One Good Take

If you're an indie filmmaker, I think you'll enjoy this one. I got together with writer/director Brendan Cleaves in February 2023 to discuss low to get short films and low budget features off the ground without maxing out your credit card.

Brendan's films tend to be on the funny side, or at least quirky. 

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Independent producer and consultant, Steve Longi, has a very clear mission for himself: to make movies with great stories that are, as he would put it, about something. 

He’s particularly drawn to true stories that raise strong social issues. For example: his film Hacksaw Ridge, directed by Mel Gibson, which tells the story of Desmond Doss, a conscientious objector, who distinguished himself as a combat medic by saving 75 men at the battle of Okinawa in the Second World War. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. 

My starting point with Steve was to ask him about his process – from script to screen – and to get his view on the evolution of indie filmmaking. 

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Steve Longi is an independent producer and consultant, based in LA, with a very clear mission for himself: to make movies with great stories that are, as he would put it, about something. 

He’s particularly drawn to true stories that raise strong social issues. For example: his film Hacksaw Ridge, directed by Mel Gibson, which tells the story of Desmond Doss, a conscientious objector, who distinguished himself as a combat medic by saving 75 men at the battle of Okinawa in the Second World War. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. 

My starting point with Steve was to ask him about his process – from script to screen – and to get his view on the evolution of indie filmmaking. 

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Short clip from my conversation with American actress and playwright Faina Vitebsky. Like me, Faina is in film, theatre... and trading. Join us for the full conversation from the main episode. 

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American actress and playwright Faina Vitebsky. Like me, Faina is in film, theatre... and trading. This is an honest conversation about lessons learned while chasing down two tough careers. 

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My next guest is Greg Koorhan, an American film director, producer and co-founder of Crossbow Studio.

Greg began his career as an art director in ad land, where he got a thorough understanding of concise, simple story-telling that moves its intended audience. He later started direct his own ads and short films before moving on to feature film projects.

His teen/family feature film Project Pay Day premiered on Apple TV in 2021. Greg and I got together in the summer of 2022. Here’s that take. 

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Short clip from Episode 47 with film producer Susan Simnett. Susan started making films rather late in life. How refreshing, I thought. What’s more, they happen to be very good.

On her website Over The Fence Films, Susan  says she seeks out stories that 'provoke, stories that embrace who we are and where we might go, stories that shift our axis of understanding.''

Follow Susanon Twitter.

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Short clip from Episode 47 with film producer Susan Simnett. Susan started making films rather late in life. How refreshing, I thought. What’s more, they happen to be very good.

On her website Over The Fence Films, Susan  says she seeks out stories that 'provoke, stories that embrace who we are and where we might go, stories that shift our axis of understanding.''

Follow Susanon Twitter.

Support the show

Most journeys take a winding path. My guest today started out as an actor. Switched to editing and color grading and later began producing and directing his own short films while still living in Australia. It wasn’t until he moved to the States that he got his big breakthrough as creator of a TV drama called A Good Cop.

In this episode, he shares with us some insightful observations on how to go from a sheet of paper with a few loglines to running your own TV show. David Chai and I got together early in July 2022.  

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Most journeys take a winding path. My guest today started out as an actor. Switched to editing and color grading and later began producing and directing his own short films while still living in Australia. It wasn’t until he moved to the States that he got his big breakthrough as creator of a TV drama called A Good Cop.

In this episode, he shares with us some insightful observations on how to go from a sheet of paper with a few loglines to running your own TV show. David Chai and I got together early in July 2022. Here’s that take. 

Support the show