert Ulrich

33:10 - Deferring & then skipping college + signing to Osbrink 

35:00 - Auditioning for Mulan (vs. Jamie Chung)

35:50 - Auditioning for Deadpool without knowing

39:50 - Gaining perspective through geographic distance from the industry 

41:04 - YouTube surpassing Netflix for TV watch time and: Pixel Playhouse! 

46:00 - Balancing short-term opportunity with long-term strategy for a career

50:10 - TIME CAPSULE

CONNECT WITH PARISSA: 

IG: @ParissaKoo

CONNECT WITH THE SHOW: 

All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow   

bio.site/nosetpath

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Reviewing stories of people who created their own opportunities when there were none to give you some hope & inspiration during this slow time in the industry!

CONNECT WITH THE SHOW:

All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow

bio.site/nosetpath

www.NoSetPathShow.com